Insurances, savings tips

Everyone know’s not to accept the renewal price from your current provider on your Home and Car insurance cover. After mortgages, this is the easiest area to reduce your outgoings by requesting new quotes. According to the AA, massive savings can be made the avergae shopper saving a whopping £214, while buildings and contents insurance tumbles from £385 to £250. It is so easy to get quotes on the internet, and if you don’t spend at least one lunch hour a year finding a better deal then you have too much money.

1. Claim back payment protection insurance
Overpriced and oversold, PPI is one of the most profitable products created by the finance industry. It can add £3,000 to the cost of a £7,500 secured loans. A vast proportion of people who were sold PPI are unable to claim against it these people are able to claim their ppi back.

Many companies will attempt to claim the money back, but you will pay a 25% premium on the monies awarded. Instead, try the freetouse Financial Ombudsman Service which is currently upholding around four out of five complaints about being missold PP . Helpfully, it offers a factsheet on how to make a complaint about PPI which you can find at financialombudsman.org.uk

2. Cancel your mobile phone insurance
Naive youngsters are strongly pressured in phone shops into spending between £50 and £90 a year on this kind of insurance. Most policies don’t cover you for the most dangerous type of risk airtime abuse (if your phone is ued to call overseas, and you can claim for a lost phone on you contents cover.

Cancel your direct debit with the bank and the insurance will lapse.

3. Rethink your life insurance
Life insurance is not for life. Just because the life insurance was sold to you with your mortgage you don’t need to to stick with that provider for the life of the mortgage. the policy can be canceled at any time to get a cheaper deal. With longevity improving (ie. fewer people dying), the insurance companies have been lowering the cost of life insurance for years.

If you are in a job at a big employer, it is likely to offer “death in service” benefit worth as much as three times your yearly salary, and often a lot more. Do you really need all that life insurance cover on top as well?

4. Don’t pay for travel insurance you don’t need
Step 1 An EHIC card provides free or reduced cost treatment in EU countries

Step 2 Check your home insurance policy. cover is often provided when outside your home.

Step 3 Check your health cover policy, if you have one. These requently pay treatment costs incurred abroad. when you are only travelling to Europe, the only real benefit that travel insurance brings is cover in the event of a cancellation. Can you justify paying the premiums?.

If traveling outside the EU you must have travel isnurance If you go away more than once a year it is best to take a annual policy make sure you are only paying for what you actually need. E.g., f you don’t ski or snowboard, you don’t need winter sports cover.