With the government retreating from offering as much support as it has done in the past for those struggling to meet the cost of housing, surely the need for a type of protection promising to make repayments on your mortgage in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment hitting your income has never been greater?

MPPI is a form of PPI specifically designed to pay the policyholder’s monthly mortgage payments in the event that they are unable to work due to sickness, accident or unemployment. It will pay a set amount of money, usually determined by the policyholder, each month until he or she returns to work, or until the end of a fixed period, typically 12 months.

Cover options usually include inability to work due to accident, sickness, involuntary unemployment or redundancy, and some have a hospitalisation or life benefit.

This guide tackles the benefits and pitfalls of MPPI, who should consider buying such a policy, what alternatives are available, and how advisers can make sure they get the best cover for their client.

Contributors to this guide are Iain Clark, managing director for protection of LV; Ben Heffer, insight analyst for life and protection at Defaqto; and Tim Johnson, chief executive of Paymentshield.

This guide is sponsored by LV=. All editorial is independent.