If you are in full time work and have monthly mortgage repayments to make then you probably worry what would happen if you were to come out of work if you suffered from an accident, illness or were to be made unemployed by being made redundant. One consideration you might have given some thought to is mortgage insurance, but unless you have shopped around with independent providers for the cover then you could have found it very expensive. Cheap mortgage insurance is out there if you look around and it can give you a replacement income to pay your mortgage payments, but you have to buy it independently from a specialist provider for the cheapest premiums.

An independent specialist provider will always find you the cheapest premiums for mortgage payment protection and will always give you access to the essential information you need to ensure that a policy is in your best interests. Specialists offer cheap mortgage insurance which begins to payout from the 31st day of being continually out of work and then continues to give you a tax free income for up to 12 months although some cover can last for up to 24 months with some providers but policies don't start to payout unless you have been out of work for up to 90 days.

Along with being expensive the cover is also know to be hard to understand and one of the failings has been the lack of information regarding the exclusions in a policy. All policies have them and some of the most common are if you are of retirement age, self-employed, if you are suffering from a pre-existing medical condition or if you only work part time. However while these are the most common there can be others and all policies will differ, exclusions are often hidden in the small print and it is essential you go over these with a fine tooth-comb before buying a policy.

Mortgage cover along with the rest of the family of protection policies have earned themselves a bad name when the Citizens Advice brought it to the public's attention that policies were being mis-sold. The Office of Fair Trading received the complaint in 2005 and the Financial Services Authority began an ongoing investigation which resulted in several well known high street names receiving fines with the latest being a mortgage firm.

Currently in the hands of the Competition Commission who are conducting an in-depth review of the sector which is expected to reach conclusion in February 2009 there has been changes for the better made already and in March 2008 a much needed change for the better will arise with the introduction of comparative charts.

Comparative charts will give the consumer a better understanding of the products and will help them to determine which is the most suitable for their needs by asking a series of questions which will then lead to the consumers best choice. The chart will highlight the cost of the insurance along with making the consumer aware of the exclusions within a policy, cheap mortgage insurance can help you to keep the roof over your head but you do have to buy it wisely if it is to work. Take the advice of a specialist not only to help you save money on mortgage cover but also to ensure that you understand a policy as this is your best option until the charts come into force.