Archive for March, 2010
Mar
Now that so many term life insurance policies are available online, it makes sense to use this option when you are looking for protection for your family, you can take your time to consider all the different types of term insurance, and the different rates available. There’s a ready supply of information, which puts you in a position of knowledge and will help you to make the correct decision.
There are several different labels applied to term insurance, but basically it comes down to three different types.
First, there is Level Term Insurance. This is designed to pay out a lump sum on the death of the life or lives assured, this type of policy can be used to cover immediate expenses i.e. funeral estate taxes outstanding debts, this type of term insurance can be written on either a joint or single life basis.
Perhaps the best-known type of term insurance is that associated with a mortgage, which not
unsurprisingly is called Mortgage Term Insurance. It is designed to cover the declining balance on the outstanding mortgage on your home. It is a very cost-effective type of term insurance because it is covering a reducing liability as a mortgage comes down so does the level of cover. This type of life insurance can also been written on either a single life, or join life basis.
The third main type of term life insurance is Family Income Benefit, unlike the previous types, as its name suggests this type of policy is designed to pay a regular income, rather than a lump sum. This type of policy has been rather overlooked until recently, but now that interest rates are so low, it is gaining in popularity, because of the extremely large amount of capital that is required to be invested to produce a reasonable level of regular income. By taking the Family Income Benefit route, you can sometimes save as much as 50% of the premium cost.
All the above types of policy can have various additional benefits added for instance, critical illness cover, guaranteed insurer ability options, automatic renewable options, etc obviously not all companies offer all the benefits, and it does require you to compare the cost of the policy with the benefits provided. However, by shopping for your life insurance online, you are better able to do this for yourself and hopefully will end up making the correct decision.
Term insurance is a very low-cost option, and while some would argue that it is better to go the whole of life route, with such a low-cost option, there is no need for any family to be without some life insurance or term insurance protection.
Roger Overanout
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Mar
Buy-to-let property insurance, some times also known as residential property owners insurance, is needed if you own houses andor flats to tenants either on a short-term or long-term basis. Ordinarily you can buy cheap buy-to-let property insurance in the event that you rent five or less properties in the UK than is the case if you rent more than five properties, as in the case of the former you are seen as a small time landlord with a small business, whereas in the latter you are seen as a full blown property-owning company.
Whether you plan to rent five or less properties, or five or more properties, is, however, a side issue, as in both cases youll need to ensure that you have at least the minimum level of required insurance in order to protect yourself. Consequently, the number of properties you own will have a bearing only insofar as the insurance premiums are concerned. That said, if you are looking to become a property owner with a letting business, then you need to ensure that you have the following minimum provisions in your insurance policy:
Fire
Insuring against any fire on the property
Natural Disaster (also known as tempest insurance)
Insuring against natural disasters that may occur, such as a storm where the winds tear off your roof or guttering
Theft
Which is especially important if you are renting out fully furnished properties. In the event that you are renting out unfurnished premises, you may wish to have a discussion with your tenants about whether or not they should have home contents insurance
Public Liability Insurance
This should be a must as it will protect you against any claims your tenants or any third parties (such as their guests) may have for injuries they suffer while on your property
Lost Earnings
There may well be times when your property remains empty; say, for example, while you look for new tenants. If you are relying on the rental income from your tenants to repay the money you borrowed to purchase the property, you need to ensure you have lost earnings insurance to compensate you during this period
Employee Liability Insurance
If you have employees who will visit the property for you to repair any damage, etc. or to collect the rental payments, then you need to make sure that you have employee liability insurance in case they get injured while carrying out their assigned task
Legal Expenses Insurance
As a property owner you may find the need from time to time to retain the services of a lawyer; for example, if your tenants refuse to pay their rent or move out of the property at a specified agreed time when you may need to get an eviction notice. As legal expenses in the UK can be expensive, you should consider insuring against this risk by having in place a provision of legal expenses in your insurance policy.
Although the above are basically the bare minimums you need in your buy-to-let property insurance policy, you can also tailor these types of insurance policies to meet your particular needs, so make sure that you talk through your circumstances with your insurance provider, especially if you anticipate expanding the business in the near future.
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Mar
Who knows, you are going out for a long drive, and your car breaks down midway. Experts say that there is more than 10% chance of breaking down each year if your car is more than 3 years old. It is worse in the winter. You can avoid breakdowns by taking precautionary measures like re-servicing your vehicle each month. However, getting your breakdown insurance is a good option to protect you financially if your car vehicle breaks down when it is least expected to.
Types of Breakdown Cover
Roadside Rescue: If your vehicle breaks down outside a specific distance radius from your home, breakdown insurance would pay for the servicing amount except the charge for new parts. The company will provide you with other helps. However, the incident is at your home or within specified radius of your home, and then it wont be covered.
Home Rescue: It covers the same as the roadside rescue; it extends the coverage to your house. It includes getting your vehicle checked at the local garage.
Recovery Plus: It covers both home and roadside breakdowns. It provides a hire car to either return home or continue your journey. And also it covers the cost of alternative transport to enable your journey or return home to be completed. If the breakdown happens a set of miles away (specified in the policy), accommodation in a local hotel while awaiting completion of repairs will also be provided.
Continental Cover
In UK, European Rescue Breakdown covers roadside breakdown in continental driving. It covers the charge of repairing or bringing your car back to UK in case your car cant be repaired. However, it doesnt cover the charge of new parts. So, it is always wise to have this insurance, if you are driving across Europe as you can face fees for roadside assistance charge for every kilometer your car is being towed.
Partners and Family
Some policies also cover spouse or partner; however check it with the insurance company. Some companies look whether your spouse or partner is living with you at the same address. Family cover includes you, a partner and usually two children under 21 living at the same address as you. Check whether your policy covers all the persons traveling in the car.
You need to wait nearly 25 minutes to an hour for a roadside assistance. Some policies fix the number of calls to five or six each year. You may get more if you have a joint cover or family cover. If you exceed the limit you must pay for the assistance. Policies do not cover the cost of new parts. Some policies do not cover trailers and caravans. Animals are usually not covered.
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Mar
There are several reasons why the New Millennium Bank Visa may be the right choice for your needs. This card is designed for individuals that have poor or very limited credit. This may be a good choice for those that are new to the credit world as well. The New Millennium Bank Visa is provided by New Millennium Bank. It provides for the benefit of having the card as well as receiving benefits in rewards as well.
The Benefits
This card offers a 100,000 travel accident insurance, provides for extended warranties on purchases and provides for a free companion airline ticket. The card does not offer any introductory rates because of the amount of risk associated to the lender. The APR is that of 19.50% fixed, a decent rate to be offered. For cash advances, the APR is a fixed 19.50% one of the lowest rates available. The card uses the Average Daily Balance method of figuring finance charges which is beneficial to those that carry a balance yet it is important to note that there is no grace period with this line of credit. That means that interest accumulates from the purchase day on. There is an annual fee and an application fee as well. You will need to make a deposit to secure the card.
One of the benefits of the New Millennium Bank Visa is that you get a free membership to TheWorldsBestTravelClub.com, where you can get discounts on a variety of travel services. When you book your first condo, you get a 69 rebate for doing so. In addition, you have a referral bonus with this card at the rate of 50 per approved referral.
Those that have poor credit but would like an opportunity to earn some discounts through the use of a secure line of credit should consider the New Millennium Bank Visa. Although it provides for a bit of a costly annual fee, the APR on this line of credit is rather low. In addition, no one is turned down for the card and no credit check is run.
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Mar
Third Generation Insurance Shopping Has Arrived!
Traditional insurance shopping was revolutionised with the introduction of online insurance quote systems, both through direct online insurers, and online brokers. For many years, this remained the only way to shop online for insurance, but did not maximise the full potential of what the internet really could do for the shopper. The 3rd generation of insurance shopping websites is now here, and it means great news for consumers.
The old days.
In the(bad) old days, people had to phone around various insurance companies to get quotes for their car insurance. This was a time consuming process, but due to the variations in insurance premium from company to company, very often it was worth spending the time on. Instead of going direct to insurance companies, many consumers preferred to use insurance brokers who would shop around for them. This in theory was great, except for one thing – different brokers could charge different rates for the same insurance products. To compare insurance, consumers still had to phone around a number of brokers, many of whom only worked normal day time office hours.
The Internet Revolution (kind of).
With the growing popularity of the internet, things looked better. A number of internet based insurers and brokers offered the chance to shop around 24 hours a day and find cheaper insurance, with online discounts being offered to consumers. While this allowed people to shop for cover in the evenings, they were still faced with the same old problem that different broker sites would quote different prices for the same insurance.
The Aggregator Arrives.
In recent times, a new breed of insurance shopping website has arrived. These sites (aggregator or comparisons sites) allow you to fill in just one set of quote forms, and instead of you having to visit lots of different broker’s websites and filling in the same information time and time again – they do it for you. Sites like quotezone.co.uk do this. You enter your details as you would on any other insurance site, but instead of getting quotes from one broker, you can get over 20 insurance quotes in one place. So, for 2 minutes work , you save yourself filling in forms on 20 websites, and get all the prices back in real time one after the other.
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