lion.ie - making life insurance easier

Home
Ireland
Tullamore
lion.ie - making life insurance easier

Irish Protection Broker of The Year 2022 🏆 Think you're paying too much for your life cover? Use our quote system to put your mind at rest.

We quote from all 7 Irish insurers.

09/09/2026

Having a health condition on your medical history doesn't mean you can't get cover, but it can make choosing the right insurer more important.

We deal with five life insurers and they don't all look at health conditions in the same way. One might load your premium, another might offer standard rates, while a third might postpone - same person, same condition, three different answers.

If the first insurer declines, postpones or increases your price, you'll have to tick yes to that disclosure question on every application after it, and that yes can make the next underwriter wonder what happened.

That's why it makes sense to do the homework before applying. A well-prepared application to the right insurer can produce a very different result from a rushed application to the wrong one. Working out which insurer to approach, and in what order, is the work we do before you apply anywhere.

If you have a health issue and you're wondering how it might affect getting cover, drop me a line at [email protected].

03/09/2026

You get a quote with a 100% loading and quite reasonably think that's what your medical history is going to cost you, but we see big differences between the five Irish insurers for exactly the same medical history.

One might offer the normal price, another might add 50%, while another could add 100% or more. All for the same person with the same medical history.
The insurers just don't all underwrite your condition in the same way, so if you've been offered cover with a hefty loading, I wouldn't assume that's the price everywhere.

02/09/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗿.

That's our job.

But you should ask questions about what you're buying.

What conditions does this policy actually cover?
How is a claim triggered, exactly?
What's excluded?
How does serious illness cover differ from income protection?
What happens if my condition isn't on the list?

And you're absolutely allowed to say: 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲.

None of that makes you an eejit. It means you want to understand what you're paying for before committing to it for years.

The conditions covered differ across Ireland's five main insurers as do some of the definitions you need to meet to make a successful claim.
Two policies that look similar on price can be quite different when it comes to what you're actually covered for.

So ask the questions - that's why we're here!

If you're not sure what to ask, or you want a second look before you sign anything, drop me a line at [email protected].

01/09/2026

If you've been in remission from cancer for five or six years and you're looking for mortgage protection, there's a change coming on 15 October that's worth knowing about.

At the moment, the Mortgage Protection Code for Cancer Survivors has a seven-year waiting period before insurers must disregard your cancer history.

From 15 October, the Right to Be Forgotten becomes law and that waiting period reduces to five years.

So if someone who's been out of active treatment and in complete remission for six years applied today, their cancer history would still be underwritten. If they apply from 15 October, and meet the other conditions, it must be disregarded.

The amount of mortgage protection covered is increasing too, from €500,000 to €650,000.

This could also be relevant if you already have mortgage protection and you're paying a loading because of a previous cancer diagnosis. Once you qualify under the new rules, it may be worth shopping around again.
You won't automatically get a cheaper policy, and I certainly wouldn't cancel the one you have until a replacement is in place.

So the bit I'd be checking is the cover you already have. If you're still paying a loading for a cancer diagnosis from years ago, don't assume you're stuck with it.

I've updated our full guide to explain the new rules, including who qualifies and what happens if you're inside the five-year period:

https://lion.ie/mortgage-protection-insurance/cancer-survivors/

31/08/2026

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Mortgage protection is there to clear your mortgage if you die during the term. The cover reduces over time, roughly in line with the mortgage, and it's usually the cheaper option.

Life insurance is different. The cover stays level, isn't tied to your mortgage and pays your family.

Clearing the mortgage isn't the same as protecting your family.

Mortgage protection takes away the mortgage payment, but it won't replace your income, pay for childcare or cover all the other bills that keep arriving every month.

So for plenty of first-time buyers, it isn't really a choice between mortgage protection 𝗼𝗿 life insurance.

They may need both, one to clear the mortgage on the house and the other to look after the people living in the house.

28/08/2026

C'mere to me.

Mortgage protection can be a doddle. Answer no to all the health questions, get your policy and well done you.

Be grateful for your genes.

But if you weren't so lucky in the genetic lottery, the insurer might ask your GP for a report, and this can slow things down to a snail's pace.

A good GP might have it back in 10 days. A slow one? You could be waiting 6 to 8 weeks.

And 6 to 8 weeks when you're ready to close feels like an eternity, especially when the vendor is starting to ramp up the pressure.

Avoid the stress.

Apply early.

26/08/2026

“Who’s cheapest for mortgage protection?”

We get asked that a lot, and if you’re fit and healthy and don't want to give those life insurance gougers too much of your hard-earned, it's a perfectly reasonable place to start.

If you have a medical history, though, I’d be more interested in which insurer is most likely to give you cover and what they’ll charge you for it.

Every insurer looks at medical history differently so one insurer might offer you the normal price, another might increase it, while a third might ask you to come back in six or twelve months.

You can see why picking the cheapest quote on a comparison site and applying straight away might not be the cleverest idea you've ever had.

And if that insurer declines you, you’ll have to disclose it on future applications. Now this doesn’t mean another insurer will definitely say no, but it does make things a little more complicated than they need to be.

That’s why we look at the medical history first, work out which insurers can offer cover, and then compare what they’re likely to charge, so you have a fair idea of where you stand before you even start filling in an application form.

26/08/2026

I'm not here to convince anyone they need income protection. I'll explain how it works, answer your questions, and you can decide yourself if it's worth having.

But I hear the same three assumptions about it all the time, so they're probably worth clearing up.

1. "The State will cover me if I can't work."

State support may be available, depending on your circumstances and PRSI record, but it won't come close to replacing your salary.

The maximum Illness Benefit is €254 per week, and it's generally not available if you're self-employed.

2. "Six months' sick pay means I'm well covered."

Six months is excellent (especially when most people have just 5 days sick pay), but the problem is what happens in month seven.

Recent claims data puts the average income protection claim at 7.8 years, with more than half lasting over five years. That's a long time to be dipping into savings.

3. "Income protection is really for serious illnesses."

You don't need to have cancer or a heart attack to be unable to work. Back problems, mental health conditions and injuries can keep someone out of work for a long time too.

For me, that's the simplest way to look at income protection. It's not really about what might happen to you. It's about how long you could pay the bills if you couldn't work.

24/08/2026

Some people apply to one insurer and hope for the best.

That's not how we do it.

We compare Aviva, Irish Life, New Ireland, Royal London and Zurich Life, and steer you towards the insurer most likely to say yes at the best price.

This matters even more if you have a health history. You can give three insurers the exact same medical history and get three completely different answers.

That's why comparing prices is only half the job.

21/08/2026

Ask most people how long an income protection claim lasts and I reckon they'd guess a few months.

Aviva's latest claims data puts the average at 𝟳.𝟴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀.

More than half of claims, 𝟱𝟱%, remain in payment for over five years.
And their longest-running claim?

𝟯𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Six months' sick pay from your employer sounds pretty good.

But if the average claim lasts 7.8 years, who covers the rest?

A full income protection policy can keep paying right through to retirement age if you're unable to return to work.
𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀' 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁.

Address

Patrick Street
Tullamore

Website

https://lion.ie/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when lion.ie - making life insurance easier posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Finance Company in Tullamore?

lion.ie - making life insurance easier

09/09/2026

03/09/2026

02/09/2026

01/09/2026

31/08/2026

28/08/2026

26/08/2026

26/08/2026

24/08/2026

21/08/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request