Non-smokers save 50% on life insurance

With annual non-smoking day arriving in March, consumers give themselves an opportunity to kick their habit and make savings on their life insurance, claim financial experts.

According to Lifesearch, premiums for life insurance and critical illness cover can be reduced by as much as 50 per cent if a person does not smoke.

Matt Morris, policy adviser at Lifesearch, said that ‘do you smoke?’ is one of the first questions that an insurer will ask a potential new client, and that a non-smoker has to be someone who has quit their habit for 12 months.

“A cheaper premium is not certain, as it also depends on age and health, but there is a very good chance that the premium will fall,” he said.

The research showed that a 30-year-old non smoker could save up to £1,850 over a term.

Meanwhile, the company said that the value mothers bring to a family is often under-appreciated and they should be looking into protecting themselves and their finances with insurance cover.

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Unpaid bills put pressure on households

Household budgets are being squeezed with millions of bills going unpaid in the last six months, say financial experts.

Findings from MoneyExpert.com reveal that as many as 6.9 million bills have gone unpaid since June last year.

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “For some time we have been waiting to see how the financial squeeze would affect the average household.”

“Nearly seven million unpaid household bills is a fairly conclusive sign that we are feeling the effects,” he added.

Figures showed that out of all the bills, most people are likely to miss paying their council tax, with one in twenty admitting to having paid it late or not all in the past six months.

However, a further 1.39 million people have said they have had difficulty in meeting payments on household bills such as gas and electricity in the second half of 2007.

Meanwhile, additional research from MoneyExpert.com has revealed that up to 2.6 million consumers plan to start the New Year by transferring their credit card debts.

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Mortgages for ‘unconventional properties’ difficult to get

Borrowers can find it difficult to finance a mortgage for an unconventional property due to uncertainty over its value, claim financial experts.

Lansdown Place said that listed buildings, particularly those made from unusual materials or with a high protection rating, can be difficult to find funds for.

Simon Harris, spokesperson for Lansdown Place, said: “For listed buildings, the various restrictions on what can be done and the covenants that demand what must be done will potentially adversely affect the security in the eyes of a lender.”

He added that the main other issue is durability, which can also potentially apply to eco-friendly homes, an area of “potential growth” in the housing market.

According to English Heritage, there are 370,000 or so listed buildings currently protected in the UK. Of these over 92 per cent are Grade II – the lowest level of listing, for buildings “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them”.

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