Loan protection insurance
Who needs it? -

Simply consider the following facts about unemployment:

• Currently 90 families a day are having their homes repossessed. The majority due to the financial problems associated with unemployment.
  
  
• One in three people aged between 25-34 have experienced unemployment for a period in excess of one month.
  
  
• Almost one in five working age households (3.4 million) have someone who is currently unemployed.
  
  
• Today in Britain there are nearly 1,000,000 persons who are registered as unemployed.
  
  
• Every day 500 people in the UK become unemployed. 60% of unemployed men and 45% of unemployed women will be out of work for six months or more.
  

Simply consider the following information about disability:

• Every adult in Britain is five times more likely to suffer a serious disability than die before the age of 60.
  
  
• Today in Britain, 2,900 people will start claiming state disability benefits
  
  
• 1,800,000 people in Britain are already disabled and have been unable to work for 12 months or more.

Loan protection insurance is designed to protect the loan repayments you make to your finance company if you lose your job due to involuntary unemployment, are unable to work due to a disability (accident or sickness), you suffer a specified critical illness or you die.

This type of insurance will typically:

• repay your monthly loan amount in the event of your involuntary unemployment or disability for up to 12 months or to the end of your loan agreement, whichever is earlier;
  
  
• repay your outstanding loan balance in the event of your death or you being diagnosed with a specified critical illness.
  

These plans end if the insurer pays out the balance of your loan in the event of your death or critical illness.

State benefits

You can no longer rely on the Government. State benefits for a single person are currently under £60 per week. Could you manage on that? The typical state benefit for two adults with two children is £96 per week; the maximum is £134 per week. Could you support your family on this?

Since October 1995 new mortgage borrowers will receive no state help for the first nine months of unemployment or disability. Existing mortgage borrowers receive nothing for the first two months, only 50% for the next four months and then full benefit for mortgages of up to £100,000 provided they qualify for Income Support. The Government themselves estimate that 70% of mortgage borrowers will not get Income Support due to savings, income, or a working spouse or partner.

In 1998 alone, the introduction of a new incapacity criteria resulted in 102,000 claimants being turned down for state benefit. An independent doctor (not your own) will carry out your assessment and you must be incapable of doing any work, not just your normal job, to qualify for state benefit.