Literally thousand of Brits plan to get away this bank holiday and before you set off on your Travels, there are a few insurances that need to be checked. Make sure you Home Insurance is up to date and that before you leave your property, all security devices are put in to operation. If you are driving to your destination, make sure that your car insurance is up to date and especially that you have your vehicle breakdown insurance policy with you. If travelling abroad, don’t forget your Travel insurance, even if you are only going for a couple of days, premiums are very cheap and they are worth it alone for the Medical Insurance cover.
Jump in money supply – Mervyn King the governor of the Bank of England has issued his clearest warning yet that recent jumps in the money supply could be a signal that interest rates are not high enough to bring inflation back under control. His warning is a clear sign that homeowners are about to be hit by another interest rate rise.
Home loan approvals at lowest for a year – The housing market is beginning to show signs of weakening as the number of new mortgages fell to the lowest level in a year. Mortgage approvals fell the lowest level in a year down from 118,000 to 113,000 in March. Economists have stated that there is an early sign that households are beginning to feel the strain of the three rate rises.
Are you on the Brink of Debt – It is feared that more than one million people are on the brink of debt difficulties as interest rates being to bite and would appear to about to move upwards again. The Bank of England most recent Financial Stability report suggests that Britain’s personal debt has climbed to 1.3 trillion pounds, many people are now living at the financial limit- some may face going through an individual voluntary arrangement or even bankruptcy UK. It is estimated that if interest rates are lifted again, approximately 110 households could have their homes repossessed every day. Buy to let borrowers could also be hit by more increases, as in recent years, rents have failed to keep up with increases. If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, you should start to examine your finances most closely:-
- Do you use your credit card everyday, because you do not have cash.
- Do you obtain a new credit card to pay off another?
- Have you had to borrow money to keep up payments.
- Is you credit card debt rising.
- If you add up all of your current household debts, excluding your mortgage, is it in excess of 6 months of your net income.
- Do you monthly bills add up to more than half of your monthly income.
- Have you already missed more than two payments on your mortgage?
- Are you dipping in to your savings each month to pay your bills.
- Are you struggling to pay even the minimum amount on your credit card each month.
If you have answered yes, to any one of the above, it would be prudent to draw up a budget to straight away to help ease the expected interest rate increase. If you are slipping in to debt, seek professional help sooner rather than later.
Insurance News – Allianz Cornhill – UK insurance company Allianz Cornhill has been renamed Allianz Insurance representing the latest step in the re branding of the company. Cornhill has been a well known insurance name is this country for many years and everyone remembers them as sponsors of test cricket. It is thought however, that the Allianz brand name is stronger and this will enhance the groups global brand image. Allianz intends to spend in excess of 1 billion in the next three years on global advertising as this is hoped will enhance the insurers reputation in the United Kingdom
Help the Aged New Insurance scheme – The charity help the aged has recently announced a tie up with Liverpool Victoria to offer certain types of insurance policy to persons over 50. Known as in tune, policy will be available for amongst other things, motor, home & travel Insurance. It is not anticipated that the products will offer the cheapest insurance on the market but help the aged do serve a sector of the market where it is sometimes difficult to obtain cover. Anyone over the age of 75 who has tried to obtain certain types of insurance before can testify that it is not always that easy and these new policies will fill an increasing gap in the market.
