Is life insurance compulsory to get a mortgage

Nope, I don't have it as I have no dependents.

Tim

Does it? It seems to ask something, though, but doesn't have a question mark. Yet what you've marked as a question doesn't seem to be one. At what age did you drop out of school?

The answer is No. Mortgage lenders are just companies. They don't have lives as such, so there's no point insuring them.

Or did you mean is life insurance compulsory to give a mortgage? The answer to that is No as well. Lenders no longer require borrowers to insure their lives. Indeed many borrowers don't have dependants, so if they die and the mortgage payments stop being made, and the lender repossesses the house, then nobody will be in dire straits as a result.

Life insurance is generally recommended for families, though, especially when there is only one breadwinner. That way, when she gets run over by a bus, the househusband won't get turfed out, at least not for the time being. It still leaves him enough time to find a new wife so he can afford to pay all the other bills.

some lenders may require it / want to sell you it. Remind them that a mortgage is a loan secured on *the property* not your life.

Phil

No.

Why did you bother taking time out to be unhelpful? It was blindingly obvious what the question was about, as the other replies show.

If you think I was being unhelpful, then it must have escaped your attention that I did in fact answer the question too. What the heck is wrong with throwing in a gratuitous sarky comment for good measure?

I hope Phil takes it to heart in the spirit in which it was intended.

I was also, though perhaps too subliminally, making the point, to save Captain Beefheart the trouble, that it is the borrower who gives a mortgage, and the lender who takes ("gets") it. Far too few people are aware of this, because they don't know what a mortgage actually is. They seem to think it's a loan to help them buy a house. You *do* know better, don't you?

Thanks for all the replies.

The reason I asked the question is because a friend of a friend is buying a home with business attached and he was told, by the financial adviser, life insurance is compulsory with any form of business financing. So I assumed it would be so with a private home.

My interest is that I doubt I would get life insurance due to recent medical history but I am looking to getting a mortgage to buy somewhere soon.

Phil

In message , Phil writes

The financial advisor either doesnt know what he is talking about, or lied to your friend to get some commission.

I have had a variety of business finance packages over the years, and my bank press me to take life insurance almost every time I see them, but I dont need it, so I dont take it.

It is vaguely possible that particular lenders may require life insurance, but it is not "compulsory with any form of business finance".

In message , The Blue Max writes

The fact that others dont know the difference between giving and getting a mortgage doesnt mean its correct. RR answered the question as put, and has just pointed out the obvious, and very common, error in his inimitable style.

HURRAH for Ronald! May His Tribe Increase!

In message , Phil writes

Life insurance isnt always compulsory with a business loan either. EG Vodaphones MD does not have a life insurance policy for £xxbillion to secure the company borrowing. However, in many cases, and the case you describe seems to fall into this category, if the continued ability of the business to continue trading and to continue to service the loan is dependent on one a key individual or individuals, then the bank is very likely to ask for a suitable life policy on the key people to be assigned.

If you have no dependents then you dont need life cover. If you do have dependents then you could get a broker or IFA to make enquiries with some underwriters at life offices to see how they would react if you were to submit a proposal. You will need to provide the exact description of the medical event and its treatment. Dont formally 'apply', because if you are declined you will have to tick the 'yes' box next to the 'have you ever been declined' question on any future life insurance proposals. Many people who think they are uninsurable are easily accepted by LifeCos, albeit on more expensive terms.

Steady on, you're making me blush!

Patronising f****it.

Probably both.