|
Insurance. Duplicated Insurance Wastes Money. |
By Michael Challiner
Have you ever worked out how much you spend on insurance? Try totting up your premiums – we suspect you'll be surprised! You'll be even more surprised to discover that there's a probability that you've also duplicated some of the cover you're paying for. Cut the duplication out and you're certain to save money.
Lots of people have insurance cover for legal expenses, loss of income, theft, even death, without even realising it. This can arise because many of us don't fully understand what's covered by the policies we have, especially if the policies had been arranged for us by financial advisers and brokers.
In a recent survey, The Financial Services Authority (FSA) discovered that optional extras such as breakdown recovery and legal expense cover, were frequently added to car insurance without checking whether the policyholder was already covered. It's also not uncommon to find that people with Permanent Medical Insurance have duplicated their cover via payment protection policies taken out specifically to cover their monthly payments on mortgages, loans and credit cards. The point is that if they claim on their Permanent Medical Insurance, their payout will be reduced because part of their claim is also insured through their payment protection policies – so their payment protection insurance is really a waste of money.
The Financial Ombudsman has confirmed this saying, “People often contact us when they find themselves over-insured. They often do not realise until they make a claim that they have been paying for a policy that provides very little, if any, benefit”.
There's also ample of evidence that some of us simply don't understand what we're actually insured for! For example, take the case of Amanda Lariviere from West Yorkshire. Amanda, aged 42 and mother of two, is recovering from ovarian cancer and had an allergic reaction to chemotherapy which kept her off work. Out of the blue she received an unwelcome tax bill so she decided to visit her building society to find out if she could raise some cash by re-mortgaging. The adviser at the Society wisely asked her to bring with her, her life insurance policies so that they could be used to support her re-mortgage application. So imagine Amanda's surprise and delight when the adviser explained that her policies with Norwich Union and Scottish Provident, which had been costing her £80 per month, were not life insurance policies at all – they were actually critical illness policies with a combined insured value of £100,000. She was able to claim on these policies and the £100,000 she received was sufficient to pay off most of her mortgage and her tax bill!
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
When Should You Choose Term Insurance |
Instead Of Whole Life Insurance?By Ethan Lewis
"Different strokes for different folks."
When it comes to life insurance, it's important that you keep that saying in mind.
Most people are familiar with "whole" life insurance. This is the kind of insurance where you will get back a certain amount of money when it "matures" at the end of the insured period.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Insurance Versus Assurance: |
What Is The Difference?By Robin Richmond
The world of finance is extremely complicated and there are many factors to consider when choosing any financial protection product.
When looking for a policy you need to know what you are looking for and what is on offer in order that you get the right cover for your needs.
One thing that many people find confusing is the specific use of the term “insurance” and the use of “assurance”. What are the differences between them?
In general, the term insurance refers to providing cover for an event that might happen while assurance is the provision of cover for an event that is certain to happen.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
