Insurance, Claims & Accidents

Archive for the ‘Insurance’ Category

Pet insurance covers you against the costs that can be incurred through the medical treatment of your pet due to illness or accidents. The policy will provide financial support to ensure that you can afford the treatment and care that your pet may require, and insuring your pet can remove added stress and monetary strain if they are unwell or suffer an accident.

There are different policies to choose from with most providers offering a lifetime policy or a fixed time policy. Lifetime policies provide an unlimited time span of treatment whereas fixed time policies have a limit to the claim duration for each condition. The Financial Ombudsman regulates pet insurance and can be contacted regarding grievances with an insurance provider. You can also change your pet insurance provider, but will need to be aware that a new provider may have different conditions. If you change your insurance provider, check through the policy differences so that you know exactly what your new insurance covers.

You should always fill in a claim form when visiting your vet, even if the price is less than the excess on your policy. If it is a recurring condition, or requires additional treatment within the policy time, the original amount should already be discounted from the excess. It is important to read over your pet insurance conditions in detail so that you can ensure that you get the high level of support from your plan when it is needed.

Life Insurance is ideal for people who have children or other family members who depend on them.  It can give peace of mind that if they die their family is taken care of financially.

The main income earner of a family may take set up life insurance so that if they die the pay out can replace their earnings during this difficult period.  Similarly, if a couple has a large mortgage the one who is primarily responsible for the mortgage payments may wish to take out life insurance to ensure that their partner does not struggle to pay off the debts.  Life insurance may also be important for someone who has elderly parents who do not have large pensions, in order to feel confident that if they were not around to help, their parents could still afford the care they need in old age.

There are two types of life insurance.  Term insurance allows someone to decide how long they are insured, for example 10, 15 or 20 years.  This may be ideal for those who have a young family to support, but would like the insurance to end by the time their children are old enough to be independent.  The other type of insurance is whole-of-life insurance, which insures a person for an unlimited time until they die provided they continue to pay the premiums.  This option may be necessary for those who are likely to have dependents right into old age.

Although there is no financial benefit for the person who takes out the policy, life insurance can benefit by giving confidence and peace of mind that their loved ones will always be provided for.

Legal evidence of car insurance, which is mandatory, is provided by three key documents that a motorist will receive either through the post or online when motor insurance cover has been purchased.  Without this legal evidence of insurance, a driver may be liable for a range of penalties, and these can be severe.

The Certificate

This gives the details of the vehicle that has been insured, the name of the driver (and the names of any other drivers permitted to use the vehicle), what the insured vehicle will be used for and the dates that the policy is valid for.  The certificate provides the required legal evidence that motor insurance cover is in place.  It must be produced when an accident happens, when it is necessary to tax the vehicle, or if the police ask for it to be produced.

The Policy

The insurance policy sets out the exact terms and conditions of the motor insurance cover taken out and motorists should ensure they understand it.  Any queries should be sent to the insurer immediately.

The Schedule

The schedule contains the specific details about the policy taken out.  It will cover what level of excess has been agreed upon, what amount of no-claim discount applies to the policy, and whether cover is comprehensive or third party only.  It will also include information on additional cover, such as legal protection, provision of a replacement vehicle during repairs after an accident, or breakdown recovery.

It is essential for motorists to check all documents carefully so that all details are correct.  If they are not, then they should be amended at once.

Pet insurance safeguards pet owners in the event that their pet suffers from an accident or illness. As a financial back up that ensures the animal can receive adequate treatment and care, it is the responsibility of the pet owner to make sure that they have insurance in place for these eventualities.

An unexpected illness can cost hundreds of pounds to treat, as can an accident, so it is easy to see that pet owners may not have this money to hand when it is most needed. Pet insurance gives peace of mind with the knowledge that your pet can receive the help that they need whenever they need it. Although some insurers will provide policies for older pets, it is definitely regarded as better and cheaper to insure your pet whilst they are still young. 

As well as the key conditions covered by insurance, such as accident or illness, some policies offer additional benefits such as covering advertising costs for lost pets, third party liability cover, emergency treatment, plus cover for the cost of alternative pet care if the owner is hospitalised.

High quality veterinary health care is increasing, with advances in the veterinary field leading to pets living longer. Whilst this is excellent news for pet owners, it also requires them to have finances in place to benefit from the treatments available to their pets. There are numerous types of policies available on the market, with varying payment options, meaning it is possible to find a plan that will suit the exact needs of the pet and owner.

Travelling during the golden years can be magical. These travel years can also prove to be difficult or expensive when it comes to purchasing travel insurance. No matter how healthy you are, many insurance companies view those over 65 as high-risk. It has become progressively more common for insurance companies to increase their premiums for people as soon as they turn 50.

The largest concern for insurance companies is the health of the individual. Healthcare costs in other countries can be astronomical. If a policyholder uses the medical portion of their policy, this could force an insurance company to pay thousands or even millions in healthcare costs. The Foreign Office has noted that one air ambulance trip in the USA can cost as much as £35,000.

Travel insurance companies realise there are some benefits to insuring those over 65. This age group is less likely to participate in high-risk activities such as skydiving or bungee jumping. Policyholders over 65 are also provided with more health coverage than younger policyholders. They are also given more coverage for items such holiday curtailment and flight cancellation.

When applying for travel insurance, the best thing you can do on your application is be honest. In the event you should have to make a claim, the insurance company will go back into your past medical history. If they find a false answer, they will have reason to find your claim invalid.

Life insurance plans are a way of ensuring your next of kin are financially stable after you die.  This means that the money saved in the policy can be put towards any funeral expenses, saving your loved ones from financial stress.  It is different from other kinds of insurance in that it is a fixed policy paid throughout one’s life and a claim can only be made when the policy holder dies.  It is only really worthwhile taking out a life insurance policy if you have dependants or perhaps if you have an elderly parent with a poor pension plan. 

Insurance companies will ask a number of questions before giving you a quote on life insurance.  Usually these questions include details about your age, general health and family medical history, as well as your occupation and any risk-driven activities or hobbies you take part in regularly.  Policies will usually be paid over a total of twenty-five to thirty years and no more payments need to be paid after this period.  This depends on the policy provider and some research is required before picking the policy that is right for you.  The policy will almost always only be paid out when the individual dies.

As a general rule, those who are in poor health will expect to pay more than those who are generally healthy and those who take part in risky activities such as sports will pay a higher premium than those who do not.  In addition, the older you are, the more money you are likely to pay monthly.

Personal and business life is never immune to mishaps and the worst of these are those that impact directly on your property if you are a landlord. As a landlord you have a duty to ensure that your tenants are protected and having landlord insurance acts as the desired buffer upon which you can depend if disaster strikes. This type of insurance protects you from all the different types of eventualities that might occur to your property when it is not directly in your daily care.
 
Protection from financial loss through fire, theft and damage is the main reason that people find it essential to have landlord insurance. It is not only the disastrous effects on the property that come from these disasters but also the direct financial impact that is often a result. While it might seem that these occurrences are not as common as they appear, landlord insurance protection is better than running the risk.

There are no guarantees that your tenants will treat your property with the same respect that you might have given it, should you have been resident. This could easily mean that you might have to deal with all the repairs and damages caused by your tenants after they have vacated. In some cases the damage can be greater than their deposit will cover. Landlord insurance then ensures that you are able to get your property back to its rentable state sooner rather than later.

There are some types of liability insurance that need to be in place for very specific circumstances. Sometimes they are included as a clause within the main type of liability insurance a business has. Examples of this are pollution and also property liability insurance.

Most public liability insurance policies will cover normal types of pollution for which a business may be responsible. This will cover any damage or ill health that could be caused by the pollution. However, for one-off incidents that are not typical, more specific pollution liability insurance is needed. This can occur in industries where there is potentially a high risk of an incident occurring, such as the oil industry. These companies will normally need a policy especially for them such as environmental impairment liability. These are designed to cover a whole industry sector or a very specific business. Clean-up costs caused by pollution, damage to property and any sicknesses caused are covered by these policies. The Environmental Agency is responsible for regulation in this case.

Property owners’ liability insurance covers any damages or injury caused while on the premises of a business, or which might be linked to the premises in some way. For individuals who own their own homes this will normally be part of general household insurance. For most companies, public liability insurance will include this. However, if a business is conducted in a place owned by a landlord, one or the other of the parties needs to make sure proper property owners’ liability is in place.

When you take out a new home insurance policy you have two choices. The first is to pay the whole amount in a single lump sum. The second is to pay it in monthly instalments. The latter choice can be easier for many people to manage.

When you compare home insurance policies, make sure you look to see how many monthly premiums you have to pay. In some cases the insurer will give you a month or two of free cover if you pay a monthly premium for the rest of the year. A typical example would be to pay for ten months in a row, and then have two months where no payment was necessary. However you would still have full insurance cover for those two months before you need to compare house insurance policies again.

This can be a useful payment holiday. In some cases there are insurers who have special deals to give you three month’s worth of free insurance cover when you buy a house insurance policy. This is good to think about when you are planning ahead and structuring your finances. You can put the equivalent of the premium into a savings account for the remaining months. Alternatively you can simply enjoy an easier path through your bills for the months where you have free cover.

It may be tempting to put off buying car insurance for as long as you can, especially if you do not drive a great deal.  Getting cover can often be fairly expensive and it is easy to convince yourself that your chances of being in an accident or needing to claim are small, but neglecting to get protection can turn out to be a very serious mistake. 

In fact, recent laws passed in the UK mean that owning an uninsured vehicle is a criminal offence, even if it is not going to be driven.  Motorists must now choose to either take out a car insurance policy or officially declare their vehicle as off the road, or they could end up facing a fine or other penalty. 

Even if there were no risk of getting into trouble with the law, driving without cover would still be a risky business.  No matter how confident you are in your driving, accidents do sometimes happen and it is wise to be prepared just in case.  There is also the possibility that your car could be stolen or vandalised, which could result in a significant loss of money if you do not have any cover. 

If you are a car owner, it is a good idea to make purchasing car insurance one of your top priorities.  It only takes one journey to run the risk of having an accident or being pulled over by the police, and the repercussions of this are likely to be a lot more painful than paying for cover.