Archive for May, 2009

These times they are a changing – say hello to the Beccy!

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Say hello to the ‘Beccy’ aka Brits Escaping Credit Crunch Year! And who can blame them for there isn’t much happening around the UK at the moment (except perhaps more doom and gloom)!

More and more people are taking gap years out from their normal routines especially older people according to the report “MRL: Gap year travel insurance for travellers up to 45”.

In response to this new trend MRL Insurance are now offering cover to the over 45’s who are set on finding themselves in their middle years.

The catalyst that has brought about this change is of course the economic downtown providing people with a pocketful of redundancy to go off and see the world. Job-hunting has never been so challenging as numbers of the unemployed grow on a daily basis. What better motivation to take an extended holiday and see the world than when you find yourself out of a job with some spare cash in the bank?

Anyone thinking of taking a gap year should check out the standard policy at MRL in addition to its SuperCover policy. The SuperCover policy will provide excellent travel insurance cover for people intending to participate in somewhat hazard-ridden experiences. For once, these are policies that won’t discriminate you on age. These insurance policies will provide peace of mind cover for everything from dental and hospital treatment to personal liability and lost luggage.

All ‘Beccys’ should look into this cover whether you plan to take a long holiday or intend to offer your occupational services in another country for up to one year.

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Fair exchange is no robbery!

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Swapping houses is the name of the game for John Abbott a County Cork island dweller. He wants to move back to England and is hoping to swap his eleven acres rural retreat in ‘never do they come more scenic’ Bantry Bay for a home near Manchester. John Abbott is not on his own, as according to the article “Fair trade?” home owners are giving up on the traditional tried and tested means of relocation – to sell one’s property to buy another.

The 60 year old artist has attempted to sell his island property for the past two years and feels ready to take drastic alternative measures in order to get to move to England. People do not seem to be buying at the moment so Mr Abbott is ready to try house swapping as the old fashioned methods are failing dismally at the moment.

Amid today’s inert global property market the business of permanent real estate exchange (or swapping) is becoming increasingly popular. If you are a frustrated seller, panic not, for there is hope for even the most patient of home vendors. No matter where you live and where you want to live there are others out there who want to do the same as you. If you live in Miami and want to swap for a home in Australia there are a number of Internet facilitators available to assist you do this. Popular websites to check out include Goswap.org and EasyHouseExchange.com. As people look to alternative measures to buy and sell their homes, domains such as these are growing in their popularity beyond all recognition! This could suit you!

As with many of life’s endeavours, if you are thinking about trying permanent house swapping, there are the legal considerations to bear in mind. We always seek professional advice when it comes to selling and buying our homes, home exchange is no different and encompasses issues like stamp duty, boundary litigations, ownership regulations and not to mention council tax and our insurance liabilities.

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Top tips for this year’s UK holidaymakers!

Monday, May 18th, 2009

What with swine flu and the ever dropping pound value it seems those of us determined to have a holiday are finding that all roads point to a destination in the UK. We can fight it or we can resign ourselves to enjoy the predicted glorious summer sunshine in our home nation.

According to the article “Four top tips for a happy UK holiday” foreign travel was down 6% in the last three months of 2008 than the last quarter of 2007. The article goes on to state that it is unlikely this trend will change in 2009 what with unemployment continuing to grow the way it is.

Now that we’ve decided to stay in the UK for this year’s summer holidays some top tips to make it a successful one need some consideration. A big one is that of insurance. Just because we are not going abroad it is not the case that we won’t be requiring insurance. What if we need to cancel our holiday? Holiday insurance will ensure we don’t lose all that we paid out.

Where we have an existing travel insurance policy, we should first ensure this covers us for staying in the UK. If we don’t, cover for a singular UK trip for about ten days will only set us back about £12 (if going with a friend).

At least with travelling about the UK, us UK residents will not need to concern ourselves with medical insurance cover. We are already covered through the NHS. Friends who are residents abroad who are tagging along ought to look into medical costs though. Insurance will also protect our possessions from getting lost or stolen on holiday although in some cases our home insurance policies will cover items away from the home. For further details of this, we should check with our insurance companies. So for many reasons, we should take out travel insurance even when choosing not to holiday abroad.

Moving on to car insurance. Do you plan to share the driving with your partner or friend? Both drivers need suitable insurance to cover their portion of the driving responsibility. Drivers towing a caravan need to look into their insurance with their provider as this can make a difference too.

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Steering clear of the jinx element!

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Not everyone believes in luck but many are superstitious enough to fear the good old ‘jinx’. Nobody wants to ‘jinx’ something do they? But what is it about our imaginary gremlin the jinx? According to the article “Magical thinking drives insurance sales” a number of people only buy travel insurance for the reason that if they don’t they will ‘jinx’ their holiday. Or to continue along this thread, something is bound to go wrong if we pre-empt a smooth incident free holiday.

In her article, Misty Harris addresses the academic study that has revealed Canadians purchase insurance for protection against something from going wrong in the same way that people carry a rabbit’s foot for luck. If insurance is not taken, Canadians are likely to feel like they tempted fate and that they brought it on themselves if something goes wrong.

Rutgers University in New Jersey carried out the survey of 243 people, discovering superstitious people generally believed a valuable glass bowl was more likely to break in the post because they were tempting fate and not purchasing appropriate insurance. Along with Murphy’s Law, these people also believed the bowl would be safe as houses in the event that insurance was purchased for its postage.

A traveller fro Toronto, 24 year old Rebecca Fishman took out some travel and medical insurance when she set off for South America and put down the fact that she didn’t fall ill or that nothing awful happened to her because she avoided the jinx. She believes that if she hadn’t purchased suitable insurance that she would have probably tempted fate and ended up in hospital somewhere out the back of beyond.

In the article, Misty Harris concluded that even people who do not necessarily believe in luck are prone to avoid pushing it.

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Top Tory has bike stolen again!

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

David Cameron leader of the Opposition has lost his bike to thieves, again! For the second time, the leader of the Conservative Party has fallen foul to opportunist bicycle criminals according to the article “Protect your pushbike as Cameron falls victim to bike theft…again!”

If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone as more and more people are waking up to the fact that they just can’t leave their bicycles propped up against a shop’s exterior wall.

If you don’t yet have insurance cover for your bike, get it added to your home contents insurance. One big step for bike security is only a phone call away.

This is a warning that arrives ready for those ‘now is the time to dig the bike out from the shed’ efforts – a time when we are all thinking about swapping the four wheels for two!

Time to stop handing the bike thieves our wheels on a plate! Here’s how to go about it. While ensuring our bikes are adequately covered on the home contents policy, we need to begin to think about serious lock devices. Stop leaving those bikes propped up against the walls…it’s too easy!!

Use bike parking racks in the town and city centres and make sure you lock you bike too. When putting your bike away at night, make sure you lock them in a secure outbuilding or in the house.

In the event that your bike is stolen, by marking your vehicle with an ultra violet marker pen you will stand a better chance of having your bike returned to you. Better still take some photos of your bike for identification purposes.

Last but not least, make sure your insurance is everything it should be. Some home contents insurance cover provide cycle protection only as an add-on (so don’t assume it is already taken care off!)

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Swine flu concerns blight holiday plans!

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (otherwise known as the FCO) are at present urging travellers not to visit Mexico, we need to be clear about our rights and whether or not we are entitled to our money back according to the article “If swine flu ruins your holiday will your insurer cough up?”

While swine flu is currently stealing all the headlines, we are alerted to the fact that the problem is such proportions that we ought not to travel to Mexico unless absolutely essential. Should we be concerned swine flu or is it merely a sensational headline grabber milked by the tabloids to sell newspapers? The Foreign Office says we should take note leaving us to cancel our holidays and attempt to get our money back.

If you booked your holiday to Mexico through an ABTA tour operator you should be able to get a full refund. Your travel agent may offer a choice between an alternative holiday destination and your money back checking your travel insurance policy to ensure your new destination is covered by your old policy.

Will you get your money back having booked your holiday to Mexico yourself and not through an ABTA recognised agent? In the event of your flight going ahead you may find the airline unwilling to refund you even if you are following FCO recommendations. Should you have taken out travel insurance the news should be good. Most travel insurance policies will pay out the costs for flights, car hire and accommodation in the event of cancelling your holiday due to official guidance or because of a pandemic.

If you booked your holiday to Mexico but didn’t book travel insurance at the same time you may not get your money back. Many people book their travel insurance nearer the time of their trip for whatever reason. Unfortunately these people may not have any luck in this circumstance. An insurance company may not insure your trip to Mexico now that the FCO are urging us not to travel.

In the event that you have already paid out for your holiday currency the picture might not be as bleak as it initially seems. Your spending money for your travels will be reimbursed by M&S Money in full in the light of having to cancel your holiday.

Any US dollars or Mexican pesos will be reimbursed to the full amount if your holiday has been cancelled in accordance to FCO advice. Whilst this is good news for M&S customers, the news isn’t quite so bright for currency purchasers of other bureau de change outlets as you may be able to return them but you will be charged the standard rate.

There are so many issues surrounding travel and the event of this pandemic. All are focused on avoiding contamination abroad, but what if you catch the virus in this country? In the event that you become infected with swine flu before you were due to set off on your travels abroad, your travel insurance should cover you having to cancel your trip. Check your travel insurance policy documents and your insurance company for further information.

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