Mr. Karl Deeter:

They have problems getting credit anyway, but the interesting thing is that section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act governs the provision of life cover on loans. Obviously there are ways to waive that. There are certain conditions - one can be over a certain age, have been loaded, have been refused, be buying an investment property, etc., but we actually put in mandatory insurance for the event that is probably least likely to happen. I have always wondered about that, when other events, such as a period of unemployment, are far more likely to happen. If those involved in the activity should be paying for the indemnity, as is generally the principle in indemnity - one must have privity or some kind of interaction with what is occurring - a scheme where anyone who takes any mortgage pays a certain percentage or a certain amount of payment towards a general pool of insurance, something like that could work very well. It would help people that it would be paid if they entered into the mortgage arrears resolution process. It would encourage them to deal with the bank and not hide from the bank. The incentives would be much better aligned to provide for the risks they really face, rather than forcing insurance for the thing that is least likely to happen and which, because it is not built into the payment, the person can actually cancel in most cases. There are people in arrears who cancel their insurance and then they die and the mortgage is still there.