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If you’ve landed here, chances are you’ve already done the hard part.
You’ve saved the deposit.
You’ve found the house.
You might even be close to drawdown.
Then the insurer comes back with one word that stops everything in its tracks.
Postponed.
This is usually the bit where people panic, so let’s slow it down for a minute.
A postponement isn’t a no. It’s the insurer saying they need more certainty before they say yes.
From your side, it feels brutal. From the insurer’s side, it’s about unanswered medical questions, not assumptions about your health.
In plain English, a postponement means the insurer can’t make a final decision yet.
They’re not pricing you higher.
They’re not declining you.
They’re simply pressing pause.
This almost always happens because something in your medical history is still being investigated, followed up, or monitored.
This is the bit people often miss: insurers follow doctors, not common sense.
If your GP or consultant thinks something’s worth checking, even as a precaution, the insurer will wait until that check is finished.
In real life, postponements usually come down to timing rather than severity.
Some of the situations we see every week include:
From the insurer’s point of view, unanswered questions are worse than bad answers.
Once results are in, or a specialist confirms there’s nothing to worry about, many of these cases move quickly.
If you’re buying a home in Ireland, you generally need mortgage protection in place before the bank will release funds.
So when an application is postponed, everything can suddenly feel up in the air.
This is the bit that’s hardest to accept.
The insurer isn’t being awkward. They’re deferring to your medical professional.
If your doctor believes a test or referral is necessary, the insurer will agree, even if it later turns out to be nothing.
This is why public waiting lists quietly cause so many mortgage delays. The insurer won’t move until the medical side is finished.
One practical point worth mentioning: if you’re awaiting a test or investigation, some people choose to have it done privately rather than waiting on the public system.
It can cost a few hundred euro depending on what’s involved, but once the investigation is complete, insurers are usually in a position to make a decision. For some buyers, that timing difference is the key thing.
This depends on why you were postponed and how close you are to drawdown.
In most cases, your options fall into one of four categories.
Different insurers assess risk differently.
One may postpone while another is prepared to proceed. Sometimes that comes with a loading. Sometimes it doesn’t.
This isn’t about shopping blindly. It’s about knowing which insurer is most understanding of your specific situation and how they’ve treated similar cases in the past.
Sometimes a postponement can be resolved with clarification from your GP or consultant.
If a referral’s no longer required, or an investigation has already been completed, that needs to be clearly stated in writing.
GPs don’t sign people off lightly. But when something genuinely isn’t an issue anymore, they sometimes will.
If cover isn’t possible right now, the lender may consider a mortgage protection waiver.
A waiver means the bank agrees to proceed without mortgage protection once you’ve shown evidence of a postponement or decline.
This is entirely at the lender’s discretion and depends on income, existing cover, and overall affordability.
Sometimes, the only realistic option is time.
I know that’s not what you want to hear when a house is on the line. But once investigations are complete, many postponed cases are approved.
A postponement is very likely if you’re awaiting:
Even if the referral is years old, insurers treat it as unfinished business until it’s formally closed.
This is the part most people don’t see.
We don’t just submit applications and hope for the best.
We look at timing, including whether there’s a realistic chance this can be resolved before drawdown, and how each insurer has reacted to similar situations in the past.
That often means identifying the most realistic insurer first, guiding what medical information actually helps, advising honestly when a waiver is the right move, or telling you when waiting is the safest option.
Not every case has a neat solution. Most have a clearer path than people expect.
If your application has been postponed, it doesn’t mean you won’t get the house.
It means the process needs handling carefully from here.
If you want a straight answer on what’s realistic in your situation, complete our short medical questionnaire and we’ll take a proper look before anything goes further.
Or, if you’d prefer to talk it through first, you can book a call back here.
We deal with postponed and complex cases every day. We’ll tell you the truth, even when it’s not the easy answer.
Thanks for reading
Nick
lion.ie | Protection Broker of the Year 🏆
Written by Nick McGowan, QFA RPA APA
Nick is a qualified financial advisor and founder of Lion.ie, an independent Irish life insurance and income protection brokerage based in Tullamore.
He’s been helping people get fair, transparent cover for over 15 years and was named Protection Broker of the Year 2022.
If you’d like straight answers without the sales pitch, learn more about Nick here.
Editor’s note: First published in 2016. Fully rebuilt in 2026 to reflect current underwriting and lender practice.
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