Mortgage Protection and history of Cancer

traytray85

Hi,

I am just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience with this. I am almost 9 years cancer free from stage 4 lymphoma, fully recovered ,not in remission. I am currently looking to buy a house and it was flagged to me to that I could have a problem getting mortgage protection insurance and as a result not being able to draw down my mortgage. Is it a total lost cause or Is it possible to get insurance with my history? Any advice much appreciated.

MSVforever

Hi. You should be fine. I had cancer in the middle of the house purchasing process. As the house building was delayed the mortgage protection insurance was one of the last steps to seal the deal.

Unfortunately then I got the bad news that I needed surgery. I was told that no insurer would touch me for at least 5 years of being cancer free.

However there's a solution. I had to give my bank refusal letters from three different insurers and was able to apply for an exemption.

I was lucky that my wife was eligible for mortgage protection insurance and my employer has death in service benefit insurance for me in place (which covers 2/3) of the mortgage.

I had to wait 6 weeks for the underwriters to make a decision but eventually I got the good news.

Since you are cancer free for a very long time you should be ok however insurers might take advantage so you have to pay a higher premium than usual.

Go through a broker so they can negotiate the best fees for you.

If you get refused just apply for the exemption.

Emma2019

Lion.ie are good at getting insurance for those with medical issues.

I would advise that you start looking to get covered asap as it can be a long process.

traytray85

Thanks all, can you start the process with just having mortgage approval? I'm very early in the process (just got mortgage approval). I was under the impression you can't start the process until deposit on house etc? Also possible stupid question..but is mortgage insurance the same as life insurance?

phormium

Life Insurance/Mort Prot much the same thing, slightly different products but same concept, covers your life.

Now I doubt you are going to get cover and I wouldn't take that as any reflection on your health but insurers are very adverse to any perceived risk to put it mildly! BUT first thing you should do is check with your lender do they facilitate a 'waiver' of mort prot in the event that you meet the criteria i.e refused due to previous history or heavily loaded https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/money/insurance/mortgage-protection-insurance/

Lenders have the option of allowing a waiver but are not obliged to do so therefore some do, some don't and in some cases it just depends, for example more likely maybe to allow it for secondary income or small loan to value, less likely if max mortgage and sole earner.

If the lender you have got the approval with is not the best for doing waivers then I would change to a lender who does, unfortunately UB were always quite accomodating in this scenario but leaving the market!

Once you get your waiver then there is nothing to stop you still trying to get cover even if for a lower amount/term just to have some bit of cover in place, once you have the waiver secured then you don't have to worry about trying to match the amount/term of the actual mortgage.

If you haven't gone through a broker it might be worth asking one which lenders are the best for waivers in your situation.

PS you can apply immediately if you want to get the ball rolling and see how you stand.

traytray85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118586945#Comment_118586945

Thank you, so if I couldn't get insurance and couldn't get a waiver, is that it no mortgage? Can't buy a house? I find this extraordinary

phormium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118587023#Comment_118587023

Well technically if mortgage protection cover is a condition of drawing down a mortgage and you can't get it or can't get a waiver then you can't draw down. I would be surprised if no lender would offer a waiver though, it's not that uncommon, lots of people for various reasons can't get life cover and banks want to lend! It takes very little to put off an insurer and lots of health reasons will make them either turn down/postpone/load a policy so it's far from unusual for a lender to come across this.

CUs do things a bit differently and you can get loans that are in effect mortgages but far more limiting amount/term wise plus more expensive.

Check with your lender about the waiver, make sure you are talking to someone experienced, if they don't seem familiar with it get them to ring their lending department! Also check with other lenders to see what their policy is on waivers.

MSVforever

I got my waiver for mortgage protection insurance from Bank of Ireland if this is any help.

Check with your employer if they have life insurance or death in service benefit in place for you.

phormium

Yes worth checking if you do have 'death in service' benefit, while the bank can't assign it to them the way they would a life policy it is nevertheless a consideration in their waiver decision.

I wouldn't be giving up hope of a house! Banks see this issue very regularly. In fact if you look at the reasons for a waiver there are 4 different ones, in theory anyone over 50 doesn't have to have a policy either so banks use waivers all the time for various reasons depending on their own criteria.