Life Insurance

[BearBellyUK]

Do you need to take out life insurance (mortgage protection) if you are getting a mortgage? Is this something that I can take out once I have got the mortgage?

[Loosehead]

Depends entirely on your lender. Generally if the mortgage is over a certain % of the value anything from 75% - 90% depending on lender then the lender may well demand some sort of life cover and probably an indemnity. If there is enough equity in the property then the lender will deem that as security enough. For your own peice of mind though it is generally recommended that if you have a joint mortgage you should have JLFD term policy so that if one of you dies the mortgage is paid off. Yes you can take it out after you've got the mortgage but don't wait too long!

JLFD = Joint Life First Death

[WendyS]

Many lenders will insist on one. If you're buying jointly with a partner, I'm sure you would both want the peace of mind knowing that if one of you died, the mortgage would be covered. But if you have life insurance as part of your employment terms, you may be able to use this if the cover is adequate. Many larger employers offer between one and four years' salary cover as life insurance as long as you are in their employment / pension scheme. But if you change jobs obviously you will have to review the situation.

[funnywebsite]

Like the others said it depends on the bank. Some insist on it but thats when they start selling you some dodgy endowment mortgage.