Mortgage Protection Cover & House Insurance

ninimac

Hi there - need some help!

Myself and my partner are in the process of buying a house and need to sort out Mortgage protection and house insurance. We haven't a clue and any advice is very much appreciated!

My question is....Should we get mortgage protection for both of us or just one? I got a quote from Labrokers.ie - €193.15 per year for the two of us or €100 per year for just me. This this sound right? - we are both 26 non smokers and house price is 197000.

On house insurance - does this cover just the building which means you get seperate cover for contents or can the two be combined. Since we will be only buying "contents" after arranging the house insurance can we update the policy at a later stage to include contents?

Thanks a million:D

blahblah06

hi nini. just bought a house myself. well basically the quote u got sounds right but look around its not all about prices its about whats offered. house insurance\life and contents and different if im not mistaken

Beruthiel

ninimac wrote:

Hi My question is....Should we get mortgage protection for both of us or just one?.

this is for life insurance, ie - if one of you die the house is automatically paid for by the insurance company.
So, without a doubt get it to cover both of you, that way, no matter which one of you dies first, the surviving person gets to have the house paid for.
If you don't cover your partner and he dies, then you get to continue paying the mortgage by yourself, not nice...
ring a few difference insurance companies, the price can vary a lot

does this cover just the building which means you get seperate cover for contents or can the two be combined.

you can get it to cover everything, ie - the value of your house and the value of your contents - the value of the contents can be as much as you wish (within reason)

Victor

ninimac wrote:

My question is....Should we get mortgage protection for both of us or just one? I got a quote from Labrokers.ie - €193.15 per year for the two of us or €100 per year for just me. This this sound right? - we are both 26 non smokers and house price is 197000.

Sounds cheap.

Take a look at. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=790497&postcount=4

Realise that you personal possessions (CDs, books, clothes) could easily be worth €25,000 each.

LegacyUser

Hey, I have mortgage protection, life insurance AND house insurance.
Do I need all three??

Victor

bubby wrote:

mortgage protection,

This pays out in certain circumstances if you can't pay your mortgage. Different products may cover unemployment, illnesss or death.

life insurance

Life assurance - this pays out if / when you die.

house insurance.

You get paid if the house floods, burns down, etc. If often includes some public liability element

LegacyUser

Hey Victor, cheers for that. I pay all three you see. Someone told me today that they heard from someone who works in a bank that mortgage protection is very difficult to get a payment from. For example: they won't pay if you leave your job (fair enough), if you get fired (they want all sorts of docs) etc etc


Anyway, the impression I got was that its very difficult and a lot of hassel to get them to pay out.

I'm wondering now, is it worth the pain?

I'd love to set up a poll on it - to see if others pay all three.
Anyways, OP, sorry for hijacking your thread.

Andrew Duffy

If by mortage protection you mean serious illness cover, it isn't great. The insurance provider and each reinsurer must decide whether you are ill enough before paying out, and the criteria are basically secret. A better product exists called income protection or permanent health insurance; this supplments your income or welfare to bring it to 75% of what it was if you are unable to work or only able to work part time due to illness. There are no restrictions on the type or severity of the illness. As young non-smokers this will probably be cheaper than serious illness cover.

Andrew Duffy

Actually, another piece of information about life insurance is worth knowing - you are legally required to have a basic reducing balance life insurance policy to cover your mortgage if you die (unless you are 55 (?) or over when taking out the mortgage). You can buy more advance policies that don't reduce and continue after the lifetime of the mortgage - don't take one of these out as when the mortage is paid off the bank cancels the policy and getting back the extra benefits you have paid for will be very difficult. Considering the average mortgage lasts five years, it is better to open a basic policy for each mortage you take out, and buy a seperate life insurance policy if you would like an additional pay out for your spouse if you die.

LegacyUser

My life insurance is 36 euros a month, my mortgage protection is 29!

ninimac

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have another question......

Do insurance brokers charge for their services or do they work in the same way as mortgage brokers?