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Planning For The Worst

20 Nov, 2008 | Insurance | admin | Comments Off

None of us like to think about it, but as we get older, we’re more at risk to sickness and ill health. In worst cases, this can mean terminal illness and eventually death. This is often quite worrying, especially if you have large, over hanging debts, mortgages and more importantly a family to support. People who rely on your income to survive. This can be a burden, especially if you’re getting older and are not as financially secure as you’d like to be. The majority of the population do not have the means to survive without a regular income. You’re not alone. A way of lifting this great burden is by taking out Income Protection Insurance. As the name suggests, this particular type of insurance will protect you and your family should you be unable to earn a living for whatever reason. Whether it is due to terminal illness, general sickness or simply unemployment, there are policies out there that suit your needs perfectly and can be tailored to you. These policies are fantastic for peace of mind. There is no better feeling that knowing that your partner and children will be financially secure should the worst come to worst and you’re unable to earn a living.


Unemployed need more help with mortgage repayments

7 May, 2008 | Insurance | admin | Comments Off

The government is being urged by mortgage lenders to provide unemployed homeowners with greater assistance when it comes to making their mortgage repayments. Banking officials state that many homeowners become at risk of missing repayments and losing their homes when they are out of work for short periods of time, and that increased intervention by the government to help out in situations such as these could help many of these people to avoid having their homes repossessed through defaulting on their secured loans.

At present there are limits in place, including a nine month waiting time and a £100,000 limit. However, However, the homeless charity Shelter and the Council of Mortgage Lenders want to see the waiting time reduced and the £100,000 limit raised. Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions has stated that this is a matter than is regularly reviewed by the government. The current restrictions that are in place came into play in 1995, due to soaring costs associated with helping those out of work to pay their mortgage interest.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders now wants to see these restrictions relaxed, with one official stating: “The state support scheme was reduced in 1995 in the hope that private insurance would provide mortgage protection instead. What we’ve seen is, that hasn’t happened.” The CML is calling for a cut in the nine month waiting time, stating that by this time the lenders would have put repossession proceedings into place so any help would come as too little too late.

The CML also wants the cap on the maximum amount raised, stating: “If it had been linked to house price inflation it would be £300,000.” It added: “I don’t think it would put up costs hugely. It is short-term relief for those people getting back on their feet. In an environment of low inflation, low interest rates and high employment this bridges the gap for a few months for people who lose their job and look for another one.”


King warns on future of mortgages

7 May, 2008 | Insurance | admin | Comments Off

Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has issued stark warnings over the mortgage market in the UK, stating that the nation may find that easy and affordable mortgages will never return. He added that the return of the days of mega-mortgages, such as the 125% mortgages that consumers could take out until they were recently withdrawn from the market, was both unlikely and undesirable. He added that returning to days when such huge mortgages were on offer would be a ’serious mistake’.

King said that the impact and impression that the ongoing credit crisis had left on the money markets would be remember for many years to come, and would make lenders think twice about dishing out finance without careful consideration. He said: ‘Even in five to ten years time, financial markets will remember this episode only too well.’

The cost of borrowing in the mortgage markets has gone up for both consumers and for lenders themselves. Lenders are now far more reluctant to lend to one another, and the cost of inter-bank lending has soared. Whilst the government’s recently announced rescue plan could help to increase confidence and inter-bank lending levels, thus driving down the cost of mortgages to some degree, King said that the benefits of any price falls in mortgage loans could be quickly counteracted by rising inflation, which meant that many households could find that they are no better off. He said: ‘The impact of higher food and energy prices are depressing living standards across Britain.’

The newly launched rescue plan will allow lenders to swap mortgage assets for government bonds, which King hopes will help to restore confidence amongst lenders, which could then have a positive knock on effect for borrowers.



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