A mortgage is probably the biggest debt you will ever have, yet people are happy to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a year on mortgage interest but do not want to pay a few pounds a month to ensure the mortgage(and other debts) are cleared when they die.

Single people think they don’t need life cover as they have no partner, so the house could be sold, the mortgage paid off and anything left paid to their family. But this leaves a huge headache for their family and when you deduct the cost of selling a house, you might leave your family in debt. A term assurance plan costs a fraction of the cost of the mortgage and it is simply the right thing to do.

You can opt for level cover or decreasing cover. Whilst level cover costs a bit more, it is much better value for money. As you get older, you are more likely to die and therefore if you died in the latter part of your mortgage term, a level plan would pay off the mortgage as well as an extra amount which could be used for other things. ​

A plan which pays out on death and critical illness is more useful than one that only pays out on death. However, it is a lot more expensive. When given a choice of the two, some people cannot afford the more comprehensive version so elect for life cover only. But why not consider split policies? Instead of the choice being £200,000 of life and critical illness cover or £200,000 of life cover only, what about a plan that pays £100,000 on life and critical illness cover plus £100,000 of life cover only. This is surely an affordable compromise?

And for couples, having two single policies is much better than one joint policy. If you claimed on a single policy, your partner would still have their cover in place. Growing up, I always remember my neighbours who were only in their 40s. She was diagnosed with breast cancer which ultimately killed her and he had a massive heart attack. Two single policies costs around 10% more than one joint policy.

And NEVER opt for reviewable policies. At a review, the decisions are rarely in your favour. Opt for guaranteed premiums, so that you will always know what you are paying. The only exception to this is index-linking your premiums. You can have index-linked, guarantee premiums that do increase each year, but only by inflation.

If you died tonight, would you prefer your family to lose their home or their mortgage?