InsuranceDrive

YOU MUST PROTECT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU

InsuranceDrive is all about insurance, simple as that. We know it’s boring stuff and people don’t like to think about dying and critical illness etc. but this Drive is all about insurances, be it house, car, pet, life, phone or anything else you need to protect. It’s so vitally important to protect what you have.

Today you have to insure your car. It’s an obligatory requirement to insure your house buildings when you have a mortgage to protect the asset. So picking up on these points: why insure our car? Because it costs a lot of money to buy one, and we cannot afford to replace it easily. Why insure a house building when you have a mortgage? Because in the event of a loss or incident you have a liability to cover the mortgage. Or in the case of a car, personal liability for injury to a third party.

Some Initial Thoughts

It's so important to protect what you have

So, it does not matter what you are insuring, be it your mobile phone, house, car or yourself, it’s important to have protection. We work hard during our lives to amass wealth, nice things, go on holiday, buy luxury items etc. Once we have bought them, we need to protect what we have.

If something happened to us or our partner that stopped our growth and prosperity, then we could start to go backwards. And nobody wants to do that. The story of the man who had a goose that laid golden eggs. Would you ensure the goose in case it stopped laying? Most of us would say: “Yes we would, it makes sense”. Many main wage earners are still not insured and therefore they are taking a risk. Is it worth it? Why not take a look at Taps under life insurance and see for yourself?

Most insurances are renewable annually and we should definitely take a small amount of time to search around each year to get the best deal. There are a number of companies that are now willing to do the work for you and shop around for the best deals each year on all your renewable insurances. We list them on our site. Why not let them do the work and save you the time?

This Drive discusses some of the details and help you need to make sure that not only do you get the best deals but you also make sure they stay the best deals.

This is a HUGE subject which we’ve broken down into sections which you can visit 

Facts About Insurance

0.5 million
people

PEOPLE IN THE UK are without life insurance

£ 0.1
billion

was paid to 138,000 customers or families as a result of claims on protection insurance policies, an average of £12.5m each day.

£ 0.1
billion

Record amount paid out to help families cope with bereavement, ill health, and injury Insurers paid out a record £6.2 billion in 2020.

1 %
UK consumers

who buy income protection insurance do so because of COVID-19, 2022

house insurance

House Insurance Is this important?

House insurance is very competitive and, similarly to car insurance, you need to check it out annually and move if your current supplier pushes up the prices. There are a number of organisations specialising in making sure every year all your insurances are reviewed and changed if they can find a cheaper solution.

The key point to remember with house insurance is never under-insure. If you have a large claim the assessor will come and carry out an assessment. If they find out you’re under-insured the company will reduce the claim payout.

Another point with declarations: you must declare previous claims, as in the event of a large claim the insurers will check with other companies. Always, and I know it’s boring, read the small print. Cheap premiums in comparison to others indicate something is missing.

ABI house insurance stats

Check the policy for things like restrictions. For example someone living near a river might not be covered or you may not know your new property is in a flood area.

Finally, if you’re specifying your needs over the phone to an advisor, check when the policy arrives that it covers everything you asked for. You cannot later go back and say: “I asked over the phone for this and now find it’s not covered”.

The ABI calculate British households have a lot of stuff...

The ABI in 2018 noted:

no contents insurance stats

The ABI say 28% of households have no contents insurance

Yet the cost of home contents insurance has fallen to a record low.

On 1/2/2019 the ABI reported that: ”The average weekly cost of home contents insurance is now £2.40 a week- less than the average weekly spend on takeaway meals.”

Further, they noted: The average price paid for buildings insurance, at £258, fell by 8% on 2017 to its lowest level since 2015.

While the average price paid for combined buildings and contents insurance, at £307, rose slightly by just over 1% on the previous year, it was still the second lowest figure since ABI started collecting the data in 2012.

vehicle insurance

Car and Vehicle Insurance

Why is this important?
With car insurance it is highly competitive and it is advisable to shop around or let a specialist company do it for you. You really need to check the fine print even more than house insurance and make sure you get the cover you need. It’s easy to cut £50 off the annual price by removing the travelling abroad exclusion. Don’t be caught out as you may not be insured driving in another country.

Many insurers now remove the ability to drive another car on Third party liability, or restrict ages or who can drive your vehicle. If you don’t check and a claim occurs you may be refused, and that could cost you a lot of money. With vehicle insurance they have now started to offer extra cover at an extra cost such as legal, gap and accident gap cover. It’s always wise to listen carefully to each option and decide: can I afford not to have that?

Pet insurance

This is an interesting area. Some people totally believe in pet insurance and others don’t. Again it’s really down to your financial situation. Pet insurance is cheap when the animal is young and a lot more expensive as the animal grows older and is more likely to suffer from bad health. If you’re unlucky and your young animal has an incident that requires major work by a vet the cost can be thousands of pounds. If you do not have the cash to pay then its best to take out insurance.

It’s all about risk and how much you are prepared to take. Some people take out insurance and over 15 years their pet never goes to the vets. But they would say: “that’s a lot of money for no claim and you get nothing back, but you have had peace of mind”. Some people have really sick animals and are always at the vets.

It is best to think very pragmatically about pet insurance; if a major incident occurred, say costing £1,000, and you could not pay the bill from savings then its best to insure.

When visiting a vet today it’s extremely expensive with many charging £30 for a consultation lasting 5 to 10 minutes. The vet will take a look at your pet and diagnose the problem.

travel insurance

Travel insurance

Travel insurance is a bit of a no brainer to be honest but thousands go on holiday every year without it. I guess it’s all to do with risk: what are the chances of me needing to claim? Well let’s look at some of the statistics:
• £545,000 a day Travel Insurers pay out to help people who need medical treatment abroad.
• 18-24 year olds are the most likely to travel uninsured, with 40% going without.
• 25-34 year olds are close behind with 38% travelling without insurance.
• The most cautious age group is those aged 55+, where just 14% of travellers go without travel insurance.
The overall average cost of travel insurance is £37 and just £21 for those aged between 26-30. 2018. ABI

What insurers pay out

In 2016, £1 million a day was paid out by travel insurance companies – but what was being claimed for?
- 494,000 individuals and families claimed on travel insurance in 2016.
- The main claim was for emergency medical treatment – with over £196 million being paid out to 166,000 travellers.
- The average medical expense claim was £1,200.
- £128 million was paid out to 160,000 people for cancellations.
- The average cancellation claim was £800.

Medical insurance?

When considering medical insurance, it is quite simple and we would say don’t get caught up with all the jargon. In simple terms if you have enough money to buy the full service of medical insurance that provides a private hospital, private bed, fast admission and quick diagnosis then that’s a no brainer. But for many this service is beyond their budget. Do we really need a private hospital? [Often private hospitals are not as well equipped as the NHS].

For many private patients, whilst having a private consultation the consultant will book the NHS theatre for their procedures. I guess the key thing is: if we have something wrong with us, we want to find out as quickly as we can, and get it sorted as quickly as we can.

Not many people have medical insurance in comparison to other insurances only 4 million [10%] in the UK [internations.org private-health-insurance-in-the-UK 2018].

Take a look at the different types of cover. Most products start off as basic and you add on extra cover dependent on your needs. You can get health insurance at a cheap rate if you cover what’s important to you without opting for the luxury private room with private Sky TV.

There is some information on whether you should have private medical insurance on the unbiased website.

life assurance diagram

Life insurance

Life insurance isn’t complicated and it’s not expensive if you’re in reasonable health. You can buy it online without advice or you can have an advisor who can work out exactly what you need.

We have detailed below our example of why you need life protection. It’s called Taps. It’s easy to understand. It is important to have a balance of Life protection for you and your partner including critical illness. Many people take out just life insurance which is not good if you become critically ill and cannot work for 2 years. So it is best to take out both.

The only words of caution are: firstly make sure you have the right amount. If in doubt seek advice. Secondly beware of cheap. Cheap usually means something has been removed or there are clauses that exclude certain things. Check out our comparison site today on our Partner page and see how little it can cost you to protect you and your family properly.

There are a number of scary statistics in this Drive with many people, even those with mortgages, not having life insurance or critical illness cover. Those people are taking a real gamble that nothing happens to them. Is it worth such a gamble when you strive to improve your lifestyle and standard of living?

life insurance income

Taps - your income

People generate income from two sources: working and investment.
• We work all our lives to:
• Raise our children
• Buy a home / car
• Take holidays
• Increase our standard of living
• Provide for our childrens’ future
• Have peace of mind
• Retire with a reasonable pension

life insurance income

Taps - you start to save

All these items are possible on one condition – that your income continues.

We fill our sink with money. Usually, the more we earn, the more we spend. Eventually we start to save.

We think about what we're saving for ...
- a holiday
- moving house
- our children's education
our hopes and dreams

life insurance income

Taps - what happens if your income stops?

Living expenses for the family continue. Food, household bills, mortgage payments, loan interest. Any immediate payment from work will only last so long.

How prepared are UK households?
Life insurance is a way of providing for your family’s financial future after you have passed – but how prepared is the UK? We looked at the number of households with mortgages, and some other costs that would need to be covered by the surviving family in the event of death.
- 11.1m households in the UK have mortgages.
- £124,732 average outstanding mortgage debt in August 2018.
- 42% of people with a mortgage have no life insurance in place.
- Only 50% of households with mortgages have life insurance.
- £19,500 average price of household bills for a year
- £2,770 average food bill per house per year.
- £4,271 is the average funeral cost, more than double the cost in 2004

Sats from LifeSearch’s 2017 Health, Wealth and Happiness report

Different types of life insurance
There are many different types of life and critical illness products around so it’s good to understand a little about each one and whether they meet your needs. If in doubt you can ask an advisor. There is a link to the Government MoneyHelper  which explains the different types of cover you might need and how much it costs.

mobile insurance

Mobile and gadget insurance

Most mobile networks offer this protection but you can also cover all your gadgets against loss, damage, theft or accidental damage outside the home via your house insurer. It’s worth comparing what the costs are.

commercial and business insurance

Commercial and Business insurance

Often this type of insurance is a specialist subject and requires someone with knowledge to advise you on the best product and cover. Different types of commercial insurance include:
Public liability insurance - In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
Professional indemnity insurance - For if you or your business make mistakes that cost a client money.
Employers’ liability - In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

For visitors

Why don't you join us?

You can register to join us as a member, when you’ll be able to download our stuff and comment, or as a YouDriver when you’ll also be able to check your health and set up your own action plans to make some improvements.  If you’ve already registered, sign in below. Or let us know what you think.

The benefits of insurance

The benefits of insurance

This video from InsuranceEurope explains the role of insurance and its contributions to the economy.

“Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs.”
Frank McKinney Hubbard
Journalist & cartoonist

Next Steps

It doesn’t matter what stage  you’re at – it’s important to be the best you can be.  At the end of the day it’s about taking personal responsibility – You Drive!

It’s really your choice. You can find out more information about the subject, or see other institutions that can help by going to Support. There you will find organisations, training, coaching, self-help courses and other items to support your personal change. We have also started developing a panel of experts to provide info, advice, help and support. 

Get Support

There are times when you need some help to meet your aims –  a helping hand. That might be  an organisation that can provide you with some help,  some specialised information, a particular book or tool to help, or just getting some background reading material.

We have a lot of items which appear on our Drives and other pages, which you can go to by clicking on the picture or link.  Some contain affiliate links and we may receive a tiny commission for purchases made through these links.

If you know of anything which could help you or our other visitors then please click the button on the right, which will take you to a Contacts page where you contact us.

Experts

We are compiling a list of experts who can provide advice, help or specialised services.  You will be able to access these experts from anywhere on our site you see our ‘Experts’ symbol.  Click the green E to see what our Experts list will look like, with a couple of imaginary ‘experts’ added!

More Information

Scroll down to see more information on this Drive. 

If you register you can also download reports, white papers, quizzes and other collaterals.  We will never ask you for any financial information, and we’ll only send you the information you want. You can register for our site either above or in the footer below.  You can provide your own questions and experiences in order to help other members.  We only moderate for spam and inflammatory language – see our moderation policy.

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More information

Yale Y500/187/1 Combination Key Safe Box

4-Digit Combination, Wall Mounted, Black/Silver Finish, Suitable for Rentals or Private Residences

Key Safe: Yale Y500/187/1 Key Safe is the best solution to securing your keys outside your property


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SinoTrack Vehicle Car GPS Tracker,

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SinoTrack gps tracker With 30 days no-questions-asked return policy. Please feel free to contact our customer service if you have any problems


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How To Save Money On Your UK Private Medical Insurance

What The Insurers Don’t Want You To Know! Kindle Edition

This is a guide to show UK consumers how to get the best price for their private medical cover whilst simplifying the process by highlighting time-efficient and money saving methods.


Go to Amazon

 MoneyHelper give some guidance on contents insurance

The ABI have a series of key facts about insurance – download it here.

Stuff you might want on insurance

Now you’ve read about insurance you might want to make a bit of a statement.  Have a look at some stuff below we think has some humour value!  We may make pennies on commission, but that’s not the point really.  Click on the image to see more details.

Talking to Strangers

The Adventures of a Life Insurance Salesman

“I became a life insurance salesman in London in May 1969, for the glamour, the fast cars, the groupies… the beautiful women who’d stop at nothing to buy life insurance. It’s a very well-kept secret.” Thus begins Peter Rosengard’s extraordinary account.

Go to Amazon

talking to strangers

Money. Wealth. Life Insurance.

How the Wealthy Use Life Insurance as a Tax-Free Personal Bank to Supercharge Their Savings

America’s elite have been using cash value life insurance to stockpile wealth for centuries. Used correctly, it is better described as a personal bank on steroids, and a financial bunker for tough times.
Go to Amazon

life insurance

Insurance Broker Mug

Funny Novelty Problem Solver Coffee Cup – Gag Joke Present (11oz)

Available in 11 oz and 15 oz versions.
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brokers mug

The Fundamentals of Insurance

Theories, Principles and Practices

Insurance is perhaps the most effective device for managing ‘risk,’ which is a pervasive phenomenon in our lives. We can sometimes avoid or reduce it but never entirely eliminate it.
Go to Amazon

insurance fundamentals

How To Save Money On Your UK Private Medical Insurance

What The Insurers Don’t Want You To Know! Kindle EditionThis is a guide to show UK consumers how to get the best price for their private medical cover whilst simplifying the process by highlighting time-efficient and money saving methods.
how to save money on medical insurance

Yale Y500/187/1 Combination Key Safe Box

4-Digit Combination, Wall Mounted, Black/Silver Finish, Suitable for Rentals or Private ResidencesKey Safe: Yale Y500/187/1 Key Safe is the best solution to securing your keys outside your property
safe

SinoTrack Vehicle Car GPS Tracker

Car Mini GPS Tracker Locator Real-Time Location Tracking Device with Voice Monitor Car Motorcycle GPS Device for Truck TaxiSinotrack GPS tracker for vehicles with 30 days no – SIM card not included
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Health domains

You need to scroll down to see all the info in this popup – sorry for going on so much!

We break down the overall concept of health or wellness into ‘bite-sized chunks’ that we can actually do something about.  The first level we call health domains.

We like the Life of Wellness site and we have chosen the following domains.

1. Emotional Wellness: Awareness and acceptance of feelings
2. Spiritual Wellness: A search for meaning and purpose
3. Intellectual Wellness: Recognition of your creativity, knowledge and skills
4. Physical Wellness: Need for physical activity and balanced nutrition
5. Environmental Wellness: Positive awareness and impact on your environment
6. Financial Wellness: Debt reduction, cash flow balance or financial future planning
7. Occupational Wellness: Personal achievement and enrichment from your career
8. Social Wellness: Contribution to your community

wellness wheel

Health Areas

Within each domain, we have included a number of health areas. These are specific issues that you can tackle.  Within each health area, e.g. Depression, once you have subscribed we have built additional information and exercises which you can do to help in the area.

To close this box and go back click the X at the top or just click outside the box

See which domains you should address

You need to scroll down to see all the info in this popup – sorry for going on so much!

Having established that we use 8 domains, you need to understand which you should concentrate on.

The 8 are:

  • Emotional
  • Environmental
  • Financial
  • Intellectual
  • Occupational
  • Physical
  • Social
  • Spiritual

You can take a questionnaire, which scores you in each domain.  You can decide which domains you are strong in, and which you need to improve.

Another analysis shows which domains you should look at, but also which domains you want to look at.

To close this box and go back click the X at the top or just click outside the box

A Butterfly Life: 4 Keys to More Happiness, Better Health and Letting Your True Self Shine

Times of change can be a challenge, no doubt! Whether it’s a relationship breakup, job loss, or being diagnosed with a serious health issue. Or you may WANT things to be different, but it feels a little scary or overwhelming. The butterfly reminds us change can be beautiful, even necessary, in order to realize our full potential and live our best life.