admin

A motorhome insurance comparison

How does one perform a motorhome insurance comparison?

To some people, the answer to this is all too self-evident. You simply look at the prices advertised and select the lowest.

That might prove to be an excellent approach if your sole objective is to be able to proudly proclaim that you have found the lowest cost caravan cover around, however, you may wish to question the scenario that may potentially result.

If you are facing a huge repair or replacement bill and have just discovered that the circumstances are not covered by your caravan insurance policy, you may wish to ask yourself whether you will be at all consoled by the knowledge that the policy hasn’t cost you very much over the years you have held it.

If that sounds a little superficial and flippant then don’t be misled – this is a situation that may well arise if you have failed to ensure that your motorhome policy is going to provide you with the cover required.

In a sense, there are two forms of motorhome insurance comparison:

• comparing a candidate policy against your requirements to check its credibility;

• comparing a policy you have already assessed as being credible, against other credible policies, with a view to forming an opinion as to which is likely to be suitable for you in terms of offering the most cost-effective solution.

Both of these may be advisable bordering essential if you are to protect your interests and achieve a degree of peace of mind that you have appropriate cover in place.

Unfortunately, it may not be unknown for motorhome owners to sit down and seriously read their insurance policy for the first time, only in the event they need to make a claim. This may prove to be an extremely risky approach to adopt and given the value of your motorhome, not one that may result in you obtaining adequate financial protection for your precious asset.

So, it may pay you to get to grips with a motorhome insurance comparison sooner rather than later.

Protecting a Property Abroad

With the current state of the UK economy, many people are finding it incredibly difficult to secure a mortgage on a new home. With banks demanding a very high deposit rate and most people unable to save up large amounts of money, it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy a property in the UK.

Therefore, more and more people in the UK are looking into buying property abroad, especially around Europe and the Mediterranean. The house prices tend to be lower, they can bring in income through holiday letting and they can make for an excellent holiday or retirement home. However, there are risks with buying a property in a foreign country and it is crucial to stay protected.

Property Agent

The first thing you want to avoid is being caught out by property agents and ending up with a house that needs a lot of work or is in a bad area. To avoid this you should try and spend a decent amount of time out there and even see if you can spend the night in any perspective properties to find out how noise levels and how comfortable it is.

You should also work with both property agents in the UK and abroad to avoid any language barriers and to make sure you are not hit with a high conversion rate on the price. Securing a property is hard enough in your own country and it can be doubly difficult abroad.

Maintenance

You probably won’t be able to spend all year in your foreign property and so it is a good idea to try and find someone who can watch it whilst you are away. This could be a neighbour or a hired handy man who can make sure the property is well maintained and stays in prime condition.

Keeping your property properly maintained will help you generate more income from holiday renting and maintain a higher value when it comes to selling it on.

Insurance

Of course the main way to keep your foreign investment protected is to take our overseas property insurance which will protect you from any damage to the property in your absence. You can often find policies that will comprehensively cover the building, contents and even guests staying in the house when you are not there.

Hopefully your property abroad will give you a great place to have a holiday, lots of lovely memories and even some extra income, just make sure you are well protected and covered with a comprehensive insurance policy.

Study Shows How Risk Affects Insurance Premiums

The National Insurance Crime Bureau published a report recently which flagged the city with the best likelihood of car theft in California to be Fresno. Based on that assumption, Cheapest Car Insurance in California performed a study where they compared the costs of an auto insurance policy in cities with increased vehicle theft and cities with low chances of vehicle theft. Their findings confirm that someone who resides in a safer place will get much better prices for their auto insurance quotes, especially if they want to get comprehensive coverage.

This is due to the fact that several factors are being considered whenever insurance companies establish the prices for their rates and premiums. One of these factors is risk level. Those that live in cities with more auto related crime will have higher premiums. However, it goes beyond that, as people who live in areas of a city with increased traffic and more accidents will get a higher premium than those that live in a less congested area of the same city. Furthermore, the mileage that a car gets on a yearly basis will also affect the premiums, so those drivers that use their car on a daily basis can also expect to pay more for their insurance rates. Finally, the place where the car is stored, whether it is in a garage or not will also influence the costs of the insurance policy. All of these circumstances are considered as part of your vehicle’s risk factor.

During their study, Cheapest Car Insurance in California took the same driver profile, placed it in two different cities which were at the extremes of the crime levels and generated 30 different insurance quotes for a one year using that profile, in order to see the differences in pricing. In order for the results to be as clear as possible the cities chosen had to be as far apart as possible. In this case, Fresno was chosen because it had one vehicle theft for every 94 residents and, on the opposite side of the spectrum, San Luis Obispo, which had only one vehicle theft for every 850 residents.

The results concluded that where the driver lives will seriously affect their premiums. For a basic basic policies, the difference was minimal: only $7 extra for those in the high risk city that wanted a liability-only insurance policy. However, when comprehensive coverage is added to the mix, over a six month period, the difference between the two cities skyrockets to $305. That is a staggering 25% increase in the overall price of the insurance policy for the same theoretical driver, the only difference being the city where they live. Good driver or not, this study shows that risk factors will inevitably have an impact on one’s car insurance premiums.

photo credit: swansalot

Landlord Insurance – some optional extras

photo credit: JamesCohen 

Letting out a property can be problematic, your landlord insurance policy will give you some peace of mind, but there are additions you can make to many policies to give you extra benefits. We’ll look at some of these here.

Liability Insurance – This is often found bundled with a Landlord Insurance policy but if it isn’t it’s a very useful addition to have. This will cover you if a tenant attempts to claim damages from you for an injury or illness caused by you neglecting to maintain the property. This may include medical bills and legal fees too, both theirs and yours and can end up running into many thousands of pounds.

Rent Guarantee Insurance – This will cover you in the event that a tenant refuses to pay the rent, or disappears owing you money. If you have a mortgage on the property and you rely on the rental income to pay this, then this addition may be very valuable to you. Some Rent Guarantee Insurances will also cover you if your property is empty as long as you can prove you are doing everything possible to attempt to secure another tenant.

Legal Cost Insurance – This covers you for having to take tenants to court for non-payment of rent, or if you need to get a court order to evict squatters. It may also cover you if you need to trace missing previous tenants that owe you rent payments and left the property without informing you.

Emergency Assistance Cover – This addition to a policy provides you with a 24-hour help line number for you to give to your tenants. If there is a problem, for example a burst pipe, they will immediately be able to get help and therefore hopefully reduce any damage. This is especially useful if you don’t live near your rental property, or for other reasons you are not easily contactable or able to immediately get to your property.

Malicious Damage Cover – This is cover for intentional damage to your property and the contents. This may also include damage caused not by maliciousness, but by the tenant doing a bad DIY job without your consent. Perhaps they attempted to alter the structure of the house, or they have used fabric dye to try and change the colour of your carpets. As a Landlord you need to be prepared for any eventuality. People can and will do the strangest things!

Employers Liability Insurance Considerations

photo credit: baileyg100
For some things, at least, in the UK, we can be grateful – and that is that Employers Liability Insurance is compulsory. In other parts of the world, it is encouraged, but not mandatory.
If you are a sole-trader, you do not need this cover; however the moment you employ someone who you are paying to help you carry out a service, then you must take out a policy of this nature.
It is not something to be looked upon as an expense, rather documentation ensuring that you are covered by your insurer should anyone under your employment be injured, fatally or otherwise, or contract disease through your place of work; they will meet the costs, making it a safeguard for both the employer and employee.
And those costs can mount up – if you are found not to have this cover and an employee, ex- or current, brings a claim against you, as well as having to pay any due compensation, you can be fined up to £2,500 per day whilst the matter is awaiting resolution.

As of 2008, with the ruling that the displaying of a company’s current Employer Liability Insure document need only be digital (so far as in that all employees know where, and have access to, that document), it has been ruled that prior copies of a company’s insurance need no longer be kept, legally.
However, as some diseases, such as asbestos poisoning, may not manifest themselves for periods long after an employee has left the service of the company, it is advisable to keep them to prove your cover during the claimant’s employment, should such a case arise.

The power of authority governing this cover in the UK is the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) as that is exactly what this policy is intended to do, cover the health and safety of the employee.

If, however, that employee is based in another country, you only need insure them if they spend periods of fourteen continuous days or more in Great Britain. However, if the law of the land in which they’re based dictates that this insurance is a legal requirement, you will be expected to provide that for your foreign workforce, also.
Insurers may have differing terms and conditions; it is always worth checking the small print so that you are familiar with exactly what is and isn’t covered.