When Should You Get Mortgage Protection? The Honest Answer.

The most common answer to this question is: as soon as you close on your home. And that's true — the earlier you lock in coverage, the lower your premium and the less underwriting risk you carry.

But the honest answer is a little more nuanced than that.

The best time is when you're healthy

Mortgage protection premiums are based largely on age and health. The younger and healthier you are when you apply, the lower your rate — and that rate is typically locked in for the life of the policy. Waiting until you're older, or until a health condition develops, means paying more for the same coverage or potentially being declined altogether.

This is the part most people don't realize until it's too late to do anything about it.

The second-best time is right now

If you already have a mortgage and don't have coverage, the second-best time to act is today. Not because of pressure or urgency tactics — but because tomorrow you're a day older, and the health event that changes your insurability doesn't announce itself in advance.

When it's worth reviewing your existing coverage

If you already have a policy, there are a few situations that warrant a review: you've refinanced and your loan balance has changed, your income situation has shifted, you've added a dependent, or your current policy is coming to the end of its term.

Coverage that made sense five years ago may have gaps today.

The bottom line

There's no perfect moment. There's just the moment you decide your family's home is worth protecting. That moment might as well be this one.