According to research carried out by LV=, Brits are doing all they can to make sure that they are able to stay in their homes, even with bills and repayments looming over them.

It found that just over half of homeowners say they would take on a second job to help meet their mortgage payments, and four in ten would withdraw some or all of their life savings to make ends meet. Almost a third would even be prepared to sell off the family silver.

One in five homeowners would be prepared to take in a lodger to help pay the mortgage and almost as many would rather go cap in hand to friends than face repossession. One in ten say they would move out and rent their property to someone else, if that was necessary to be able to cling on to ownership.

Chris McFarlane, LV= head of protection, says: "The financial turmoil of the last year has done nothing to dampen our national obsession with home ownership. It's fascinating to note just how far people would go to avoid having to give up the keys to their castle."

Yet fewer than one in ten homeowners have insurance that would pay their mortgage repayments and other regular outgoings over the long term, in the event of a sudden loss of income. By having insurance to cover your debts and your home you could be sure that whatever happens, your home is safe.

While just over a third of homeowners have some kind of mortgage protection in place, most of them have simple mortgage payment protection insurance, which often only covers mortgage payments over the short term says LV=. Less than one in ten homeowners have more comprehensive income protection insurance that could cover their mortgage and other living expenses over the long term not just for a limited period.

McFarlane says: "We need a sea change in the way we view threats to our homes. We install locks and alarms because we fear burglary and we have buildings insurance to protect the property structure. But typically we don't protect the regular income that we need to be able to maintain over the long term to pay for our homes and other living costs. Proper income protection can cost as little as 50p a day, which in the current climate should be food for thought for everyone."

SOURCE: LV=, 19/08/09

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