Insurance World

With oil prices on the increase predominantly in the Middle East, it is having a serious knock on effect to the price of petrol.

In the UK petrol is currently almost GBP 1.00 per litre, and in some rural towns it exceeds this price. The burden on the average motorist is having an effect with an average family car costing around GBP 55.00 to fill up.

With the increase in fuel prices any relief on the poor motorist is more than welcome. You will be pleased to know the increase in recent car insurance competition, particuarly online, has resulted in cheaper car insurance for all.

This does mean that shopping around for car insurance can lead to lower premiums. The large car insurance companies have recently carried out major advertising campaigns highlighting the ‘lower premiums and saving money online benefits’. At present just by buying your car insurance online rather than over the phone can save you an instant 10% with some car insurance companies.

One other aspect to consider are companies that search out the cheapest car insurance for you with top car insurance firms. You simply make one phone call, or one web enquiry and they will search on your behalf with top firms. You pay no money for this service as the commission they take comes straight from the car insurance firm. It’s an ideal solution for those with little time to shop around.

One point to remember is make sure you have the right policy for you. You may find a replacement car an advantage for times when your car may be being repaired. Not all insurance companies offer this and it often comes as a premium. Cost is a major factor but ensure the cover is right for you, your car and circumstances.

Life insurance as a risk mitigation element provides protection against casualties in life. The history of life insurance began with providing coverage for a particular period of time, and if the insured died during the period, the beneficiary got the death benefit. The disadvantage was that the period was limited, which led to the innovation of new products that gave death protection coverage for the entire life of the individual.
In term insurance, the premium increases during the time, as the chances of death are greater. The term policies include renewable, which means the policies can be renewed after the period with a higher premium; decreasing policy in which coverage lessens each year; and convertible in which the policy can be converted to cash value policy after the period. In whole life, the premium remains constant for the entire life. Generally, the premium for the whole life is higher than that of term.
The premium for term increases to cover the cost of the insurance. Therefore, in the beginning, the premium is less and it increases thereafter. In whole life insurance, the premium is higher than the cost of the insurance in the beginning. This extra amount is kept as a cash value component, which is invested to get an annualized return of 5-6%. In the latter years, when cost is more than the premium, money is taken from the returns of the cash value component and the cost is recovered.
The benefit of term is that since the premium is less, the extra money can be prudently invested elsewhere to get a higher return by the individual. Whole life provides cash value, which can be used to borrow money to spend for other purposes such as education of children. There are many innovative policies that provide many features such as guaranteed returns and dividend payments.
Before deciding between term and whole life insurance, it is important to consider the financial resources and the objective of the insurance policy. It depends upon the age of the insured, his or her future needs and the number of dependents.