Insurance Cover

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

An interesting release from AA Insurance;

Nearly a quarter would consider downgrading cover to balance budget, but 98 percent think everyone on the road should have at least third party

While cutting corners on the household budget has become second nature to many New Zealanders, insurance remains a priority. AA Insurance reports that although almost a quarter (23 percent) of those surveyed in the 2009 AA Insurance Drivers Index would downgrade their cover to balance their budget, only four percent would consider cancelling their car insurance completely. And a compelling 98 percent think that everyone on New Zealand roads should carry some type of insurance.

The 2009 AA Insurance Drivers Index surveyed 3,708 New Zealand drivers aged 18-65 and found almost all people think every driver should carry some sort of vehicle insurance, even if they would consider reducing their cover to meet their household budget.

“Some people consider cancelling insurance in a bid to save money,” says Martin Fox, Deputy General Manager, AA Insurance. “However, there are better ways of managing your insurance costs than cancelling your policy. If you’re on a tight budget, having an accident or having your car stolen could really make things tough.”

“Sometimes people think a low value car is not worth insuring. And the owner may feel that if the car is written off, they can afford to replace it. However, if this driver has an accident with another car, they could also face a repair bill running into the thousands.”

“This is why most New Zealanders believe everyone on the road should hold some type of car insurance.

“Car insurance isn’t just about you and your car – it’s about the damage you might do to someone else’s property if you have an accident. That’s what third party insurance covers.”

AA Insurance staff have noticed increasing numbers of people looking into instalments and other payment options.

“People are also thinking about increasing their excess but being very careful about it. If they are on a strict budget they sometimes decide they’d rather not face an increased cost if they do need to claim and so stick with the standard excess.

“We’re certainly seeing people shopping around more and getting quotes on different insurance options before making a purchase. This is positive because it gives people a better understanding of which insurance is best for them.

Car Insurance, 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

This a terrible story about insurer ACE not paying out of a travel insurance claim. See the story here

Insurance

You have probably have seen the tragic case of the two brothers killed on the Glacier.

Now it has emerged that one of the brothers had the keys to a hire car in his pocket, it has also been said that the hire car company wants $1600 for the cost of new keys. This is a tragic example of the importance of travel insurance, not just for you but your loved ones.  I can only imagine the grief of the parents, it is no time to be hassled by a hire car company for missing keys.

Travel Insurance

According to this story published on Stuff.co.nz Insurance premiums are almost certainly on the rise. An increase in claims and the effects of the economic downturn are said to be the reasons for the increase.

You can read the full story here

Insurance