Falling behind on your mortgage payments is a very serious matter, and should be treated seriously and promptly. If you are suddenly injured or fall sick enough that you can not work for a period of time, which could affect your mortgage payments, you need to talk to your mortgage provider. Silence is a dangerous way to try and avoid an unavoidable situation which would lead to a mortgagee sale. By talking to your provider realistically about your financial troubles due to sickness, the more likely you can renegotiate payments and make it a manageable situation.

You should also invest in something called Mortgage Protection, which is like life insurance, but it covers sickness-related absences from work. You choose the amount you would like to protect which usually matches your ongoing repayments (known as a “wait period”, and a “payment period”.) If the worst happens and you become too injured or sick to work, once your “wait period” has ended, your insurer will start to make monthly claim payments. These can continue until you are once again able to return to work or until the end of your “payment period”, whichever comes first. Again, even with this protection, you need to let your insurer know that this is happening – otherwise, they will not know to make the claims due to your illness.

There are obviously some exclusions, but most health issues are covered and you can find out the individual terms and conditions while shopping around for an insurer. Some insurers allow you to add Redundancy cover to this plan but it is not a standard part of mortgage protection. For peace of mind, Mortgage Protection can be life-saving for your home if you one day become ill or injured.