Steven Keogh – My blog island

It is very important to arm yourself with as much information as you can, when it is about finance, especially if you have taken loan or any other form of credit. It is highly advisable to protect the monthly repayments. Have you considered how will you pay the bill or loan interest if you are on a long break from your job? In such a case, you need financial support. And for your help, there is redundancy insurance, which is also called unemployment insurance. This is the best option to protect yourself and your economy from unforeseen circumstances.

Also known as redundancy cover, this is one kind of method wherein the policyholders are offered guaranteed regular financial support whenever they lose their source of income. This insurance is also very beneficial for people who are facing sudden and involuntary redundancy due to accidents or long term sickness.

Now, you may be wondering the duration of the unemployment cover offered by the service provider. The good news is that the policy holder can get the financial help through this cover till they find an alternative source of employment. However, some of the standalone providers offer these covers for a period of one year to meet the monetary needs. You will also find a few companies that offer redundancy insurance for longer periods like 24 months. The only concern is that you will have to pay high premium on long-term policies.

If you want to know how you can be eligible for redundancy insurance cover, then below are certain situations that can be managed through this cover.

*Loss of job because of low performance or economic downturn

*A long break from work due to sudden injury or illness

*Unemployment for at least six months before placing the claim

You need to remember that you can make the claim only if you have been forcibly made redundant and you were not aware of this when you purchased it. The redundancy cover is not provided to people who have voluntarily chosen retirement and resigns. This policy is not for you if you have been thrown out of work due to any misconduct.

There are three types of unemployment insurance: salary protection insurance, mortgage protection insurance and rental payment insurance. In the salary protection insurance, the payments made are tax-free. It helps to deal with normal living expenses. The mortgage protection insurance is helpful for protecting the monthly mortgage repayments to lenders. And under the rental payment insurance, the person is qualified to get rental payments.

Before you purchase the redundancy insurance, you need to take certain factors into considerations. Most of these policies have a waiting period prior to a claim. However, if you have to wait longer, you will get the cheaper policy. On the net, you will find many redundancy policy providers. Choose the one that promises to offer the policy with the best possible premium as well as quality cover.

When to think about life insurance?

Of course, no one likes to think about bad things happening and it is not a subject at the top of everyone’s list of priorities. Sometimes you may be forced to take out life insurance, such as when you get a mortgage. This type of life insurance is called term insurance and only lasts for a particular period, such as the same length as the mortgage, and it is vital to know that at least the mortgage is taken care of. It is then a simple step to consider all the other debts you might leave behind and decide to look into your own policy to cover these too.

Often it is when you start a family that you first consider buying life insurance. Having dependents means you need to provide for them should you no longer be able to work. You need to consider all the day to day expenses such as transport, equipment and school uniforms, and also long term plans, such as weddings, houses and university fees. A permanent life insurance policy will pay out an amount should you die so you can be sure everything will be taken care of.

Start as soon as you can
With many financial products, the earlier in life you start, the easier and cheaper it is to build up a sizable sum, and the same is true of life insurance. If you start a permanent life policy when you are comparatively young, regular small amounts over a long time can build up into a good investment. You can use this capital to borrow against or ever surrender the whole policy should you later find you need the money.

Getting advice
Life insurance is a long term investment and it is vital that you find the right product for your needs. There are a lot of different policies and some of them can be complicated, so it is a good idea to make sure you get good financial advice before you commit to any specific plan. As your circumstances change over time, you should make sure that you check that the plan is still the right one for you and make changes as necessary. That way, you can be sure of getting yourself total peace of mind.

With so many cheap, low cost, affordable health insurance choices being thrown at us all the time, it’s hard to find one that is really going to be the lowest, most convenient and promising health insurance plan, without getting your pockets emptied.

So here’s a few tips that could help out with that:

Read Everything There is To Read (careful with the fine print)

Choosing the right health insurance is one of the most important financial decisions we make these days. Make sure you put your glasses on before you pull your money out. It’s better to be safe than sorrow. If you don’t get something, ask the agent what it means, put them to work. And if you still don’t get it, tell them to speak to you in plain English. Policies can be confusing on purpose.

The price that you want to pay

Have you ever heard the old saying “you get what you pay for”.Well price shouldn’t be the reason you pick your private medical insurance plan. Base your decision more on health benefits than anything other, more importantly the big medical conditions you may have. If you decide to pay medical services out-of-pocket will hurt your pocket in the long run. In the end the premiums are much more affordable.

Don’t think that the lowest premium will be the lowest cost in the long run. Although the least expensive plan might offer the best price for a special coverage that you use.

Look for the “free look” Clause. The majority of insurance providers offer a 10 day grace period, which you may cancel your plan and get your money refunded without an penalties

That way you can look over your policy with patience, so that you can make a smart, and informed decision. Use this time wisely to look it over patiently.

What’s more important? Cost or Coverage

Which one of all the plans out there you pick determines:

How many benefits you get from the level of coverage you get. How formidable it is to choose one of the insurance providers. How much money you’ll need to get out of pocket for premiums

Look at every option and look at the negatives and positives if you make that decision. Say you still want to save some money, HMO plans cost much less out-of-pocket, but you’re going to have a lot of restrictions. PPO plans are more formidable, yes you pay more out-of-pocket but you get a higher deductible.

Many people think being diagnosed with a catastrophic illness like cancer or heart disease is both a death sentence and an end to your chances of receiving life insurance.

They could be wrong on both counts.

Medical advances and healthier lifestyles have resulted in higher survival rates for many high-risk diseases, including breast cancer and diabetes, in the past decade. Insurance companies have responded with more affordable, albeit still rated, policies.

Insurance options are even available for those with the most catastrophic of illnesses, such as lung cancer or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), where chances of surviving more than a couple years are slim. Graded benefit and guaranteed benefit products are viable alternatives to term and traditional whole life, which are practically impossible to get in these instances, according to Ryan Pinney, high-risk specialist with Pinney Insurance Group, an insurance brokerage firm in Roseville, Calif.

He says both are whole life policies that usually max out at $50,000. Graded benefits pay a small percentage the first year, with a little more each year after that until the fifth year, when it levels off. He recommends this for people with illnesses with a longer survival prognosis like multiple sclerosis, prostate or colon cancer. Pinney says the cost varies greatly, depending on age, illness and whether the person smokes.

With guaranteed whole life insurance, there are no questions asked and no medical exam. Anyone can get it, but it costs about $3,000 a month for a 40-year-old and about $5,000 a month for someone 50 or older, Pinney says.

“To make this worthwhile you need to live at least three years, but not more than eight years. After eight years it is a losing investment,” Pinney says.

Someone with Alzheimer’s could not get insurance with most companies not only because of the terminal nature of the illness, but because you have to be cognizant when signing a policy, says Dr. Craig Davidson, senior medical director with The Hartford.

Pinney says those with high-risk, but not terminal, illnesses can expect to pay 25 percent to 50 percent more per month in premiums, if their eligibility falls below standard.He says if a standard policy costs $100 per month, someone with well-controlled diabetes could be rated in Table 2, at $150 a month. If they have Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes, they would be rated harsher, more like Table 4, at a cost of about $200 to $250 a month, he says. However, there could be an even greater increase in premiums for products such as over 50s critical illness insurance.

“Underwriters will look at the type of disease you have, at what stage the disease was detected, the type of treatment you are receiving, and the length of time the doctor gives you to live to determine if you will get insurance and how it is rated,” Pinney says.

The overall five-year relative survival rate for breast cancer from 1999-2005 was 89.1 percent, but only 5 percent if the cancer already metastasized, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Cancer Statistics Review.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million kids and adults have diabetes. It is the seventh leading cause of death. However, it is also controllable with a combination of nutrition, exercise and medication. Pinney and Davidson offer the following advice when it comes to purchasing life insurance.

•Buy when young and healthy, when the cost is much less and before you have a serious health issue. Once you have purchased a policy, it can never be taken away from you and the price can never go up, as long as you pay the premiums every month, Davidson suggests. If you buy when you are healthy, you can get either term or whole insurance, whereas you can only get the more expensive whole life if you’ve been diagnosed with a high-risk illness.
 

•Buy accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Pinney says this is an alternative if you can’t get traditional life insurance or afford guaranteed benefit insurance. These policies are easy to get, relatively inexpensive and no medical test is required. However, they only pay out in the event of an accidental death, so it is a gamble you must decide that you want to take. “Chances are, the illness isn’t what kills you,” he says. He suggests these policies to people who have an illness with a longer lifespan, such as multiple sclerosis.

• Don’t give up. Underwriters look at the test of time, Davidson says. If your doctor can document you have been disease-free for at least five years (your cancer or leukemia has been in remission or your cardiac tests show no heart disease for that length of time, for instance) and that you have been leading a healthy lifestyle and following your doctor’s diet and medication directives, you could qualify for insurance, even if you’ve been denied in the past. He says companies don’t look at the number of heart attacks someone has had, for instance, but the severity of the attacks, how close together they were and if you now have a favorable cardiac testing.
• Apply for a new policy. If you’ve had a life insurance policy for years, especially if you bought it after the diagnosis, it might be less expensive for you to buy a new, better policy than to retain your current one if you have been disease-free for at least five years, Pinney says. Prices have been going down every year, and insurers should be amenable to providing you with a new policy. If not, he suggests switching to an agent who would be. He recommends reviewing your policy every two to three years, and changing whenever it is worthwhile cost-wise.
• Be good to yourself. The best way to get insurance at lower rates is to stay or get healthy, Pinney and Davidson agree. Insurers look at you favorably if your doctor verifies that you exercise, lost weight, eat healthy, follow his advice, participate in wellness programs and visit him or her regularly.It’s good for your health and your pocketbook

Life insurance is a financial tool configured to help protect a person’s family, loved ones, or most any business organization entity that may suffer a likely financial loss or burden should a death occur to the insured. There are many different types of life insurance as we know it and your reasons for purchasing life insurance coverage is only limited by our imagination.

Some of these forms of insurance include; Term Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance, Final Expense Insurance, Burial Insurance, Funeral Insurance, and Pre-need Insurance. The basis idea of life insurance is to provide financially for others should anything happen to us. We all have certain financial commitments that we have or need to meet throught out the course of our lives, commitments that we contribute financially to in some way or another. These obligations in many cases are not just limited to your family’s income or welfare. In fact, the death benefits of a life insurance policy can also be used to support any business interests you may have, a favorite charity, or even be used to contribute to your local community. Personal financial commitments should include your family’s lifestyle, hosue payments, Doctor bills, credit card debt, car loans, college expenses, and funeral expenses.

Business monetary obligations may include providing the essential funds to buy out a business partner’s family upon a partner’s death, used to secure that your vision and direction needed by your favorite charities are properly met, and many even remember their church with a percentage of their death benefits. How much life insurance a person should have would vary depending on the lifestyle your family is accustomed to, the financial needs of your family and others, the sources of that salary, the amount of debts incurred, and the total of dependants who will require support. Many insurance agents would advocate that you have a life insurance policy, or policies, that would add up to five to ten times of your annual income. Still, it is best to sit down with a financial planning expert and go through the reasons why you should consider buying life insurance, the proper dollar amount of benefits you should buy, and what form of insurance planning should best benefit you and your beneficiaries. Life insurance is a very crucial part of any future financial planning, and provides your family and loved ones with a certain peace-of-mind, knowing they are financially protected.

Here are just five of the many great reasons why you need to purchase a life insurance policy.

1. Life insurance properly planned will provide the necessary money to deal with your financial obligations. It offers protection for your family and loved ones upon your death.
2. Life insurance proceeds can be used to pay for all of your funeral expenses.
3. Life insurance can have a pension or savings ingredient that can provide funds necessary for you during retirement. Yes, even you can benefit from life insurance while you’re alive.
4. Some policies may have coverage riders like critical illness payments or guaranteed term insurance for your children or spouse. This will vary from policy to policy; eligibility and requirements may have to be met.
5. A life insurance policy is considered a financial asset which may improve your credit score when applying for a mortgage loan or business loan.

Over 50s  health and wellness is a very important issue today, with the increase in life expectancy worldwide. Physical fitness is important for everyone, but it is extremely vital to the welfare of the over 50s. As we age, keeping fit becomes more challenging, and therefore we must pay particular attention to how we deal with ourselves. Here are some exercises so valuable that older people can participate, and also some things to consider in the pursuit of health and fitness level high.

• Exercises1. Stretch – One of the things that older people should focus on trying to recover as much flexibility as possible, because most of us lose some flexibility in our joints over time. The recovery is much flexibility as possible, should be a primary objective for the over 50s. This can be done through something like yoga at low voltage.
• 2. Walking – It is not really the best exercise for the elderly to walk. They not only help burn calories and fat, also helps reduce stress and improve cardiovascular health. Taking the time to walk every day is one of the best investments you can make for your personal longevity and mental health. The world moves fast and we all have problems and concerns. Walking is a way to download the daily stress and allows us to have more attention on a daily basis.
• 3. Swimming – Swimming is an activity that is low stress on the body have wonderful benefits for the over 50s. Benefits of swimming for the over 50s with air improves cardiovascular health, increased flexibility, improved posture, relieve muscle tension, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and stress reduction. Unfortunately, the high-impact exercise can have a negative impact on bones, joints and muscles of people with more than fifty years have not been able to maintain a regular exercise regime. That’s why swimming is a great way for over fifties to get fit and improve their general well being. Tips for the largest over 50s Exercising Many creating a safe exercise program often go too far and risk of injury. It ‘important to remember that you must work for hours at a time. 20-30 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week usually provides all the medical care they need. Taking a short walk every day, however, can not be considered too, but the forces of heavy lifting day. Consistency is more important than quantity, so that the elderly should focus on keeping your fitness program and to refrain from allowing more than a couple of days to pass without being active.

Also be sure to warm up before each training session. Focus on relaxing the muscles you’re going to use and get some extra blood flowing to them. For strength training, warming could include a series of exercises with little or no weight Whereas aerobic exercise, do the exercise at a slower pace at the beginning works well. Finally, exercise is always easier and more rewarding when done with good friends. Especially for the over 50s, could be beneficial to be part of a group of people dedicated to fitness for health. Join a club swimming or walking, or just organize some friends to practice yoga in the morning one day a week. The possibilities are endless, but the main objective is to stay active and in turn enjoy a healthy and productive life.

The self employed are subject to a lot of work pressure. This can take a serious toll on one’s health. Lack of mobility and exercise, rushed eating in a hurry to complete work, the stress associated with taut deadlines. Small wonder that some self employed people are statistically believed to suffer more health conditions, like a heart attack or stroke than their permanently employed counterparts.

Of course advanced medical technology and treatment can help cure many illness’s, but if your unfortunate to suffer from bad health how will you pay the mortgage and support your family? Being self employed means there is no ’safe heaven’ if you fall ill, because if you  don’t work, you don’t get paid-if you are the single earner, the income stream into your household will stop.

Many of the Critical illnesses covered include:

Heart attack, Stroke, Advanced cancers, Blindness, Deafness, Traumatic head injuries, Major organ transplant, 3rd degree burns, Kidney failure, Coma and many many more

This is where self employed critcial illness insurance can help. In return for a minimal monthly premium, critical illness insurance will pay out a lump sum amount, regardless of most medical conditions or your speed of recovery. The lump sum will be paid out as soon as the condition is diagnosed so you don’t need to worry about financial affairs whilst you are in a reduced state of health or on the road to recovery. You can find both ’fixed term’ and ’entire life’ policy options, underwritten by the UK’s top insurers who have an impeccable record on paying out on claims.

As both the internet and technology constantly evolve and improve, so does the process of purchasing your life insurance online.

Many years ago, using the internet to buy your insurance was not always a straight forward task and was not always the most effective way.
If you knew your products and which one you require then it would be pretty straight forward. On the other hand, if you are not sure which products best suit your requirements or how much level of cover you require then you would need to speak to an independent advisor who could provide a more in depth service when compared to purchasing your over 50 life insurance online.

Now days, comparing over 50 life insurance quotes and purchasing a policy online is a much easier process. Many brokers now offer an online service and many companies operate only online. Insurance websites are now bursting with information and FAQ’s to help you understand it all more and make it possible to make well informed decisions about your over 50 life insurance.

It is however recommended that if you have any special medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes then should you should really seek advice from a local independent advisor who understands the underwriting process and can easily compare a range of quotes as opposed to the lengthy process of applying to many online sites to find the best price.

A lot of people can qualify for life insurance without any exam necessary, even people who hold off to apply in later years. They can get life insurance without any exam up until age sixty-five. As you age and become older you would usually see the life insurance purchasing process as a task. You seem to always need a medical checkup, maybe even two. They normally want blood or urine to examine. This is no more so, that is, if you’re in a fairly healthy state.

In today’s existence we generally tend to live longer because we have started to take better care of ourselves. Everybody appears to be observing what they consume and are undertaking more exercise. With effort we are making a better job maintaining our weight at a healthy level.

This results in us staying healthier for longer periods of time. The common high blood pressure problem which exists amongst the population is much more easily controlled. Among the great concerns though is the hereditary conditions like cancer. However, these can be effectively handled if discovered early enough.

One more important thing to think of is that access to information is much simpler than it used to be due to the internet. Counting all these things has allowed life insurance providers to sell policies to a larger quantity of people without them having to under go a medical checkup.

All that is required is the usual non medical questionnaire for a lot of cases. This has always been offered to those of a younger generation but now It is also available to people up until age 65. Some companies have actually reduced the form whilst making sure that all areas are covered.

Are they offering less competitive life insurance? It is quite a surprise that these non medical life insurance policies are quite competitive, even for over 50 life insurance. Life insurance providers are in business to make a profit. They make certain that they choose the risks that qualify.
So If you are aged between age 18 and 65 and are relatively healthy which includes a fairly healthly lifestyle then you should apply and see whether you can obtain a policy or not. You don’t require a health check, just a couple of directed health queries answered.

The policies can be issued online if you decide. It can usually take up to 20 minutes for the life insurance provider to verify the information contained in your application and to assure themselves that you qualify. Upon approval you should be able to print out your insurance policy right at that moment.

The policies offered are usually 10, 15, 20 and 30 year level term life insurance policies but these can normally be tailored to suit your requirements. Being a Term Life Insurance policy means that the death benefit will remain at the same value throughout the whole lenght of the policy. It will remain at the same level of cover unless you choose to cut down your coverage. The premiums also are level throughout the term period.

If you application is a borderline case then the insurance provider may ask for a medical but don’t worry. This usually shows that they are considering your application as opposed to just simply rejecting it.

Purchasing your life insurance online without a medical examination is now a very popular way for people to obtain life insurance coverage.

House prices climbed 4.5 per cent over the last year, leaving the average property in the UK worth £166,587.

That’s according to the March Halifax House Price Index, which also reported that prices actually fell in February by 1.5 per cent. But does a monthly fall mean further declines are likely?

‘No’, says David Newnes of Your Move Estate Agents. “We always knew the recovery in the housing market would have bumps along the way, but don’t assume this heralds the start of a new downturn.
The arctic weather conditions and the hangover from ending the stamp-duty holiday have taken a temporary toll on prices,” he said. And that’s likely to be the story of the year.

Election hampers housing market

Property expert, Nigel Lewis of FindaProperty.com says: “With an election coming up and buyers waiting to see who will be in charge, it’s bound to be a stop-start year for lending.”

“This means we’ll see monthly rises and falls in house prices as demand and supply fight for supremacy – but we’re likely to end the year in the same position we started.”

So anyone thinking of buying or selling their home this spring is going to have great difficulty getting the timing right. The ideal situation, of course, is to sell on a wave and buy on a trough, but trying to play that game and guess the right conditions is a gamble which is easy to lose.

In fact, the rise in property prices since last year has led to an increase in the number of people remortgaging, says Ray Boulger of John Charcol, the mortgage advisory firm.

“The bounce in property prices since the low nadir early last year has increased some borrowers’ equity sufficiently to make remortgaging worthwhile,” he says. “On top of that, more competition and a modest reduction in some funding costs for lenders has resulted in lower rates for both new fixed and tracker mortgages.”
Remortgage or wait for better deals?

The question, then, for many borrowers is whether to remortgage now or wait for potentially better deals, but that may depend on what happens to base rates. They have remained at 0.5 per cent for a year but a May general election could be the catalyst for interest rates rising.

The next monthly rates decision is due on 8 April, but most experts agree that the Bank of England will make no changes at that time. In fact, a poll of economists in February predicted that a rise in the base rate to 0.75 per cent won’t happen until the fourth quarter, so around October to December 2010.

The uncertainty surrounding interest rates could be an argument for fixing your mortgage now, says Martijn van der Heijden, head of mortgages at HSBC. “The next few years are going to be difficult to predict in terms of mortgage rates and some volatility for borrowers may well be unavoidable,” he says. “The message for borrowers is that if you couldn’t afford an increase of up to three per cent on your mortgage, you should seriously look to fix your payments.”

Also worth noting is the rise in sales of mortgage payment protection insurance policies which cover you mortgage re-payments should you be unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment.
People opting to fix

Mortgage broker Countrywide says it has noticed an increase in the number of people opting for fixed rate loans
“As speculation mounts over house prices and inflation we’ve seen a marginal uplift in the volume of fixed mortgage applications,” says Grenville Turner, Countrywide’s chief executive. “The forthcoming election could unsettle the market and impact any economic recovery and customers are increasingly looking for the certainty of a fixed rate mortgage.”

Although fixing your mortgage can add certainty to your monthly outgoings, you should still look carefully at the costs and penalties attached. Application fees on the best deals are high, and many lenders look to tie you in with high penalties if you decide to switch before the fixed rate period has ended. It means it’s essential to do your sums before signing up for a new deal.