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Home, Business & Car Insurance
Home, Business & Car Insurance
Home/Business/Car Insurance |
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Insurance is one of things we begrudge paying and hope that we will never have to claim on. However,
it does provide an essential part of anyone's personal risk management and financial security. No
amount of insurance monies can replace lives or family heirlooms, but it can provide a financial
buffer to bounce back from adversity or disaster. Some forms of insurance cannot be avoided. For example, motor cars must have at least third party liability insurance to be legally used on the road. This ensures that if you have an accident and someone is injured or killed, there is financial compensation available to the aggrieved party. If you are sued and you do not have adequate insurance cover, you stand to lose a lot of money both in legal fees and compensation claims. Since it is illegal not to have third party liability cover, you may also face criminal proceedings against you that could lead to a fine or imprisonment. The more expensive the asset, the more insurance cover you may seek to take out to safeguard your investment. Fully comprehensive insurance provides cover in the event of theft, loss or damage to the vehicle although it is possible, but less common, to take intermediate cover such as third party fire and theft for some protection. The same principles apply to home insurance. Protecting the main fabric of the building from damage, flood or subsidence is usually mandated as a minimum requirement for any mortgage lender. This protects their interest as much as yours since if, for example, the house was to burn down, they will look to the insurance proceeds to settle off their mortgage loan balance. But home cover is complicated and depends on both where you live and the type of property you have. Physical location, such as the neighbourhood, can influence premiums charged due to the incidence of crime in the area. It is also important for physical reasons since you may have bought a home in an area liable to subsidence or flooding. The type of home can also affect premiums due it age or construction, such as thatched roofing, timber framing or listing status. No easier is business insurance. Legal requirements impact heavily on places of work – especially where you have employees or customers visiting your premises or using assets you own. The type or business you run can also impact on the type of cover you may need since a services business will have a very different risk profile to a construction or mining operation. The basics, however, remain the same. You will need to provide insurance cover for personal liability and business assets, such as trucks, vans, cars and office equipment. Whilst you may rent your factory or office, you will still have to ensure that you have the necessary cover in place either as required by your landlord or lenders – or, of course, by law. The good news about insurance is that it is a fiercely competitive market and insurance cover and advice is available from a wide variety of sources and providers. Each will have their own risk appetite and will price or respond accordingly so it is essential to do thorough research when looking at any form of insurance. If you don't want to do the legwork yourself, there is a wide network of insurance brokers that will trawl the market for you and advise on the best combination of deals and cover available. They will, of course, expect a fee for this service, but their expansive knowledge and contacts should enable a competitive premium and cover to be sourced that is right for you. In some instances, it can benefit from bundling your insurance requests together to see if there is a better deal available. This is usually the case with building and contents insurance together rather than separated. Combined insurance also makes sure that there are no gaps in cover between buildings and contents! Motor vehicle cover tends to be quite discreet –but some now do look to provide family policies where many drivers can be linked together to gain better premium rates. Look for discounts where mature named drivers can reduce premiums for young or inexperienced motorists. Be prepared to invest a lot of hunting time into sourcing insurance – or get a broker to do the legwork for you! Comparison websites are good – but not all insurers subscribe to their services since they object to paying them a commission. Make sure that you check out these direct suppliers when getting your quotes. |