A Mortgage, A Marriage, A Move – Oh My!

The information provided in The Kinder Way Podcast is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice from a licensed advisor. The content of each episode is the opinion of the host and interviewees, and does not represent the views of Serenia Life Financial or any of its other subsidiaries or affiliates. Please always consult a licensed insurance advisor for guidance. Serenia Life Financial does not endorse any third-party views referenced in this content.

Episode Transcript

INTRO: Hi! Welcome to the latest episode of The Kinder Way Podcast! I’m excited to have Kieran Drohan, Director of Digital Demand Generation at Serenia Life, here with me today. Kieran and I are both on Serenia Life’s marketing team – but we couldn’t be more different when it comes to what which sides of our brains we like to use while at work: I’m the “creative, emotional” one and he’s the “data-driven, numbers guy.” I like to think it’s a nice balance!

On the personal side, Kieran is a homeowner, a husband, and a dog Dad to two Shih Tzus. As someone who’s been through the home-buying process three times now, he certainly understands the need for mortgage protection… which is why I’ve brought him on the show to discuss just that!

Fun fact about Kieran: He bought his first house when he was only 26!

As always, I should note that Kieran is speaking from personal experience and this episode should not be taken as advice for your unique situation. Please consult with a licensed advisor before making any big life decisions.

Kathleen: Welcome to the show, Kieran!

KD: Thanks for having me—I’m really happy to be here.

KO: Amazing! 😊 Let’s jump right in. For me, buying a house – and the never-ending mortgage payments that came with it – triggered MY life insurance purchase. But it was also quite a bit later in life in my case… I was already married, had a kid, etc. I know you were a lot younger when you bought your first house. But is THAT also what motivated you to buy life insurance?

KD: Honestly, I didn’t know a lot about mortgages prior to my first home purchase. I was young and my only goal was to get into the real estate market.

My older brother was a big help – he knew a lot about personal finance, and he was also my realtor too. He guided me through the home buying process and encouraged me to use a mortgage broker to get the best mortgage rate. He also connected me with his life insurance agent that he trusted – which is super important

Before that meeting, I really thought life insurance was just for covering funeral costs, and something you deal with later in life. I was single, no kids—it just didn’t feel relevant to me at all. I didn’t know you could use life insurance to secure your mortgage. But once that agent explained that to me PLUS walked me through the many *other* reasons to buy life insurance – especially while it was still quite affordable due to my age – I saw the benefit and decided to move forward.

From there, I ended up applying for a term policy to cover the mortgage, and that’s kind of how I got started with it.

KO: What term did you get? And was it really affordable for you at that stage of your life?

KD: Yeah, I went with a 30-year term to line up with my mortgage, which also had a 30-year amortization period – which is really just a big word that means I had 30 years to pay the whole thing off. For me, it just made sense to match those up.

At the time, I was pretty early in my career, so I didn’t have a ton of extra money. I was definitely stretching a bit to afford the house. But I remember the term insurance being surprisingly affordable—it was under 20 bucks a month, so it fit into my budget.

I did end up getting a roommate later on, which helped take some of the pressure off with homeownership costs.

After that, I added a small whole life policy—about $15,000 in coverage. That was more for long-term protection and a bit of growth through an investment component called the “cash value.” I set it up in a way that allowed the coverage to slowly increase over time and help keep up with inflation.

My whole life policy was a bit more expensive, but since I got a pretty small amount when I was young and healthy, it was still pretty reasonable—just over $25 a month.”

KO: Okay, wow! As someone in her 40s who has looked into whole life coverage, $25 is ridiculously affordable! I wish I knew back then what I know now… Anyway… at that time, were you given the option of mortgage insurance from the bank? And if yes, what made you go with term life insurance instead?

KD: Yeah, so in my case, I actually went through a mortgage broker, so I wasn’t really dealing directly with the bank or having detailed conversations about their mortgage insurance options.

The idea of term life insurance actually came from my brother—he’s the one who first brought it up to me. So I was pretty lucky to have that kind of guidance early on.

And honestly, that made a big difference. Instead of just going with whatever the bank might have offered by default, I had a chance to look at another option and think about what actually made the most sense for me.

So yeah, I wouldn’t say I compared everything side by side at the time, but having someone point me toward term life insurance definitely helped me make a more informed decision, instead of just accepting the standard option.

KO: That’s great! Did you see any other benefits to getting life insurance – or for you, was it mortgage protection only?

KD: Yeah, at that stage of my life, I was pretty focused on mortgage protection.

I had just started my career, but I was actually in a pretty good spot financially — I didn’t have any major debt. My parents helped with my education, and I worked a couple of part-time jobs to cover my car and just get myself set up for moving out. So for me, life insurance was mainly about covering the mortgage — plus having that investment with the small whole life policy I mentioned earlier.

That changed a bit when I met my partner. She had some student debt from doing her PhD, so once we got married, we made sure she had life insurance in place too.

Then when we bought a home together – my second home purchase – we made sure she had both term and whole life coverage as well—just to cover our different needs.

And one thing I always point out, because I didn’t realize how important it was at first, is that when we moved, my life insurance came with me. It wasn’t tied to the original house or lender.

KO: “Tied to the lender….” Can you explain that a bit more? And are there any other downsides, in your opinion?

KD: Yeah, so the way I understand it—and again, I’m not a financial advisor—but mortgage insurance through a lender is really there to protect the bank, not you.

So what that means is, if something happens to you, the insurance just pays off whatever’s left on your mortgage. And since your mortgage balance is going down over time, the coverage is actually shrinking too… even though you’re paying the same amount the whole time.

With life insurance, from what I’ve heard, the payments are more affordable AND the coverage stays the same no matter what. So if you’ve got, say, a $250,000 policy, that full amount gets paid out whether you’re early in the mortgage or almost done. And your family can use that money however they want—not just to pay off the house.

A couple of other downsides with mortgage insurance through the bank that people don’t always realize are things like: the payout goes straight to the lender, so your family doesn’t really have a say in how to use the money. Also, if you move or switch lenders, that coverage usually doesn’t follow you—you kind of have to start over.

And one big one is that sometimes they don’t fully check your health when you sign up. They might wait until there’s a claim, and then go back and review everything. And if something wasn’t disclosed properly, that can actually cause issues with the payout.

So yeah, for me, I liked having something that stays the same, stays with me, and gives my family more flexibility.

KO: It’s really interesting to compare! I wonder how many homebuyers are aware that there are such big differences between the two. Okay, think fast: If your mortgage was paid off tomorrow, would you cancel your term life insurance policy? Why or why not?

KD: Honestly, no—I wouldn’t just cancel it right away.

What I’d probably do is take a look at converting some of it over to a new permanent policy, if that’s an option. Since I’ve already been paying into the term policy, it could make sense to keep some coverage long-term so that I don’t have to worry about having to requalify.

I’d likely keep the rest of the term policy too, especially if it’s still cheap and affordable. Just because the mortgage is gone doesn’t mean there aren’t other things to cover.

So, I’d step back and look at the bigger picture—like, do I still have other debts, do I want to protect against lost income for my partner, or future expenses I want to cover? And then I’d decide from there.

But yeah, I wouldn’t see paying off the mortgage as an automatic reason to cancel everything.

KO: Makes sense to me! Alright… Anything else you’d like to add on this topic before we say good-bye?

KD: As I’ve learned more about insurance over the years, I’ve really come to see it as a way to protect yourself—and the people you care about—from life’s ‘what ifs.’

Since working at Serenia Life, I’ve had more open conversations with my dad about it. And honestly, one thing that surprised me was realizing that he didn’t properly plan if something were to happen to him or my mom. My dad owned his own business and my mom stayed at home raising 5 kids. It shocked me to know that they didn’t have life insurance while we were growing up.

That really made me stop and think… like, what would life have looked like if something had happened to one of them? Things could have been very different and challenging.

So for me, it’s not just about numbers or policies anymore—it’s about making sure the people in your life have some stability and support, even in worst-case scenarios.

KO: I love that – totally agreed. Alright, now’s the time in the episode where I ask my guests to sprinkle a little bit of kindness in. Can you share a time where you witnessed or participated in an act of kindness?

KD:  Yeah, for me, kindness really comes down to being generous with your time and being genuinely considerate of others, and caring for your community.

When I was growing up a friend of mine lost his father at a young age, and his mom was suddenly raising two kids on her own. It was a tough situation. But he ended up getting matched with a mentor through Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and I got to see firsthand the impact that it had on him.

That relationship gave him support, stability, and just someone to look up to – and honestly, it stuck with me. They’re still in each other’s lives to this day.

I kind of knew even back then that I wanted to be able to do that for someone else someday.

So now, I’m actually a big brother through that same program. And for me, kindness in that role looks like showing up, taking an interest in who he is, helping him grow, and just being consistent and present.

And yeah- it’s been incredibly rewarding. I probably get just as much out of it as he does.

KO: That is so wonderful, Kieran! I love hearing your stories about your ‘little brother’ at work! 😉 Well, thank you so much for joining me today. You’ve brought up some really important points for our listeners to consider, especially if they’re in the market to buy a home. This was great… thanks!

KD: Thanks so much for having me—I really appreciate it.

And yeah… I’m always happy to talk about my little brother, so thanks for letting me sneak that in there too.

This was a lot of fun—thanks again!