Can I reclaim mortgage protection?

flipperg22

Am interested in others views on whether I might be able to reclaim mortgage protection on an existing policy (which is still running, but I'm looking at stopping it).

I originally took out the policy connected to a Britannia mortgage back in 2006 which covers me for unemployment and critical illness/death. I am the sole occupier in my home and have no dependents, and in view of this, wasn't going to take out this additional policy. However the mortgage adviser at the time did the usual scare-mongering tactics of 'what if you lose your job/got seriously ill etc ... you don't want to end up losing your house etc...' - and I ended up signing up.

I have a separate Income Protection policy through a Flex policy with my employer, which also covers illness/disability but obviously would stop if I was made redundant. Completely separate to this is a further critical illness/death policy which after doing some digging on MSE, I'm thinking I'll keep on as it's not connected to work, so that if I changed employer/was made redundant, I'd still be covered going forward.

Have I simply been niaive in not spotting the likely duplication of polities earlier and it's simply tough, or is it worth me looking into reclaiming mortgage protection payments back to 2006 when the policy first started?

dunstonh

I originally took out the policy connected to a Britannia mortgage back in 2006 which covers me for unemployment and critical illness/death.

That means it is a multi-segment plan. Life assurance and critical illness cover and MPPI.

I am the sole occupier in my home and have no dependents, and in view of this, wasn't going to take out this additional policy. However the mortgage adviser at the time did the usual scare-mongering tactics of 'what if you lose your job/got seriously ill etc ... you don't want to end up losing your house etc...' - and I ended up signing up.

So, the mortgage adviser did their job correctly by telling you the risks and consequences.

Have I simply been niaive in not spotting the likely duplication of polities earlier and it's simply tough, or is it worth me looking into reclaiming mortgage protection payments back to 2006 when the policy first started?

You havent given any indication of wrongdoing in your post. There is nothing wrong with having multiple policies. There appears to be no overlap (MPPI is short term, income protection is long term. The ideal scenario is to have both. adding life assurance to CI cover adds a few pennies to the monthly premium. Indeed, for those in their 20s, it may not add any extra. So, its logical to have it included even if you dont need it at the time. The FOS have been rejecting complaints on life assurance covering mortgages for those without dependants given the long term nature of the contract).

CI cover is typically seen as best advice to have around 4 times salary plus amount of debts. However, there is no figure published to what is actually best. Some go to 10x salary.

flipperg22

Thanks for your comments dunstonh - useful to see. It sounds like I've not actually done any wrong in having multiple policies, so I'm thinking that my most sensible move would be to try and bring the cost down of my existing MPPI policy - which is £35 a month covering a £588 mortgage.

I don't need as much cover as that now, as my mortgage payments are now under £400. Having checked the MSE website for other providers of MPPI, Paymentcare seems to be the cheapest. This would be significantly cheaper and quotes are coming up at around £12 a month which is a big saving. However, I can't find any reviews on Paymentcare (not through Santander - they seem to be an independent PPI provider). Has anyone had any dealings with them - are they recommended or do you get what you pay for (ie they might not pay out if I was made redundant in future)?

dunstonh

Having checked the MSE website for other providers of MPPI, Paymentcare seems to be the cheapest.

MPPI is not equal across the board on terms. So, don't go by price alone. Look at the quality of the cover. No point paying for something with onerous terms just because its a few pounds per month cheaper. Equally, expensive doesnt mean quality. There is cheap rubbish and expensive rubbish out there.

Insider101

flipperg22 wrote: »

Am interested in others views on whether I might be able to reclaim mortgage protection on an existing policy (which is still running, but I'm looking at stopping it).

I originally took out the policy connected to a Britannia mortgage back in 2006 which covers me for unemployment and critical illness/death. I am the sole occupier in my home and have no dependents, and in view of this, wasn't going to take out this additional policy. However the mortgage adviser at the time did the usual scare-mongering tactics of 'what if you lose your job/got seriously ill etc ... you don't want to end up losing your house etc...' - and I ended up signing up.

So what if you DO lose your job or get seriously ill?

I have a separate Income Protection policy through a Flex policy with my employer, which also covers illness/disability but obviously would stop if I was made redundant.

There's your answer. For the purposes of a very long term commitment like a mortgage, it is not considered prudent to base any recommendation on employer benefits, since most people move employer several times these days. Also, as you stated you would lose these if made redundant, which the insurance covers. If the policy was provided by a separate insurer and you had the option to keep it if you left the company this might be different.

Completely separate to this is a further critical illness/death policy which after doing some digging on MSE, I'm thinking I'll keep on as it's not connected to work, so that if I changed employer/was made redundant, I'd still be covered going forward.

Sounds sensible, CIC is generally a good idea for anyone. Life cover may be unnecessary if you have no dependants but as Dunstonh said, it adds pennies to the cost of a critical illness policy anyway.

Have I simply been niaive in not spotting the likely duplication of polities earlier and it's simply tough, or is it worth me looking into reclaiming mortgage protection payments back to 2006 when the policy first started?

There's no point making any complaint against the adviser. If you didn't tell him then he can't be expected to know what you've already got. If you actually had a separate insurance policy via your employer and can prove it, you may be able to ask the insurer nicely for a refund of premiums as you have realised you would never have been able to claim on the policy (income protection/PPI type policies will only pay out a set level of your salary, typically about 65% and this takes into account any existing cover you may have. So if you took two policies then you possibly couldn't claim on both at the same time. The reason for this is they don't want a situation where you are earning more from insurance payments than you would if you went back to work). However, it would do to be nice about it since they haven't done anything wrong.

magpiecottage

flipperg22 wrote: »

the mortgage adviser at the time did the usual scare-mongering tactics of 'what if you lose your job/got seriously ill etc ... you don't want to end up losing your house etc...'

That is not scaremongering. It is alerting you to a real risk.

"You might get abducted by aliens" would be a sufficiently remote risk to constitute scaremongering but I have never heard of a mortgage adviser saying that.

So I suggest if mortgage advisers do scaremongering at all ut is most certainly not usual.

dunstonh

There was a thread in the mortgage section the other day where someone didnt have insurance and is now losing their house.