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Advisers hold the key homeowners need to get appropriate protection

October 2024

Mark Mullaney, Head of Partnerships and Distribution at Beagle Street

Beagle Street’s Head of Partnerships and Distribution, Mark Mullaney, discusses why advisers play a vital role in helping homeowners who could benefit from life insurance.

Buying a home is a huge life stage, one that many people aspire to but over recent years, is becoming harder and harder to achieve. But once first-time buyers get past the hurdle of saving for a – very often hefty – deposit, there is even more for them to think about.

Whether it’s moving costs or legal fees, there’s a lot to consider to make sure a move goes smoothly. And with so much to think about, it’s easy to look past something that is absolutely vital for homeowners – life insurance.

At Beagle Street, which is part of the OneFamily Group, we recently surveyed more than 2,000 people aged 18-40 to find out more about their attitudes and behaviours towards life cover.

Surprisingly, we found almost three in ten (28%) adults aged 18-40 with a mortgage do not have life insurance. That’s equal to nearly 1.7 million young UK homeowners who have mortgages without the safety net of protection.

I can understand why there may be so many people who lack the security they may well need, especially given how much there is to juggle when purchasing a home.

But working within the protection industry, I can’t help but worry that thousands of people across the country are putting themselves, and their families, in a vulnerable position.

"Surprisingly, we found almost three in ten (28%) adults aged 18-40 with a mortgage do not have life insurance.

That’s equal to nearly 1.7 million young UK homeowners who have mortgages without the safety net of protection."

Of course, we never want to think about what would happen if we or a family member passed away, but it is really important to make sure financial safety nets are in place.

This is vital for homeowners as they may have mortgage debt that could still need to be paid for if a breadwinner passed away. Additional research conducted by Beagle Street last year suggested there was more than £433billion* of mortgage debt not covered by life insurance in Britain.

When we surveyed mortgage holders who do have life insurance, the most common resources they used to find a policy that was right for them was by speaking to a financial adviser. Nearly half (44%) took out life insurance this way, whereas only 16% went directly to a provider. This really highlights the vital role advisers play in making sure people are financially protected.

I also think it’s important to understand why mortgage holders without cover, don’t have it. Through our research, we found almost a quarter (23%) say it’s because they don’t currently see it as a priority expense, a fifth (22%) have just never thought about it and the same proportion (22%) say the cost-of-living crisis means they don’t have enough money to pay for it.

"When we surveyed mortgage holders who do have life insurance, the most common resources they used to find a policy that was right for them was by speaking to a financial adviser.

Nearly half (44%) took out life insurance this way, whereas only 16% went directly to a provider."

Worryingly, when we asked people who don’t have cover how their mortgage would be paid for if they died, almost one in five (19%) said they didn’t know.

Because of this, it’s clear the intermediary market plays a vital role in making sure homeowners have plans in place if the worst were to happen.

You hold the key that these 1.7 million vulnerable homeowners need to unlock the right protection for them to protect their families.

Research completed by Opinium on behalf of OneFamily: 2,000 sample of UK 18-40 year olds, between 14th – 19th February 2024.

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