INSURANCE
Introduction
The Finance Key can offer you advice on a variety of insurances. This may be life insurance, critical illness insurance, income protection, mortgage payment protection insurance (also known as accident, sickness or unemployment insurance), buildings and contents insurance or landlords insurance.
Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance
Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) covers your mortgage payments in the event of your being unable to work due to an Accident, Sickness or Unemployment (ASU).
The policy aims to provide a monthly benefit, which can be paid after a 30 day deferred period (but backdated to day one). The benefit period can be up to either 12 or 24 months.
Buildings Insurance
If you own a property which has a mortgage secured upon it, it is a legal requirement to ensure it has continuous buildings insurance. The sum assured is based on the current rebuild cost, which must be index linked to insure against inflationary building costs.
Occasionally, lenders make it a condition of the mortgage that you take their own insurance. Alternatively, if you insure the property with another insurer, some lenders will charge a small insurance administration fee.
Premiums can be reduced with a no claims discount, built up over a period of claim free years. Premiums can also be reduced by incorporating an excess to the policy, whereby you pay the first part of any claim - £50, £100, £150, etc.
The Finance Key offers advice on Residential and Landlord Buy to Let buildings insurance.
Unusual scenarios include:
- Steel framed properties
- Thatched properties
- Underpinned properties
- Semi commercial properties
- Commercial properties
- Mixed use properties
- High value properties
- Unoccupied properties
- UK & overseas holiday homes
Contents Insurance
Contents insurance, unlike buildings insurance is not mandatory if the property is mortgaged. However, less emphasis should not be placed on this type of insurance, as the cost to replace your home contents can be very high.
Cover can be provided for accidental damage, theft or loss. Individual items can also be covered while they are away from home, eg expensive items of jewellery or laptop computers.
As with buildings insurance, premiums can be reduced with a no claims discount, built up over a period of claim free years. Premiums can also be reduced by incorporating an excess to the policy, whereby you pay the first part of any claim - £50, £100, £150, etc.
The Finance Key offers advice on Residential and Landlord Buy to Let contents insurance.
Life or Critical Illness Insurance
Life insurance will provide the peace of mind to ensure repayment of a mortgage and may also provide an additional income to cover essential expenditure for dependents. It can also be used to cover an inheritance tax liability.
Critical illness cover can provide a lump sum in the event of diagnosis of a specified critical illness, assuming the insured survives. Suffering a life changing illness is usually something one considers they will never experience, but the harsh reality is that people do. Having a tax-free lump sum of money will undoubtedly make life easier - being able to clear an existing mortgage or make alterations to a home environment in case of disability or even pay for the best healthcare possible.
It is often beneficial to place these policies into trust, in order to minimise any inheritance tax liability on your estate. Placing these policies into trust can be done at application stage, or at a later stage when reviewing existing cover. Call The Finance Key for a protection review and we’ll be able to advise on existing and new policies and whether it may be beneficial to place these into trust for your beneficiaries, ensuring that the money goes to the right people at the right time.
The Finance Key offers advice for both individual and company funded schemes.
How much protection
will a cafe latte give you?
It may seem a strange question. But think about it. How much does a coffee cost these days - £2 or a little more maybe? And how often do you pop into your favourite coffee shop for a Tall Skinny Latte or a Cappuccino?
All these seemingly inexpensive pleasures we take for granted soon add up. So, just by cutting out one or two a week you could save enough to buy a substantial amount of protection.
Details updated: June 20 2010
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