Does it make sense to take redundancy cover, life insurance or critical illness cover?

by Trinity Financial

Oct 12 2026

Eight in 10 (81%) of homeowners say mortgage advisers should routinely discuss how customers would manage their mortgage repayments if they become unemployed, research from Walsham Brothers shows.

Research from the provider of mortgage payment protection insurance solutions found that 58% of respondents say they expect redundancy risk to increase within the next five years, rising to 61% for ages 46 to 61 and 63% for ages 62 to 80. 

The findings also reveal a lack of awareness of all the relevant protection options available. In particular, almost three in five (56%) said they weren’t aware that insurance covering involuntary redundancy/unemployment could be purchased on its own, without accident or sickness cover.

Walsham Brothers also says only 10% of people have insurance to protect their income and payments if they were made redundant and of those who had considered taking out redundancy cover but decided against it, cost represented the main barrier (32%), followed by ‘didn’t think I needed it’ (17%).

Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) remains relatively uncommon in the UK. According to the Financial Conduct Authority's Financial Lives 2024 survey, just 2.6% of UK adults held MPPI, down from 3.5% in 2020. 

The 2025 HomeOwners Alliance survey found that 36% of mortgage holders had no life insurance, income protection or critical illness cover, highlighting a significant protection gap.

Conor Coleman, life and income protection specialist at Trinity Financial, says: “When clients ask me about redundancy cover, I explain that these policies often come with restrictive terms, exclusions and waiting periods that can limit their usefulness.

"At Trinity, our priority is to ensure clients have protection that genuinely meets their needs. Life insurance and critical illness cover can provide important financial security in the event of death or a serious illness, while income protection can help replace earnings if someone is unable to work due to illness or injury. Ultimately, it’s about prioritising the protection that offers the most appropriate financial security for each individual’s circumstances. We never know what is around the corner, and having the right protection in place can make an unimaginable difference to the people we leave behind."

This link to the government's website allows users to calculate statutory redundancy pay.

Call Conor Coleman on 020 7016 6156 to review your existing protection policies or send him an enquiry.

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Any links to third-party websites are provided for information and convenience purposes only. We are not responsible for the content or availability of external sites

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Source: Walsham Brothers and Mortgage Strategy