As was pointed out in a report that appeared in the daily Telegraph newspaper on the 21st of April 2009, delays in the implementation of the government initiative could have contributed to up to 28,000 people having their homes repossessed during the five months since the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme was announced.

Even if the scheme had been up and running, however, it might have helped some homeowners to hold on to their homes, but only by allowing them to defer the interest payments on their mortgages for up to two years. In other words, the debt would still be there, needing to be repaid further down the line. The support scheme is financially limited.

There is no such limitation with mortgage protection insurance. With this form of protection is the mortgage repayments continue to be paid in full each month, without any accumulation of debt that needs repaying later. The repayments can be made without being deferred. Mortgage protection insurance also offers cover against a wider range of risks. It kicks into action also immediately that the policy holder experiences a loss of normal income from work, whether the reason is absence from work in order to recover from an accident or illness or because of redundancy.

In the event of any of these risks occurring and a claim being made, the policy holder simply needs to wait for a minimum “qualifying period”, which is typically between 30 and 90 days, depending on the particular policy chosen, before the insured benefits begin to be paid. These then continue to be paid every month that the policy holder remains incapacitated or unemployed, or for up to a typical maximum of 12 months, whichever is the shorter period. With well-established flexibility to cater for practically all needs and circumstances, the maximum payout period can even be extended to up to 24 months as an option under some policies, when an additional premium would then also need to be paid.

Mortgage protection insurance is also fully flexible in the size of the mortgages it can cover. The level of cover – which will naturally be allied to the amount of the mortgage repayments – is chosen by the policy holder at the outset and with the cost of the monthly premiums invariably based on the price per £100 of cover purchased. Since this can allow up to a typical maximum level of cover equivalent to 50% of the policy holder’s normally earned gross income, or £1,500 a month, whichever is less, most sized mortgages can be covered in full.

How does it work?

After you claim on a policy like this, you can expect a monthly sum towards your mortgage repayments either until the policy payout period stops or until you are earning for yourself again. This might sound like another form of credit, but with a mortgage protection insurance Scotland cover deal, the payments are simply an insurance payout, as with more common types of cover. You may have heard of this kind of cover before, or at least come across slightly different versions of it. It is a payment protection insurance (PPI) product, and falls into a category of policies which pay out towards loans for your general income in the event you lose your job through something which was no fault of your own.

After a successful claim, the money does not arrive immediately however. This is a general condition on most mortgage payment protection insurance policies, and almost acts like an excess on a very general insurance policy. However, you can normally choose how long the waiting period is before a first payout, and can normally selects 30 to 90 days. The policy holder will have to fend for themselves until this period expires, but the longer the waiting period is, the cheaper the premium might be.

So how much can someone expect to get with mortgage protection insurance Scotland cover? This can vary but insurers normally allow you to cover a proportion of your gross monthly earned income or a slice of what you normally spend on your mortgage repayments. Others impose a general cap, of say £1,500 per month. Importantly, many companies define that what you spend on your mortgage repayments is not just the repayment amount itself but also the interest. Depending on the company, they may also include things like council tax and home insurance in your related costs.

Also – for how long will this kind of cover payout? Again this depends on the provider and the insurance, and different payout periods may be available, but many payout for as long as 12 months or until you are back in work, whichever happens first. Payments do not go up or down over this period, and remain consistent throughout, meaning that you have a form of protection right the way through your payout period and time on the sidelines.

As mentioned above, this kind of insurance pays out if you lose your normal income through no fault of your own. The normal circumstances covered by this include ending up without an income due to long-term sickness, which has possibly left you out of action beyond your company sick pay scheme, involuntary redundancy, and being unable to work due to an injury suffered after an accident, again meaning you are laid up past your sick pay entitlement.

Common exclusions mean that you can’t claim if you accept an offer of redundancy or if you are off work sick for a long period due to something which is self-inflicted, such as drug or alcohol abuse. Pre-existing medical conditions are also not covered usually, and this can include anything which you are receiving treatment for, or have already been diagnosed with before you took out the insurance.

While you can control the cost of your premium by selecting a higher or lower limit of monthly payouts, and also choosing how long you wait before a first sum arrives following your claim, it’s also important to think about getting a policy from the right company. This kind of protection is available from high street banks and insurance companies, but these have been known to traditionally charge higher premiums. Some firms have been known to attach their own form of cover to mortgages, and these may in particular be best avoided. Instead there are plenty of independent protection specialists you can turn to for effective but well-priced protection.

Mortgage protection insurance in Scotland is a broad and varied market and many home owners will be able to get a deal which is cheap enough to stay well within their budget but which acts in the background, providing them with a valuable safety net if the worst were to happen and they lost their income unexpectedly.

The three payment covers serve similar purposes in that they pay benefits in the form of monthly income payments that replace your lost job income. However, their intentions are slightly different. Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) is about helping you keep your home by meeting your monthly mortgage repayment obligations. This is obviously very important to you. Loan payment cover helps with overall debt management by assisting you in meeting your various loan obligations. Income payment insurance is a general income solution that helps with meeting your ongoing financial needs when your regular income is lost.

A closer look at mortgage protection insurance benefits

The terms and conditions of the PPI products are very similar, but the make up of policies can be very different just based on a few key elements that are usually included. It is important to always consider these important issues before agreeing to purchase a plan from a provider. Among the elements included in payment cover, eligibility, length of benefits, starting point of benefits, and amount of cover are essential to understand.

To be eligible for benefits under the terms and conditions of a payment protection product, you must be employed on a full time basis for at least six months. This means that retired people and part time employees are not able to buy protection. Similarly, people with pre-existing medical conditions cannot get benefits from policies. This has not always stopped some financial institutions from attempting to sell payment cover to these ineligible consumers.

The typical length of benefits payouts is 12 months or 24 months. Again, you need to know how long your policies will payout so that you can plan your finances accordingly. When does the first benefit payment arrive? Some policies payout beginning just 30 days after the insured event occurs. This is ideal if you are on a tight monthly budget and do not have savings or other income sources that will continue. There are other policies that begin to pay benefits 60 days or 90 days after the covered event. For some people, waiting that long for the first benefit payment is not practical.

The amount of cover that you take out with your mortgage protection insurance or another payment insurance policy is always up to you as the insured. There are, however, maximum benefits under most policies. You can usually get protection up to 1500 Pounds or half of your normal monthly gross income, whichever is lower. Some people opt for less to save on premiums, but this is not advisable if you need as much income as possible when your regular paycheck is lost.

Levels of cover

You can buy a payment protection policy that covers each of the common events, involuntary redundancy or accident and illness, or you can buy each one separately. The most protection comes when you buy cover for each case. There are situations where it might make sense to save premiums by choosing just one.

Some people already have adequate health and disability protection through their employers to purchasing this on the open market might not be sensible. Others might need the accident and sickness cover but they decide not to buy redundancy protection. This is only a good idea if you have significant savings, other good income sources, or you are extremely confident you can quickly find new work when you are displaced.

Another add-on benefit that is often included at no extra charge by employers is carer cover. This extra protection pays the same monthly benefits if you have to leave work to care for a sick or injured loved one. For some insured people, this is the protection that might turn out to be the most important.

Finding the best mortgage protection insurance policy

The two typical providers of payment cover solutions are financial institutions and independent insurance specialists. Financial institutions are large banks that provide an array of financial products. Independent insurers specialize in the insurance market and are usually more knowledgeable, helpful and supportive.

For years, financial institutions controlled much of the market for payment protection insurance because they could. Consumers did not realize that bank premiums are very expensive. In fact, it can be up 10 to times more costly to buy loan payment cover plans at a financial institution than it would be at an independent provider. Mortgage protection insurance is around four times more. Income payment insurance is around five times more expensive.

Price is not the only issue to consider. Financial institutions have developed a spotty reputation by using pressure selling tactics and even mis-selling policies to those mentioned as ineligible to collect benefits. By bundling their insurance with loan products, banks would often double up their sales by pressuring new borrowers to take on their expensive cover as well.

In 2005, the Citizen’s Advice filed a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that brought to light the bundling of products and mis-selling. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) actually addressed the mis-selling as they were investigating the payment protection insurance sector around that time anyway. The FSA issued fines in 2007 against many leading high street companies that sold mortgage protection insurance and other payment covers. The OFT asked the Competition Commission to review the sector. It did, and made several recommendations already set to take effect which menas a more educated consumer with more choice and a fairer marketplace.

You would have to have been unemployed or incapacitated for a certain period of time which is set by the provider. Some providers will state that you have to have suffered one of the events for just 30 days. Others could ask you do not claim on your policy until at least the 60th or 90th days. Just as this differs so does how long the benefit might continue. With some providers you could get an income each month for up to the 12th month and others could offer 24 monthly payments of benefit before the policy ceases providing.

You do need to check in the small print of the mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) cover to find out what your provider offers as if the benefit continued over 24 months you do pay more for the premiums. A 12 month policy could be more time than you need to find work or recover and be able to go back to your own job so this would need weighing up against the fact that any policy would cease providing benefits once that term had been reached. Also bear in mind that 90 days could be a long time to wait before you can claim on the policy so you might want to take out cover that would pay out sooner rather than later.

Mortgage protection insurance can be taken out to cover either of the events if you wanted the security of being eligible to claim for either event. However you could choose just to take out protection in the form of redundancy insurance if you got a good sick pay plan. You might alternatively choose just to protect against incapacity if this suited your lifestyle more. Check with your chosen provider to find out if you would be able to claim an income if you were to have to give up full time work to remain at home to nurse a loved one back to health. Some generous providers will give you this added form of security but not all will.

Finally always check within the small print of any mortgage protection insurance policy you are thinking of taking out as there will be at least the most common exclusions. For instance you have to be working full time and you would have to be doing so for a period of at least 6 months at the time of applying for your protection. if you are self-employed and you are considering a policy then check suitability as generally a claim could only be made if you were to have to give up working altogether through no fault of your own.

Mortgage protection insurance is actually one of three products that form a portfolio of insurance solutions known as payment protection insurance. This portfolio of products is typically what is used for redundancy protection. Along with mortgage protection insurance, in Northern Ireland you can also get loan payment cover and income payment protection. While each product pays monthly benefits for covered events, they are unique. Mortgage cover is intended to help you make monthly mortgage repayments while you are out of work. Loan protection is useful in keeping up with monthly personal loan and credit card balances. Income payment cover is a bit broader and enables you to make bill payments and to buy groceries and other necessities.

More details on mortgage protection insurance in Northern Ireland

There are some common features of payment protection products that you should be familiar with in order to get a fair value on your cover. One is the payout period for benefits. Some policies pay benefits over the course of 12 months, while others payout over a 24 months period of time.

Another crucial issue is how long you have to wait to get the first benefit payment. The best-case scenario is to get a policy that would pay you benefits beginning at 30 days after the insured event. This helps prevent a gap between your last regular paycheck and the first benefit. Other plans don’t pay until 60 or 90 days after the event takes place.
The highest level of protection you can usually buy is the lesser of 1500 Pounds or half your regular gross monthly income. Some people opt to take on a lower amount to save premiums, but if you need maximum benefits, don’t be cheap on getting the right amount of cover.

To be eligible to get benefits under a payment cover you have to be employed full time for at least six months. Generally excluded from benefits are people that are employed part time, retired, or dealing with pre-existing medical conditions. Be aware that some financial institutions were fined in 2007 by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling policies to ineligible consumers. This practice has been largely impeded, but be aware.

Events protected by mortgage protection insurance in Northern Ireland

Along with redundancy, many providers offer a broader cover whereby you can include benefits for accidents or illnesses that keep you out of work for an extended time. While many people want full cover, others buy protection for just one type of event or the other. People that are protected at work for health issues may just buy unemployment benefits. Others that need illness and accident insurance save by not buying redundancy benefits. This is rare unless you have good savings and a good ability to quickly find new work.
Carer cover is a nice add-on that some providers include at no extra charge. This protection pays you the monthly income benefits if you have to leave work to care for the health of a sick or injured family member.

Shopping wisely for mortgage protection insurance in Northern Ireland

As noted, financial institutions have had some issues recently that have surfaced regarding selling practices. Along with mis-selling of policies, large banks have routinely packaged insurance with loans in the past, thus pressuring consumers to buy protection with their loans. This created an unfair environment for consumers to get the best deal. In response to a Citizen’s Advice super complaint in 2005, the Office of Fair Trading asked the Competition Commission to review the payment cover environment. It did, and made several recommendations, including a suggested 7 day ban on the sale of payment protection to a new loan customer.

With the new freedom to shop, more consumers buying mortgage protection insurance in Northern Ireland are finding better deals. You can usually get mortgage cover for four times less expense through an independent insurance provider. Income payment cover is often five times cheaper. Loan protection can be as much as ten times less expensive through a standalone company.

For a relatively modest outlay, insurance gives the policyholder several benefits:

• Mortgage payments and related costs, like buildings insurance and endowments, are covered for up to 12-24 months.
• Credit ratings are kept ‘clean’ as no loan payments are missed
• Insurance buys time for the policyholder to find a new job

Most mortgage protection policies also offer cover for accidents or illness that prevent the policyholder working

Mortgage protection is insurance, and it comes with exclusions and conditions that anyone making an application must understand before signing on the dotted line.

Policies will not pay out if the policyholder:

• Had foreknowledge of pending redundancy or sickness
• Takes voluntary redundancy or loses their job through dishonesty or misconduct
• Suffers from a serious medical condition prior to application
• Suffers from some mild stress or back problems

Mortgage payment insurance is designed for people that work for more than 16 hours a week as an employee. If you are self-employed, contract, casual or temporary worker, some policies may not fully cover you, especially for redundancy.

Banks and building societies generally offer their own insurance when homeowners take out a loan. Remember this type of insurance is optional and you do not have to accept their product.

Mortgage holders are free to shop around and may often find insurance offered by a broker or specialist company suits their needs better.

If you already have a mortgage but no insurance, there is no reason why you cannot start a policy now – providing you are in work and meet the other qualifying factors.

The alternative to mortgage payment protection insurance is relying on negotiating with your lender and handouts from the government’s benefits scheme. Both of these involve paying interest only on your mortgage until you get back on financial track.
Mortgage protection also covers repaying the money you owe as well as the interest on your loan. Payments should kick in earlier than any other scheme to make sure your credit record remains clear of missed payments that may affect any future application for credit.

Don’t forget mortgage protection insurance also covers your loan repayments if you suffer an accident or fall ill and are unable to work. Applying for cover is not affected by your health even if you smoke or drink heavily providing you declare any pre-existing conditions to your insurer.

Mortgage payment protection insurance works on the basis of giving you a regular monthly payment to help cover your mortgage in the event you have lost your income for reasons beyond your control. This can continue for a period of 12-24 months (variable by insurance provider and policy) and can make the difference between you keeping or losing your home to repossession.

How? Although the government does have provisions to help people who lose income and are unable to pay their mortgage, this is in fact fairly limited. Firstly, it only becomes available 13 weeks after the loss of income – by which time substantial arrears may have accrued on the mortgage account. Secondly, it only covers interest payments and does not pay off any of the capital loan. Thirdly, it may not be applicable to those who have savings amounts above a certain level.

Although some mortgage lenders may be sympathetic for a period, others may adopt a rather more rapid move to repossession activities. Having mortgage protection insurance in place can give significant peace of mind.

Mortgage protection insurance policies do have their own terms and conditions. They may be more difficult to find (or more expensive) for those who are not in full-time employment or with a fragmented and unverifiable employment history. In addition, they will only cover involuntary loss of income and not circumstances such as resignations, voluntary redundancy, pregnancy, career breaks, study leave or some forms of dismissals.

These mortgage protection insurance policies can be purchased from the mortgage provider and in the past such companies often tried to sell this insurance as part of the mortgage application process. In 2009 this practice will cease and mortgage lenders will need to wait until 7 days after loan approval before offering these policies to customers. This is good news because their policies are frequently several times more expensive than those available from direct insurance providers in the open marketplace, so that 7 days will allow a slightly more leisurely opportunity to find cheaper cover.

The mortgage protection insurance sold by the standalone providers over the Internet could be well worth checking out if you are looking for tranquillity of mind and at an affordable price.

The other two products that make up the payment protection insurance (PPI) umbrella are income payment protection and loan payment protection. The idea behind the three solutions is very similar. They all pay the monthly benefit during unemployment for a covered event. However, their intents are somewhat unique. Mortgage protection insurance is intended is your home’s safety net. It enables you to keep up with your monthly mortgage repayment demands. Loan payment cover is a debt management solution. Its use to meet monthly loan obligations helps to keep your credit rating in good shape. Income payment insurance is a basic monthly income replacement that helps you to manage financial needs during your lost income from work.

An overview of mortgage protection insurance

There are some major elements of the typical payment cover that you must consider in selecting the most appropriate product to fit your needs. By working with an independent specialist, you will find the plan that most suits your needs. How long do you need cover? The first issue you need to address is whether to focus on a 12 month or 24 month long insurance plan. Most providers have opportunities for either length of payouts.

You also need to consider the timing of benefits payments. Many providers have policies that begin payouts just 30 days after the insured event occurs. There are also plans that begin payments 60 days or 90 days after the covered event. If you have a good severance package or other funds, you might be able to accept a policy that begins payouts after two or three months. However, for those that are on a monthly budget, a policy under which benefits payments start 30 days after claim might be necessary. This helps you avoid a gap between your last regular check and the first benefits payment.

Know the maximum cover amount to when you plan. Most policies allow you to secure up to 1500 Pounds or half of your normal monthly gross income, whichever is lower. The benefits are tax free so your take home is more useable. The idea is to sustain you throughout the displacement. If you have other sources of funds, you might opt to save on premiums by going with a smaller amount of protection.

Are you even eligible? If you have been employed in a full time position for at least six months, you should be able to collect benefits under the terms of your payment cover. Retired people, part time employees, and people with pre-existing medical conditions are not eligible. This has not prevented some unscrupulous financial institutions from selling these people plans in the past – so be cautious!

Levels of mortgage protection insurance

Generally, you can cover involuntary redundancy, accident and illness, or both. A broad policy protection covers against all three events that could keep you out of work for a while. You might also opt to take out a policy that just covers one or the other. Some people want just the redundancy cover because they have adequate accident and sickness protection through their employer.

Other people choose to protection against just the accident and illness events for one reason or the other. This usually only makes sense if you expect a sizeable severance package, you have strong savings to back you up when displaced, or you are very confident you can quickly find work again. Otherwise, the safest approach is to secure against this event.

An add-on benefit that some providers offer free of charge with their payment cover policies is carer cover. This is a unique protection that pays the replacement benefits in the event you must leave work to care for a sick or injured family member. This is a nice cover to have that allows you to focus on your loved one in this situation.

Getting the best deal on mortgage cover

The best deal in mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) is generally to be found through an independent insurance specialist. This is something that many in the consumer market are just starting to realize. Financial institutions that sell overpriced premiums long dominated the marketplace be pressuring customers into taking on their insurance with loans, or even deceiving them. Many unknowing consumers felt obligation to by mortgage protection or loan cover from their lender. Other times, the bank just added the cover into the repayment of the loan, thus hiding its true expense.

After a 2005 super complaint by leading consumer advocate group, Citizen’s Advice, the marketplace took on a new persona. At the same time, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was investigating the payment cover sector. The FSA ended its investigation in 2007 by fining several companies it found guilty of mis-selling of policies to people that are not eligible to collect benefits. The Citizen’s Advice complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was subsequently passed along to the Competition Commission. The Commission has since issued several recommendations for industry improvements, including the placement of a seven day waiting period on lenders who want to sell payment protection to new borrowers. This allows the customer to look for a better deal in the market.

Independent specialists have more knowledge and offer better support than their counterparts. They also offer loan payment protection that is 10 times less expensive. Mortgage protection insurance is four times cheaper. Income payment protection is about five times less expensive through a standalone provider. These discounts make the overall value of a good payment protection policy much greater when combined with the advantages of a knowledgeable insurer.

To take your mortgage protection insurance you first have to work out how much of your repayment you want to cover. This amount would have to be pre-agreed by the provider as it is the income that you get back each month for up to the term of the policy if needed. You would need to wait for so many days before being eligible to claim on your mortgage policy and this would generally be within a period of between the 30th and up to the 90th days. Your provider could offer to date back the policy to the first day of your unemployment so check in the small print. Also find out before you take out the policy how long your provider would pay out your income. Usually providers will offer benefit payable over 12 or 24 months. You would get your income for up to this time if needed and then the policy would cease.

You would also have to decide on what events you wanted to cover your mortgage repayments for. You could protect against redundancy and incapacity together in the same policy and have security of being able to claim if you became a victim to either event. You might also choose just to protect against the possibility that you might suffer incapacity alone, or you could choose just to take out a policy against redundancy alone should this suit your needs more. Your provider could also include carer cover in your protection. If they do then you would be able to claim on your policy to take care of a family member if they were the one to become a victim to incapacity.

With mortgage protection insurance behind you there would be the sum of money you chose to protect coming into the home and this could be used towards you servicing your mortgage repayments each month which would greatly ease any worries regarding mortgage arrears. These should be avoided at all cost as if you find that you are unable to repay what you have fallen behind on within a certain amount of time you could be at risk of losing your home to the lender. Even the most lenient of mortgage lenders will only give you so much time to catch up on your arrears so any amount of arrears are a potential risk.

The policy can be taken when you take out the mortgage with the lender on the high street. However if you do have the protection added into the mortgage, you could be adding on a great deal more money than you need. Many individuals do not realise they can shop around and compare the cost of protection with standalone providers. However changes are in the pipeline and one of them is that the consumer has to be told that they can choose to shop around. Another change is a ban on selling cover alongside other products and instead the lender has to wait a period of 14 days before asking the individual if they want protection. Of course the individual can choose to take a policy at anytime they want. Independent providers can save you a great deal of money which could be as much as 40% in some cases. Along with savings you money you are also able to get a vast amount of information regarding mortgage insurance which is essential as policies are often filled with technical jargon which the majority of individuals find it hard to decipher into plain English.

You can choose the amount you want to protect against unemployment or incapacity when taking out a mortgage protection insurance UK policy with an independent provider. All providers will set a maximum amount which you are able to insure, with the provider agreeing to the amount you protect. The sum you choose to insure is the amount that you could claim back each month if you were to become a victim to one of the events and the income would be paid tax free for the term of the policy. You would have to wait for a period of time before making a claim on the cover and this would differ between providers, so have to be checked when taking out your policy. Some providers will allow you to make a claim once you have been unable to work or have been unemployed for a period of 30 days; with others it could be as long as 90 days. Providers will usually offer cover that would continue supplying an income for either a period of 12 months or 24 months, after this the policy would cease regardless of whether you had found work or recovered and go back to work.

The income from your policy would provide you with a substantial sum towards being able to continue servicing the monthly repayments of your mortgage. Mortgage arrears are a nightmare to the homeowner as without being able to come to an agreement with your mortgage lender to catch up on what you owe, you can lose your home.

If you were to miss just one monthly repayment of your mortgage the lender would send out a reminder that you have missed a payment. Even if you can manage to catch up on the late repayment for that month you would have already affected your credit file. A good credit file is needed in order to be able to borrow again in the future and if yours has taken a downward slide due to missed payments you could find obtaining any kind of credit almost impossible. If you cannot find the money to catch up you and continue to miss payments the lender will usually ask you to make an appointment with them to come to an agreement. If this is not possible then court would be the next step and repossession could be just around the corner. By paying a small monthly premium for a mortgage protection UK policy you could stop any of this from occurring.

The premiums for a mortgage protection UK policy will vary depending on the provider. Some providers will allow you to tailor the policy to suit your needs. While you can cover accident sickness and redundancy together you might not need to cover all three eventualities. You could just need to protect your repayments against the possibility of being unable to work due to accident or sickness. You might also need just to cover your mortgage repayments due to the threat of redundancy. The type of mortgage payment protection you choose to take would go towards the cost of the premiums as would age and the amount you decided to protect of your monthly repayments. If you chose to take out an age based policy then the younger you are when applying the bigger savings you could make.

A mortgage protection insurance UK policy is by no means a magic wand if you are faced with unemployment or incapacity. However it could make your life and that of your family a whole lot easier if you did have a policy behind you to fall back onto during this time. Without cover you might have to make a great deal of changes to your lifestyle which could make life hard on everyone. You could also consider another type of payment protection policy that might provide enough income for you to be able to continue servicing the repayments of your mortgage. Income payment protection allows you to insure so much of your monthly income and this would be the sum that is given back each month if you become incapacitated or unemployed. However income payment protection allows you more freedom as you would be able to spend the money you received back from the policy in anyway you wished. You would be able to decide what payments need maintaining out of the sum of money you received as your income each month. While this type of payment protection is not solely aimed at protecting the repayments of your mortgage, it could do. Whichever type of payment protection you do decide to take out you would have to check the small print as exclusions do need checking against your circumstances. Some providers could include a lot of exclusions, while with others it is just the most common. Checking these is imperative as it is the only way for you to be sure that a mortgage protection UK policy would be suitable.