Advice needed on insurance cover

Alan2020

Dear MSEs,

I am in the process of applying for a mortgage, what is your advice in terms of going for critically illness cover or income protection insurance. I have no dependants so I guess I don't need life cover.

Thank you All

Dave_Ham

Boy - you have opened a can of worms, and see the big income protection vs critical illness cover debate again on thread..

Ultimately, firstly check what cover you have at work and use that as a starting point..

Correct - life not good advice given your circumstances...

ACG

Im in a similar position to you.

Ive just taken out income protection - my theory being that so long as i have an income i can afford to do everything i can now.
I dont have critical illness cover so im leaving myself open to the fact that if i needed to make changes to a property eg wheelchair access, stair lifts or even pay for a carer i would probably struggle.

If your not sure what cover to have and the amounts then its best to see an advisor.

Alan2020

Thank you for your kind advice. I am trying to see what is the best compromise :-)

opinions4u

I much prefer income protection.

Questions to consider:

1) How long would your employer pay you for?
2) How long would your savings last for?
3) How much would you save (e.g. travel, lunches) by not working?
4) How much more would it cost you to be at home more (e.g. heating)?
5) What would you be prepared to do without?

From that you can work out a deferrment period and a suggested level of cover. Also consider some form of indexing or annual premium and cover increase. The £550 a month I'm covered for was great in 1990. I never thought to index it though and while I would scrape by on that the Sky, the car and the holidays would have to go!

That doesn't mean there isn't a case for critical illness cover too.

One other thing, don't think about it in the terms of insuring your mortgage payment. You spend a lot more than that. No point being able to pay the mortgage if you can't afford the council tax and gas bill.