Is Investing in SIPP a Safe Option?

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Alissa Ben

Self Invested Pension Plan or SIPP has gained huge popularity within the past few years. In the initial stage SIPP was considered as an elite product. Only rich people could have afforded investing in a SIPP. But in present time it has become a common investment option. Though more people are investing in this pension plan, some are still skeptical about the safety of SIPP.

If you have a keen eye for investment SIPP will not be an unsafe pension plan for you. Since this pension plan offers a wide variety of investment options, your money will be safe. You can invest on shares, stocks, gilts, commercial and residential property, insurance company funds, investment units and many more. If one investment option performs badly you can invest in another option. You are the decision maker. So chances are less that you won’t have financial benefit.

If you will that you are not an expert in the field of investment, you can employ a financial advisor. He or she will guide you and make sure that you get maximum profit from investing in SIPPS. Hence you don’t need to be worried about it. Be rest assured that your money has been invested in the right place.

Posted in Retirement Loan |

Serious Illness Insurance

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Alissa Ben

What is serious illness insurance?
Serious illness insurance provides customers with an insurance policy which will pay them a lump sum policy if they are diagnosed with a serious illness from the insurers list and survive the survival period. The list of serious illnesses varies from one insurer to another, and will have an average of around 30 illnesses on it, many more than the 4 found on the first policy in 1983. The survival period also varies in length from insurer to insurer but is the period of time from first diagnosis that a customer must live to be able to make a claim, and is typically around 28 days.
Serious illness insurance provides customers with total peace of mind, and provides them with financial security if the worst happens.
Why do I need serious illness insurance?
Serious illness insurance provides customers and their families with the financial support they need so that they do not need to worry about money if they are diagnosed with a critical illness. Many serious illnesses leave customers off work for longer than the period of time their company will pay sick pay, typically six months, and after that period many customers without serious illness insurance are left to struggle along on statutory sick pay. For may this is nowhere near enough to live on, and they struggle financially.
A serious illness insurance payout gives that family a lump sum payment to make sure that they are financially secure, and can also be used to pay for private medical care closer to home.
Where can I get serious illness insurance?
Serious illness insurance is typically bought by customers after they compare the prices of serious illness insurance, otherwise known as serious illness quotes , and customers will find their quote is cheaper, the younger and healthier their lifestyle is.
Where does serious illness insurance come from?
Serious illness insurance was first created in 1983 in South Africa, by Dr Barnard who grew frustrated that his patients were concentrating more on their finances, than they were on getting better. He created the cover with just four illnesses but it has since grown to be offered all over the world and one policy now offers over 160 different illnesses. It’s the only insurance product in the world that was created by a medical professional.

Posted in Health insurance |

Public Liability Insurance: why it’s important

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Alissa Ben

Running a business can often be a bit of a minefield as there are so many things to think about. As well as trying to maintain a profitable business, it’s important to ensure that you as a business-owner are protected.

Insurance is one of the best ways to protect both yourself and your business, but it’s not an area that many businessmen and women are overly familiar with. So, just what is public liability insurance and why do you need it?

Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance is a type of insurance policy that is needed by any business who has members of the public, customers or clients on site at their premises, or whose premises they visit.

Public liability insurance covers you and your business if a member of the public is injured by you or one of your employees, or by accident, whilst they are on site at your business premises. As well as this, it will also cover you if you accidentally damage property belonging to someone else, whilst you are in the process of carrying out business activities.
On top of this however, public liability insurance will also cover the cost of any legal representation you may need in the case that a claim is brought against you or your employees.

It is worth noting that this type of insurance will only cover claims that are brought against you or your business by a third party. It will not cover any claims that are made by your own employees – this would be covered by a different type of insurance known as employer’s liability insurance.

The amount of cover you will need will vary from business to business so it is vital that you get the right cover for you and shop around to find the best policy.

Posted in Liability Insurance |

Why Liability Insurance is Vital in Construction

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Alissa Ben

As the UK economy struggles to recover from recession, the construction industry is continually suffering with a fall of 3.3% in total output from July 2010 to July 2011. With the majority of businesses in the sector being SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises), it has become increasingly difficult for construction companies to maintain sensible budgets. This means that the value of finding cheap liability insurance is all the more important.

Liability Insurance

The UK construction industry consists of 300,000 companies that employ a workforce of over 2 million people. Last year (2010), there were 50 fatalities, 3120 serious injuries and the loss of 2.3 million working days (an average of 1.1 days per employee) due to work related injuries or illnesses in the construction sector. These statistics support the fact that construction remains one of the most dangerous professions in the country. Consequently, obtaining liability insurance is all the more vital as construction companies cannot afford to pay out the compensation and legal fees.

Employer’s liability insurance, required of all businesses under UK law, guarantees an injured employee will receive compensation that they are entitled to and reduces the employer’s costs on any pay out. To pay an annual rate and a one-off excess is far more practical for an employer than to pay compensation and legal fees in full. Insurance companies are sufficiently structured to provide up to millions of pounds of cover – the legal minimum being £5 million.

With most construction projects being carried out in urban areas, the chance of damaging third party property or injuring a member of the public is very high. Public liability insurance, although not necessary by law, provides valuable cover when a member of the public is entitled to compensation as a result of an incident for which the employer is liable.  Again, an annual rate, sometimes as little as £40, and an excess is all the employer will have to pay for. Competitive policies offered by insurance companies are based on what kind of work will be taking place, where, how and who by. An insurer can provide combined liability insurance – employer’s and public liability insurance in one policy – with a decent annual rate.

Posted in Liability Insurance |

Home Insurance Cover: How To Make A Claim On Contents Insurance

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Alissa Ben

Filing a claim for home insurance cover should be a fairly straight-forward process. As long the policy holders did not lie when filling out their applications and the damages are covered under the terms of the policy, these homeowners who follow the process of filing a claim correctly generally do not have many difficulties obtaining their cover. But, they will need to ensure that it is worth their while to file the claim in the first place.

contents insurance
When Not to File a Claim

People need to consider the damages very carefully before they file a claim for their contents insurance. Filing a claim for their home insurance cover can mean that their insurance companies raise their premiums when it is time to renew the policy. The amount of the damage that has been caused must be worth the extra amount of money they will be required to pay with raised premiums. They also will lose their no claims discount, and this will increase their premiums.

How to File a Claim

After homeowners have determined that it is worth it to file a claim for their home insurance cover, they must read their policies to ensure that they know exactly what their policies cover. Knowing this before they start the process can save them time filing a claim for something which they are not covered.

Call the Insurance Company

If the damages are covered, the policyholders will need to call the insurance company with the intent of filing a claim. It’s at this point that the policyholders will be able to ask questions about their cover and if they truly have standing to file a claim. The advisors at the insurance companies will be able to make this clear during their initial conversation.

Prepare Information about the Damaged Item

When the call is made, the policyholders will need to have some information ready to give the insurance company. If the contents have been damaged or were stolen, they will have a crime reference number that they will need to give the claims specialist. They will also have needed to obtain an estimate for how much it will cost to repair or replace the item. They will also need to have their policy numbers ready for when the specialist asks for it.

Set Up a Time to Meet the Loss Adjuster

A loss adjuster is not always needed in these instances. Claims for smaller amounts ordinarily don’t require this but if the claim is for a large amount, the insurance company will set up a time for the claims adjuster to visit the home to inspect the damage. After the inspection, policyholders generally will have their property repaired or replaced in a timely manner.

Pay the Excess and Receive Payment from the Insurance Company

Before the insurance company begins to pay for the repairs or the replacement, the policyholders will need to pay the excess that they agreed to pay when their policies were written. After this has been done, the insurance company will then be able to pay for the replacement or repairs. They may also offer the policyholders the amount of money they are due as a cash payment.

Posted in Home Insurance |