Insurance Cover

Continuing strong investment performances by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and ACC prove yet again how short-sighted Government policies are, says Labour Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe.

David Cunliffe said Finance Minister Bill English’s folly in deferring Government contributions to the Super Fund for a decade and in casting doubt on the future viability of ACC was shown in sharp relief by the Treasury’s release today of the Government’s Financial Statements for the four months ended 31 October.

“The financial statements show that both the Super Fund and ACC reported higher-than-forecast investment returns — $1.3 billion in the case of the Super Fund and $0.6 billion in the case of ACC.

“These gains highlight the flaws in Bill English’s repeated attempts to undermine confidence in ACC and the Super Fund.

“The Government’s books would be in far worse shape if it wasn’t for these strong performances, and it is a mystery why Bill English refuses to shift his position, and admit he has got it badly wrong.”

David Cunliffe said Bill English was still preaching the false message that National inherited government books that were in trouble. “Nothing is more wrong. He inherited net debt at zero and gross debt halved.

“Today’s financial statements reinforce the fact that National has no plan to help hard-working Kiwis emerge from the global recession, and, worse than that, his actions in undermining assets like the Super Fund and ACC are actually retarding our recovery.”

Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Economy

These 5 tips from AA Insurance will help you get through these financially touch times;

1. Shop around
Firstly, be sure about the cover you need – or don’t need – and then shop around for the best deal. By spending half an hour ringing around or on the internet, you could save a significant amount.

However, the best deal might not be the cheapest price – it’s no bargain if the company can’t offer the things which matter to you.

2. Check you’re getting what you pay for
Check you’ll receive all the benefits you qualify for such as a no claims bonus. Many insurance companies make special offers, so it pays to do some research.

For instance, what does your insurer offer young drivers? Some insurers give advance benefits to young drivers if their parents are already customers.

Also, some insurers will allow you to earn a no claims bonus even on third party insurance – it’s useful to build up a good claims history.

3. Increase your excess
This is your share of the cost when you make an insurance claim. If you agree to pay more, it will usually mean your insurer discounts your premium.

However, be confident that you could meet the excess amount you’ve committed if you do need to make a claim.

4. Stagger your payments
Many people find it easier to pay off the premium over the year instead of a single lump sum, and there may be various options such as weekly or monthly payments.

It will usually cost a little more but it’s a popular option if a single payment is difficult to budget for.

Get the annual premium cost as well so you can compare the difference.

It can also help to spread the renewal dates for different types of insurance over the year, such as having car insurance renewed in March, house insurance in June and contents insurance in October. No-one wants to face all their insurances being due in December.

5. Insure accurately
People struggling financially are least able to face the costs of an accident.

Think carefully about whether you need comprehensive insurance, or third party (covers the damage you do to someone else’s property), or third party fire and theft.

One feature of third party insurance which is often overlooked is uninsured driver protection. This means your car is covered when you are in an accident caused by an uninsured driver.

If you have comprehensive car insurance, make sure you’ve agreed on the value of your car with your insurer. If your policy says “market value” and your car is written off or stolen, you’ll receive what the car was worth that day, not what it will cost to replace. It can be a surprise.

Car Insurance, Economy, Insurance

New Zealand’s (and Australia’s) richest man, Graeme Hart has climbed up the annual Forbes rich list to number 110.
The list of billionaires has shrunk considerably from 1125 to 793 due to the current economic downturn.
Graeme Hart is worth about $4.5 Billion US, from is very sharp buying and selling of assets and currently runs a huge global packaging company.

Topping the list as the worlds richest man was once again Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft who is now worth an estimated $40 Billion US. Bill Gates’ worth has gone down from over $50 Million.

The average wealth of those fortunate enough to be on the list has dropped some 23% to $3 Billion.

Click here to see the full list.

Economy Forbes, Graeme Hart

This is a great post about the REAL unemployment rates in the US, not the the ones that regularly get reported by the media.  It puts the actual unemployment rate at 13.5%! This is very scary as the financial crisis is really only in it’s early days, we still have a lot more job cuts to come I believe.

Why does the US unemployment rates affect me?
The US econony has an effect on every country in the world, and unemployment rates are a good indicator of how the economy is actually  doing. If no one has jobs, then no one spends and this has a huge flow on effect for many parts of the US & global economy.

Economy, International