Industry figures have shown that the number of new mortgage applications approved by the major banks fell again in December. British Banker’s Association (BBA) members approved 42,088 new mortgage loans last month, the lowest figure that has been seen since 1997 when the data started to be collected.
It is something you might see on the plot of Eastenders of Coronation Street, but some people actually have to live the nightmare of seeing their home wrecked during a teenage party. This is exactly what happened to the parents of Sarah Ruscoe in Devon recently.
People approaching retirement age are now more likely to be searching for senior travel insurance than their slippers, pipe and newspaper according to new research launched by Prudential. It has been proved in this new survey that 58 per cent of people who will retire in 2008 see their time of life as an opportunity to do everything they want to do, and see the things they want to see. Only 14 per cent see it is a time to rest, relax and put their feet up.
Expert Author: Jemma Tipping | Category: Loans According to MoneyExpert.com borrowers can cut their monthly repayments on loans if they choose products which are secured against their home, as opposed to just borrowing on unsecured terms. According to the financial expert the average lender would charge 8.44 per cent on an unsecured loan of £15,000. However a secured loan compared positively with a rate of 5.9 per cent, 2.5 per cent lower than unsecured borrowing.
Expert Author: Jemma Tipping | Category: Loans There have been many calls for Northern Rock to offer some kind of rescue package to borrowers who took out the company's Together loan, a 100 per cent plus mortgage. John McFall, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee is the latest in a long line of supporters for the rescue plan.
State-owned Northern Rock is set to offer great deals for savers in the coming months, however it is the bank’s existing 800,000 mortgage customers who are the bone of contention. The main cause of Northern Rock’s swift demise was the home loans offered by the bank, it has been suggested that the bank has too many mortgage holders which needs to be drastically reduced to turn the bank around and get it back to its former glory days.
Under a Ministry of Defence (MOD) scheme, 300,000 personnel in the armed forces are being offered life assurance. Before this scheme the forces found it difficult and expensive to get insurance because of the dangerous nature of their jobs. This new scheme will provide cheap life insurance offered by Sterling Life, any major losses are to be underwritten by the government. Service Life Insurance (SLI) will be available immediately to regular and reservist personnel.
House repossessions have soared from the beginning of 2008, people who are hit hardest by these repossessions are borrowers who have borrowed more than they can afford against their property. Other causes that have emerged are fraudulent activity by property developers.
The Lothians are amid a blitz of seizures as police clamp down on illegal drivers, reported to be as much as 200 cars and motorbikes per month.
Expert Author: Jemma Tipping | Category: Insurance There have been many predictions of rises in home insurance premiums after the disasters seen during last summer’s flooding, and the money insurers had to pay out. Property owners were expected to face higher premiums throughout 2008 after the widespread floods of last summer cost insurers so much. These predictions have been challenged by new research from Datamonitor, an independent market analyst.
Expert Author: Jemma Tipping | Category: Insurance According to Paypal Brits will spend over 1.6 billion pounds on their loved ones this Valentine’s Day. Direct Line has predicted that 467 pounds million of this total figure will be spent on expensive jewellery, the lucky recipients should make sure they are covered for these purchases.
Motorcycle riders could see themselves having to pay out for damages that are caused by problems with the roads, such as potholes or bumps.
Home cover is the second most important insurance for consumers, it comes just behind car insurance which is a legal requirement. This is according to Graeme Trudgill, the British Insurance Broker's Association (Biba)'s corporate affairs executive, he said that the flooding of last year showed just how important home insurance is, it also brought to life that 25 per cent of homeowners did not have adequate cheap home insurance policies.
Demand for van insurance has been on the rise since 2006, a nationwide study conducted by Norwich Union Direct found that a new generation of business professionals is emerging. The survey of over 500 van drivers revealed that contrary to popular belief van drivers are health conscious, well educated and well groomed professionals who regularly use their van as a mobile office.
Smokers and the overweight are seeing increased life insurance prices. The insurance industry is penalising these people with higher costs of cover. The way insurance companies calculate premiums is to work out the risk to them of the customer dying while the policy is active. When looked at from this point of view, smoking and obesity are obviously very important factors in this consideration.
Norwich Union has announced that it has already changed its policy on insurance claims after the guidelines published recently by the industry’s umbrella body. The numerous refusals from insurers to pay out on policies after it came to light that customers had not provided all of the required details when they set up the policy.
Young drivers are struggling more to afford motoring, the combination of soaring fuel prices and the rising cost of insurance is making it this way, it is possible to keep costs down though. Younger, inexperienced drivers present more of a risk to insurers, which is reflected in the prices of premiums. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said that men under the age of 21 are ten times more likely to have an accident and subsequently make an insurance claim, than those over 35.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has announced that house prices have reached their worst point since the housing market crashed in the early 1990s. The number of surveyors who reported a significant drop in house prices in January, exceeded those who reported rises by 54.7 per cent. January 2008 was the sixth consecutive month in which falls out-numbered gains.
It seems that some fashions, although immensely popular with celebrities, fashion magazines and the general public, are not the most practical for female drivers. The latest craze for long fringes is putting people on the road in danger. Eye-skimming fringes, copied from celebrity styles, mean some female drivers are in danger of a disaster, a survey revealed.
The recent budget speech saw an increase in car tax and a 2p rise in fuel costs effective from October 2008. Critics believe that these increases will put a strain on car drivers who are already paying the highest ever prices for fuel, another bone of contention is whether the tax cuts for greener cars will encourage drivers to consider cleaner transport.
