What insurance do you need with a mortgage?
The main types of insurance you may want to consider are:
| Type of insurance | What it is designed to protect | Is it normally required for a mortgage? |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings insurance | The structure of your home | Usually required by your mortgage lender |
| Contents insurance | Your belongings inside the home | Usually optional |
| Life insurance | Your family or mortgage if you die during the policy term | Usually optional |
| Critical illness cover | Your finances if you are diagnosed with a specified serious illness covered by the policy | Usually optional |
| Income protection | Part of your income if illness or injury prevents you from working | Usually optional |
| Accident, sickness and unemployment cover | Mortgage payments or regular commitments for a limited period following a covered event | Usually optional |
Each policy does a different job. Having one type of insurance does not necessarily mean you are protected against every risk.
A protection adviser can help you understand where you may have a financial gap and which forms of cover are most relevant to you.
Do you have to have insurance to get a mortgage?
Your mortgage lender will normally require the property to have suitable buildings insurance.
Life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection are not generally legal requirements and are not normally compulsory conditions of taking out a standard mortgage.
However, optional does not mean unimportant.
Ask yourself:
- Could you continue paying the mortgage if you were unable to work?
- Could your partner afford the mortgage alone?
- Would your family need financial support if you died?
- How long would your employer continue paying you if you became ill?
- How much do you have in savings?
- Would you need help covering childcare, bills or other debts?
- Would a serious illness cause additional costs or require changes to your home?
You do not need to know which policy you need before speaking to us. Our role is to help you work through these questions and understand your options.
Buildings insurance
Buildings insurance is designed to cover the structure of your property, including areas such as the walls, roof, windows and permanent fixtures, subject to the policy terms.
Your mortgage lender will normally require buildings insurance because the property is the security for the mortgage.
If you are buying a freehold property, you will usually arrange this yourself. If you are buying a leasehold flat, buildings insurance may be arranged by the freeholder or management company and paid for through your service charge.
Your solicitor will confirm when responsibility for the property passes to you and when your cover needs to begin. For many purchases in England and Wales, buildings insurance needs to be ready from exchange of contracts rather than the day you move in.
We can help you:
- Understand the cover your lender requires
- Consider the rebuild cost rather than the property’s market value
- Review policy limits and excesses
- Identify relevant exclusions
- Arrange cover in time for your purchase
- Consider whether additional cover may be appropriate for your property
Contents insurance
Contents insurance is designed to protect the belongings inside your home, subject to the policy terms.
This may include furniture, clothing, electrical equipment and other personal possessions.
Contents insurance is not normally required by your mortgage lender, but without it you may need to replace damaged, lost or stolen belongings using your own money.
When comparing cover, you may need to consider:
- The total value of your belongings
- Individual limits for valuable items
- Cover away from your home
- Accidental damage
- Your policy excess
- Whether your belongings are covered during the move
- Items used for work or business purposes
The cheapest policy may not provide the level of protection you expect. We can help you compare what is covered as well as the premium.
Life Cover: The plan will have no cash in value at any time and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse.
Critical Illness Cover: The plan will have no cash in value at any time and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse. The policy may not cover all the definitions of a critical illness. For definitions please refer to the key features and policy document.
Income Protection Cover: The plan will have no cash in value at any time and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse.
For insurance business we offer products from a choice of insurers.
Life insurance
Life insurance is designed to provide a payout if you die during the policy term.
You may want the payout to:
- Repay some or all of your mortgage
- Help your partner remain in the family home
- Replace lost household income
- Support your children
- Cover regular bills or future costs
- Provide financial security for anyone who relies on you
The amount and length of cover should reflect what you want the policy to achieve.
For example, you may want cover that broadly reduces alongside a repayment mortgage, or you may want a fixed level of cover that could provide additional support for your family.
A protection adviser can help you consider:
- How much cover may be appropriate
- How long the policy should last
- Whether you want single or joint cover
- Whether level or decreasing cover may be suitable
- How existing death in service benefits affect your needs
- Whether placing the policy in trust may be appropriate
Critical illness cover
Critical illness cover is designed to provide a lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the specified serious illnesses covered by the policy and meet the insurer’s definition.
A payout could help you:
- Reduce or repay your mortgage
- Cover monthly payments and bills
- Take time away from work
- Pay for childcare or additional support
- Adapt your home
- Reduce financial pressure while you recover
Policies can vary in the illnesses they cover, the definitions the insurer uses and the additional benefits included in the cover.
This means two policies with a similar price may not offer the same protection.
We can help you understand what is covered, what limitations apply and how critical illness cover could fit alongside life insurance or income protection.
Income protection insurance
Income protection is designed to provide a regular benefit if illness or injury prevents you from working, subject to the policy terms.
Rather than paying only your mortgage, the benefit can help you manage your wider household expenses while your income is reduced.
This could be particularly important if:
- Your household relies heavily on your earnings
- You receive limited sick pay
- You are self employed
- Your savings would not last for long
- You have other regular commitments in addition to your mortgage
When arranging income protection, you may need to consider:
- How much of your income you want to protect
- How long you could manage before payments begin
- How long a successful claim could pay
- How your occupation is assessed
- Your employer’s sick pay arrangements
- Any existing protection you already have
A longer waiting period may reduce the premium, but it needs to fit the savings and sick pay available to you.
A Protection Adviser like Your Mortgage Expert can help you understand these choices and arrange cover around your actual financial position.
Which insurance should you prioritise?
You may not need every type of insurance, and your budget may not allow you to protect every possible risk.
A useful starting point is to consider:
- What cover does your mortgage lender require?
- Who relies on your income?
- How long would your savings last?
- What sick pay or death in service benefits do you already have?
- Which event would place your household under the greatest financial pressure?
- What monthly premium can you realistically maintain?
Some suitable protection may be more valuable than choosing extensive cover that becomes unaffordable.
We can help you identify your priorities and consider different levels of cover within your budget.
Why use a protection adviser?
Insurance policies can look similar when you compare only the headline price, but the terms, definitions, exclusions and additional benefits can vary.
At Your Mortgage Expert, we can help you:
- Review your mortgage and monthly commitments
- Consider what would happen if your household lost an income
- Check existing employer benefits and cover
- Understand the purpose of each type of insurance
- Decide how much cover you may need
- Choose an appropriate policy term
- Compare cover from a choice of insurers
- Understand important exclusions and limitations
- Complete the application accurately
- Manage the underwriting process
- Review your cover when your circumstances change
You will have the opportunity to ask questions and understand what you are arranging before you apply.
Our aim is to help you put meaningful protection in place, rather than simply adding another expense to your mortgage.
When should you arrange mortgage protection?
It is worth discussing protection when you begin arranging your mortgage rather than leaving it until immediately before completion.
Some applications can be completed quickly, while others may require additional medical information or underwriting.
Starting earlier gives you time to understand your options and deal with any questions without delaying your plans.
You should also review your protection if you:
- Move home
- Increase your mortgage
- Remortgage
- Have a child
- Get married or separate
- Change job
- Become self employed
- Experience a significant change in income
- Complete a major renovation
- Reach the end of an existing policy
Protect more than the mortgage
Your mortgage may be the largest commitment you need to protect, but it is not your only outgoing.
If your income stopped, you might still need to pay for food, utilities, Council Tax, travel, childcare and everyday family expenses.
That is why a protection review should consider your wider life rather than simply matching an insurance policy to the outstanding mortgage balance.
Tell us about your mortgage, household, income and existing cover. We can help you understand where you may be exposed and which options may be worth considering.
We provide mortgage and protection advice throughout the UK by phone and video call, with face to face appointments also available near Salisbury.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This article provides general information and does not constitute personalised insurance advice. Policy terms, exclusions, definitions and eligibility vary between insurers.