So What Are the Options?

There are many things to consider and that’s why it is important that your Financial Adviser completes a full Fact find and then makes a recommendation with the options that are most suitable to you. The details that follow here are really just a basic summary of the options available and not a substitute for Financial Advice.

Serious Illness Cover

This is perhaps the most popular extra benefit that can be added to your basic Mortgage Protection Policy. Statistics show that you are 3 times more likely to suffer a serious illness before the age of 60 than you are to die. For this reason this can be a very valuable benefit to add to your Policy. As this cover is optional it is up to you how much cover you would like to put in place. You could cover the full mortgage balance or if that’s too expensive for your budget then you can consider covering half or less of the mortgage balance. There are many things that are covered by a serious illness policy however the majority of claims are for things like Cancer, Heart Attack and Multiple Sclerosis.

Convertible Option

The standard term for a mortgage is 25 to 30 years. This is a long time and your life can change during the life of your mortgage. If you add a convertible option to your policy then you will be able to convert your mortgage protection into a new policy, without the need for any medical evidence. This can be useful if you need to move house or top up your mortgage to do home improvements in the future. To get a new mortgage or top up you will need a new life policy. As you get older it can be harder to get life assurance at an affordable price. With a convertible option this will not be an issue should you need to make changes.

Hospital Cash Cover

With the cost of VHI and Healthcare increasing all the time this option can be a cost effective alternative to Health Insurance. If you take this option then you receive a cash payment for every day that you spend in hospital. For example you could choose to receive 100 euro for every day you are in hospital.

Accident Cover

Accidents can and do happen and so this cover can provide the peace of mind that at least you will have some money coming in. This cover provides you with a weekly income should you be of work due to an accident. You could for example cover yourself so that the policy would pay you a weekly income of 400 euro for every week you are off work due to an accident.

As I said earlier this is just a very basic summary of the options available to you when taking out a new Mortgage Protection policy. For a full assessment of your options it really is best to speak to a Financial Adviser. An Independent Financial Adviser will be able to help you make the right choice and can also shop around to make sure you get the most competitive premium.

Do you have any questions on Mortgage Protection or Life Assurance? Please feel free to use the comments below.

I would like to let you know about a great offer from Irish Life that I think you’ll be really interested in. They are offering to give you a head start with your family cover, by giving each parent 25,000 life cover for a year, absolutely FREE!

Key benefits of this fantastic offer:

• 25,000 FREE life cover for each parent for 12 months.
• Available to parents whose youngest child is aged 13 or younger.
• Offer is completely FREE.
• We’ll confirm you’re protected and you’ll be on cover instantly!

Hurry – offer available to first 20,000 parents who apply!

This fantastic offer won’t last – when it’s gone, it’s gone. So,Click here to apply now, sign up for updates on our latest products and services and we’ll confirm your 25,000 life cover instantly.

Don’t forget your friends and family can apply too. So please feel free to let them know about this offer if you think they may be interested.

Remember, the offer is limited and I expect it to be filled quickly, so make sure you apply for your free life cover!

Click here to apply now and I’ll be in touch shortly.

Please give us a call or use the comments below if you have any questions on this limited offer.

THIS OFFER IS NOW CLOSED BUT YOU CAN STILL AVAIL OF A FREE PROTECTION REVIEW BY CALLING MORTGAGELINE ON 01 707 9880 OR APPLYING ONLINE VIA OUR CONTACT US PAGE.

The joys of parenthood far out-way the negatives. However one thing is for sure, you will need to start planning ahead to make sure that parenthood does not turn into a financial nightmare.

Tip 1 – Learn to Budget

Making a budget and sticking to it is important for everyone but especially for parents. Before you had kids your money was your own and living month to month without planning ahead was, perhaps, ok. However once you have kids you really need to be responsible with your money. No matter how much or how little money you have its important to plan and a good budget will help you do this.

There are plenty of simple excel spreadsheets online that will help you get everything down in black and white. It is best to keep your budget as simple as possible. No need to make projections for the next 10 years. A simple monthly or weekly household budget will do. I get paid monthly and so like to plan for the month ahead but budgeting weekly is also OK.

First you need to record all of your monthly income. Wages, child benefit, rental income, ect. Then you need to record all of your outgoings. Recording your outgoings can be a little bit more difficult than recording your income. You need to have a look over your bank and credit card statements for the last 12 months and get everthing down on paper.

I like this simple excel spread sheet (Household Budget Template) which helps me to confirm my figures for last month and also make projected figures for the month ahead.However it really does not matter how you do it. A pen and paper will do, just make sure you do it and you will get better at it as time goes by.

Once you can see everything in black and white then you should be able to see where you are spending too much and perhaps cut back if you need to. You can also use your budget to plan ahead and save for things you enjoy. It does not have to be all about cutting back.

Tip 2 – Establish an Emergency Fund

Saving up an emergency fund can be difficult but it is important none the less. A growing family increases the chances of an emergency happening and so it is important to have something set aside. You should aim to have at least 3 to 6 months salary set aside for your emergency fund.

Make sure it is put away in an instant access savings account. There is no point socking it away in a 6 months notice account to get a higher savings rate as it will not be readily accessible when you need it. Once you have an emergency fund you are happy with then and only then should you start looking at getting a better return for any savings you have over and above your emergency fund.

As well as providing peace of mind an emergency fund can also save you money too. For example you can make big saving on your Home Insurance if you choose a higher than normal excess on your policy. The excess on an insurance policy is the amount that you pay out of your own pocket. So for example if you have an excess of €1,000 then you pay the first €1,000 of any claim and your insurance company pays the balance. The higher your excess the lower your premium. If you have an emergency fund then a higher excess is an option for you and thus a chance to save money on your insurance premiums.

Tip 3 – Get Some Life Assurance

Having an emergency fund is great, however it is not going to provide an ongoing income for your family should the worst happen. Life Assurance is essential if you have a young family that depends on your income. Recent studies suggest that your children will be dependant on your income until they are 25, possibly longer! Your income is your families most important assett and so it is really important that you protect it.

You can get expensive policies with lots of bells and whistles that will cost you an arm and a leg however a basic life assurance policy can start from as little as €15 per month. It is important to balance what you need with what you can afford.

There are many different types of cover to choose from, Term Cover, Decreasing Term Cover, Whole of life, Serious Illness Cover, Income Protection. It can all be a bit confusing so it is important to seek advice if you are not sure what cover is right for you. It is a good idea to meet with a Qualified Financial Adviser (QFA) to work out what you need and go through your options.

When all is said and done, family is more important than anything else life might throw at you and so it is vital to make sure you plan ahead as much as possible to protect your families future.

Please use the box below if you have any questions or comments.

An Irish couple with a home loan can save up to €7,000 over the life of their mortgage by switching to another provider, the National Consumer Agency said.

Mortgage protection is an insurance policy taken out by home buyers to cover the mortgage payments if one, or both of the them, dies.

Now a new study by the National Consumer Agency has indicated that many Irish people may be paying too much for their cover.

The fact that people are living longer combined with huge competition between insurers means that the cost of this cover has fallen dramatically. This means that many boom buyers may be paying way over the odds for cover they took out during the property bubble.

The difference between the most expensive and cheapest policy worked out at €6,841 for one couple, over the 35-year mortgage lifespan.

Canada Life was the most expensive, with Zurich the cheapest, in this case. Article by Charlie Weston in todays Irish Independent.

Are You Paying Too Much for Mortgage Protection? Call MortgageLine today on 01 707 9880 or apply online for a Free Quote

Do you have any questions about Mortgage Protection or Life Insurance?? Please use the comments below.

Have a look at their video below and let me know what you think about their conclusions.