More than half (54 per cent ) of mortgage holders have not repriced their mortgage protection cover in the last three years, according to findings from a recent survey of 1,000 adults by financial services firm, Clear Financial.
According to Willie O’Leary, a financial adviser working for Clear Financial: “According to the most recent CSO Census 2011 stats, there were 11,385 mortgaged households in Westmeath alone. Our survey suggests that at least half of these households pay over the odds for their mortgage protection policies because they have failed to review their cover in recent years and switch to a cheaper policy to avail of lower rates that are currently available in the market.”
The experts at Clear Financial advise that people should leave it no longer than three to five years to conduct periodic reviews of their mortgage protection policies.
“We undertook the survey to assess whether or not the findings would support our anecdotal evidence, which suggested that mortgage holders were unaware of the significant price variation across the market for the product or of the fact that these premiums are actually falling,” Mr O’Leary explained.
“Based on the results, we are calling on those mortgage holders in Westmeath who have not repriced their policy in several years to review their cover. We estimate that new premiums for many homeowners have lowered by 15 to 20 per cent over the last five to 10 years.”
