For 14 million British adults (28%), the idea of never owning their own home is too terrible to consider, while a further 39% say the prospect would make them miserable.
This passionate attachment to property is further confirmed by the drastic lengths that homeowners would go to in order to keep the keys to their castle. Just over half (51%) say they would take on a second job to help meet their mortgage payments, and four in ten (43%) would withdraw some or all of their life savings to make ends meet. Almost a third (29%) would even be prepared to sell off the family silver.
Yet fewer than one in ten homeowners (9%) 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.
Taking in a lodger
One in five homeowners (19%) would be prepared to take in a lodger to help pay the mortgage and almost as many (18%) would rather go cap in hand to friends than surrender the keys to their castle. One in ten (12%) 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, said: "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."
The resistance to losing their home is strongest among those who already own a property - eight out of ten of these people (79%) say the prospect of losing their home makes them miserable or is too terrible to consider.
MPPI protection is limited
Although just over a third of homeowners (37%) have some kind of mortgage protection in place, most of them have simple mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI), which often only covers mortgage payments over the short term. Less than one in ten homeowners (9%) 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.
Chris McFarlane continued: "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 day4, which in the current climate should be food for thought for everyone."
Home-owning dream
Tougher lending conditions have not dented the home-owning dream among the nation's under 35s, with three-quarters (74%) saying they can't imagine not buying a home at some stage in their lives.
Interestingly, existing homeowners in this younger generation are more prudent, with 43% having some kind of protection for their mortgage payments compared with an average of 37% across all age groups. However, two out of three of these younger homeowners (65%) have opted for MPPI cover5, that often only covers payments for a limited period.
Chris McFarlane continued: "It is encouraging to note that younger homeowners are more aware of the need to protect their mortgage payments. But they need to be very clear about what their cover includes and whether the replacement to their regular income would dry up after a short time, as MPPI often does. Protecting a breadwinner's loss of income over the long term now, rather than reacting only when the worst happens, would make just a modest impact on most people's finances, yet it would provide vital assistance if needed."
As an example, a 29 year old male non-smoking office worker could buy cover worth £1,000 a month (payable after 3 months) to age 60 for as little as £15.20 a month. This would provide replacement income potentially amounting to over £350,000 over time, for around the cost of a pint of milk a day.
