Finance Matters

• 17Oct

  Insurers must reinstate mortgage cover

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  The 40-year-old marketer from Kensal Rise, north-west London, will see the monthly cover provided under her MPPI policy with Cardif Pinnacle increase from £1,000 to £1,500.
  This is after it was controversially cut by a third earlier this year by the insurer.
  ‘It’s wonderful news, especially given my mortgage payments are about to go up and I am the only breadwinner in the house,’ she says.
  Husband Cedric, 41, is still recovering at home from a kidney transplant and they have an 11-year-old son, Kori.
  As its name implies, MPPI helps pay mortgage bills in the event of a homeowner losing their job or suffering serious illness.
  In theory, it is an invaluable form of insurance, but early this year a number of providers, including Cardif Pinnacle and the Post Office, decided to offer customers a stark choice – either pay higher premiums or see their cover drastically reduced.
  Most customers, including Alison, had no choice but to go along with the insurer’s demands,…

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• 17Oct

  Left exposed to the medical tourist trap

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  But they are leaving themselves exposed if anything goes wrong, as ordinary travel insurance policies do not cover complications resulting from elective surgery.
  Last week, specialist travel insurer PJ Hayman launched the first policy to do this. But there are restrictions and the cover is not cheap.
  The policy is underwritten by Axa and covers the policyholder for treatment and lodging costs as a result of elective surgery – rather than emergency surgery – going wrong.
  Cover does not begin until 48 hours after the procedure and can last for up to 31 days while the patient is overseas. But the insurance, which extends to those up to the age of 74, ceases on return to the UK.
  Most dental and cosmetic surgery procedures are included, plus others such as laser eye surgery, treatment for fertility problems, skin lesions, varicose veins, cataracts and hernias. Botox injections are covered, but heart surgery and cancer treatment are not.
  The surgery must take place in an officiall…

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• 17Oct

  Uncovered: the real cost of a break-in

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Gardens
  These offer rich pickings for thieves. They can be packed full of exotic trees and plants, luxury furniture, barbecues, heaters and power tools. Estimates by Lloyds TSB insurance suggest the total value of equipment and plants kept in gardens could be more than £15bn. And garden crime is a growing problem. Lloyds says it processes about 5,000 claims a year with an average loss of £730.
  Standard mainstream home contents policies will usually stretch to garden contents – with limits. These vary widely from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand, depending on the insurer. There will be single item limits with the cover. Garden cover is a valuable benefit, so check the small print when buying or switching policies.
  Rebecca Holmes, spokeswoman at Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, says: ‘Most insurers will cover garden items and tools in locked sheds, but if you have something of particular value it may be worth talking to your insurer or a broker.’
  Aviva, for examp…

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• 17Oct

  Minor offences leave 7m in insurance trap

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Anyone with a minor offence or a police caution against their name could invalidate their cover if they do not tell their insurers about them.
  The condition can apply to anyone else in the family or friends staying in the property.
  It can also affect landlords who may find their policies are worthless if their tenants have convictions they have not disclosed.
  The situation came to light when one major insurer demanded a customer give back the £241,000 pay-out she received after her home was burned down in an arson attack.
  Michelle Barber, who was caught out for failing to declare a £150 fine for a benefits offence, said: ‘I was shocked and felt sick. Why did no one tell me such a tiny fine could do this?’
  Her Barnsley home was burned down by her husband, Gary Hooley, following a row at a friend’s 50th birthday party in February 2007. Hooley, who had not wanted her to keep the detached bungalow in any divorce settlement, was jailed for four years.
  But, two weeks…

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• 24Sep

  Protect yourself against the burglary boom

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Someone had removed a window in the kitchen. A wallet, handbag, cash and other valuables worth more than £1,000 were stolen, along with the keys to the couple’s three-bedroom semi.
  The Singers are among a growing number of people who have become victims of a rise in burglary during the recession. There were 240,000 burglaries recorded in England and Wales in the year to last March. This is a 1% rise on 2007 – the first increase for six years.
  Insurers, meanwhile, paid out more than £100m to settle theft claims in the first three months of this year, the most expensive quarter for claims in the past five years.
  The Singers have lived in their home in Leeds for more than 30 years, but the break-in was the first time they had suffered from crime.
  Michael says: ‘There was obviously someone on a mission because the same night there was an attempted break-in across the road and a car broken into nearby.’
  He and Bernice, 64, who is in poor health, were shaken by the bre…

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• 24Sep

  Crime lecture students can’t ignore

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Half of students take valuables worth between £2,000 and £5,500 – everything from laptop computers to musical instruments and games consoles – when they go to university, according to specialist student insurer Endsleigh.
  But one in five then falls victim to theft, even though more than two thirds of students think it unlikely they will ever be burgled or suffer loss or damage to their possessions while at university.
  Government statistics show that young people between 16 and 24 are three times more likely to be victims of burglary than other age groups, with students the number one target.
  Halls of residences often provide basic contents insurance for items in a student’s room if it is locked – the cost is typically built in to the hall fees.
  But cover is often limited, so if a student has some valuable possessions or wants to use belongings, such as a laptop, camera or music player, away from halls, additional cover may be necessary.
  Insurers will usually cove…

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• 01Sep

  Insure historic homes to the rafters

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  There are more than 500,000 listed properties in the UK and specialist insurers are warning that many owners of period and listed homes are unknowingly underinsured.
  The cost of rebuilding and repairing damage is high because the character of the property has to be maintained.
  This usually means finding specific and often rare materials, along with skilled craftsmen and builders. With the arts of thatching, stone masonry and glazing dying out, even repairing a small amount of damage can be expensive.
  NFU Mutual, which offers specialist valuations and buildings insurance for listed homes, says detailed and regular valuations by surveyors who understand listed buildings are essential. It recommends they are done at least every five years.
  Finding the right insurer is also important. Tracey Warren at the Listed Property Owners Club says owners of listed buildings should not rely on insurance from mainstream providers.
  ‘Homeowners who just go onto comparison websites or buy basi…

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• 01Sep

  Facebook users in line for insurance hike

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Experts from leading insurer Legal & General warn that parents could eventually see their premiums rise even if only their children are members of popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
  Many of the millions of users of these sites post details about their home, whereabouts and holiday plans on them – effectively an invitation to a burglar.
  The warning comes in the wake of a report called The Digital Criminal, commissioned by Legal & General and prepared by reformed thief Michael Fraser, star of the BBC’s Beat The Burglar series….

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• 01Sep

  One in five young drivers is uninsured

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Figures from the Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB) revealed that an estimated 243,000 young people aged 17-20 are breaking the law by continuing to drive without insurance cover.
  Ashton West, chief executive of the MIB, said: ‘Young people make up a significant number of uninsured drivers and with one in five newly qualified drivers having an accident in the first year of driving.’
  Rising insurance costs and a lack of knowledge on the part of young motorists have been blamed for the increase.
  With newly qualified young people excited by the freedoms offered by the open road, high premiums and annual rates are thought to be discouraging them from taking out insurance policies.
  On average, a male driver aged 17 will pay nine times more than someone aged 25, and 14 times more than someone aged 35 to insure the same car in the same location, according to AA Insurance. A 17-year-old woman will pay six times more than a 25-year-old.
  This comes despite the driving test becoming more diffic…

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• 24Aug

  Be warned: Burglars enjoy a good break

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  About 16% of households have been burgled while owners were away on holiday, with June and August the busiest time of year for crooks, says insurer Direct Line.
  Jewellery, watches, cash and small electrical items such as digital music players and mobile phones tend to be burglars’ favourites.
  Insurers warn householders to think about the security of their possessions before they go away and to update home contents policies, declaring valuable items. This could add to the premium, but the increase will probably be small and save heartache and financial pain should the worst happen.
  Most insurers ask for individual items to be specified if they are worth more than £1,500, with a maximum usually between £20,000 and £25,000, depending on the insurer.
  ‘Adding individual valuable items doesn’t have to be costly,’ says Rebecca Holmes at Aviva. ‘For example, adding a £2,000 engagement ring to a typical home contents policy would cost about an extra £10 a…

  Click to read the full article »

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