Posts Tagged ‘Payment Protection Insurance’

Unemployment / Redundancy Insurance Arn’t They The Same?

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Considering protecting your income or mortgage should you be made unemployed?

You could be forgiven for thinking when comparing two policies one covering unemployment and another covering redundancy they cover the same thing.

But they don’t the terminology used for the cover should be read carefully along with any description of the terms offered within a policy.

A policy covering redundancy would NOT trigger a valid payable claim should your employer end your contract of employment unless you were involuntarily made redundant. Where as a policy covering unemployment would pay if you were made  involuntarily redundant or if your employer ended your contract of employment through not fault of yours.

Therefore a policy offering unemployment insurance offers a higher level of protection than a policy covering redundancy.

Go to our main website to compare over 35 income protection policy quotes www.quoteme4.co.uk

Insurance Websites Need to be Fair

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

The ever more frequent searches on the web for insurance is difficult at best. But the healthy competition has placed a cloud as some websites employ misleading tactics in a strategy to win over your business.

Web pages offering Mortgage Payment Protection (MPPI) is a prime example, as well as misleading claims on the product pages stating they compare 100’s of MPPI products when clearly they don’t as there not that many to compare in the whole market place.

Other strategies employed include awards with no credibility or value, and with some awarded with the so called  independent expert judges being the award recipient and on the judging panel.

If you plan on making a buying decision based on a websites awards take another 10 minutes to Google it and check the validity of the award and the criteria it was awarded for. As it maybe just a fake or irrelevant to your purchase or awarded by a panel who maybe respectable but what is there background of expertise?

Many of these insurance websites with pointless awards tend not to include Defaqto Star ratings, which is industry recognised as providing information used for comparing all types of financial products. Their tools are also used by independent financial advisers to compare similar products and provide advice.

More information http://www.defaqto.com/

For independent quotes on  insurance visit http://www.QuoteMe4.co.uk

Instant Pioneer Income Protection Quotes

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

QuoteMe4 are pleased to announce that we have completed our instant comparison quotes for Professional Income Protection, Pure Income Protection and Bills and Things offered by Pioneer Friendly Society.

This will provide users the facility to get instant quotes and consider the policy terms complete a data capture application for their award winning cover online without interaction 24/7.

All three policies offer OWN OCCUPATION cover throughout the policy and during a claim for all occupations. For more information and a quote visit go to www.quoteme4.co.uk or call 0800 022 6571

Switching Provider – Unemployment Cover

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

If having had your fill of price increases on your unemployment redundancy cover you may be considering switching provider.

The main obstacle being that all policies have an initial exclusion where your policy is not active until after this date. The last thing you need is to switch to another provider and have a gap in protection where you would be unable to claim from either policy should you be unlucky and get the boot.

Choosing a provider with a short initial exclusion will reduce the time you need to run two policies at the same time with overlapping cover until the new policy is past the initial exclusion period. This means for a short time you will be paying for two policies, which kind of defeats the exercise which was to reduce your monthly cost.

To reduce the time you are paying for both plans consider this. Most policies are paid monthly by direct debit instead of calling the provider you are  binning you simply cancel the direct debit. This will give you a period of time when you have cover but not paying for it as all providers allow for the fact we maybe switching bank etc…  so cover will typically continue for another 30 days after missing the last payment. Which is better than you calling the company to tell to stop your policy as this will be immediate.

As a result a new provider offering a 90 day initial exclusion will mean that your unemployment cover needs to be overlapped for 90 days but you need only make two payments on your old policy and not three making the switch less painful to your pocket.

Apply with QuoteMe4 and we will give you 1 month free once you have made your 12 monthly payment.

Cheap Redundancy Cover can be Costly

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

For most of us we often prioritize cost as one of the key indicators when comparing unemployment cover.

Over the past 12 months the industry claims have no doubt risen. This has affected some more than others as some providers have kept existing policy holders premiums static and increased the cost for new entrants and other providers who may have provided the cover at rock bottom prices to secure higher volumes have been more aggressive in order to meets claims have had little choice than to pass on signification premium increases a high as 86% or more on two or three occasions.

With the cost of providing cover in todays climate obviously more expensive, and with some providers not offering cover at all this has given some will little option than to stomach the prices increases. Even if they did want to switch cover most policies have an initial exclusion ranging from 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and 120 days on the worst policies before they are active.

Most unemployment policies run on a month by month basis, meaning the provider can cancel your cover, apply a price increase or amend the policy terms all with just 30 days notice. Some providers will offer a guarantee premium for 1 year or will apply price increases to new applicants.

To help identify those providers you want to avoid check:-

  • Policy exclusions and small print
  • Find out as much as you can about the premium history for the product you want:-  How many price increases have been applied in the past 12 months? Has this been applied to all policy holders? How much was the price increase on each occasion in percentage terms? Are there any other planned price increases? Have they ever increased the cost of cover for someone who has just taken out the policy?

Buying cheap unemployment cover is only cheap in that month! next month is could be a completely different story so buy wisely.

Request a quote for unemployment cover

New Form of Income Protection Unrelated to Earnings

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Pioneer Friendly Society have just launched a new type of income protection called “Bills and Things” to help cover your living expenses should you be ill or have an accident. However unlike standard Personal Health Insurance (PHI) or Accident and Sickness (ASU) polices this plan is totally unrelated to income.

This provides the self employed or employed with reassurance that they can have cover as there is no financial underwriting  at any stage.

The main benefits of the plan are:-

  • No financial underwriting so you can chose the level of cover you need
  • Cover is provided up to a maximum age of 68
  • Benefits are paid after 4 weeks
  • Valid claims are paid for 1 or 2 years (depending on the cover duration selected at outset)
  • Multiple claims are allowed for each separate illness or accident
  • Claims for the same illness are allowed after 6 month back at work
  • Underwriting has been simplified with a short application and telephone underwriting
  • Cover automatically increases with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to maintain the real value over time
  • Premiums are age related
  • Minimum cover £500
  • Maximum cover £1,000

With the cost starting at £9,99 for £500 monthly benefit for those who are for the self employed or employed with high outgoings in relation to income this will fill the protection gap nicely. It’s only a shame the cover is limited to £1,000 monthly benefit.

For more information or to request a quote go to www.quoteme4.co.uk or call 0800 022 6571

Redundancy Income Protection

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

synergy-financial-logo
With the confirmation that Synergy Protect will cease all new applications for unemployment insurance at the end of October 2009 this will certainly leave a gap in the market.

No other provider offers this level of cover that can be used to protect your lifestyle with such flexibility to choose between £100 and £2,000 per month cover no matter how much you earn or how much you pay on your mortgage or rent and all this with only a 30  day qualification period (initial exclusion).

I’ve yet to understand why so few know about this product even moneysavingexpert.com has no mention of the product even though its been avaiable in its current form since 1 July 2009. Instead they recommend an alternative thats more expensive has a 120 day initial exclusion (ouch) pays them commission and is limited on how much it can cover. This is truly a gem that when its gone will surely be missed.

Click to obtain a quote for unemployment income protection

Why MPPI Providers Can Alter Your Premium With 30 Days Notice!

Friday, September 25th, 2009

With more of us wanting security if made redundant the last thing we want to have is the cost of our cover increase.

Most Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) policies are monthly re-viewable. This gives the insurance company the option to alter the terms of the cover with only 30 days notice and impose a price increase typically because of higher than expected claims in an economy that has seen records redundancies and claims on such policies.

This leaves the consumer in a difficult position as they are not able readily compare the cost of cover as the price could alter soon after you have made your application.

With more providers imposing restrictions on cover so that you can only take out cover in connect with a new mortgage or mortgage review this can leave some with little choice as they cannot easily get replacement cover.

It’s time that this option which allows insurance companies to impose such increases be outlawed as its unfair and is does not fall within the “treating your customers fairly” as outlined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Some providers now offering annual renewable MPPI policies that give the consumer a fixed price for their cover over a 12-month period. This is certainly preferable to the current arrangement and is likely to be the future as the Financial Services Authority influence product development with terms that are not detrimental to the consumer.

For more information or a quote on quality MPPI cover visit www.quoteme4.co.uk

Unemployment Insurance Competition

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Buy your unemployment insurance from QuoteMe4.co.uk and get the chance to win an iPod Touch worth £165 (full terms and conditions are on the website).

In the current employment economic climate with more of us feeling uncertain about our financial future having unemployment cover to ensure your income would continue should you be unlucky and be one of the many being made redundant does make sense and help put your mind at rest.

Unlike most unemployment cover thats linked to a debt such as a mortgage or loan Synergy Protect offer cover thats totally independent, which gives you the freedom and flexibility to cover any amount from £100 per month benefit to £2,000.

With only a 30 day activation (exclusion) period your cover provides valuable protection after the 30th day.

Time is running out to get this cover as the price from 1st October will be increasing by over 43% so don’t delay.

The cost of Redundancy Insurance up 43%

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

The last 12-months have seen a number of insurance companies withdraw their redundancy only insurance which pays out a monthly amount of income if you are made involuntary redundant and actively seeking work.

Synergy Protect are one of only a few who provide peace of mind for those who have come to feel uncertain about their financial future with their market leading redundancy insurance.

However they have now announced that their UK market leading redundancy insurance policy  providing unemployment only insurance will from 1st October 2009 be increased by just over 43% for all new applications from this date. All other features of the unemployment cover remain at this stage unchanged.

This announcement follows discussions with their re-insurers Hamilton Insurance Company and is unlikely to be the last as the unemployment cover will only be available until 30th October 2009.

The new rate per £100 of unemployment benefit will be £3.95, this £1.20 per £100 more than the current rate of £2.75 per £100. A £2 plan fee is also payable.

This will see the cost for £1,000 per month unemployment only redundancy insurance, rise from its current rate of £29.51 to approximately £41.50 for new applicants from October. Existing polices we are told will be unaffected by this price change.

Even taking into account the reprice of this cover it still offers good value considering the flexible features that are not available on any other product within the market, such as no mortgage or loan required, cover not linked to income.

Pipeline cases will have 4 weeks to complete from the 1st October deadline otherwise terms will be offered on the new higher rate of £3.95 per £100 of benefit.

John Garcia from QuoteMe4 confirmed time is running out to get this market leading redundancy insurance product.