Mortgage payment protection insurance is a product that ensures that should you lose your income if you should be out of work after suffering from an accident, illness or if you should become unemployed by such as redundancy, it will be replaced.

The cover is purchased for a premium each month which is based on your age at the time of taking out the policy and the amount of your mortgage that you wish to insure each month, the premiums will then give you an income once you have unable to work for a pre-defined period of time which can be anything between the 31st and the 90th day after the event. Once the cover starts, then it would run for up to 12 months with the majority of policies although some policies cover you for up to 24 months so you have to read the small print of the policy at the time of taking it out.

The small print is also where you would find the exclusions and these are what can stop you from making a claim on the policy, common exclusions include being of retirement age, self-employed, if you suffer from a pre-existing medical condition or are only working part time. Knowing the exclusions in a policy is essential before you buy but if you take the cover that is offered at the time of taking out your mortgage with the high street lender then very little information is given to you which can make deciding if a policy is suitable very hard.

The high street lender also offers the highest premiums for the cover for the quote when compared with the standalone provider. The standalone specialist provider who offers mortgage protection can help you to save hundreds of pounds over the term of the mortgage along with giving you the essential advice you need, all standalone providers are ethical and will give you the facts and list the exclusions in plain English which means that you know before you buy if a product is suitable for your needs.

It is a lack of information regarding the exclusions in a policy which causes the majority of mis-selling of payment protection and this was highlighted by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) during the investigation which began in 2005. The Citizens Advice made a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading and following this the FSA handed out fines to several major high street names who were selling policies to those who were retired and self-employed and so couldn't claim against them. The sector is currently in the hands of the Competition Commission who are currently a comprehensive review of the sector which is expected to reach its conclusion in February 2009. And while changes for the better have arose as a result of the interview many more still need to occur as the recent review revealed that many firms are still not giving adequate information at the time of selling.

Mortgage payment protection can help to save the roof over your head but you do have to make sure that you know what you are buying before you buy and make sure that mortgage protection is suitable for your needs.