Mortgage life insurance is one of the most important life insurance policies a person who owns a home can buy. Since the ownership of this home is probably the largest investment for most people it is imperative that your investment be protected in the event of premature death. I want to take some time to discuss alternative plans that can be used to do this.
Mortgage Life Insurance
What really is mortgage life insurance. Mortgage life insurance pays off the balance owed to the bank or mortgage company in case of your premature death. Let us assume you have a $100,000 25 year mortgage on your house. Let us also assume that after 5 years you have a balance owed of $95,000. Incidentally that figure is not as impractical as it sounds. Your principal decreases very slowly in the early years. Back to our discussion; You now believe you should take out some mortgage life insurance because you now have a new baby. What you need is a 20 year decreasing term policy which would usually be sufficient if you should die anywhere within the mortgage period. That is what mortgage life insurance is all about.
Some people add the waiver of premium benefit in case they should become disabled for at least 6 months the life insurance company will pay the premium for them. As an alternative to the decreasing term policy some policy owners use a 20 year term policy. If that person should die when there is only $50,000 owed for example, they have a little extra to put in the pockets of the beneficiary. $50,000 to the bank and the other $50,000 to the beneficiary. There is another alternative if you have some cash to play with.
Mortgage Redemption And Cancellation Insurance
Here is how this works. Let us use the above situation as an example. You are at the 5 year point just like in the mortgage life insurance example. What you do is buy a whole life or variable life insurance policy for $95,000, which is the amount owed on the mortgage. You are putting out a lot more premium but if this works right you will be happy about your decision. If you die before the mortgage is paid off the insurance policy will pay it off. Remember your whole life or variable life policy accumulates cash value. There are no guarantees, but at some time between the 5 year point and the 25 year point the cash value of your policy will be equal to the amount owed on the mortgage. You can cash out the policy or take a loan on it and pay off the balance of the mortgage. You would have redeemed your mortgage. You now own your house free and clear. Now is that not a great idea?
Decreasing Mortgage Life Insurance
Decreasing term mortgage life insurance pays your loved ones a lump sum if you die during the set term of the cover. The amount they are paid is contingent upon the term of the mortgage life insurance, which decreases just about in line with the amount that remains on your mortgage. By the end of the mortgage life insurance plan, the lump sum will be down to zero.
Decreasing term mortgage life insurance covers you for a set term. It will pay your dependents a lump sum if you die during that term. How much your dependents are paid will depend on the term of the mortgage life insurance, which decreases roughly in line with the amount outstanding on your mortgage. The lump sum decreases during the period of the term by the end of the plan, it is down to zero.
The cost of mortgage life insurance is dependant on the amount of cover, your age, sex, term of cover and if you smoke or not. A non-smoker is usually defined as someone who has not smoked for at least twelve months. This kind of mortgage life insurance is not great for investment purposes, as there is no maturity value payable at the end of the plan.
Although the mortgage life insurance cover reduces, your monthly premiums will stay the same throughout the policy. With some mortgage life insurance policies, you can have additional options, such as critical-illness cover. Adding critical-illness cover will mean the plan pays out if you get a qualifying critical illness or if you die during the term of the policy.
Decreasing Mortgage Life Insurance Pros and Cons
Decreasing mortgage life insurance is great if you are keen to leave a cash sum to your loved ones to help pay off your mortgage after you have died. Mortgage life insurance is cheaper than a level term insurance policy, which pays the same benefit regardless of when you die durring the term of the plan.
Weighing against decreasing mortgage life insurance is the fact that the policy pays out only if you die or are diagnosed with a qualifying critical illness (if you have critical-illness cover). The policy will also have no maturity value if you live beyond the plan.
Mortgage protection
Mortgage protection is an important part of your mortgage needs. Your mortgage is a big financial commitment, so protection is very important. It is alwats important to budget for mortgage protection as it is easy to ignore these payments when looking at your monthly mortgage costs.
When financial advisors talk about a fully protected mortgage, they mean protecting your mortgage against every eventuality. The areas of mortgage protection are death; redundancy; critical ilness, and long -term sickness.
Mortgage protection pros and cons
Mortgage protection is not compulsory. Mortgage protection might seem a depressing thing to think about. However, you could become ill and be without your income at any time. This is why mortgage protection is so vital. It's a financial safety net and, now more than ever, protecting your mortgage is vital.
Mortgage protection is good because it need not cost the earth, your premium is based on the level of cover you need, how old you are and the size of your mortgage repayments. It's also a way of protecting your savings if you fall ill and can't pay your mortgage, you'll soon eat into your savings. However if you have no earned income and are on state benefits, mortgage protection insurance will not be right for you.
Both Donald Lusan & Mark Walpole are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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