Kensington Mortgage Company is offering three months' accident, sickness, and unemployment (ASU) cov...
Kensington Mortgage Company is offering three months' accident, sickness, and unemployment (ASU) cover free of charge to mortgage borrowers.
The ASU cover can be claimed immediately with no standard waiting time and is designed to help contract workers, the self-employed, those approaching retirement, and divorcees. The offer is available to new borrowers and covers up to £1,500 pm for a year.
The move follows the introduction of the ABI and Council of Mortgage Lenders minimum standards for mortgage payment protection insurance which came in on 1 July. The Government has been pressing homeowners to seek private insurance for their mortgage as no borrower can receive financial assistance from the State within the first nine months of sickness or unemployment. Government figures reveal that only 30% of mortgage borrowers would be eligible after this period.
Martin Finegold, executive chairman at Kensington Mortgage Company, said: "This issue is a time-bomb, yet we are the only mortgage lender taking it seriously and these new standards do not go nearly far enough."
