Protect the Home Your Family Depends On
Your mortgage may be one of your family's largest financial obligations. The right protection plan can help your family keep the mortgage paid when death, disability or serious illness interrupts life.
What is Mortgage Protection Life Insurance?
Mortgage Protection uses life insurance—and sometimes disability insurance— to help protect your mortgage and your family's needs. You own the policy and choose the beneficiary—not the mortgage company. When you die or become seriously sick or injured, the benefit is paid directly to you or your family.
When you die, your family then decides what makes the most sense. They can pay off the mortgage, reduce the balance, continue making payments, or use the money where they need it most. When you're too sick to work the benefits are paid directly to you so you can decide how to use them best.
┃It's About Protecting Your Family, Not the Loan
Your mortgage balance or its monthly payment is a starting point, but it doesn't automatically determine how much coverage you need or how long you need it. The better question is: How much money would your family need to comfortably stay in their home when you're no longer there, or simply unable to help make the payment?
A Mortgage Can Become a Problem Before You Die
Life insurance protects your family when you die, but death isn't the only event that can make a mortgage payment difficult. A serious illness or disability can interrupt your income while the mortgage payment keeps coming every month.
Living Benefits
Many of the term policies I use include living benefits that may allow you to access money from your life insurance while you're still alive. For example, a qualifying diagnosis such as cancer, heart attack, stroke or major organ failure could give you access to money when you and your family may need it most.
Living benefits may also help after a serious illness or injury leaves you unable to do basic things on your own, such as bathing, dressing or using the bathroom. That money can give you and your family more options at a time when your income, expenses and ability to make the mortgage payment may have suddenly changed.
Disability Protection
A serious illness or injury doesn't have to be life-threatening to create a financial problem. Your mortgage payment and the rest of your monthly bills don't stop just because you're too sick or injured to earn a paycheck.
Depending on your circumstances, disability insurance can provide monthly cash to cover your bills while you focus on getting better and getting back to the life you know.
That money can help you continue making the mortgage payment and give your family time to adjust without immediately having to sell the home, drain savings or tap into your retirement accounts.
A good mortgage protection plan isn't about adding every benefit available. It's about choosing the coverage that fits your family, your budget and what you're trying to protect.
Start With What You Actually Need
Finding the right coverage starts with a conversation—not a quote. Our simple three-step approach helps us find what makes sense for you.
Understand
Get to know you, what you're trying to protect and what you already have in place. Then see whether your current plan matches what you actually need.
Evaluate
Understand your health and lifestyle so we know what coverage you can realistically qualify for. Then narrow down the companies and options that make sense.
Compare & Fit
Shop the options and compare rates, coverage and benefits. Then build a plan that fits your needs and your budget.
$73.01
Per Month Combined
$425,000 each
30-year price guarantee
No medical exam required
A Second Look Saved This Couple More Than $125 Per Month
A 34-year-old husband and his 31-year-old wife recently purchased mortgage protection from another agent. They each had approximately $425,000 of coverage with a 30-year price guarantee, but together they were going to pay more than $200 per month.
When we spoke, I didn't assume there was anything wrong with the coverage they had purchased. We simply went through the same process you see above—understand what they needed, look at what they could qualify for and compare their options.
Both qualified for accelerated underwriting with no medical exam. We were able to put $425,000 of 30-year term coverage in place for each of them, including the living benefits we discussed above. One of their policies also provided additional member benefits for their family. Her premium was $36.01 per month and his was $37.00—$73.01 combined.
That's more than $125 per month they can keep in their family's budget while still protecting the home.
Rates and eligibility are based on individual circumstances and underwriting. This client's results aren't a guarantee of what someone else will qualify for.
Your Health Helps Determine Where We Shop—Not Whether We Start
Life insurance companies don't all look at your health, medications and lifestyle the same way. That's why understanding your health comes before deciding where we apply.
┃No Exam May Be Needed
Many people can qualify without a medical exam, depending on their age, health and the amount of coverage they need.
┃Sometimes an Exam Makes Sense
For certain applicants or larger amounts of coverage, full underwriting may give us access to better options or pricing.
┃When Health Makes It More Difficult
Past health problems don't automatically mean you're out of options. Simplified and guaranteed-issue coverage can sometimes provide another path when traditional coverage isn't a good fit.
The goal isn't simply to find a company that will say yes. It's to find the best coverage you can reasonably qualify for.
Questions Homeowners Ask About Mortgage Protection
You don't need to become an insurance expert to make a good decision. Here are straightforward answers to some of the questions homeowners ask most often.
Is mortgage protection life insurance required by my lender or the same as PMI?
No. Mortgage protection life insurance is voluntary and is not the same as PMI or MIP.
Your lender may require homeowners insurance or mortgage insurance such as PMI or MIP, depending on your loan. Those protect the property or lender and are different from the life insurance we're discussing here.
Mortgage protection life insurance is coverage you choose to help protect your family and their ability to stay in the home.
How much does mortgage protection life insurance cost?
There isn't one set price.
Your cost depends on things like your age, health, tobacco use, coverage amount and how long you want the price guaranteed. Two people looking for the same amount of coverage can have very different rates, and insurance companies may price the same person differently.
That's why I don't start with a quote. Once I understand what you need and what you may qualify for, I can compare options and help you find coverage that fits your family and your budget.
Do I need enough life insurance to pay off my entire mortgage?
No. Your mortgage balance is a starting point, not a rule.
For some families, paying off the mortgage makes perfect sense. For others, reducing the balance or providing enough money to make the payments for several months or years may be a better fit.
We'll look at what your family would actually need, what you already have and what comfortably fits your budget before deciding on an amount.
Can I use life insurance I already have for mortgage protection?
Yes. You may already have some or all of the coverage you need.
An existing personal life insurance policy can provide money your beneficiary could use toward the mortgage. The real question is whether the amount, how long it lasts and the benefits still match what you're trying to protect.
I'll start by looking at what you already have. When it works, we can build around it rather than automatically replacing it or adding another policy.
Is life insurance through work enough to protect my mortgage?
Sometimes it helps, but I wouldn't assume it's enough.
Employer life insurance can be a valuable part of your protection, but the amount may be limited and you may not be able to keep the same coverage if you change jobs, retire or lose eligibility.
We'll count coverage through work when we look at your current situation, then determine whether there is a gap worth protecting with coverage you control.
Do I need a medical exam for mortgage protection life insurance?
Not always. Many people can qualify without one.
Depending on your age, health and the amount of coverage you're applying for, an insurance company may be able to make a decision using your application and other available health information. In other situations, an exam or additional medical information may be required.
I look at the underwriting options first so we can decide whether no-exam coverage or full underwriting makes the most sense for you.
Can I get mortgage protection life insurance with health problems?
Often, yes. A health condition doesn't automatically mean you can't get coverage.
Insurance companies evaluate medical histories differently. Depending on the condition, treatment, medications, age and other factors, you may still qualify for traditional coverage—or we may need to look at simplified or guaranteed-issue options.
This is one of the reasons I want to understand your health before submitting an application. Where we apply can matter just as much as what we apply for.
What happens to my mortgage protection life insurance if I refinance, pay off my mortgage or move?
In most cases, you can keep your life insurance even when your mortgage changes.
The coverage we're discussing is life insurance you own, so refinancing, selling your home or paying off the mortgage doesn't automatically end the policy. As long as the policy remains in force, the coverage can continue.
When your mortgage changes, it's a good time to review your coverage and make sure it still fits what you and your family need.
Kevin Woolley
Founder | Woolley & Woolley Insurance Group
Ready to Start the Conversation?
Whether you already have life insurance or you're starting from scratch, we'll begin by looking at what you're trying to protect, what you already have and what makes sense for your budget. There's no pressure to buy anything—we'll simply start with a conversation.