Our analysis of the best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023 includes all the rates available on the market from the main 5 mortgage protection providers in Ireland.
Our winner as Best Mortgage Protection Insurance Overall is Zurich Life. You can sign up to Zurich here now or read our full market review and other recommendations below.
If you got your mortgage protection insurance through your bank or haven’t switched recently you will probably save around €3,600 by switching. As life expectancy has increased life and mortgage protection costs have dropped, a win win for all!
The beauty is you will likely get a better mortgage protection insurance policy, save money and have life cover for your mortgage done and dusted in less than 20 minutes. We have the best tools, the best experts and aren’t tied to any provider. So read on to get the full lowdown on how much you could save.
- 4 Things to Look Out for When Picking the Best Mortgage Protection – Best Mortgage Protection Insurance Ireland 2023
- Our best mortgage protection by type – Best Mortgage Protection Insurance Ireland 2023
- Best mortgage protection insurance, the verdict – Best Mortgage Protection Insurance Ireland 2023
4 things to look out for when picking the best mortgage protection – Best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023
At its core Mortgage Protection Insurance does what it says on the tin. It pays off your outstanding mortgage if you die. It’s life cover or insurance for your mortgage. That’s why lenders insist you take out a mortgage protection policy before giving you a mortgage in the first place. [1]
If you are in good health a competitive mortgage protection insurance policy on typical mortgage of around €200,000 should come out at around the €20 a month mark.
That said all sorts of bells and whistles can be tacked on to your mortgage life cover by providers to jack up the price and if you got your mortgage protection from the bank when you took out your mortgage you will definitely be paying over the odds.
Providers will quote you the non discounted price for mortgage life cover or try to up sell you to a full life insurance package that insures more than your mortgage, when most people only want no frills mortgage protection insurance.
So apart from the rate, what does matter when you are picking your mortgage protection insurance?
Dual Mortgage Protection Insurance
Unlike some of the other add ons, dual mortgage protection insurance or mortgage life cover can make a lot of sense for most couples.
If you have a standard single or joint mortgage protection policy, only the mortgage gets cleared if you both die. If you have a Dual mortgage insurance policy however, you get two payments. One to clear the mortgage the other to your remaining family.
The reason that this makes sense is that the cost of a Dual mortgage insurance policy or mortgage life cover is only slightly more than a Single/Joint policy. So if you were thinking about a life insurance policy anyway to pass on something to the kids this can be a very cost effective way to do it.
Conversion Option or Guaranteed Insurability
One big trap to avoid with life insurance for your mortgage is that after a health scare, premiums rocket or you may not be able to get insured at all.
Think of a Conversion and Guaranteed Insurability options as get out of jail free cards if this happens.
With a conversion option at some point in the future you can turn your mortgage protection policy into a full life insurance policy without having to answer any medical questions.
Guaranteed Insurability works a similar way. You can increase your cover without having to answer any health questions on special occasions such as:
- A new mortgage – remember you can always switch mortgage so can do this at will
- The birth of a child
- A new marriage
New Ireland, Royal London and Zurich offer a conversion option and everyone will offer Guaranteed Insurability. Again either option costs a little more, but having one of these in place to secure a ‘get out of jail free card’ for your mortgage life insurance and is almost certainly worth it on balance.
Mortgage Protection Premium Waiver
This one is unique to Zurich, they will pay your Mortgage Protection if your injured or too incapacitated to work for more than 13 weeks.
If you are on a lower premium then I’d probably wouldn’t weigh this too heavily, but if you have a very large mortgage or health issues it might provide a welcome parachute option for you mortgage insurance.
Underwriting Approach
If you’re as fit as a fiddle this doesn’t make much difference, but if you have any health conditions or family history then knowing which provider is most likely to underwrite your mortgage insurance policy becomes the single most important thing.
That’s where talking to a broker who can match you with the best provider for you and your mortgage life cover needs really makes sense. Brokers are matching customers with providers all the time and know which providers are likely to give you the best combination of mortgage protection insurance approval odds and price.
The good news is most brokers are free to use as they are paid for by the lender. Make sure they aren’t tied to a particular provider for mortgage life cover though so can give you the best life insurance for your mortgage deal in the market.
| Provider Benefits | Irish Life | New Ireland | Aviva | Zurich | Royal London |
| Conversion Option | X | Y | X | Y | Y |
| Guaranteed Insurability | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Waiver of Premium | X | X | X | Y | X |
| Underwriting Approach | Fair | Good | Fair | Tight | Tight |
Our Best Mortgage Protection Ireland 2023 by Type – Best Mortgage Protection Insurance Ireland 2023
So what is the best mortgage protection insurance/life insurance for your mortgage Ireland 2023?
Here’s our recommendations.
- Best overall mortgage protection insurance – Zurich Life
- Best no frills mortgage protection insurance – Royal London
- Best for those with pre-existing health issues – New Ireland
Here’s how the ratings broke down in each of our categories, the key data for the best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2022 and the key reasons we selected each category winner.
Best Mortgage Protection Ireland overall – Best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023
| Provider | Benefits | Underwriting | Price | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich Life | Best | Bottom 2 | Top 2 | Excellent |
If you’re in good shape and looking for good value while still getting the key benefits look no further than the Zurich Mortgage Protection Insurance and mortgage life cover product
Zurich’s mortgage protection or mortgage life insurance has the strongest line up of benefits across all the providers offering all three of the key benefits.
- Conversion option
- Guaranteed Insurability
- Waiver of Premium
Crucially Zurich’s Mortgage Protection and Life Insurance for mortgage offering also scored strongly on price, neck and neck with Royal London’s Mortgage Protection and life insurance for mortgage product.
This combination of strong benefits and good value saw Zurich clinch moneysherpa’s top spot as best Mortgage protection provider overall Ireland 2023.
If the extra benefits Zurich offer aren’t for you or you think an existing health condition may make getting mortgage protection difficult read on for our other recommendations.
Best No Frills Mortgage Protection Insurance – Best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023
| Provider | Benefits | Underwriting | Price | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal London | Average | Bottom 2 | Number 1 | Good |
If you aren’t that bothered about the extra benefits of the Zurich Life Mortgage Protection package and just want a rock bottom price, then we recommend Royal London’s Mortgage Protection Insurance and Life Insurance for Mortgage product.
Royal London consistently provide some of the keenest pricing in the market, even edging out Zurich Life our overall recommendation.
If you aren’t that worried about covering the costs of future health risks then Royal London’s Mortgage Protection offering fits the bill perfectly.
Best Mortgage Protection for Existing Health Conditions – Best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023
| Provider | Benefits | Underwriting | Price | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Ireland | Good | Best | Bottom 2 | Good |
If you have personal or family health conditions that are likely to be flagged up as part of the mortgage protection health questionnaire, your first priority is to get approved with price and benefits slipping down the pecking order.
A broker will be able to give you the best steer on which provider is likely to suit you best in this case, but generally the more expensive providers tend to have more sympathetic underwriting approaches.
Of these the New Ireland mortgage protection and life insurance for mortgage product is the pick of the pack, with pricing that’s still not the worst out there, supportive underwriting and decent benefits.
Best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023, the Verdict
Whether you are looking for no frills, flexible underwriting or big benefits, we hope this article helped you cut through the fog around mortgage protection in Ireland and help you choose the best mortgage protection insurance Ireland 2023.
The mortgage protection insurance policy you have can make a huge difference to your wallet, in the middle of buying a home many don’t give it much thought and then pay over the odds for years.
Overall, the Zurich Mortgage Protection Insurance offering came clearly out on top as the overall best mortgage protection product. Establishing a big lead in the ratings with their market leading benefits and competitive pricing.
For those looking for no frills mortgage insurance we recommend Royal London and for those who need a flexible underwriting approach New Ireland.
Overall you can expect to save over €3,600 by switching your existing provider to one of our recommended mortgage insurance providers. Even if you are on one of the providers currently you will still probably save as premiums have come down generally.
You can get a free quote on your own mortgage protection savings from our partner DFP here, it takes less than 20 minutes to switch.
If you want to know more about switching your mortgage you can click here. You can read our founders recent piece for extra.ie on the big mortgage switch we are seeing in Ireland right now here.
Or you can check out our handy switching mortgage guide here.
