Airtime

June 23, 2009

Save money on your insurance

from your current provider on your Home and Car Insurance policies. After mortgages, this is the best area to save money by requesting new quotes. According to the RAC, the average quote of £629 for car insurance falls to £415 if you shop around, while home insurance cover tumbles from £385 to £250. The internet makes it incredibly simple to find quotes, and if you don’t spend at least one lunch hour a year finding a better deal then I wish I had as much money as you!.

1. Reclaim Loan protection insurance
Pricey and poorly sold, Loan protection insurance is one of the most profitable products formed by the finance industry. It can add £3,000 to the cost of a £7,500 secured loans. Many people who were sold ppi could’t claim on it against it these people are abel to demand their money back again.

Many companies will attempt to claim the money back, but you will pay a 25% premium on the monies awarded. Instead, call the FOS 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 £70 a year on this insurance. But the benefits are minimal: most won’t cover you for the only major risk, airtime abuse (if your phone is ued to call overseas, and if your phone is lost your home and contents should coiver it.

Mobile phone insurance is easy to cancel just stop the direct debit.

3. Rethink your life insurance
You can also cancel your life insurance. 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 home loan. the policy can be canceled at any time to get a cheaper quote. With the human lifetime improving (ie. fewer people dying), the insurers have been cutting rates for many years.

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

4. Don’t pay for travel insurance you don’t need
Step 1 Obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from ehic.org.uk or at your local Post Office. This has replaced the old E111 forms and gives you reducedcost or free medical treatment in EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You may even obtain treatment faster, as you won’t have to rely on a hospital waiting to receive authorisation to treat you from an insurer.

Step 2 Check your home insurance policy. most cover your belongings ouside your house.

Step 3 Check your medical insurance policy, if you have one. These often pay treatment costs incurred abroad. If traveling to Europe, the only real benefit that travel insurance cover brings is cancellation cover. Can you justify paying the premiums?.

For those who travel outside the EU, travel insurance is a must, though. Policies that last for a year and cover you for more than one trip always make sense if you go away more than once a year don’t pay for what you don’t need. E.g., f you don’t ski or snowboard, you don’t need winter sports cover.

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August 30, 2008

Shop Local For Mobile Phone Deals

If you haven’t used a mobile phone plan before, you may be forgiven for being confused with the vast array of schemes and mobile phones on offer but if you stay focused on the aspects you actually need, you should not go too far wrong. As there are so many service providers now, you would be advised to check out as many types of plans as possible. First start by looking for bargains at your local supermarkets such as Asda mobile phones and Tesco mobile phones stores.

If you are keen to use a monthly mobile phone plan then you have the option of being charged by the minute or by the second. For self employed individuals or just heavy phone users then the monthly packages that are available are usually the better option to take.

There are different plans for family, national and regional use which should give plenty of scope when making that decision. As with all things they all have plus points and minus points.

Be aware though that many prepaid cellular phones do not always have all the features of their monthly pay cousins. If you run a large business, you would not want a family type package as you might find it to restrictive for what you require.

For the family user, cellular phone usage discounts are included if you call members of the family that you list on the same bill. You may also find that other savings are available using this type of plan including special airtime discounts.

For businesses with operatives around the country then free calls are normally available with National mobile phone plans and are a real incentive to large organizations. You will also not be charged for roaming with this type of plan and this is of huge benefit to business travelers.

Unfortunately, this benefit is not included in regional plans and you will probably be charged for national calls albeit at a reduced rate. Prepaid mobile phone plans are often the preferred type for travelers and business people as the traditional plan without roaming and long-distance charges might be best.

One final note; your health is more important than the fact that people can reach you whenever they feel the need, so do yourself a favor and do not let people disturb you when you are having quality private time so switch your mobile phone off occasionally.

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