Auto insurance Informations

It's all about of Auto Insurances

Total Pageviews

Saturday, May 28, 2011

How to Choosing the right type of travel insurance


Whether you are planning a romantic long-weekend in Paris, a family package holiday to Spain or an intrepid backpacking gap-year around the world you will need travel insurance.

But while many people are tempted to take out the cheapest policy, with so many things that can potentially go wrong choosing a deal tailor-made for you and your trip could be the more sensible option.

This is because many of the basic insurance policies come with only minimal cover. If you are planning a holiday with activities, are over 65 or pregnant, for example, you may find your average policy simply does not provide the cover you need.

And this where the specialist policies can come in handy. There are plenty available and we've flagged up some of the most common to provide you with a guide to ensuring your holiday is fully covered.

Backpackers and gap year travellers

Anyone taking an extended holiday, or travelling to various destinations for more than just a few weeks, will need to ensure they have a more comprehensive insurance policy.

This is particularly prevalent if you plan to work while you are away or if you plan to carry out any high adrenaline sports or adventurous activities.

You can buy specialist backpacker policies which cover the basics of a travel insurance policy such as baggage cover and flight cancellations. But you can also tailor them to meet other needs – for example if you plan to do sky diving or bridge climbing.

Grant Bather of Virgin Money suggests ensuring you are covered for bills, medical treatment and the journey home, in case you need to return to the UK due to illness or injury.

A policy which provides access to a free 24 hour travel advice line and emergency helpline is also a good idea.

Virgin Money's Backpacker Travel Insurance is one of the policies which covers all the above.

Mr Bather added: "Anyone of any age whether they are on a gap year or taking a backpacking trip needs to think carefully about insurance.

"Travellers need insurance that covers them for all activities and eventualities."

Skiers and snowboarders

Likewise, if you are going on a winter sports holiday the basic insurance policies are unlikely to provide you with full cover.

So for ultimate peace of mind most insurers offer comprehensive policies for people planning to spend their vacation skiing or snowboarding.

The reason for this specialist policy is obvious – the chances of you having an accident and needing medical attention are increased when you take part in a potentially risky pursuit.

Research shows the average cost of winter sports-related travel claims has doubled in two years.

And the cost of these claims has soared between 2008 and 2010, according to the figures unveiled by Sainsbury's Finance.

They show the value of winter sports injury claims from Italy alone have soared 106 per cent from £679 to £1,400.

Knees seem to be the most commonly injured body part, and the average cost of a claim for medical attention for this costs £1,000.

As well as injuries, you'll also need cover for equipment – and winter sports insurance will also provide you with this. If you plan to hire equipment, check your insurer covers this and for how much.

It will also cover for the loss of a ski pass, piste closures as well as other features like flight cancellations and lost luggage.

According to Mike Powell, Defaqto's insight analyst for general insurance, because the cost of hiring equipment and the types and levels of cover differ so widely, it's essential you choose a cover which suits your needs.

He added: "We would urge people to focus on policy features and not just focus on paying the lowest price for cover – the cheapest option can often prove costly if something does go wrong."

Other adventure sports holidaymakers

Rock climbers, bungee jumpers and white water rafters are also urged to make sure their insurance policies cover any daring pursuits they might take part in on holiday.

Even people who intend to do more mainstream activities like horse riding and scuba diving are advised to be thorough when taking out a travel policy.

Maxine Baker, travel insurance manager at Moneysupermarket.com, said: "If there's any chance you might take part in extreme sporting activities while you are away, it's essential you speak to your insurer ahead of your trip.

"Daredevil activities may not be covered by some standard policies so scour the small print before you 'jump'."

Older travellers

According to charity Age UK, the over-55s are travelling more and travelling further.

The proof came from sales of annual worldwide insurance for this age group which increased by 21 per cent between 2009 and 2010.

Gordon Morris, managing director of Age UK, said: "Travelling is no longer the preserve of the young, with over 55s increasingly holidaying in far flung corners of the world."

The problem is, traditionally, the older generations among us have found it difficult to find appropriate travel insurance to cover their needs on holidays – particularly long haul vacations.

Once you get to 65, the premiums start rising – and at 75 and 85 they soar even further – because insurers see travellers of this age as a greater risk.

What's more many insurers might refuse to cover you if you are travelling further afield than Europe. So if you are planning to visit family in Australia or go on a long cruise you could face an impossible battle to get insurance.

Luckily organisations like Age UK and Saga provide tailored travel insurance for older travellers. But whatever policy you choose, it's essential you check the small print to ensure it covers everything you need.

Many policies, according to research by Saga, include upper age limits – and this is especially true of many of the travel insurance products provided through high street banks' packaged accounts.

It's also essential to ensure you declare any pre-existing medical conditions. If you fall ill on holiday and have not told your insurer about a condition you have, you might not be able to make a claim.

Roger Ramsden, chief executive of Saga Services, said: "In addition to the upper age limits, many banks' travel insurance policies do not offer cover for pre-existing medical conditions or may charge an additional premium to do so.

"It's safe to assume if you're not asked for details of any medical conditions, you're not going to be covered.

"If travellers do have any medical conditions our advice would be to contact your insurer and inform them as failure to do so could have catastrophic effects."

Saga said its policy provides medical screening at the point of application – either on the phone or online, depending on how you have applied.

It also promised to make clear exactly what you will be covered for during your trip.

Families

If you are travelling with the kids it could be cheaper to buy a family travel insurance policy instead of individual ones.

You can obtain policies for families travelling worldwide and going on sports holidays such as skiing trips.

You can even buy add-ons such as additional baggage cover – which can come in extremely handy with all the paraphernalia required for a trip with kids.

You can also choose between annual multi-trip policies or single trip insurance. If you tend to book a trip abroad and also a couple of shorter breaks each year, the annual policy might work out as the better value option.

However, if your budget limits you to just one family holiday a year – the single trip option might be more suitable.

Many family policies will also cover you if decide to go on a kid-free break. So even if you are planning two trips – one without the children – the annual policy might be a wise move.

Make sure you check the details of your policy, however, if you are separated from your partner and taking the kids away.
Often, insurers only consider children to be 'family' if they live permanently at your address.

Defaqto, the independent financial research company, found in an investigation last year that 28 per cent of family travel insurance policies do not cover children who live with an ex partner.

Brian Brown, head of research at Defaqto, said: "Many travel insurers will insure your children and step children as long as they live with you.

"But if you take children on holiday with you and they normally live with an ex partner, they might not be covered."

You will also need to check the details of your travel insurance policy if you are pregnant during your holiday. Many airlines will refuse to let you fly if you are at the latter stages of your pregnancy and insurers are just as reluctant to provide policies.

Again, you may need to take out a specialist policy if you wish to travel beyond the 28th week.


Long Haul

Make sure, if you are going on a long-haul holiday, you take out an insurance policy which covers worldwide travel.

Worldwide travel insurance can be purchased either as a single trip or annual policy. Insurers suggest if you are planning two or more long haul trips in a year you take out the annual multi-trip option as this usually works out as better value.

Long haul or worldwide trips usually cover destinations outside Europe. And you will also need to purchase a worldwide policy if you are planning a trip around the world.


READ MORE - How to Choosing the right type of travel insurance

Friday, May 27, 2011

The biggest insurance myths revealed


However, it is also important to challenge your own assumptions of what you might expect to happen if you need to make a claim in any type of insurance risk area. You may presume that you know what you will be covered for, but as we are about to find out, there are a lot of myths in the world of insurance and it pays to make sure you have accurate information.

So, let's take a look at and de-bunk some of the more common insurance myths.

Car insurance

Your car's value

If your car or other vehicle is written off in an accident or stolen you will not receive the market price for the value of your vehicle if purchased new. The insurer will only pay you the amount it costs to buy a replacement vehicle of the same age. This is because the car will have depreciated in value.

Driving abroad

If you have fully comprehensive insurance on your vehicle in the UK, it does not necessarily mean that you are fully insured when you drive abroad in your own vehicle. You need to call your insurer to check and arrange additional cover if necessary to arrange foreign use cover.

If you drive a hire car when travelling abroad, make sure that you purchase the right insurance as part of the package you purchase from the hire car company.

Rising administration fees

Car insurance companies are generally charging higher administration fees for services that you might imagine come as standard such as fees for renewal, cancellation, set-up and duplicate documents.

When you negotiate your car insurance policy it is worth questioning this and attempting to negotiate lower fees. Also, make sure that you read the terms and conditions of your policy carefully to avoid extra fees, don't just assume the insurance company is right.

Use the myfinances.co.uk comparison site to find the best deal on car insurance.

Home Insurance

Accidental damage

Most standard home insurance policies will not cover you for accidental damage to expensive equipment in your own home. This may seem hard to believe as it would seem logical for accidental damage to be included in any contents insurance policy, but in most instances you will have to pay for additional cover.

Extended absence away from your property

Many people think that unless you are away from your home for more than a month you don't have to worry about whether the absence invalidates your home insurance policy. It varies with the policy and sometimes the limit on the amount of time you can be away can be less than a month and on other policies it is more. As always, check your own policy to make sure you know what the limit is.

Single-item limits

Don't assume that very expensive individual items will automatically be covered by your home contents insurance policy. The limit on single items is usually around £1,500 but this varies so you need to check your policy to see what the limit is. If you have items that are worth more than the limit and you don't already have separate insurance for them, you need to speak to your insurer and get them covered separately otherwise your insurer won't pay out for them in the event of loss, damage or theft.

You should insure your home for its full market value

You don't need to insure your home for the full market value. You only need to get buildings insurance cover for the cost of re-building it. This will almost certainly be lower than the market value, unless you live in an unusual type of home or a period property.

Use the myfinances.co.uk comparison site to find the best deal on home insurance.

General insurance myths

Your insurance will cover acts of god

The definition of an 'act of god' is clearly going to be open to interpretation, so if you check with a dozen different insurers over an unusual type of claim you will be likely to get several different answers. Because as policyholders none of us can accurately predict our risk in regard to an act of god as policyholders there are few strategies for mitigating the risk.

However, you need to be aware that you may not automatically be covered for an act of god. The ash crisis last April that closed airspace and caused such disruption is a good example. Some insurers paid out to passengers who missed flights because they were covered through policy features related to bad weather conditions, other insurers interpreted it differently and didn't pay out to policyholders.

You can claim as often as you like

You might think that if you pay high premiums every year you ought to be getting something back for the cost and attempt to claim for any damage to your car or home or loss of valuables, no matter how minor.

Be aware though, that if you make three claims on a policy within three years, you will find it difficult to get any company to insure you and if you do, you will be paying back the money in high insurance premium costs over the next few years.

Use the myfinances.co.uk comparison site to find the best deal on insurance.

Life insurance

Employer life insurance is enough

A lot of companies offer life insurance as a benefit of employment but it is important to check that the policy you are covered under gives you the right level of cover for the individual needs of your family.

Employer life insurance policies are often general basic policies, and although a good perk, they may not give you the benefits you would expect or your family would require in the event that you needed to claim on the insurance. You may need to top this policy up with an additional one that gives you more product features.

Only the wage-earner needs life insurance

A common assumption is that only the main breadwinner needs to be covered so that if they died, their earnings would be covered through a life insurance policy.

However, if you have a family and something happened to the main carer of the children, then provision would be needed to take on the care of children and the house, usually through childcare costs and perhaps some additional help with the cooking and cleaning. These costs need to be considered when assessing what life insurance cover is needed for a family as a whole.

Use the myfinances.co.uk comparison site to find the best deal on insurance.

Travel insurance

Standard travel insurance covers skiing

This is a common misconception and applies to other winter sports and extreme sports. A standard travel insurance policy is very unlikely to give you the appropriate cover for skiing, snowboarding or any other sport deemed by the insurers to be of a higher risk.

Check your policy and get additional cover for any activities not covered through the standard travel insurance policy.

Health insurance

My claim will be rejected if I have drunk any alcohol

If you have been drinking heavily and suffered an accident that would be deemed unlikely to happen if alcohol was not involved in the incident you will probably not be covered (though it is still worth checking). However, if you have had a glass of wine at dinner and someone has swiped your phone or iPod from the table, the alcohol will not be taken into consideration when your claim is being assessed.

Use the myfinances.co.uk comparison site to find the best deal on travel and medical insurance.

www.myfinances.co.uk

READ MORE - The biggest insurance myths revealed

Tips Finding the Best Car Insurance


Tips Finding the Best Car Insurance. Car insurance is a highly competitive field, and as a car owner, you can take advantage of this by shopping around to see which company will give you the best deal. Write down the types of insurance you are interested in purchasing, including those that are mandatory, and get quotes from three or four insurance providers. Some will offer packages that may save you money, while others will offer packages that will have you paying for types of car insurance that you may not need.

Besides premium rates, see how much coverage you are getting and find out about limits, restrictions and any additional fees. Car owners typically focus on saving money, but it may be worth a few extra dollars to be able to email or fax in an accident report and to have someone pick up the phone when you need to file a claim or have a question you want answered.

You’ll want to consider the various types of car insurance listed below:

Bodily injury liability insurance: This is mandatory in most states. Should you get into an accident, the driver and passenger(s) in the other car can sue you for their medical bills. In today’s litigious society, this is the type of insurance you most want to have, especially if you have significant assets.
Property damage liability insurance: This is another liability insurance that you won’t want to skimp on since it will cover the cost of repairs for the other driver’s car. Should his or her vehicle be totaled, replacing a $40,000 car means that you need sufficient coverage.

Personal injury protection (PIP): This is mandatory in some states. PIP is a policy covering medical costs for your family, even if the other person is at fault. Your health insurance may cover this, so check that policy before paying for a lot of PIP coverage.

Collision insurance: This covers repairs or even replacing the car should there be an accident. As cars get older and depreciate in value, drivers are typically less inclined to have collision insurance.

Comprehensive insurance: Should your car be stolen or destroyed by a natural disaster, this is the coverage that will pay for your loss. Again, over time, you may lessen the amount of coverage you are carrying should you have an older car.

Other types of insurance include rental reimbursement, towing, glass replacement and uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance. Glass replacement can be costly, so it is one you may consider. Uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance is one that you should strongly consider, since there are many underinsured motorists out there, and you may not be able to collect from someone without sufficient coverage.

Because insurance is based on the ages of the drivers in your family, the car you drive and where you are living, policies will vary greatly. However, you can possibly help lower your premiums by taking good care of the vehicle, installing antitheft devices and maintaining a clean driving record.
READ MORE - Tips Finding the Best Car Insurance

Design by araba-cı | MoneyGenerator Blogger Template by GosuBlogger