Re-engaging at remortgage

In 2026, 1.8 million fixed rate mortgages will come to an end sending a significant number of people back into the mortgage market to find a new deal. And as clients review their options, it’s a good opportunity to also reassess their protection needs. When debts and monthly commitments change, making sure your clients have sufficient protection in place becomes even more important. 

Protection isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ but a way to maintain a degree of financial control against certain unforeseeable events like long-term ill-health or death. And, at a time when the world feels very uncertain, it’s important that these conversations happen to ensure policies stay up to date and fit for purpose.

Key life stages such as getting married or divorced, having a child or starting a new job are common protection conversation starters. The most obvious probably being around protecting mortgage debt when buying a new home. 

In fact, 99% of advisers say they ask a client about protection when giving mortgage advice. But what about when their client remortgages? Do they revisit the protection conversation?

If an adviser only discusses protection at the point a client buys their home, but not at remortgage, the client might infer that protection isn’t important anymore. They probably ‘have enough’. By normalising protection conversations at remortgage, advisers can ensure their clients’ protection still aligns with their life today.

Human conversations

Mortgages and life insurance often go hand in hand given the significant financial commitment a mortgage represents. Choosing to put life cover in place that aligns with a client’s mortgage can help to ensure that money is available to help support their loved ones if they die during their policy term. But what about keeping up with mortgage payments if they became too ill to work? 

Being unwell and unable to work for a long time happens more frequently than your clients might realise. Data shows that close to two-thirds (62%) of adults aged 25-34 report have taken extended leave from work. And this is why conversations around income protection are equally important when discussing mortgages. 

Keeping on top of mortgage repayments may seem like another part of daily life for your clients when they’re healthy. But by talking to your clients about what’s important to them and how comfortable they are with risk and uncertainty, you’ll begin to paint a picture of what they stand to lose if they were unable to work for a prolonged period. Talking about the practicalities of income protection, what policies cover and how quickly they could pay out, will allow you to demonstrate to clients how they might maintain their repayments.

The remortgage opportunity 

According to the AMI's Protection Viewpoint, advisers use different triggers to re-approach the protection conversation. Some diarise a call back to review policies a year or two in the future (31%), while others choose to talk about it at key stages like when remortgaging (85%).

This is a great time to talk about protection. As clients approach a remortgage, they will already be thinking about their long-term financial commitments. And while it’s likely that your client will already be mentally stretched with different mortgage options, by framing protection as a normal part of the mortgage review process, it can be made to feel like an extension of the same conversation.

Asking clients for a protection ‘sense check’ is a great way of broaching the topic and checking the cover they have remains suitable for their new mortgage. After all, increased monthly payments are common at the point of remortgage and could alter affordability and financial resilience.

Revisiting protection at remortgage is less about starting from scratch and more about checking whether existing cover still aligns with a client’s goals and responsibilities. It’s possible that other changes in their life now makes them feel over or under-protected. Perhaps their relationship status has changed, they have become a caregiver or moved employer.

Use open questions to explore how your client’s life has changed since they took out their original mortgage. The safety net put in place years ago may no longer reflect the lifestyle or financial pressures your client has today.
 
Protection suitability

During your initial fact find, you’ll be able to see whether your client still has protection in place. With the ongoing cost of living pressures, your client may have cancelled their protection plans altogether. Perhaps they could no longer remember why they took out protection and have decided to stop paying their premiums. Or perhaps it was an expense they felt they could no longer afford.

Helping clients understand where protection fits within their overall household budgeting may help to stress its importance. How would your client keep a roof over their head if they were suddenly unable to work for a long time, or their partner died? 

If your client does have protection in place, checking whether it’s still fit for purpose is critical. Inflation will have reduced the buying power of older insurance products. So, a policy worth £100,000 ten years ago will buy a lot less today than it would have when it was originally taken out. Does their current protection cover the full remortgage amount, and is the term long enough?

The term set up on a protection plan can often be tied to the duration of the original mortgage. If your client is in the process of remortgaging, and they feel they still have sufficient cover, it might be worth double checking. 

Behavioural barriers to revisiting protection

We often hear the saying that protection isn’t bought, it’s sold. The same can probably be said for the ‘set and forget’ mindset. It’s natural for clients to believe they’re adequately protected simply because, at one point in time, they were told their needs had been met. But circumstances change, and so do products.

So, when a client says they already have protection in place and only need to remortgage, that may be true, but it’s just as likely that their existing policies no longer reflect their current situation. In fact, there may now be more suitable or better‑value options available to them.

And what about premium increases? Clients often compare new protection premiums to what they paid years ago, forgetting their age, higher debts, or new lifestyle responsibilities. Try resetting the anchor by talking about your client’s circumstances today. By doing this, you’re highlighting how their premiums reflect current risk, not past pricing. And, if affordability is still an issue, try quoting for a smaller amount. Having some financial help in place is better than struggling with none at all.

As an adviser, you’re expertly placed to be able to have open and honest conversations with your clients, highlighting what’s important to them and what they stand to lose if it weren’t protected. You have the skill and support to ensure that your clients’ protection needs remain up to date as their lives change.