Being able to maintain your mortgage commitment at all times no matter what happens is essential unless you want to give up your home to the lender through repossession. If you were forced to leave work after suffering an illness, accident or unemployment in an ideal world the lender would have total sympathy. They would send you a get well card, flowers and tell you not to worry. However we live in the real world, and the reality is no lender is going to do this, however patient and helpful they might be. The hard truth is that a couple of missed repayments could very well mean the lender would seek a repossession order. Following this would come the court hearing and if the judge rules against you, you could only be around 28 days away from eviction. The way you could avoid this scenario is to take out mortgage protection insurance.

Mortgage protection can be your saviour if you find yourself without an income following an accident that meant you were unable to work. It would also apply if you should become sick and have to take time off from work to recuperate. Unemployment would also be covered, providing that it was brought about through reasons not of your own making. It wouldn't pay out if you simply gave up your job for example. Mortgage protection insurance would be the closest thing to a "fairy godmother" at this time.

With a policy behind you there would be no struggle each month and no juggling other bills in the hope that you could gather enough money together. Having to do this each month you remained out of work, especially if this was for any length of time would cause stress beyond belief. At this time all you need to be thinking of is recovering or finding work again.

You do have to shop around for the cheapest premiums when considering a policy. Some providers, usually high street banks, charge sky high premiums, which makes protecting your mortgage very expensive. Others give far cheaper quotes for cover. This means that everyone can afford to take protection and these are the providers you should look for. The terms of the cover also vary considerably and again need taking into consideration.

You could be waiting as little as 28 days after being unable to work before you are able to put in a claim. However some providers will extend this to 90 days, the same applies with how long a policy would payout. With some providers you could be looking at receiving 12 months of protection, others could give 24 months cover.

All providers should give an adequate explanation of what a policy can and cannot do and make you aware of the vital facts and small print. This information of course should be given to you before you buy; after all it would useless and unfair to give it you afterwards.

Lenders on the high street will very often try their hardest to get you buy their mortgage protection insurance when taking out the borrowing. This might seem like one of the best choices, especially if you got a good deal on your mortgage. Usually you could not be more wrong and high street lenders premiums are among some of the highest premiums. Nine times out of ten a standalone provider will offer the cheapest quote and provide one of the best quality policies to fall back on.