Cleerly is pleased to announce a further service proposition with the addition of protection specialist Simon James to the team, heading up the protection division for the business.
Simon, who has worked in financial services for over a decade, will help our clients to protect their financial futures when arranging mortgage funding with our bespoke underwriting process. Protection is an often-overlooked provision for contractors, which can have catastrophic consequences given most contractors get no employee benefits.
“I have a real passion for helping clients to prepare for the worst, while hoping the provisions I arrange are never used” said Simon. “Having dealt with multiple clients who have had to claim in the past, I have seen first-hand the devastating impact of a critical illness or premature death on a family. It gives me great job satisfaction to be able to help in any small way in such a bad situation.”
According to recent research by MetLife, a staggering 47% of people with mortgages have no mortgage financial protection in place, with more than a third of respondents having needed four weeks or more off work due to accident or illness.
“A mortgage is the single biggest financial burden that any of us will ever have” adds Simon. “It seems crazy when you stop and think about it not to have some sort of provision to pay this should the worst happen, given the ultimate consequence would be the loss of a family home.”
“With statistics now showing that nearly 1 in 2 of us throughout our lives will suffer from some form of cancer, it puts into stark reality the risk that so many are taking.”
Many homeowners are under the impression that, as long as a mortgage can be maintained, then their loved ones could remain in the home, but this, according to James, is a common misconception.
“With no protection in place, the lender with a first charge is effectively at the front of the queue when it comes to the distribution of money. In most instances, whether you have a will or not, the mortgage would either need to be effectively ‘repaid overnight’ by anyone remaining on the mortgage, or it would be repossessed, and sold to pay off the mortgage debt.”
“Not only can we help avoid this, we can also look at family protection to provide for your loved ones if you’re not around, and we also look at tax efficient trust-based solutions meaning we can potentially reduce inheritance tax liability, which can provide invaluable peace of mind at such a horrific time.”