Sickness insurance

[PurpleParis]

Is there someone out there who could advise me as to how sickness insurance works....well I suppose its not specific sickness insurance it's mortgage insurance.
We pay over £50 a month for it and I got made redundant in Sep 08...so we claimed...fine....not a porblem. I got another job...so all's well there again! My partner got sick in March 09 and has been put on long term sick...he has peripheral neuropathy, so it is dangerous for him to do his job...he is an engineer.
Again...no problem with claiming the sickness aspect of the insurance but we are told this only lasts for twelve months...what if he is sick longer than that? Does it mean we will have to lose our house? We are still paying the premium each month...don't get me wrong...I understand there has to be limits but we are worried sick about losing the house....I dont earn enough to pay the whole mortgage and keep the house running. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[bednobs]

it works exactly as in your policy wording and as none of us have the benefit of seeing that, i don't think we can help you

[Skyline D]

It sounds like you have a policy which only covers you for 12 months of incapacity due to illness at a time.

My own policy for critical illness cover would in fact pay off the mortgage if I or my wife got any one of a predetermined number of diseases (and only costs me a tenner a month but then it's a very low mortgage). I presume your policy either doesn't do that, or this condition isn't one normally included in that sort of clause.

Not much help I know but I think that's how it works. If your policy only covers you for 12 months in the event of the condition then that's what it does. It isn't going to suddenly cover you longer but as bednobs says, without having read the policy wording no-one else can know for sure. In hindsight maybe not the right policy for you.

[Pollypeptide]

As bednobs has said, we would need to see the policy wording but there are a number of different kinds of insurance. For example, a Personal Accident & Sickness Policy. These policies run for twelve months and the Insurers then invite you to renew (or not if they have paid out for a claim and they don't want you anymore). They usually provide income for a period of two years when you make a claim and then the payments cease.

A Permanent Health Policy on the other hand, once taken out and as long as you keep up the payments, can't be cancelled by the Insurers. It is not an annually renewable policy. If you need to make a claim they will pay you whatever monthly amount you have insured for and will continue paying that for the duration of your incapacity, right the way through to your normal retirement date. That's why it is called a "permanent health" policy.

You need to check your own policy wording to find out what kind of cover you have.

[trainers]

You have basically got a Mortgage Repayment Protector Insurance, the same as you get on personal loans. Basically the policy will only pay for 12 months. You can get Permanent Health Insurance which pays until retirement age but this only covers accident and sickness and with your husband on long term sick it would be unlikely he would get cover.

With regards the mortgage, speak to the mortgage company now and explain the situation, they may be able to extend the mortgage term or simply change it to an interest only mortgage to reduce your payments. Dont leave it until your struggling as you will have less options. Most mortgage lenders will agree to this rather than going down any legal routes.