by: Rachel Lane
Protecting your home
Although you have no legal obligation to insure your home, your mortgage company will want to protect their investment with buildings insurance.
However, it is also worth protecting your own investments, so even after you?ve paid off your mortgage, you should ensure you?re financially covered.
Home contents insurance and personal possessions insurance
According to Money Observer, the average home has ?44,000 of contents and replacing this without insurance would be almost impossible for most people.
An average premium is about ?150 a year and will provide cover up to ?50,000.
The majority of contents insurance policies additionally provide public liability and personal legal expenses and although most people don?t claim on these, they could be very useful if needed.
Personal possessions insurance is worth taking out because often it covers your belongings outside the home, as well as inside the home, and is often incorporated into your contents insurance.
Personal possessions insurance is also frequently referred to as all risks insurance and offers cover on possessions that are lost or stolen outside of the home.
Income protection
Income payment protection insurance is recommended by most insurers as the most appropriate way to safeguard your mortgage repayments and any other monthly bills.
Kevin Carr, a senior technical advisor at LifeSearch believes that this is a better option than payment protection alone, including accident sickness unemployment (ASU) and mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI).
In a recent statement, Carr revealed that ?the banks and mortgage lenders make huge profits from sales of payment protection.
For instance, 17% of Lloyds TSB?s profits come from this.?
Debts ? you don?t want them to haunt you
In addition to safeguarding your income to assist with loan repayments, you may also wish to consider personal finance products such as life assurance and critical illness insurance, which, under certain conditions provide a lump-sum that can be used to pay off the mortgage in difficult circumstances.
The choice of life assurance or critical illness cover will depend on personal variables.
For example, if you are single and have no dependents, then nobody would benefit from your life being heavily insured.
However, should you be diagnosed with a serious illness, a lump sum might be helpful to ensure you maintain a reasonable quality of life.
Personal accident plans can be helpful if you believe the specific conditions of the policy would be relevant to you.
Examples include insurance providers such as Nationwide who will provide cover of around ?50,000 for the loss a limb, ?10,000 for a hip and ?2,500 for a toe, in relation to a premium of ?4.95 month.
Health insurance / private medical insurance
There are many difference financial products available for insuring your health and they vary in accordance with your stage as life.
Examples include critical illness insurance, as discussed above, as well as long-term care insurance and medical insurance, which may also be referred to as private medical insurance or simply health insurance.
Wikipedia argues that health insurance is one of the more controversial forms of insurance due to the tumultuous debate of insurance companies remaining solvent, against the needs of its customers to actively protect their health.
One of the main problems insurance companies face is the issue of ?adverse selection?, a term used to describe the increased likelihood of sick people signing up for health insurance.
Health insurance companies argue that those people seeking health insurance are often those with existing medical problems, those who are much more likely to have medical health insurance problems in the future and those who may engage in ?risky behaviour? such as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking.
Products such as health insurance tend to fuel fiery debates of the moral argument of health insurance costs and the question that if people pay for health insurance, are they more likely to lead a ?risky? lifestyle in the knowledge that they are covered.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance isn?t complicated, but there are a few considerations you should bear in mind.
Travel insurance typically covers issues such as cancellation, loss of baggage and medical expenses.
However, Money Observer ( http://www.moneyobserver.com/ ) recommend better value by including baggage cover in your personal possessions insurance and not as part of your travel insurance policy.
The consumer financial magazine also recommends extending your motor insurance ? to ensure your car is covered when driving abroad.
Moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/ ), a personal finance consumer information site, makes the point of shopping around for your travel insurance and avoiding the high street travel agents.
According to their insurance guide:
?Since January 2005, it is especially important to avoid the travel agents when buying travel cover; from that date, the insurance industry falls under the regulation of the Financial Services Authority, giving that body the ability to investigate and take action on behalf of consumers. Tour operators and travel agents, however, are not subject to this regulation, so if you have a complaint about travel insurance purchased from a travel agent, the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service will not be able to intervene on your behalf.?
In a recent press release, moneynet also blasted high street travel agents for exorbitant insurance, stating that, ?major high street players like Thomas Cook, Thomson and Travelcare, which between them account for around 70 % of the travel insurance market, levy premiums that are typically twice as expensive as buying cover online.?
Weddings ? insure your finances for better and for worse
Insurance may not be romantic, but it?s important and if your wedding doesn?t go according to plan, it can be very expensive.
Wedding insurance will typically cover dress damage, loss of rings and retaking the photographs if anything goes wrong with the photographer or prints.
Insurance doesn?t always come with guarantees, but shopping around to make sure you have the most appropriate protection for yourself, your partner and your family will give you a certain amount of peace of mind.
Disclaimer:
We only show you the way ? it is up to you to follow the path of enlightenment.
All information, is intended for general information only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.
Released by bigmouthmedia ( http://www.bigmouthmedia.com )
About The Author
Rachel Lane lives in Edinburgh with the teenage mutant ninja turtles.
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Custom Car Covers For That Perfect Fit!
Custom Car Covers For That Perfect Fit!
by: Matthew C. Keegan
Bob Crowley and his wife, Teresa, were proud of their silver Honda Accord. Despite living in the city and parking their car right on the street, their ?98 Accord was nearly free of dings. The finish looked just as good as when they purchased the car. How could this be possible?
With kids playing stick ball, tight parallel parking, air pollution, and pigeons that frequently splattered cars up and down the street, no car was immune from the regular insults of urban living. For the Crowley?s it was no mystery: a custom fitted car cover was placed over their Accord whenever it was parked to give it maximum protection. For an investment costing less than two hundred dollars you can protect your car too. Please read on to discover all the advantages of utilizing a high quality car cover.
Without exception, a custom fitted car cover offers the best protection for any vehicle. With...
Custom Car Covers For That Perfect Fit!
Car insurance > Custom Car Covers For That Perfect Fit!
Neon Car Lights, What The Kits Include And What To Look Out For When Purchasing
Neon Car Lights, What The Kits Include And What To Look Out For When Purchasing
by: Antonio Gabellone
When purchasing Neon Car Lights for your most loved vehicle, there are a few things that you need to be aware of so that you don't get burn and end up with less then what you started with. I'm mainly talking about the quality of the lights and where you got them from.
A lot of the Big manufactures of neon car lights like Plasmaglow, Streetglow and Liteglow are the only brands that I would recommend when it come to choosing your lights. By purchasing from one of these makers you can be assured of quality parts and performance, and not to mention getting everything in the kits that is required to do the installation. Yes, some cheaper makers of these car lighting accessories do not give you everything that is needed in the kits, so be aware of this, or else it will end up costing you more to get the extra bits required.
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Neon Car Lights, What The Kits Include And What To Look Out For When Purchasing
Car insurance > Neon Car Lights, What The Kits Include And What To Look Out For When Purchasing
Vehicle Extended Warranty - Protect Your Purchase
Vehicle Extended Warranty - Protect Your Purchase
by: R. Palkra
A couple weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I was running late. My morning coffee didn?t wake me up like it should have, and I was dragging. As a result, I was going to be late for church, and as a teacher, that wasn?t going to be good!
I finally got my stuff together and ran outside to my car. It was raining. As I put the key in the ignition, I knew something wasn?t right. I turned the key?nothing. The car wouldn?t start. I hoped the problem was only with the battery, so I rolled the car onto the street, pulled my wife?s car out, and jumped the battery. It worked!
After church was over, I took my car to a garage, where I found out the problem was the battery, and I replaced it.
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Vehicle Extended Warranty - Protect Your Purchase
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Auto Insurance Guide- Get your Auto Insurance Policy
Auto Insurance Guide- Get your Auto Insurance Policy
by: Gagandeep Dhaliwal
Auto insurance provides complete protection against losses happened as a result of vehicle accidents. Normally it includes car insurance and motor insurance. The customers purchase this insurance policy just to reduce the risk incurred due to accidents of cars, trucks and other vehicles. People can also secure their vehicles against theft, fire damage or accident damage.
Auto insurance policy may cover insured party, insured vehicle as well as third party that are involved in the accident. Sometimes policy is valid for certain circumstances. Different policies are available for the customers and they can purchase anyone as per their requirements. Coverage levels can vary for each auto insurance policy.
Insurance is one of the essential things to secure you, your family as well as your vehicle. You?ve to just pay a certain amount of premium for a fixed period...
Auto Insurance Guide- Get your Auto Insurance Policy
Car insurance > Auto Insurance Guide- Get your Auto Insurance Policy