Insurance World

It’s simple, always have your Life Insurance policy “Written in Trust”. This may sound technical but it is easy to understand and it’s so easy to organise.

“Written in Trust” ensures that in the event of a claim, the policy will pay directly to the beneficiaries you name on the policy when you first take it out. If you do not do this, the policy will payout to your legal estate and this inevitably means that the money stays in your solicitor’s hands for some time.

Yes, that implies legal delays and, of course, your solicitor takes a small cut!

Then, if the value of your taxable estate exceeds Ј275,000, and remember your home can easily account for the lion’s share of the Ј275,000 limit without much difficulty, your estate will have to pay Inheritance Tax. This represents 40% of the estate’s taxable value in excess of Ј275,000. So, if your estate has to pay Inheritance Tax and the proceeds of your life policy go to your estate, the taxman gets his hands on 40% of your life policy!

But it’s so easy to avoid all these problems.

Simply get your policy “Written in Trust”. Then the life insurance company pays out immediately, directly, and totally tax-free, to the persons you have named on your policy. All you have to do is tell the online brokerage organising your policy that you want your policy “Written in Trust” and they will automatically sort it out for you.

This advice remains sound even if the policy is designed to pay off your mortgage. Rather than your estate using the insurance payout to pay off your mortgage, the policy can be written in trust and paid to your partner and then he or she can use that money to pay of the mortgage. The benefit? Well if your taxable estate exceeds the IHT threshold the mortgage is effectively paid off tax-free.

The extra good news is that all the brokers we’ve met will arrange for your policy to be “Written in Trust” as a free of charge service. So it’s a win win situation and there aren’t many of those around these days!

Car insurance is one part of our family budget that we will always have to deal with and so it behooves us to get better informed. We would all love to buy some form of discount car insurance. The reality of that already exists. There are more discounts in car insurance than ever before. Some of the newer vehicles have so many of them that they are often cheaper to insure than some of the older vehicles. Let’s review some of the discounts available when purchasing car insurance.

Multiple Policy Discount – This one is common and yet there are many people that do not take advantage of this discount. This discount can be as high as 15% with some companies.

Good Driver Discounts – Insurance companies love to reward the driver that has an excellent driving record. These are profitable policyholders and help bring the over all rates down.

Auto Safety Features Discount – Automobiles with airbags and seatbelts receive lower rates. Anti-lock brakes and anti-theft devices also lower car insurance rates. The vehicle identification number will identify all of these features and so it is important to give that number to whoever is quoting your car insurance.

Young Driver Discounts – Many companies give substantial discounts for high school and college students that have a 3.0 grade point average or better. The drivers training discount has been a standard discount for young drivers. Find a company that has both and you will help lower premium dramatically.

Senior Citizens Discounts – Drivers 55 and older are given retirement discounts if no longer employed. Homemakers can qualify automatically at age 55 with some companies. Mature driver discounts are also available when a driving course is completed.

Lower Tort Option – There are some states that have a lower or limited tort option. This is your ability to sue for pain and suffering. The lower tort option limits your ability to sue but at the same time it can save you 20% or more in your premium. Contact your agent or insurance company about the tort laws in your state.