Monthly Archives: May 2008

Motor Insurance Brokers – What You Should Know

Are you looking for motor insurance? If so then you may be wondering just how to choose the best motor insurance brokers to suit your needs. Finding the right broker is essential if you are to get the best deal. However, many people find it daunting knowing where to start and what to look for. So just what should you look for in a motor insurance broker?

Using an Insurance Broker

The main reason people use motor insurance brokers is because they specialise in finding you relevant, cheap insurance quotes. They know what they are doing and they know where to look for some of the cheapest quotes around. So by choosing a broker you know that you are usually choosing an easy, reliable source to find a quote to suit you.

However not all brokers are the same. This means that you need to take a number of things into consideration before you can find the best broker to suit you. Signs of a good broker include:

• Qualifications

• Proven Results/Testimonials

• How many Companies they Search

• They will give you Free Advice

All of the above points are important when you are looking for good motor insurance brokers. Ideally you want to find one that searches a wide portion of the market. Some brokers will only search around ten different companies, whilst others will search over thirty. Obviously the more companies they search, the more likely it is that you will get a good quote to suit your needs.

There are also qualifications that good insurance brokers will have. This shows that they are registered and that they have experience in their field. Qualifications are not always important, but it does help to show you that the broker is genuine.

The main things you will want to look at are the results and testimonials that the broker has received. Ideally there should be testimonials from previous customers which praise how well the broker did in getting them the right quote. It is always helpful to see the experiences other people have had with the broker as it shows you just how good they actually are.

Also whilst it is not essential, a good broker will be able to answer any questions that you have before using their services. Motor insurance brokers should be able to explain to you how they will find you a good quote to suit you. Obviously before you pay for a service you want to make sure that it will be worth your while. By contacting the broker beforehand you will get a good idea of whether they can help you or not. However before you contact them, make sure that your questions are not already answered on the website. Many brokers have an FAQ section which answers the most commonly asked questions.

Overall a car insurance broker can help you to find some of the best quotes to suit your needs. However you have to make sure that you can trust the broker before you actually use their services. With so many different motor insurance brokers available, it is imperative that you use one that you can trust.

About the Author:
David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance (http://www.bestdealinsurance.co.uk) an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best deal on their home, motor and life insurance.

Keyword tags: Car Insurance, Motor Insurance

Looking For Low Cost Life Insurance?

When it comes to low cost life insurance, finding the right policy to suit you can be a nightmare. Using a specialist broker is an easier option as they will be able to search the market for you and bring back some of the lowest quotes based upon your circumstances. However, first you need to have a good idea of what it is that you are looking for.

Understanding Low Cost Life Insurance

There are a number of factors that will contribute to your life insurance quote. How much life insurance you need, what you want it for and your own personal details will all determine whether you receive low cost life insurance or not.

Your current health will play a big part in the quote that you receive. Your weight and whether or not you smoke will be key factors that the insurance company will consider. Obviously smokers are at a higher risk of dying earlier than non smokers and this will be reflected in your quote. Similarly, people who are overweight will also have a higher risk of a heart attack and other serious health conditions that could result in death.

Insurance companies ideally want to pay out as little as possible. So if there is any sign that you might die early, they will higher the insurance rate to get as much money as possible before you do die. As harsh as that sounds, it is unfortunately true. So the healthier you are, the lower your insurance quote will be.

Getting the Best Low Cost Life Insurance to Suit you

Now you have a good idea of the factors that will lower your life insurance quote, you then have to work out which policy would be better for you. Term Life Insurance is the main type of policy which people take out. With it you pay in a monthly premium and there is an expiration date for the policy. If the policy expires before you do, your family will get nothing and the money you paid in will simply go to waste. It can be a gamble but it will pay out a lump sum if you do die within the term of the policy.

Another option available to you is a Whole Life Insurance policy. This is preferred by many people over Term Life Insurance as it will pay out no matter when you die. There is no expiration date and your family will benefit financially no matter when you pass away. The main downside to this plan is that the premiums will be higher. So if you are looking for a low cost quote then Whole Life Insurance may not be the right option for you.

Overall finding the right type of life insurance to suit your needs can be a hassle. However it is made simpler if you have a good understanding of what is available and what may lower the quote that you receive. By doing a little research before you rush into anything, you are more likely to get the best low cost life insurance quote to suit you.

About the Author:
David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance (http://www.bestdealinsurance.co.uk) an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best deal on their home, motor and life insurance.

Keyword tags: Life Insurance, Life Cover, Cheap Life Insurance

Consider Income Payment Protection Insurance

Income payment protection insurance would allow the policy holder the satisfaction of knowing that they would be able to maintain all of their essential outgoings without having to struggle or miss one payment to pay another. Of course you would also be able to maintain the most essential outgoing, your mortgage repayment. If you do not maintain your mortgage then you will lose your home to the lender by way of repossession.

Not being able to maintain such things as your loan repayments could also see you having a day in court. At the very least your credit rating would decline and this could mean that getting any form of credit in the future would be extremely hard. Of course all your other repayments could be taken care of with income payment protection insurance such as food bills, heating, lighting and any essential unexpected bills that crop up.

You could lose your own income by having to take time away from work if you were to have an accident. Accidents happen at anytime, in the car, in the home or at work and you could have to take many months off to recuperate. You could also become sick, there are illnesses and super bugs going round all the time and if you are unfortunate enough to fall seriously ill to one of them then you would have to take lots of time off work. Redundancy is also a huge threat and no one can say that their job is safe. No job is safe and redundancies happen all the time. While you might have excellent qualifications and experience, it can take many months to find suitable work and again a policy would provide for you.

Whether you are unable to work due to accident or sickness the chances are that you will need to be able to concentrate on making a full recovery. In some cases, you could also find that you might have to spend several weeks or even months going to physiotherapy. If this is the case then you do not want to be worrying about your outgoings or how you are going to find the money to support your family. The same would apply while you were looking for work after becoming unemployed. You wouldn’t be able to concentrate on making a good impression at interviews if you were worrying about how you were going to meet your outgoings.

Income payment protection insurance is, for the majority of times, cheaper when searched for online. To ensure you get the cheapest quotes, you should get several quotes from standalone providers. Standalone providers quotes come with the essential facts needed to decide if their cover would benefit you and it is essential you read them. Among other things, this is where you will find when the cover would kick in and when it would end. A policy once claimed on will not payout for ever, the majority of policies would begin to payout after incapacitation or unemployment between 30 and 90 days. It would then provide the policy holder with an income before expiring for between 12 and 24 months.

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.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI

Loan Payment Protection Insurance Looks After Your Loan Commitment

Taking on a loan when you are in full time work is all well and good while you can continue to pay it back each month. It is when the unexpected happens, and that monthly income you rely on, which you take a big chunk out of to repay your loan, is lost. Suddenly you are faced with having to maintain your loan, your mortgage and any other essential outgoings with the small sum your employer gives you, if any. Loan payment protection insurance would, if you had taken out cover, given you the tax-free income to pay your loan commitment. This would mean at least your loan was covered if nothing else.

The majority of people who take on a loan realise how important a credit rating is when applying for a loan. Some may have even struggled to get approval for the loan they are now considering taking out protection for. Imagine how hard it would be if you cannot keep up the repayments and your credit rating plummets further. Of course this is nothing compared to the County Court Judgement you could receive for failing to keep up with the repayments.

When you take all this into account it makes a lot of sense to consider protecting your borrowing. If you choose to look around with specialist providers then a policy does not have to cost the earth. Some are cheaper than others and this is why you need to get several quotes to compare. However it is not only the cost of the premiums you need to compare, you also need to compare the start and end dates. The reason for this is that some will begin to provide you with the much needed sum of money after the 30th day of unemployment or incapacity. Others could ask that you stand for up to 90 days. Some pay for 12 consecutive months while with others it is 24 monthly repayments.

You also have to compare the provider themselves, are they well known? Do they provide you with all the answers to your questions? Do their policies frequently top the best-buy charts? All of this can make a huge difference, after all the policy is only as good as the provider that backs it up. A provider should give you all the information relating to a loan payment protection insurance policy before you buy. They should not try to push cover onto you and instead encourage you to get several quotes to find the cheapest premiums. After all if they offer the cheapest premiums then they know you will come back to them after looking around.

Life could become extremely hard during sickness or if you suffered an accident. It can be a devastating blow if you become unemployed through redundancy. You would not want the additional worry and stress of having to struggle to find your loan repayment each month. With loan payment protection insurance you would not have too. All you would have to worry about is yourself and getting fit and well. If you have lost your job you would have security while looking around for another and in some cases this could take some time.

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.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance Guards The Roof Over Your Head

Nothing could be worse than to find yourself out of work for reasons such as accident, sickness or unemployment and being at a loss as to how you would repay your mortgage. Lenders are sometimes patient, but for how long? Certainly not for more than two missed repayments before a letter would arrive. Fear would strike with the 3rd monthly repayment being missed and the very real threat of repossession from the lenders solicitor. What would you give to have had the foresight and taken out mortgage payment protection insurance?

Sadly we cannot roll back time and this is why while all is going well, you need to give thought to protecting against such eventualities in the future. It is all too easy to be complacent and say “it will not happen to me” as hundreds of people have thought the same and have then gone on to be one of the statistics of home repossession.

For a small monthly premium you can take away the guess work. You can have peace of mind that if you were to be unfortunate enough to become unemployed or become incapacitated, you would be able to cover your mortgage payments.

It is not hard to find cheap premiums if you look online and make comparisons. The cost of mortgage payment protection insurance varies as does other terms and conditions, such as start and end dates. Upon claiming on the policy it would only provide for so long. Some providers give you 12 months of cover, while others could give 24 months. Similarly the starting dates also vary. With some providers it could be just 30 days, while with others it can be as long as the 90th day before you can make a claim. Some providers will also backdate the benefit to the first day of you leaving work or of becoming unemployed, while other providers do not.

A lot of information can be found online with a specialist offering payment protection insurance cover, of which mortgage payment protection is just one form. Any ethical provider will provide information and give advice free of charge. By choosing to shop with a specialist to get your quote you are able to secure the cheapest premiums. Specialist providers will not sell any other type of product; they solely rely on offering low cost payment protection policies.

Do not be fooled by your mortgage lender into thinking that, if you want cover, you have to take it from them. This is nothing but a ploy to get you to add onto the cost of your borrowing. Quite often a quote with a lender on the high street can boost up the amount you are borrowing substantially. You always have the choice of where to buy your cover, even if some lenders would try to get you to believe otherwise. When considering taking out mortgage payment protection insurance always take your time and go over any documentation that the provider passes onto you. This way you will know exactly what you are buying and what the product can do for you, if you should fall sick or become unemployed.

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.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI

Payment Protection Insurance Can Be Taken For Mortgage, Loan Or Income Protection

The family of payment protection insurance products are often very confusing. After all while policies will basically work in the same way when they payout and for how long they payout, they pay for different reasons. There are three types of policies that can be chosen from. These, depending on your circumstances would work in your favour if you were to fall sick and had to take time away from work. They would also provide benefit to the policy holder if they were to be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident. Furthermore if you became unemployed then a policy could also provide you with an income tax-free.

The majority of individuals don’t have the luxury of plenty of cash and have to take out a mortgage with a lender when we want to buy our home. Unless the mortgage payment is made each and every month without fail we break our agreement with the lender and face repossession. The lender could help in the short term for one missed payment, but if you were to have to take several months from work the chances are the lender would seek repossession.

However, if you have the backing of mortgage payment protection, you could turn to this after between 30 and 90 days of being unemployed or incapacitated due to accident or sickness. A policy would then allow you to pay a substantial part of your mortgage payment each month. You could take your chances by applying to the State for help. However, do not solely rely on them to provide your mortgage repayment as there are many terms and conditions you have to meet to be eligible. Even if you did manage to be able to claim, the benefit would only help with the first £100,000 of the interest on the mortgage.

If you were borrowing by way of credit cards as many people do, or if you have taken a loan, again the lender would want their monthly repayment. If you do not maintain it then you are facing at the very least your credit rating demise. Again loan payment protection insurance would step in and allow you to continue meeting your agreement with the lender.

Finally you could choose to take out income payment protection. This protects your overall income up to a certain amount each month. With a policy such as this behind you, you could keep up with all your outgoings. This would of course include your mortgage payment, loan/credit card repayment and any other essential monthly outgoings. You would not have to worry where you would get your bill money or duck and dive making changes to your lifestyle.

When looking for payment protection insurance you have to shop around just as you would with anything you were considering buying. It is only by comparing premiums for policies that you are able to get the cheapest. While you could take protection out when you borrow, this is not the cheapest way of buying what can be great peace of mind. When shopping for your policy always compare when the cover would begin and end. The majority start after 30 or 90 days and some providers will backdate cover to the first day. Providers can also offer 12 or 24 months protection, you can find how long a particular policy would pay and when it would begin in the terms and conditions.

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.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI