Keeping a roof over your head, no matter what

Always home

An empty house can seem sad and lonely. But a home — that’s different. It’s your place, an architectural shell you’ve filled with the beauty of life, the emotion of living. And, whether it’s your first home or your dream home, the most important fact is … it’s your home.

At least, it is your home for as long as you continue to pay the mortgage.  That’s why you budget carefully and make those mortgage payments each month. But, what if you couldn’t? What if sickness, injury or death made it impossible to keep up with the mortgage payments? Would your family be able to stay in their home? Fortunately there are ways to help ensure your family will always have a roof over their head, regardless of what happens to you. But, what’s best for your situation? Let’s take a look.

Traditional mortgage insurance insures your mortgage and will pay off the total outstanding amount of your mortgage when you die. Most lending institutions offer mortgage insurance as part of their  mortgage options and they’ll usually integrate the premiums into your total mortgage payments. With mortgage insurance, your lender owns the policy and if you find a better mortgage rate at another lending institution, you usually need to re-qualify at the new lending institution.

Unlike a life insurance policy, the amount of coverage decreases as you pay down your mortgage. If anything happens to you, the death benefit is automatically used to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance. A personal life insurance policy insures you, not your mortgage. You determine the amount of coverage you want — it’s not tied to the value of your mortgage. You own the policy so you have the freedom to name your beneficiaries and they can choose how to use the proceeds. You can switch to another lending institution without jeopardizing your coverage and your coverage doesn’t decrease as your mortgage is paid down, which means that for every dollar of mortgage principal repaid, there will be additional insurance proceeds available to your family at a time when they may need it the most.

Also, your policy can be customized with the options and features you choose, which may include having your premiums waived if you become disabled. Managing your money Comprehensive continued on next page Disability insurance protects your ability to continue to make mortgage payments by roviding money if you can’t work. You may have a group plan at work that includes disability insurance. But, group coverage ceases when you leave your job and if you’re self-employed you may not have a plan. A group plan may also have limits on the amounts paid out in the event of disability, and may have a more restrictive definition which may limit your coverage. In addition, if your health improves, your benefits may stop, forcing you return to work prematurely. A personal disability plan can supplement other disability benefits in ways that make sense for you.

Critical illness insurance generally pays you a one-time lump sum benefit amount if you are diagnosed   with a critical illness or condition as defined in your policy. Critical illness insurance is not tied to a mortgage or any other personal or business loan. You usually can use the benefit to help pay off your outstanding mortgage loan, make payments while you recover, or for any other personal or business need. If you want your home to be a secure no matter what happens to you, having enough insurance to cover your mortgage debt is essential. And if you want to be able to maintain your family’s lifestyle come what may, disability and critical illness insurance are equally important. We can show you how insurance can play an important role in bringing your financial security plan home to stay.