The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of hazards. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, and fire and storm damage; medical expenses; and loss of income due to disability or death.
At Professional Mortgage Services we have a duty of care to ensure that you are aware of the financial risks that are associated with taking out a mortgage and we will discuss these with you. We will offer advice and when instructed arrange suitable cover for you where it is appropriate having taken account of your individual needs.
What will happen to your loved ones after you die? Will they be able to support themselves? Can your spouse manage the mortgage payments and ensure your children are able to attend university? Arranging life assurance cover is the best way to ensure your family is taken care of in the event of your death, giving both you and them peace of mind.
Put simply, life insurance (also known as 'life assurance' or 'term assurance') is a policy that pays out a lump sum in the event of the policyholder's death. Policies vary widely; some may guarantee a payout, others expire after a certain period of time. Some have premiums and payouts set in stone, while others offer more flexibility.You pay premiums to an insurance company usually monthly or annually and in return, the insurance company will pay an agreed amount (the ‘sum assured’) if you die during the term of the policy.
Life insurance can be used to repay a mortgage or other debts to provide financial security for your family if you die. It can also be a form of savings in the long run if you purchase a plan, which offers the option of contributing regularly. Additionally, a little known function of life insurance is that it can be tied in with a person's pension plan. A person can make contributions to a pension that is funded by a life insurance company. These are considered private pension arrangements.
This is the simplest and cheapest type of life insurance, and is known as term insurance because you choose how long you're covered for, say, 10, 15, or 20 years (the term).It only pays out if you die within the term you've agreed. If you live longer than the term, you get nothing. As a couple, you can also take out term cover in both your names, with the policy paying out on the first death only during the term.
Whole-of-life insurance pays out an agreed sum when you die, whenever that is, as long as you are still paying the premiums.
A serious illness, such as cancer or heart attack, affects one-in-four women and one-in-five men before retirement age. Critical illness insurance is designed to ease the financial pressures by paying a tax-free lump sum if you become seriously ill or totally disabled.
Originaly known as dread disease cover, critical illness insurance pays benefits on the diagnosis of certain specified critical illnesses. The range of diseases covered has increased to more than 30, though contracts differ from one company to another.
Critical Illness Insurance can be taken out separately or as an additional benefit on a Life Assurance policy. It is designed to pay out a lump sum in the event of being diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer, heart attack or a stroke. This type of plan will pay out if you are diagnosed with one of the specified critical illnesses or disabilities listed on the policy during the period of cover.
It is vitally important that you are honest and give the insurer the most complete information you can when applying for health related insurance.
Have you ever thought how you would cope financially should you be unable to work due to illness or accidental injury? How would you pay the mortgage and other household bills? Would you be able to maintain your current lifestyle?
An Income Protection, or Permanent Health Insurance plan will provide an income if you are unable to work through ill health or accident. The policy pays a monthly tax-free income for a set length of time - normally until retirement. The level of income paid will normally be based on a percentage of your pre-disability earned income and can be set to rise with inflation. The income is paid as long as doctors agree that you are unable to work for health reasons.
Income Protection differs from a similar product called critical illness insurance which only pays out if you contract one of a list of specified illnesses (even if the list is pretty long). Income protection insurance also just pays out steadily over the period that you are unable to work, as opposed to critical illness insurance, which generally pays a straight lump sum.
What would happen if suddenly you lost your job or were unable to work because you fell ill, had an accident or became a carer? How would you continue to pay your mortgage?
Mortgage payment protection insurance covers mortgage payments when made involuntarily unemployed and during poor health. Mortgage insurance can help stop repossession. This means that the insurance company will pay the monthly repayments (or a percentage of them) on your behalf for a fixed period of time if you make a claim. It is sometimes known as ASU (accident, sickness and unemployment) insurance, Account Cover or Payment Cover.
The reasons for needing mortgage payment protection insurance include redundancy, accident or illness. Not having an insurance policy in place to cover your mortgage could result in your home being repossessed. Mortgage payment protection insurance can help to protect against this eventuality. Mortgage payment protection insurance can be arranged to pay your monthly mortgage repayments for up to 12 or even 24 months, if you are unable to work due to an accident, sickness or redundancy.
A house is more than bricks and mortar - it's your home. That is why here at Professional Mortgage Services we offer you the chance to get Building Insurance.
Building Insurance is aimed at situations such as your property is destroyed by fire, floods or subsidence (although you will need to check if you live on a flood plain, for example). Damage to fixed fittings such as baths and kitchens are often included, as well as sheds, greenhouses and garages.
This cover is designed to cover the cost of damage to the structure of your property, including roof, walls, ceilings, floors, doors, windows and outdoor structures such as garages and fences. You will normally be required to take out this type of insurance to protect the investment made by the lender who has provided you with a mortgage on the property.
Your home and its contents are one of the biggest financial investments you'll ever make. With that in mind, it really is essential that you insure your home and its contents in case the worst should happen.
Contents insurance will cover the cost of the possessions in your home should they be damaged or destroyed. A contents insurance policy will generally offer protection against the same perils as buildings insurance. Most house contents insurance in the UK provides for the loss or damage to the possessions in your home from fire, theft or flooding. Many policies also include accidental breakage. The more obvious items covered by home contents insurance include furniture, household goods and electrical equipment but items such as jewellery, bicycles and even the contents of your freezer can also be included up to stated limits.
The most important thing you need to consider when calculating how much contents insurance you need, is how much the contents of your home are actually worth. It's likely that your contents are worth more than you think - you should go through every room in your house and note each item and its worth at today's prices. The figure will usually come to well over £30,000 on average.
There are many different types of Landlord. From the individual who is renting out their second home to the ambitious property tycoon with an ever-increasing portfolio of trendy dockside apartments. The common theme for all landlords is the need to purchase landlords insurance to protect their investment.
As a landlord, you are effectively using your property as an extra source of income – and this needs to be protected. A normal home insurance policy is not valid when you are taking an income from the property. A residential landlord policy is what is required.
With the correct landlords insurance policy in place, you can relax knowing that should any damage be caused to the property you are protected against the financial consequences. With this peace of mind in place, you can worry about running your property and nothing else.
Landlord Insurance is a term that applies to a policy covering buildings & contents for a property that is let. Landlords insurance caters for residential and commercially let properties, including students, DSS, holiday homes and unoccupied premises. Most home insurance policies will not cover let properties, which is why there is dedicated landlords insurance. Changes in legislation now require landlords to be more aware of the risks, in particular with regard to public liability and appliance safety.
With vet bills soaring and fancy new treatments available, Pet Insurance is an option more and more owners are now considering.
Pet Insurance is an insurance policy that covers your household pets and is mainly used for cats and dogs. Most Pet Insurance offers to pay the veterinary costs if your pet is ill or has an accident. Pet insurance can also cover other expenses such as emergency kennelling costs, theft, travel and even death.
A policy that is limited to a set period of, usually, twelve months. This is generally the cheapest type of policy. If the pet is in the middle of a treatment when the policy ends, the policy will not continue to cover it.
A policy which has a cover limit for a condition. It will cover any condition up to a certain amount. The treatment for the condition will end as soon as it reaches the financial cover limit so it may not give complete cover for a long-term ongoing condition.
A full lifetime policy. This will provide a cover limit per condition per year so it renews each year for a condition even if a claim has been made and thus the pet is covered throughout its life. A premium is paid each year and the policy offers cover for vet fees each year per condition per year; the policy usually gives other benefits too such as holiday cancellation, advertising and reward etc. This policy cover might be the most expensive but is most suitable for on-going, long-term conditions like arthritis and diabetes. It also offers the owner a lot of peace of mind.
There are many things to consider when planning a vacation - where to go, what to pack, and what to do once you get there. No matter how well you plan, though, there are some things that are out of your control. That's where travel insurance can come in very handy by compensating you for unforeseen emergencies while traveling.
There are several types of travel insurance to choose from, depending on the type of trip and length of stay. The first and most common is Trip Cancellation/Interruption coverage. Most of these policies cover cancellations due to weather, sudden illness or death, jury duty, emergency military duty, and bankruptcy of airline or cruise line prior to departure.
Another common type of travel insurance is for medical emergencies. This type of coverage is particularly useful if you plan on traveling to underdeveloped countries, or for individuals with a chronic illness that might require medical attention at some point during the trip. These policies will reimburse you for the cost of doctor visits, medication, and sometimes even medical evacuation out of the country.
It is also possible to obtain travel insurance that will cover non-refundable tickets in the event that a trip has to be cancelled for any number of reasons. Some coverage plans will sometimes cover missed connections as well, which can be a lifesaver in the event of a flight delay or over-crowded and/or confusing airport terminal.
For longer trips, or for frequent travelers, a comprehensive insurance package is probably the best value. These usually provide a wide variety of coverage, and some even allow you to choose what kinds of coverage to be included. Since it's impossible to know what problems might arise during your trip, these policies cover all the bases so that you have protection against monetary loss in the event of nearly any emergency.