The decision to get life insurance is often influenced by going through a major life milestone. When you get married or become a parent, you gain a new dependent who may rely on you. Life insurance also comes into play when you buy a home and take out a mortgage—a large financial obligation. Life insurance for mortgage protection is a reliable way to establish financial stability and secure the home for your family. Life insurance helps ensure the financial debt you owe toward your home can be paid if something happens to you.

Your home is more than a roof over your head. It’s a place where your family will grow and your life will evolve. It makes sense to have a policy in place ensuring that your family will be able to keep their home no matter what lies ahead. A New York Life financial professional can help you select the life insurance coverage that will best fit your needs. In some cases, it may be a combination of coverage types that can provide more benefits than a single product solution—better protecting your home in the event you pass away unexpectedly. The balance owed on your mortgage would always be covered by the combination of one or two life insurance policies.

Using life insurance for mortgage protection can alleviate the risk of someone being left with an unmanageable financial burden. Many people want to protect their home for their loved ones but aren’t sure what kind of life insurance to purchase. Customizing your coverage can provide short-term protection when your mortgage amount is highest and long-term protection to cover the entire duration of the mortgage. The combination approach is cost-effective, provides flexibility and covers all mortgage payments.

Here’s how it works: When you buy a home, you take out two insurance policies. First, you purchase a whole life policy that will provide the amount of long-term coverage that best fits your particular situation. Second, you purchase a term policy that will cover the balance of your mortgage for the short-term early period of the mortgage (10 to 15 years), when the amount owed will be highest. The term policy will last for a long enough period and carry a high enough benefit to guarantee that your family will always be able to pay off the mortgage should something happen to you. Your family will be able to use its discretion when deciding how to use the death benefit. They can use it to pay off the mortgage in its entirety, to continue making mortgage payments or to cover another need.

Bear in mind that you have financial obligations beyond your mortgage so you will probably want the combined policies to cover additional expenses. Childcare, saving for retirement and medical expenses also need to be considered when you purchase your life insurance policy. Your coverage should take the entire range of your financial needs into account