Mortgage Payment Insurance Can Protect Your Home From Repossession

If you should find yourself unable to work and lose your income then finding the money needed each month to continue making your mortgage repayments could be a struggle. In the worst case scenario the situation could lead to you getting behind on your loan and ultimately losing the roof over your head. Mortgage payment insurance can protect your home from repossession, providing you ensure that the policy is suitable for your needs.

There are certain exclusions that can habitually be found in a policy. Being retired or self-employed, suffering an ongoing illness or only working part time as opposed to full time can all mean you would not benefit from cover. However, this is just a guideline and the exclusions are not set in stone: all policies vary. For example, you could benefit from mortgage payment cover if the illness has not reoccurred during the last two years. And if you are self-employed and you find yourself having to cease trading through no fault of your own, then a policy could pay out. It is essential that you read the terms and conditions fully before taking on the cover.

Finding information on the exclusions in a policy can be hard. Often, very little information is given when buying the cover alongside borrowing from the high street lender. Also, sales techniques at high street lenders have been known to be poor, with staff having very little training in selling payment protection products. A better way to make sure you get your hands on the vital information needed is to choose to buy a policy independently. By going to a specialist provider of payment protection you can also get the cheapest quotes. This could mean you save up to 40% on your mortgage cover.

Quality cover from an ethical provider would give you a tax-free payout after being unable to work for between 30 to 90 continuous days. The income you gain from the policy would mean you can relax and not worry about money. This allows you to concentrate on getting well or to find another job.

Those individuals who assume the state would help in their time of need can find themselves unpleasantly surprised. You have to qualify for help from the state, and having savings of more than £8,000 would mean you were not entitled to receive anything. If your partner works full time this would also exclude you. In addition, if your mortgage was taken out after 1995 then you would have to wait for a period of nine months before you would see any money. Even when you started receiving benefit, it would only be for the interest part of your mortgage, and then for up to the first £100,000 only.

While mortgage payment insurance has a bad name along with the rest of the family of protection policies, it can be a worthwhile buy. The product itself has never been an issue; the problems lie with the way it has been sold. Buying from a specialist provider does away with the problems associated with poor selling because an ethical provider will give you the information needed to ensure a policy works for you.
About The Author Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance (http://www.britishinsurance.com), a specialist provider of low cost income payment protection insurance (PPI), mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) and loan payment protection insurance.

Top 5 ways to save on car insurance

Car insurance is a type of cover that can be quite costly depending on your needs and circumstances, but this is a type of cover that is a legal requirement for drivers in the UK so no matter what the expense you have to get this cover if you wish to take your vehicle on the road. It is important to remember that there are ways and means of lowering your insurance premiums on car cover, however, so with a little thought and research you could save yourself a small fortune.

Below are some of the top ways in which you can save money on the cost of insurance cover:

1. Don't go for the first quote. Never assume that the first quote you get is going to be representative of all other quotes, as the cost of cover can vary widely from one provider to another. Make sure that you get at least three quotes from different providers before you make any decision – don’t feel tempted to rush into taking cover with the first insurance company that sends you details.

2. Remember that price comparison sites may not cover all providers. Many people have started to use price comparison sites to find their insurance cover, but you should bear in mind that these sites only cover a portion of the market and not all providers are on their databases. You should therefore be mindful that there may be a cheaper and more suitable policy available that is not on the price comparison site, so it may be worth checking individual providers to get your price down further.

3. Go for the most appropriate level of cover. If you have a new or expensive vehicle then you should opt for the top level of cover, which is fully comp. However, if you have an old car that has a low value then you can get away with taking out a lower level of cover, which will enable you to keep the cost of cover down whilst still fulfilling the legal requirement of having insurance.

4. Increase your excess. The amount of excess that you choose on your policy will make a difference to your premiums. If you choose to have a higher level of excess on your policy you can knock down your premiums significantly in some cases – just make sure that you do have enough money put aside to cover the excess in case you do need to make a claim.

5. Take the pass plus test if you have recently passed. New and younger drivers often find the cost of cover crippling. However, you can save a considerable amount on the cost of cover if you take the advances pass plus test after passing your standard test, with some insurers offering up to 35% off if you have passed this advanced course.

About The Author - David Lynes Loans4 provide homeowner loan solutions for homeowners. Please visit http://www.loans4.co.uk for the latest finance related news.

Travel Insurance - It pays to check the small print!

A common thread in most complaints over travel insurance is that ‘I didn’t realise I had to do that’ or ‘no-one told me I couldn’t do that.’ Whilst sometimes this is a totally justified call because miss-selling of travel insurance, though less frequent than in the past, still occurs, there is still a many people who take travel insurance out by simply ticking the box on the holiday booking form without as much as seeing what they are covered for. This is far from ideal when it comes to making a claim because pleading ignorance is never a strong position to come from. But you can help yourself if you follow a few simple rules:
# Always get a report from an official source within 24 hours if something goes wrong. A police report for theft, a tour operator’s reports for baggage delay and loss, an airline letter if you suffer travel delay and a Property Irregularity Report before you leave the airport if your luggage is lost or delayed. Without these, you will find that insurers will not readily settle your claim.

# Know what valuables you are taking with you and take extra care of them. Valuables will be defined in your policy but generally includes all jewellery, mobile phones, computer games and equipment and cameras. Add to this list the personal money you take with you. By extra care, we mean you should lock them away in a safe in your room or carry them with you. They should never be left unattended and never in checked in baggage otherwise this will invalidate a claim.

# Keep receipts. Not only will this help to substantiate your claim but you are more likely to get close to value of the lost items back, subject to wear and tear. If no receipt is provided then the maximum amount that will be paid back will be capped at a low level. If several unreceipted items are claimed then this will also raise suspicions that the claim is fraudulent and could be investigated.

# Do call the Medical Assistance line if you have to go into hospital abroad or need medical treatment that could be costly. It is worthwhile doing this for anything that could be above £250. Once this is on record, you are generally well covered up to the agreed amounts.

# And finally, whilst this guidance is for travel insurance policies, many people will have a household policy in force that should cover ‘all risks’ up to a set value and this could also be used for a claims for personal belongings lost or stolen whilst on holiday but do check the small print again to see what exclusions apply.
About The Author Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design http://www.strawberrysoup.co.uk/