Friday, March 27, 2009

 

The Best Personal Loan For You

When you take out a personal loan you can do whatever you want with the money.You could use it to buy a car or take a holiday.You could pay off all your credit card debts if the loan is at a lower rate of interest and is repayable over a longer period of time.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right personal loan.Some lenders offer as much as 25,000 pounds but around 15,000 pounds is the norm.Quite often you can get the money in a matter of days following approval in principle by telephone.

The term of a loan will vary and a year is standard, although you could get one for a shorter period of six months.However, if you only require the money for a few months you might as well use your credit card.Seven years is the usual maximum length for a personal loan although you might find a lender prepared to go over ten years.

Personal loans are widely available these days at competitive rates.The usual providers such as banks and building societies have been joined by the major supermarkets and it is advisable to stick with a name you know.Some smaller companies might offer loans with a costly penalty if you redeem your loan early or move to a company offering a better deal.Normally if you pay off your loan early a reputable firm would only charge two months' interest.

You need to compare rates and all the other factors, for example you might get the best rate from your mortgage lender but still benefit from using another provider.Interest rates on personal loans are usually fixed for the duration of the loan so you pay the same amount each month.This is invaluable for your budgeting and you will normally need to pay by direct debit.

In general, the larger your loan the lower your interest rate.The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the one to note.This takes into account any arrangement fees due, although not many lenders charge for this nowadays.

Your credit rating will be checked before you can get a personal loan as lenders will need to be sure you are a good risk.If you have a poor credit record you might still get a loan, but it is likely to be at a higher interest rate than normal.

People who are on short-term contracts or the self-employed can find it difficult to get a personal loan.An unsecured loan demands a higher rate of interest as the lender cannot take possession of your house should you default as could happen with a mortgage loan.

Loan protection insurance covers you if you cannot meet the payments due to health problems or losing your job.Sometimes you cannot get a loan without this insurance, or else agreeing to a higher interest rate.If you want the insurance check the small print very carefully and find out about any exclusions which might disallow a claim.Consider whether you really need it in the first place as it can be expensive and is only adding to your debts.

According to new laws, the full cost of your interest charges, including any insurance, must be shown in the lender's APR.Comparison of rates between companies is now much clearer as you can see exactly what is charged.


About the Author

Interested in getting a quote on a Secured Loan?

Please Visit the Perfect-personal-loans.co.uk for more information and other resources.Our sister site Brokers Online offers cutting edge articles and information about Mortgage Protection and other financial products.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

 

Look At The Small Print When Buying Critical Illness Insurance

As a reaction against recent criticism that sickness policies are being mis-sold, the industry claims that it has already put new guidelines into place.A review by the ABI provided more rigorous standards, with easier to understand headings on brochures and standard wording to give a clearer picture.

Some providers have also reduced the number of people they refuse - to 15 per cent, at Standard Life, or 11 per cent in the case of Scottish Provident.In total, Scottish Provident paid 45.5million pounds in claims in the first 6 months of last year, with cancer being the most frequent trigger.This brings the amount paid by the insurer to 344m since 1996.Standard Life paid out 5,047 death and health claims in the same period to the value of 134million pounds.

The majority of people, whose claims are refused, are denied a payout because they did not declare a pre-existing condition.Others fail because their illness does not fall within the bounds of the policy.This mistake is easy to comprehend.What is covered as critical illness to one insurer is excluded by another.

If you take out a loan with Sainsbury's Bank, you will be asked if you require its creditcare protection insurance.The highest price "gold level" includes insurance for critical illness.But what the policy covers will be very different to that on offer from Standard Life.

At Sainsbury's it covers open heart surgery, strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, quadriplegia and paraplegia and kidney failure.Cancer also features on the list though there are exceptions, including all but the very serious prostate cancers and lymphoma and skin cancer.

Standard Life encompasses 30 different illnesses including the seven highlighted by Sainsbury's.They range from the human form of mad cow disease and third degree burns to bacterial meningitis and Parkinson's disease.The company's definition of cancer has the same exclusions as Sainsbury's.

Insurance broker Simon Burgess states he will not sell critical illness cover since, in too many cases, policyholders never claim or the policy fails to pay out "You see adverts which say one in three people will get cancer and how a critical illness policy will help.But these policies are cancelled when people reach retirement age and that's when most people get cancer.The figures for cancer are nearer one in 40 before 70 years of age, but the adverts don't tell you this."


Mr Burgess also says that the financial advice industry is guilty of churning policies.

This means that advisers recommend clients to review policies every five years because it may give them a better deal.According to Mr Burgess this is just a money-spinning exercise because each new policy gives commission to the financial advisor.In some cases this can be equivalent to two year's worth of premiums from the policyholder.

Even some of the largest providers of critical illness insurance agree that there can be better alternatives for paying the mortgage or generating an income when life-threatening illnesses stop you from working.

In today's world, a person can sometimes be fighting cancer or other diseases for a number of years.If they are unable to work whilst receiving treatment or recovering from side effects, a lump sum payout from critical illness cover could run out very quickly.

It is worth looking into other kinds of policy such as family income benefit or an income protection policy.With the latter, for example, a payout would be made for a bad back if it prevents you from working.Clearly this would not be covered in a critical illness policy.

Mick James from Standard Life says."For every income protection policy sold, people buy four to five critical illness policies."


Yet that is an improvement on some years ago when the ratio was 10 to one.

The fact still remains that the industry as a whole needs to do more to explain the alternatives to people so that they are able to make an informed choice.

If you are concerned about NHS waiting times for treatment after a diagnosis for cancer or heart disease has been made and you think you might want private medical treatment then private medical insurance (PMI) is usually a better choice.


About the Author

Interested in getting a quote on Life insurance?

Please Visit the Life Insurance Angel for more information and other resources.Our sister site Brokers Online offers cutting edge articles and information about Life Insurance and other financial products.

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