Help protect your home and your loved ones, with mortgage life insurance.
No one ever plans to get sick or die unexpectedly. We always think that it won't happen to us, but the reality is that it could happen at any time. It's not a subject we like to think about, but it has to be considered if you're taking on a mortgage, or increasing your mortgage, as it's such a life changing commitment.
Mortgage life insurance policies have one clear objective – to help pay off an outstanding mortgage in the event of death, during the policy term. This means that your loved ones could continue to live in the family home even if you're no longer with them, without worrying how they'll pay the mortgage.
Skipton offer two types of mortgage cover provided by Legal & General:
- mortgage term assurance
- mortgage decreasing term assurance
There is one major difference between the two types of mortgage insurances - a mortgage decreasing term assurance policy is designed to protect a repayment mortgage, so the amount of cover reduces roughly in line with your remaining mortgage debt as you pay off your mortgage. The mortgage term assurance maintains the same level of life cover until the policy ends. The graph below indicates the difference in these policies.
Mortgage Level Term and Decreasing Term Assurance Comparison
This illustrates the amount of cover Level Term Assurance and Decreasing Term Assurance would provide over the same period of time. We've based the graph on £100,000 over 25 years.
This is an illustration only. The amount of cover will depend on individual circumstances.
Whichever policy you choose, your premiums will never change (unless you change the amount of cover held under the policy or alter the plan), allowing you to budget with confidence.
You need to read the Key Features Document carefully before buying a policy. This provides details of the circumstances under which the policy would not pay out. The full terms and conditions are in the policy documents which will be sent to you when the policy starts.
If you are unsure about which product is most suitable for your needs, please speak to one of Skipton's in branch advisors for guidance.
Things you need to know
- Legal & General's level life assurance policies are available to UK residents who are between the ages of 18 and 78 at the start of the policy. You can set up the policy to last between 1 and 40 years, although it must end before your 80th birthday. Decreasing term assurance is available to UK residents between the ages of 18 and 60 at the start of the policy. Policies can last between 5 and 40 years but must end before your 65th birthday.
- It's essential that you give Legal & General all the information we ask for during the application and that it's accurate. If you fail to mention something like a medical condition, for example, they may not pay out in the event of a claim.
- Mortgage life insurance plans are not investment products. They have no cash in value at any time. Also, if you stop paying the premiums before the end of your policy, your cover will end after 30 days and you will not get anything back.
- After you apply, you must tell Legal & General if any of the following change between completing your application and when your plan starts:
- family history
- medical disclosures
- occupation
- travel or residence (except holidays)
- pastimes
- alcohol consumption
- start smoking
- use of recreational drugs
If you don't tell Legal & General about changes to any of the above, it could mean your policy won't pay out and they may need to cancel your policy.
Premiums
- The main factors that affect the amount you pay for cover are your age, sex, occupation, smoker status, health, the level of cover you need and type of contract that you choose. Normally, the older you are, the higher the premium. Your individual height, weight, medical history and lifestyle are all assessed.
- Premium payments include all expenses and life cover starts from just £6 per month depending on your individual circumstances and needs. Premiums are guaranteed - you pay the same throughout the term of the policy unless you change your cover.
- If you decide to include critical illness cover in your plan, you can choose between guaranteed or reviewable premiums. If you choose reviewable premiums, these are reviewed every five years and could increase or decrease.
- If you want to increase the level of cover at any time, you may be able to do so without further medical questions by using your guaranteed insurability option. There are certain terms and conditions for increasing your cover, which are outlined in the Key Features Document. Please read it carefully.
- Legal & General's mortgage life insurance policies include terminal illness cover at no extra cost, which means that your policy could pay out if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, rather than when you die. Full details of Legal & General's terminal illness cover are included in the Key Features Document.
If you take out mortgage life insurance with Legal & General, you have the option to pay your premiums monthly or annually. If you decide to pay annually you will receive a discount, giving you cheaper mortgage life insurance.
Why is Skipton working with Legal & General?
In times of financial uncertainty, it's important to know that you're taking out life cover with a company that will still be around in years to come.
You can be confident that Skipton has made every effort to ensure we work with a provider you can trust.
Legal & General provide high quality life insurance, mortgage life insurance and critical illness cover at competitive prices and consistently receive awards that acknowledge this.
In 2010 Legal & General received the Financial Advisor Life & Pensions Awards for Term Assurance and Critical Illness Provider of the year, as well as being named Best Life Protection Provider at the Money Marketing Awards, for the 6th year in a row.
On top of winning awards, 1 in 5 of the individual term and critical illness policies taken out in the UK in 2009 were sold by Legal & General.