In my role at LifeSearch, I spend a lot of time talking to mortgage advisers, brokers, and, increasingly, customers directly.
One thing comes up time and time again. When someone is buying a home, the focus is understandably on getting the mortgage over the line.
Affordability, rates, deposits – all the big, immediate questions. But what happens if that income suddenly stops? That question, too often, isn’t prioritised early enough in the conversation.
That’s why the findings from our latest research with HomeOwners Alliance – showing widespread gaps in understanding around income protection (IP) – don’t surprise me. But they do reinforce just how much work we still have to do as an industry.
LANDING THE CONVERSATION
Something I’ve noticed in conversations with mortgage advisers is that protection is being discussed more often. That’s real progress.
But consumer understanding hasn’t kept pace; there’s a real gap between how people think it works and what it actually provides.
If we want customers to value income protection, renew it, and be advocates, then strong engagement, communications, and product understanding need to become the norm – not the exception.
THE MENTAL HEALTH MYTH
Mental health is probably the clearest example of this gap in understanding.
More than a quarter (26%) of homeowners believe income protection doesn’t cover mental health conditions like anxiety or depression. Worryingly, this rises to more than a third (34%) of homeowners who already have a policy, and to 37% among under-35s.
And yet, when I speak to advisers and look at claims data, a very different story is playing out. Mental health is one of the leading causes of absence from work and one of the most common reasons people claim on a policy. According to the ABI, it accounted for the highest value of income protection claims in 2024, totalling £37 million.
There’s a real disconnect here. It risks discouraging people from claiming when they are entitled to support – or, worse, from taking out a policy at all.
SELF-EMPLOYED PROTECTION GAP
Another “myth” that refuses to go away is that self-employed people can’t get income protection. One in six (16%) homeowners believe this, and among under 35s, this rises to 31%.
I’ve lost count of the number of times this has come up in conversation either as a question or an assumption.
This is critical because if you’re self-employed, the financial impact of not being able to work is often immediate. There’s no employer safety net which makes protection arguably even more important, not less.
MAIN EARNERS
Another interesting point that comes up in conversations is how customers think about income in the context of the wider household.
Nearly one in five (18%) homeowners believe only the main earner needs income protection. Among under-35s, it’s 30%.
But when you talk to customers about their monthly outgoings, it’s clear most households don’t work like that anymore. It’s both incomes that keep things moving. Mortgage payments, bills, childcare, credit commitments, and it all adds up.
And that brings me to another point I often make in these discussions: income protection isn’t just about covering the mortgage.
It’s about keeping the whole household running. The bills still need to be paid, the weekly shop doesn’t stop, and existing credit commitments don’t disappear. When income drops, it’s not one payment that becomes a problem – it’s everything. That’s where income protection plays a much bigger role than many people realise.
NOT JUST CATASTROPHES
One of the biggest perception gaps I see both in research and in real conversations is the idea that income protection is only there for something catastrophic. More than a third (36%) of homeowners believe it only pays out for serious or permanent conditions.
But when advisers talk through real-life examples, the picture changes. Time off for surgery, recovery from an injury, musculoskeletal issues, a period of poor mental health – these are the situations that come up repeatedly. They’re not extreme. They’re everyday risks.
THE WAY FORWARD
As an industry, we’ve made real progress in getting protection into the conversation, but we still have some work to do in making it stick.
This isn’t about pushing products. It’s about making sure people genuinely understand what’s available to them and how it fits into their lives.
The myths identified in this research have real consequences – they risk discouraging people from claiming support they’re entitled to, or from taking out cover at all. That’s not a small thing when a mortgage is on the line.
From the conversations I’m having – with advisers, brokers and customers alike – the opportunity is clear: simplify, clarify, and be more direct about what income protection actually does. Mortgages are approved based on today’s income.
The question worth asking is: what happens if that changes? Better conversations are how we start answering it.
