Loan Insurance - Worth The Extra Cost
Posted by admin on November 18th, 2008 filed in Insurance | Comment now »
There are many factors, out of your control that can make you unable to repay your loans. You might become sick or get involved in an accident that takes you out of work for an extended period of time. Maybe your employer has to cut back and make wage decreases or lay-offs. If you are working for your self then maybe business is not going well and you are not earning as much as you had hoped. It could even be that your expenses have risen or interest rates have risen and this has made it difficult to make repayments.
Many of us worry about these possible outcomes. Some of us, especially if we have borrowed a lot and are already close to our repayment capacity may be losing sleep over it. People who are elderly and close to retirement, or those with young children also may worry a lot about such issues.
Loan Insurance
It is for this reason that insurers offer loan insurance. Loan insurance is a policy that protects against the possibility that you will not be able to make your repayments. You will usually be offered it every time you take on credit. You should know that you are not obliged to take loan insurance and you cannot be denied credit for not taking it. If you do wish to take it out, you should shop around and not take it from the first insurer you come across. Rates vary widely and it certainly pays to shop around.
If you have loan insurance you can rest a little easier knowing that if certain events outside of your control occur you loans will be repaid by the insurance company. Events included would be illness, accident or job loss not of your fault, among others. You should also be aware of the conditions and exclusions however before you agree to such insurance. It is a fact that many people pay for loan insurance without much prospect of ever benefiting from it; often without even knowing they have it. This is because lenders are anxious to add it to your account as a way of increasing revenues.
Be Aware
Some policies will require for example that you accept the first job you are offered after losing your job. This can be very impractical for a person who may have had a very good job and now is offered a much lower paying one. They know that if they continue their search they will find a better job but their insurance wants them to take up the first one.
Always be aware of what you are paying for with insurance. Be aware of the exclusions and if you don’t want the insurance, don’t buy it. If it has been added to your account without your permission, call your creditor and have it cancelled immediately.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites http://www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk. At the Personal Loan Store you can find all the different loan types explained.
Tags: accident, creditor, illness, insurance, lenders, loan, policy, repaymentsLife Insurance - Top Money Saving Tips
Posted by admin on November 9th, 2008 filed in Insurance | Comment now »
More and more people are buying life insurance online and the numbers seem to be doubling every two years. The reasons are clear. Prices are lower on the Internet and life insurance is fundamentally a simple insurance product.
Despite the underlying simplicity of life insurance, most web sites channel their online clients through a telephone based help and advice service manned by experienced personnel. They represent your safety net so if a little technical knowledge is called for, help is at hand.
But it’s always a good idea to have a few Top Tips in your back pocket when you’re shopping online for life insurance. They’ll help you ask the right questions and find the best policy.
1. Always have your Life Insurance policy “Written in Trust”.
This means that in the event of a claim, the money goes directly and immediately to the person(s) you nominate when you first take the policy out. It also avoids all possibility of your estate having to pay Inheritance Tax on the proceeds of your policy and that could represent a 40% tax saving !
All you have to do is tell the online brokerage organising your policy that you want your policy “Written in Trust” and the names of the people who the life insurance company pay in the event of a claim. They will then sort it all out for you. The extra good news is that this service is invariably free of charge. So it’s a win win situation and there aren’t many of those around these days !
2. In the early years a Reviewable Life Insurance Policy will be cheaper but a Guaranteed Policy will work out a better buy in the longer term.
With a “Guaranteed Policy” the insurance company guarantees never to increase your policy’s premium.
With a “Reviewable Policy” you agree that your insurance company can review the cost of your policy at regular intervals. But don’t be kidded - in our experience a “review” is just another word for a price increase. After all, who’s ever heard of an insurance company passing up a chance to charge you more! The review intervals are usually between 2 to 5 years but this does vary between insurance companies. You will find the details of the review intervals on the documents sent to you before you accept the insurance - these are called The Key Features Documents.
So, comparing otherwise like for like policies, in the early years the premiums for a “Reviewable Policy” will undoubtedly be lower than the premiums for a “Guaranteed Policy”. Thereafter, the premiums for a Reviewable Policy increase eventually catching up with and overtaking, the premium for a “Guaranteed Policy”.
In our experience, you can expect the monthly premiums for a Reviewable Policy to exceed those of a Guaranteed policy in about 7 to 10 years and then within the following 10 years, more than double again. If your budget is currently tight then by all means choose a Reviewable Policy - after all your salary may increase in coming years and ease the strain. On the other hand, if the premiums for a Guaranteed Policy are affordable, we think they represent your best buy.
A footnote. Many insurance companies have stopped offering “Guaranteed” rates for standalone critical illness insurance policies. This because they have experienced much higher claim rates than they initially expected. However, you may still find a Guaranteed life insurance policy that also provides critical illness cover. As we have explained, “Guaranteed” rates are especially good value and if you can get a quote for a Guaranteed life policy that includes critical illness cover, you may have a real bargain.
3. Thinking about a Joint Life Insurance Policy?
A Joint Life Insurance policy is usually written on a first death basis. This means that the policy will pay out on the death of the first policyholder, subject to the policy being in force at the time. This leaves the second person uninsured and older. Older people can struggle to get life insurance at an affordable premium, so rather than a Joint Policy consider taking out separate policies now. Overall it will work out a little dearer - but you get twice the cover and double the peace of mind.
4. Taking out a Life Insurance Policy? Now would be an ideal time to include Critical Illness cover.
Are you likely to need Critical Illness Insurance in the future? Yes? Then consider adding it now to the life insurance policy you’re arranging. Why? There are three reasons.
Firstly, a Life Insurance policy combined with Critical Illness cover will work out significantly cheaper than buying two separate policies. Secondly, as we have already explained in the footnote to Tip 2, you may be able to buy a combined Life and Critical Illness policy with a guaranteed premium. That could be a real bargain. Finally, premiums for critical illness cover increase rapidly as you get older - so the sooner you take it out, the cheaper it will be.
5. Don’t confuse Terminal Illness cover with Critical Illness cover.
There’s world of difference between Terminal Illness and Critical Illness cover so it’s important to understand the difference.
Terminal Illness cover pays out the insured lump sum if a Medical Doctor diagnoses you with an illness from which the Doctor expects you to die within 12 months. Most good life policies automatically include Terminal Illness cover at no extra cost. It’s basically an early, and welcome policy payout.
A Critical Illness policy pays out the insured lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of a wide range chronic illness and there is no life expectancy criteria. Indeed, with many of the insured illnesses you could expect to survive for many years. For example: certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, loss of speech, sight or hearing, onset of Parkinsons or Alzheimers disease, third degree burns etc. Say you were an engineer aged 40 and you lost your sight. A Critical Illness policy would pay out immediately and that money could well be vital in helping you and your family through many difficult financial years ahead. If you just had Terminal Illness cover there’d be no chance of a payout.
So as you can see, Critical Illness cover is far more comprehensive than simple Terminal Illness cover and for that reason critical illness cover always costs you extra.
© 2005 Andromeda Webs Ltd. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Author: Michael Challiner,
Editor of Express Life Insurance, Andromeda Webs Ltd.
Tel. ++ 1477 535920
Express Life Insurance
Additional Critical Illness Insurance
Michael Challiner has 15 years experience in financial services marketing at senior level, the last 5 of which specialised in online marketing. Prior to that he spent 15 years in advertising with two of the world’s top advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Tags: cover, critical, guaranteed, illness, insurance, joint, life, online, policy, price, reviewable, terminal, trust