|
|
|
Health Insurance Coverage
Health insurance is something that everyone needs today. The rising cost of visiting a health care provider or a hospital stay makes it imperative that everyone have some type of health care coverage. Government statistics estimate that over 40...
Inside Insurance - Protection Priorities
Protecting your home
Although you have no legal obligation to insure your home, your mortgage company will want to protect their investment with buildings insurance. However, it is also worth protecting your own investments, so even after you've...
Insurance Agents: Separate yourselves from the crowd
In today’s world of direct writers, internet quotes and discount insurance companies, it is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of being an insurance agent. We insurance agents, while not quite threatened by extinction, are becoming nothing...
Mortgage Insurance Plans: How Good Is Yours?
Mortgage insurance, to pay off a mortgage, is something you'll inevitably be asked to take out by the bank. Mortgage insurance is necessary so that if something happens to you or your spouse then your loan will be paid off which is good news for...
Will Online Automobile Insurance Quotes Really Save Me Money?
If you’re looking to save money on your auto insurance then online automobile insurance quotes are definitely something you want to look into. But there are more benefits to shopping online besides saving money. Receiving you car insurance quote...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Life insurance – wise investment in personal finance or excessive caution?
Life insurance is typically taken out to offer valuable financial protection for your family in the event of your death, upon which a payment is made to your financial beneficiaries, heirs or family members. The extent of this payment will depend on your insured sum and earnings. Life insurance and life assurance may be interlinked in advertisements, though bear in mind the two policies are different. Life assurance is a form of financial protection which is also an investment, as you should always get a pay-out at the end of the term of the policy. Life insurance on the other hand is simply financial protection for your family, avoiding the issue of debt in the event of your death.
According to an article by the Fair Investment Company, the British life insurance industry shrank to almost half the size of the pensions industry last year and according to the Association of British Insurers, less than 50% of UK households hold a life insurance policy.
In their most recent newsletter about this issue, the Association of British Insurers found that 25% of mortgage holders had insufficient life insurance to cover their debt. The ratio of new life insurance policies to new mortgage loans was apparently 68% in 1994, but by 2004 this had dropped by half to 33%.
The absence of mortgage life coverage poses a serious risk for the dependants of homeowners. If banks were to embark on wide scale repossessions as a result of this absence of life insurance, this would impose a risk on their loan books and reputations. The Association of British Insurers also state that one of the main reasons behind the increased gap between mortgage loans and insurance is the emergence of people remortgaging their property to take advantage of equity release through a rise in value, without insuring their borrowing. In their report it was stated that around 63% of new mortgage loans were remortgages or further advances, compared to 34% in 1994. Egg reported at around the same time,
that three out of four of these new loan homeowners had no intention of insuring this additional debt. This is particularly worrying if couples are remortgaging their property later in life – towards retirement, given that should anything happen to the breadwinner, the partner would be left with significant debts without the capability of paying the loan back.
Reasons for the downward trend in life insurance take-up include:
* Relaxation in lending policy – increased competition in the mortgage market means that lenders are not forcing life insurance policies on their customers
* High house prices have stretched homebuyers, in particular first time home-buyers, in terms of their mortgage repayments, that the additional costs of a life insurance policy are deemed too expensive
* There are more households with no dependents
If you’re interested in researching a life insurance policy, make sure you shop around. UK websites such as moneynet ( life insurance ) provide life insurance and life assurance information guides, as well as providing price comparison research for the different products. In the states, the website LowerMyBills.com also offers a similar service.
Because of the various factors listed above, people have also become less familiar with the term life insurance and without the awareness there is little recognition of the importance of this type of insurance. However as speculation increases that UK households are not coping with their debt, so should the awareness of life insurance as an essential product in the personal finance portfolio.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
About the Author
Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla:
http://www.cashzilla.co.uk
Rachel is a disillusioned, disaffected and broke graduate, exploiting new media for financial therapy. ;-)
|
|
|
|
|
| Insure.com Car Insurance Quotes, Term Life Insurance Quotes, Auto ... |
| Insure.com provides instant online car insurance quotes, term life insurance quotes, auto insurance quotes, health insurance quotes, home insurance quotes, ... |
| www.insure.com |
|
| Insurance Information Institute (III) |
| Attempts to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works. The site is subdivided into sections for "Individuals" (consumer ... |
| www.iii.org |
|
| State Farm Insurance Companies |
| Provider of auto, health, home and life insurance. Get quotes and agents listings. National headquarters. |
| www.statefarm.com |
|
| Allstate - Official Site - Auto Insurance, Home Insurance ... |
| Offers insurance for autos, homes, property, life, mortgage protection, and business. Site includes many useful calculators and tools, an agent locator, ... |
| www.allstate.com |
|
| Progressive Auto Insurance - Car Insurance Quotes Plus Boat, RV ... |
| Provides instant online auto insurance quotes, insurance rate comparisons. Offers motorcycle, RV, boat, or car insurance. Purchase insurance online. |
| www.progressive.com |
|
| Insurance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| It cannot put the insurance company in financial jeopardy. ... If the insured does not perform then the insurance company does not have to perform. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Cheap annual travel insurance | single trip holiday insurance quotes |
| Cheap quotes for annual travel insurance and single trip holiday insurance online with moneysupermarket.com. Over 450 policies compared in seconds... |
| www.moneysupermarket.com |
|
| California Department of Insurance |
| Works to foster an insurance market that is fair, competitive and accessible to all Californians. Site designed to assist consumers, aid in the licensing of ... |
| www.insurance.ca.gov |
|
| Insurance: Car, Auto, Life, Home, Business and Investment Services ... |
| Nationwide offers insurance and services including: car insurance, auto insurance home owner insurance, business insurance as well as investment services. |
| www.nationwide.com |
|
| GEICO Car Insurance. Get an auto insurance quote and save today ... |
| Offers auto and motorcycle insurance. Request quotes online or by phone. File claims online. |
| www.geico.com |
|
| Insurance Center - Yahoo! Finance - Find the Right Insurance for ... |
| Insurance Center - Protect and insure your assets with comprehensive resources about auto, home, health and life insurance. |
| insurance.yahoo.com |
|
| Compare Auto Insurance Quotes from Top Auto Insurance Companies |
| America's #1 online insurance agency. Compare instant auto insurance quotes, car insurance quotes, life insurance quotes, home insurance quotes, ... |
| www.insurance.com |
|
| Car Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance, Life Insurance UK |
| Provide travel, home contents and car insurance for professionals, graduates and students. |
| www.endsleigh.co.uk |
|
| Home Insurance Quotes, Car Insurance Quotes - Lloyds TSB Insurance |
| Home Insurance Quote, Car Insurance Quotes, cheap Travel Insurance, Pet Insurance, Business Insurance. Up to 15% discount for buying insurance online. |
| www.insurance.co.uk |
|
| Car insurance, Home insurance, Life insurance & more - Direct Line |
| Direct Line offer car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, mortgages, personal loans,breakdown cover and much more! |
| www.directline.com |
|
| PA Department of Insurance |
| State regulatory authority. Site provides information for consumers, producers, and the insurance companies themselves. |
| www.ins.state.pa.us |
|
| Texas Department of Insurance |
| Regulates the state's insurance industry, encouraging competition to make insurance available and affordable. [some content available in Spanish] |
| www.tdi.state.tx.us |
|
| Life Insurance (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) |
| Informationa about all Life Insurance programs administered and supervised by VA. |
| www.insurance.va.gov |
|
| Insurance for Canada and the United States by RBC Insurance |
| Specializes in life, health, travel insurance, and annuities for middle income families in Canada and the United States. Site offers individual, family, ... |
| www.rbcinsurance.com |
|
| Free Auto, Health, Life and Homeowners Insurance Quotes - MSN Money |
| Get free auto, health, life and homeowners insurance quotes from top insurance companies in the country. Find the latest news and information related to ... |
| moneycentral.msn.com |
|
|