Study other financial products for CISI Introduction to Investment, with a UK-specific reading frame built around the official chapter structure and exam weighting.
This chapter widens the paper beyond mainstream investments into borrowing and protection products that often sit alongside financial planning. The questions are usually practical and purpose-driven. A client borrowing for property does not need the same solution as a client protecting dependants or comparing the real cost of credit. The chapter is easiest when you ask what financial problem is being solved. Is the issue day-to-day borrowing, long-term secured finance, or risk transfer on death? Once that is clear, the answer set narrows quickly.
| Check | What matters |
|---|---|
| Official topic weighting | 6% |
| Core distinction under pressure | recognise whether the need is borrowing, housing finance, or protection, and choose the product whose cash-flow design matches that purpose. |
| Strongest use of this page | read it before timed sets so you can recognise what kind of question the chapter is asking |
| UK note | Use UK terminology first: FCA, PRA, Bank of England, HMRC, FOS, FSCS, ISA, SIPP, OEIC, unit trust, gilt, and GBP where a sterling amount matters. |
The exam often tests cash-flow shape. Repayment and interest-only borrowing do not behave the same way, and life assurance policies differ because the risk event and cover pattern differ. The right answer usually matches how the cash flows or protection needs evolve through time.
It also tests whether candidates confuse a financing product with a protection policy. A mortgage may create the need for insurance, but it is not itself the insurance contract.
| Section | Main exam angle |
|---|---|
| Loans and borrowing costs | If the question compares borrowing offers, focus on actual cost rather than marketing language alone |
| Mortgages | If the debt balance is meant to reduce over time through regular payments, repayment-mortgage logic is likely relevant |
| Life assurance | If the protection need falls over time with a loan balance, decreasing cover may be the key clue |
This section is about the economics of borrowing: interest cost, repayment obligations, and the difference between headline borrowing and effective cost. Foundation questions keep the maths simple and often test the candidate’s ability to identify the cleaner pricing measure.
Mortgage questions normally test the basic difference between repayment and interest-only structures, or the broad way housing finance works. They are usually concerned with cash-flow consequences rather than legal fine print.
Life assurance questions on this syllabus are broad and purpose-led. The exam is typically looking for the cover pattern that best matches the need, such as temporary family protection or cover linked to a reducing mortgage balance.
Which policy is most commonly used to help protect a repayment mortgage where the insurance need broadly falls as the mortgage balance reduces over time?
Answer: B.
A repayment mortgage balance generally declines through time, so decreasing term assurance is the natural match because the cover amount is designed to reduce in line with the falling liability.