mortgage protection

I am taking out a €50,000 loan on a €430,000 property. The bank says I need to have mortgage protection. However, I have other mortgage free assets, so I am wondering why is all the fuss over gettin mortgage protection for such a small amount. The reason I don't want to get it is I have life assurance which now has 19 years left to run on it (mortgage would be 20 years), also I use two G.P's because if anything major I go to my old G.P. in Dublin. If something small, I go to G.P. in Midlands. So getting reports from them takes ages. I need to close sale by 1st week in July as Polish builder friends of mine are going to spend their holidays rennovating the house. Can I get a mortgage without mortgage protection? Any thoughts? Thanks.

The Consumer Credit Act requires that all owner occupier mortgage holders have mortgage protection life assurance. The only exceptions are where the mortgage holder is over 50 and/or has medical issues which means that they cannot get any or affordable cover in which case the lender MAY waive the requirement for cover. If this property is your PPR then the lender is correct to insist on you having mortgage protection life assurance. You may be able to haggle and get them to waive this requirement but unless you fall into one of the waiver categories the may have no scope for flexibility on this issue. Perhaps you can pledge some of your other assets and/or (part?) assign some of your existing life assurance to cover this?

Can you change term of mortgage to 19 yrs, would make very little difference to payments and would mean existing life cover would do.

Either amend the term on the new mortgage or amend the existing life policy ie if it can be amended.

Asking the lender if they will consider waiving the life assurance is a) entirely at their discretion b) not generally recommended if you have dependents.

PM1234 said:

a) entirely at their discretion

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I thought that it was only at their discretion in the two specific situations that I mentioned (over 50s or those with medical conditions meaning that they cannot get any or "affordable" cover) but otherwise the law (Consumer Credit Act) required all owner occupier mortgage holders to have cover?

Lenders may look at the circumstances e.g. is it a joint mortgage, could your partner meet the repayments, if there is a death in service plan which could be used etc.