Mortgage protection insurance for a married couple

missbunbury

My husband and I both work full-time, he earns a good wage and I earn a slightly more rubbish one. Our mortgage payments are affordable for us (they are 30% of our joint take-home pay per month) but we also have relatively high other outgoings, some of which could easily be trimmed back if needed, others less so. We don't have much in the way of savings, and I have been investigating the possibility of getting mortgage protection insurance. An MSE article pointed me towards iProtect and I've tried getting a quote but I am a bit befuddled and hoped someone might help me out.

The position we are in is that if my husband was out of work, it would be a real struggle as he earns the lion's share of the joint income (he brings home about 65% of what we get.) If I lost my job we would have to cut right back but it would be a bit less severe, if you see what I mean.

The iProtect quote form only asks about one person. So if I put in my details, I get one quote, then if I put in my husband's details I get a different quote. So, what I'm asking is, is it possible to get cover for if either of us were out of work, if we each get a separate policy? And if we get the two policies and one of us loses their job, is the whole mortgage payment then covered even though the other person is still working? Or am I being thick and I should actually be putting in our joint income or something? Obviously if both of us were out of work (unlikely, but then in November '08 we were both made redundant from different companies within weeks of each other so you never know what's ahead) then we would definitely need cover.

I hope I am at least making sense in my ignorance, I am very confused by all this business and would welcome any help!

kingstreet

It might be worth seeing an independent broker to have a look at these options for you.

Over the years I've used Paymentshield a fair bit for Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover and they do joint cover which you can have on a split basis to reduce the cost.

For example, if your husband earns £20k and you earn £10k, any benefit is paid in proportion to your incomes. So if he lost his job, or was off sick, 2/3 of the monthly benefit would be payable. If it happened to you, 1/3 would be paid instead.

There are other companies offering a similar arrangement and you can add cover for other household bills if you wish to do so. A broker would be your best bet to cover all the choices for you. A broker will also help you keep the cost as low as possible by possibly mixing different types of cover to take advantage of your employers' sickness benefits.