Insurance. Don’t Pay For The Same Cover Twice

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Tuesday 16 February 2010 5:00 pm

Have you got any idea how much you pay out on different types of insurance every year. Chances are if you sat down and worked it out you?d be shocked at the amount. It?s not just the amount, but also the contents of the cover that we are discussing in this article. Some elements of insurance are covered in other areas too, which means that you may well be paying for the same type of cover more than once.

Loss of income, legal expenses, theft and death are generally the most common areas that are easy to duplicate. It?s easy enough to make the mistake as some elements of cover are latched on without you really noticing. In other cases, perhaps a financial advisor arranged the cover and you never took the time to read the details properly. Hopefully, this article will help.

This issue recently came to light when the Financial Services Authority (FSA) released survey results showing that extras like breakdown recovery and legal expense cover are often tied to car insurance policies, and rather than being an optional extra, it actually takes the customer to make the phone call to remove the ?option?. Another common crossover is permanent medical insurance (PMI) and payment protection insurance (PPI). People take out PPI with a loan or credit card, not realising that they are already covered by their PMI. So they end up for the same thing twice, which is pointless as there are no extra benefits to be had.

The Financial Ombudsman knows that this is going on, recognising the fact with the statement: ?People? often do not realise until they make a claim that they have been paying for a policy that provides very little, if any, benefit?.

A case in point is Amanda Lariviere from West Yorkshire. Aged 42, she developed ovarian cancer and, following a bad reaction to chemotherapy, she was unable to work. She got a large tax bill in the post a few months later and decided to free up some money to pay the bill by re-mortgaging the house. The building society asked her to bring along her life insurance papers to help with the re-mortgage application, and then found that her life insurance policy was actually critical illness insurance instead. Amanda had been paying ?80 a month for two policies with Scottish Provident and Norwich Union and hadn?t even realised that it was in fact critical illness cover. As Amanda had recently been through her ordeal with ovarian cancer, she was able to claim on both policies, and consequently received a ?100,000 lump sum. That covered a lot more than just the tax bill, she managed to pay most of her mortgage off!

The policies listed below are all example of areas which could potentially cause duplication in your cover, so have a look to see if any of these cold apply to you.

Critical Illness insurance is sometimes included in cover provided by your employer. It?s well worth finding out before you purchase this sometimes expensive form of insurance.

If you have a company pension scheme then you may not need extra Life Insurance. Most company pension schemes have a death-in-service benefit that means if you die while you are still with the company, then a tax free lump sum will be paid out. This could be three or four times your annual salary at the time you died, possibly more, so it?s worth considering whether you really need that extra life insurance policy.

Two types of insurance overlap quite significantly and that?s Permanent Medical Insurance (PMI) and Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). PMI is a coverall insurance that means if you have an accident or become ill then you receive a monthly income that you can use to cover bills, rent, mortgage etc. However, many financial products sell PPI policies as an extra on their product only, and often we end up buying these add-ons without really noticing. If you already have PMI then this is a total waste of money as you are already covered. The only extra benefit with PPI is that you can be covered against redundancy.

Be sure not to make the mistake of letting these types of insurance overlap ? if you are unsure about what is and isn?t included, read your PMI policy in full.

We don?t think that Mobile phone insurance is worth bothering with. If you have home insurance you may well be covered by that. Also, seeing as you will usually have to pay the first ?50 of the claim, is it really worth it? We think going pay-as-you-go is the best thing to do if your phone gets broken or stolen.

You may notice on your car insurance and home and contents insurance an extra mention of Legal expense cover. It?s in these areas that a dispute over who is responsible for the damage is most likely to occur, so a number of these policies include it for no extra cost. However, it may be an optional extra, and if you?re a member of a trade union or a professional association, then you may already have some legal cover set up as a member?s incentive. Check this out first and you could save some money.

Some companies are trying to convince people to take out ID Theft insurance. There?s no need. If it does happen to you then you will only be responsible for the first ?50 according to ?Which?? magazine, so the insurance is pretty pointless. You may also find that your bank will be prepared to waive all charges.

Ever bought a new watch and then accidentally dropped and broken it the next day? If you bought it on credit card then you?re in luck. Purchases are insured against accidental damage and theft for a set period of time, for example up to 60 days with Barclaycard. Before you got and buy another one, remember that the purchase may actually be insured.

Kings offer you access to life insurance, Car insurance and loans all online.

LowCost Auto Insurance Does Not Always Mean Inferior Quality!

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Friday 31 July 2009 5:59 pm

When shopping for low-cost auto insurance, don?t automatically assume the less expensive insurance is necessarily inferior insurance. Robust marketplace competition inevitably results in lower costs, better product quality and improved customer service. Insurance companies aren?t willing to throw their money away on a losing deal; on the contrary: They?re betting against all odds that you probably won?t have an accident, even as you?re figuring you probably will. And the insurance companies will even accept your money just to prove their point.

Cheaper prices on car insurance do not automatically mean lesser quality on the services purchased. But some people get hung up on the zeroes behind the dollar sign ? figuring the more money they shell out, the better deal they?re getting. Some companies even take advantage of these particular consumers by actually selling inferior products for much higher prices to make it appear that their products are more valuable. Remember, name recognition does not necessarily equate the best service.

Value, however, is the key, especially in car insurance. While the consumer wants to be sufficiently covered in the event of an accident, no one wants to pay more than necessary. Customers demand lower prices and companies hear those demands. And like all companies in a free market, insurance companies have to compete in order to stay in business. Low-cost car insurance is oftentimes purely a product of marketplace competition.

Other factors play into lower pricing. Sometimes the reason cheaper car insurance is available on, well, cheaper cars is because those cars actually have a smaller risk of loss or damage by the very fact that they?re cheap. Lesser value reduces the insurance company?s overall risk. By transferring that risk to enough people paying low premiums, insurers are betting that will make up for the relatively small number of major accidents per year.

The first thing to do while comparing the cost of car insurance premiums is to find out exactly what is required by law in your state. Once you know what is required you can then decide what options you may want to add, if any. Start with your finances. If you have a lot of assets which can be potentially ?attached? by lawsuit, make sure you get more than the minimum liability listed ? enough to cover your possessions, including your house, if you?re found at fault because of an accident and the injured?s medical bills exceed basic liability. If you don?t have significant assets, don?t buy extra coverage.

Think about your personal driving habits. If you tend to speed, get into fender-benders, or roll through red lights, your chances of accidents increase exponentially. If you own an older model car but have a good driving record, you might not need collision insurance, however you might want to purchase comprehensive insurance, especially if the car is one that is on the Top Ten Stolen Cars List. Also check on the reliability of the insurance company by researching your state?s Department of Insurance website and local Better Business Bureau for consumer complaint ratios. You can also check out local body shops and car dealerships to see which companies they prefer working with ? but make sure it?s not a ?partnership?.

The bottom line is buy car insurance at the best price that will adequately cover your driving needs. You don?t want to end up with a fantastic price on insurance but not be able to get your car fixed or replaced after an accident.

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Cheap Insurance

Posted by How To Choose Insurance | How to choose insurance | Monday 6 July 2009 2:00 pm

Insurance is a form of contract whereby periodic payments (also known as insurance premiums) are made to an insurance company, in order to provide an individual or business compensation in the event of property loss or damage.

The main purpose of insurance is to protect yourself or your family against the financial impact of a tragedy. In general, it is contract in which one party agrees to pay for another party?s financial loss resulting from a specified event. Insurance mainly consist of three things – insurer, insured and policy. An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type) becomes the ?insured? party once risk is assumed by an ?insurer?, the insuring party, by means of a contract, defined as an insurance ?policy?.

There are two main ways to buy insurance. The first one is directly through an agent and the second one is to do it yourself. The main advantage of buying insurance from other is that an honest and competent insurer will decide according to the situation and make suggestions. The advantage of going on your own is that less money is needed for it. While buying any type of insurance, a person will save money by paying annually or semi-annually. Sometimes buying several types of insurance from the same company will save money.

There are different types of insurance available in the market. Life insurance is a form of insurance that pays monetary proceeds upon the death of the insured covered in the policy. There are main two types of life insurance that are term insurance and permanent insurance.

The medical insurance policy is a non-life insurance policy, which covers the expenses incurred by an individual in case of an injury or hospitalization. Individuals have to pay a minimal premium for buying medical insurance. Its main types are indemnity plan, preferred provider organization and health maintenance organization.

Homeowner insurance policy covers property and contents. There are two kinds of Homeowners Insurance policies and these policies can be divided into two categories named-Peril Insurance and all-risk insurance.

Auto insurance is the insurance against loss due to theft or traffic accidents. It can be purchased for cars, trucks and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of car. Its main types are general liability, no-fault insurance, uninsured auto coverage and medical payments.

Car insurance is the insurance against loss due to theft or traffic accidents. Its main types are fully comprehensive auto insurance, third party insurance, fire and theft insurance, third party insurance, specialized car insurance.

Term life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time. It pays a benefit only if you die during the term. Term life insurance comes in two basic varieties term life policies and cash value policies.

There are numerous insurance providers that designs and markets insurance services for individuals, families, groups and businesses worldwide. Now, there are also online insurance facilities that help a person to select insurance just by clicking. After fulfilling the basic requirements of the insurance company, person is eligible for it.

The author presents the website on cheap insurance. It covers meaning, types of insurance, ways to buy insurance and parties involved in insurance. You can visit his site for insurance guide