Good morning Leeds Lass & all!
I read your post this morning whilst doing some research for a family friend. I happen to work as a financial planning advisor at a well known high street bank and I'd like to offer my opinion on the best way forward with regards to financial protection of your mortgage.
I will base my advice on the assumption that it is just your boyfriend which has diabetes and needs protecting and that you have the relevant protection plans in place.
It will be virtually impossible to get your boyfriend a cic (critical illness cover) policy for a sensible price, and even if you manage this it will likely have several exclusions in the event of a claim (which kind of defeats the objective of taking out cover in the first place!).
The best and most cost effective cover for your boyfriend is as follows:
(1) - To enact a decreasing term life assurance policy for the duration of the mortgage. This is the cheapest form of life insurance which will pay off your mortgage in full on the event of his death.
(As this is a life only policy your boyfriend shouldn't be penalised for being diabetic and the monthly premiums should be the same as if a person with no health issues applied).
(2) - To enact a ASU (Accident, Sickness & Unemployment) policy for the duration of the mortgage. ASU plans are designed to pay out a fixed monthly amount on the event of not being able to work in the event of suffering accident/sickness or redundancy.
These plans will pay out usually for a maximum of 2 years. They usually have a moritorium of 6 months to 1 year for existing conditions, however after this period it usually becomes a fully operational plan. You can also increase the cover to cover bills and other expense as well as the mortgage.
To give you an idea of cost (since I don't know your total mortgage debt and therefore monthly repayments). To buy a ASU plan on a non-advice (direct) basis which would cover approx £800 per month (for a max of 2 years) for a 30yr old male would be around £25 per month. The above life policy again for around £150k of life cover for a 30yr old male, non-smoker would be around £20 per month.
Therefore for around £40-50 per month your boyfriend can protect the mortage in the event of suffering accident, sickness, redundancy or death. This should hopefully give you some peace of mind.
If you decide to go to a broker or Independent financial advisor then expect (through fees and commission) to pay an extra 30-40% in higher monthly premiums. Therefore if your confident you can approach the insurer direct.
On a final note make sure that the life policy is put into trust to pay you a lump sum on the event of his death so you can pay the mortgage debt. It goes without saying you should do the same for him! Otherwise the money from the policy will go to his estate and family. (I am assuming you both do not have a Will in force).
donnellysdogs made a very good point that your boyfriends company may provide death in service (company life assurance). I would also suggest that this is put into trust for a nomiated beneficiary, (this can be done through HR Dept). I would strongly advise you consider this as icing on the cake cover as the company could withdraw this benefit or your boyfriend may leave the company in the future.
Hope this helps,
PS. It's unlikely I will check this forum again so if your not sure of anything your more than welcome to drop me a pm.
James
