This is an excert from a recent article we wrote for the local press.
A mortgage expert is warning people that they may have just days to safeguard their mortgage payments against redundancy ahead of the Governments Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday.
Andy Burns, from Mortgage Xperts based in Orrell Park, has seen dozens of people lose their homes since the recession began. He is now urging homeowners to seek advice to ensure that their mortgage payments are protected in the event of redundancy, as well as accident and sickness.
Increasingly one of the first questions many new clients ask an adviser is “will my mortgage be covered if I am made redundant?”
Hundreds of thousands of job losses are expected as a result of the Spending Review, in which the government will set out how it plans to save billions of pounds across its departments.
But most insurance companies won’t offer protection against potential job losses once redundancies have been mooted within a company.
Andy said: “Those who fear they may be affected by the Review, particularly those who work for the public sector or employees of businesses contracted to the public sector, should take action now to ensure they are protected against redundancies.
“Unfortunately, within hours of the Spending Review being announced, rumours may start to filter through about potential redundancies in both public and private sector organisations.
“As soon as this happens, many insurance companies are likely to be more reluctant to offer protection, as the chance of a payout is massively increased.”
The warning comes just weeks after the Council of Mortgage Lenders forecast a total of 39,000 repossessions for 2010.
The situation has been further aggravated by the fact that, since the beginning of this month, Support for mortgage interest payments for those who have lost their jobs has been reduced from 6.08% to 3.09%, to match the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate.
Andy said: “The important thing for individuals to remember is that there is still time for them to get advice. But there is no longer any time to delay on this – employees must take action today if they are to ensure their home won’t be one of this year’s sad tales of repossession.”
• For advice on how you could protect yourself, call Mortgage Xperts on 0151 329 2900.
