Partner Insight: Four ways protection is changing – and why it matters for mortgage advisers

As advisers, you see every day the difference protection insurance can make. But the market faces persistent challenges.

Many homeowners still struggle to see the value of protection, particularly against a backdrop of rising living costs and economic uncertainty. As humans, we're also hardwired to think bad things are what happen to other people. Behavioural biases hold a powerful sway over the decisions people make. The result is a persistent protection gap

Against this backdrop, it's clear that protection needs to evolve. And for advisers in the mortgage space, these changes are directly shaping how protection should be positioned alongside a loan.

1. Cover must reflect how illness actually happens

The nature of illness has changed, and protection needs to keep pace.

More conditions are diagnosed earlier, with improved chances of survival. People are also living longer, but often with more complex health needs.

Traditional critical illness products were designed around a relatively narrow set of severe events, with an ‘all or nothing' approach to payouts. Today's reality is much broader and for mortgage clients, that matters.

A plan that only pays out in the most severe scenarios may leave gaps, particularly when an illness still creates financial strain long before it becomes critical.

We see from Vitality's latest claims data that in 2025, one in seven Serious Illness Cover claims would not have been covered by a typical ‘enhanced' critical illness plan, rising to one in five compared to a typical ‘core' critical illness plan.^[2]

For members aged 30 – 39, i.e. the first-time buyer age bracket, it's around a quarter of claims.^[2]

Many of the unique conditions included on Serious Illness Cover are not rare either. The top five paid out on in 2025 include pulmonary embolism, moderately severe inflammatory bowel disease (without requiring surgery), cardiac arrythmia, acute renal dialysis and rheumatoid arthritis. Collectively, there are around 2.6 – 3 million people in the UK living with these conditions.^[2]

2. Claims don't just happen once

Another increasingly clear trend is that illness doesn't happen as a single event.

Last year, one in ten Vitality Serious Illness Cover claims were paid to members who had claimed previously. On average, the gap between claims was just four years.^[2]

For mortgage customers, this is particularly important.

A client who survives an illness but loses their protection cover afterwards could still be servicing a mortgage — potentially with reduced income or increased financial strain. In that context, traditional products that cease after a full claim can leave clients exposed at exactly the point they may need further support.

This is also increasingly out of step with client expectations. Recent research found that 72% of consumers would value a policy that continues after a claim, to provide cover for future conditions^[1]. 

For mortgage advisers, it reinforces the importance of looking beyond the initial payout and considering how cover performs over the lifetime of the loan.

3. Protection is moving beyond the payout

While the claim remains the defining moment for protection, it is no longer the only way clients experience value.

There's a growing emphasis on engagement, prevention and day-to-day benefits, reflecting a broader shift in how protection products are used and experienced more regularly.

Through unique benefits like the Vitality Programme, we see that members are engaging in positive behaviours that aren't just rewarding them in the here and now, they're helping them to live longer, healthier lives.

Last year, engagement reached record levels from 80,000 in-person health checks and 107,000 discounted smart watches to members recording over 21 million workouts.

All of this meant that in 2025, Vitality members added 688,570 years to their life expectancy through healthy habits, alongside a total of £108 million saved in value through rewards and partners.^[2]

For mortgage clients, this matters in two ways: firstly, it helps justify the cost alongside their mortgage and secondly, it increases the likelihood policies stay in force over time.

4. Engagement helps clients keep the cover they need

Affordability remains a common barrier to protection uptake in mortgage conversations.

But this is about more than pricing alone. Engagement plays a key role in whether clients keep their cover in place.

Where clients see ongoing value, whether through incentives, benefits or regular interaction, they're more likely to maintain their policies and less likely to lapse.

It's why plan options like Vitality's unique Optimiser are especially powerful, by combining all of these features together and giving clients an upfront saving on their premiums, and a clear incentive to engage.

We see that members with Optimiser were four times more likely to engage in their plan in 2025, with higher engagement linked to lower lapse rates compared to less engaged members.^[2]

Significantly for mortgage protection conversations, members with Optimiser were also 58% more likely to take out additional cover such as Serious Illness Cover or Income Protection – ensuring more relevant and comprehensive protection to keep a roof over the client's head.^[2]