Self-certification mortgages still available despite credit crunch
January 12, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
Self-certification mortgages are still available despite the credit crunch and consequent tightening of lending criteria, according to industry experts. 
Mortgage advisers Alexander Hall said that the credit crunch has had “nowhere near” the same impact on self-certification products as it has on subprime mortgages.
Andy Pratt, spokesperson for Alexander Hall, said: “All those clients who would have got a self-cert mortgage before have been able to get them even with the credit crunch.”
He added that Alexander Hall have had no problems placing clients in self-certification mortgages as there is “still a good enough choice out there”.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders defines self-certification mortgages as “a mortgage where you declare what your income is, but are not required to provide proof.
They are used by the self-employed, or people who have difficulty providing proof of income.
According to the Economic and Social Research Council’s most recent figures, for 2006, of the 29 million people employed in the UK, 13 per cent (3.8 million) were self-employed.
Using the Internet to find affordable finance
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Tags: borrow, credit, cards, Loans, repayments, onlineInsurance company to receive training from Samaritans
October 29, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
The leading insurance company Legal and General is to receive training from the Samaritans according to recent reports.
Samaritans is a group that is trained to deal with sensitive situations in a sympathetic and understanding way, and it is known that insurance company staff members often have to deal with such sensitive situations yet do not receive the actual training to do this properly. It is thought that training from the Samaritans could enable Legal and General employees to adopt a far more understanding attitude.
According to officials from the insurance company many of the people that make contact with regards to making a claim are in a situation that requires sensitive handling. Both consumers claiming for themselves and those claiming with regards to another party can be in extremely sensitive situations, such as those ringing the insurance company after a loved one has passed away.
The Samaritans will be aiming to teach Legal and General employees how to handle sensitive situations such as the ones faced by insurance companies everyday, yet remain professional and friendly throughout. Many of those contacting insurance companies are going through a very tough time, and it is thought that the sensitive handling and manner of the employees at the insurance company could help to ease the situation somewhat.
An insurance official stated that those contacting insurance companies to make a claim often had enough on their plates without having to be dealt with by people that were neither sympathetic nor understanding. He said that this training can help employees to be more sensitive and understating whilst still dealing with the claim in a speedy and efficient manner.
Tom Smith
29th October 2007
Veggies can now get great deal on life insurance
September 19, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Life insurance premiums can vary from one insurance company to another, but the cost of premiums is based upon your circumstances, medical history, and lifestyle.
In the past, we have all learned that those that smoke, those that are morbidly overweight, and those with certain medical conditions will pay more for life insurance because it makes them high risk. Healthy individuals that do not smoke, do not drink to excess, and are not overweight, however, can enjoy lower premiums.
There is now an insurance policy that takes it one step further, and offers discounted premiums to those that do not eat meat. Vegetarians and those that eat only fish and no meat can enjoy lower premiums with the life insurance cover that is available through Animal Friends Insurance. The company, which is a non-profit organization that deals with pet insurance, has got together with Liverpool Victoria in order to offer the special life insurance deal.
According to the company there are around 3.5 million people in the UK that are either vegetarian already or are planning to give up meat in the next year or so. The term life insurance on offer from Animal Friends and Liverpool Victoria will offer a 6% discount on premiums to vegetarians and fish eaters.
One official from the company stated: “The risk of vegetarians suffering from some cancers is reduced by up to 40 percent and from heart disease by up to 30 percent, but despite this they have to pay the same life insurance premiums as meat eaters. We believe this is unfair and the life insurance industry needs to acknowledge the fact that being a vegetarian can have a very positive impact on life expectancy and reduce premiums accordingly.”
Tom Smith
19th September 2007
Financial etiquette ‘needs tightening’
July 2, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
British consumers need to tighten up their financial etiquette, according to a new survey carried out by CreditExpert.co.uk.
A survey of 1,500 adults shows that over two-fifths of Britons would lend as much money as possible to a friend in financial difficulties.
CreditExpert’s research shows that Londoners display the greatest generosity to their friends, with nearly half (47 per cent) indicating that they would help out a friend in need.
When buying drinks at social occasions, almost half of people also say they would buy an entire group a round of drinks.
Dating Britons also appear reluctant for someone else to take care of a dinner bill, with four-fifths contending that the person who invited the date should pick up the bill.
Jim Hodgkins, managing director of Credit Expert.co.uk, said: “We’re regularly faced with financial etiquette dilemmas and as well as being important from a social standpoint, they’re also significant financially.”
He added: “It’s all well and good buying drinks for everyone at the bar – but it doesn’t always pay to be generous. If you’re running up debts that you can’t pay off, you could be damaging your credit rating.”
How To Build Up a Good Credit Rating
June 19, 2007 by admin
Filed under Credit Cards
It is evidently not a good thing to have a bad credit rating. For example, it can limit your borrowing options. The sorts of thing that contributes to a poor credit rating are county court judgments, defaults on payments and bankcruptcy orders. In the case of circumstances such as these, the only way to get credit (loans, mortgages) is through the sub-prime market. Here the borrower is charged high rates of interest to reflect the apparent risk to the lender.
There are two main credit reference agencies who compile credit histories on individuals. These are Equifax and Experian. They take their information from sources such as the electoral roll, county court judgments and the payment of past debts. When anyone takes out a new form of credit it will leave a record which these credit agencies also draw upon. But it is not the credit agencies who make the decision about whether to offer credit to would-be borrowers. It is the lender who makes that decision, based on the information provided by the credit agencies and their own lending criteria.
Under the Data Protection Act, if a lender refuses you credit, it must tell you why. Under the Act, if scoring was used to help the lender decide not to give you credit, then you are entitled to ask for you application to be reviewed. Even it this doesn’t help you to get credit this time, you will be able to see your rating and where it might need improvement. Or it can highlight errors that may be on your record (and they do happen) and you can try to get them rectified.
If you do have a poor credit rating, it is a good thing to work to make it better. Although bankcruptcy remains on a rating for up to six years, a year of good credit practice should return a rating to a healthy state.
To begin with, you should ensure that you pay off your creditors on time. If you do have to miss a payment, tell the creditor and make sure that you make the payment the following month.
Even simple things like making sure you are on the electoral role and completing credit application forms correctly will help to improve your rating. Agencies allow people to explain why they may have had a poor credit performance, and a ‘notice of correction’ can be attached to their report explaining, for example, whey they missed payments.
It is worth buying access to your credit history from one of the agencies to make sure that everything is in order. As an example, if you have had a county court judgment, but have since paid the debt, make sure the payment is recorded on the file. If you have had a bankcruptcy order annulled, make sure a copy of the annulment or order of discharge is sent to credit agencies.
Another way of boosting your rating is to take out a store card and pay off the balance regularly and on time. The rating can be improved quickly by opening a variety of accounts, but make sure you do pay off the debt each month. You can also ask someone you know well (family or friend) with good credit history to co-sign for a small loan or credit card. This also helps your own rating.
It is a bad idea to keep applying for credit if you have already been refused by another lender. A lot of searches on history does not work in your favour. The tip is to ask the lender if you fir the profile of people they give credit to.
Having no credit record can be as bad as having a poor credit record. So if you have no credit record, start to build one up – a good one.
More Information:
Tom Smith
19th June 2007
£2.6bn cost of DIY mishaps
March 20, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
DIY causes £2.6 billion worth of accidents in the UK every year, according to new research.
As millions of us gear up to spend the Easter weekend up a ladder for one reason or another, Churchill Insurance is warning us to make sure we take precautions.
According to the firm, one fifth of householders have managed to damage their home in the last year while trying to fix something in the building by themselves.
Ten per cent of people admit to have caused some damage at least once since they moved into their property and one in ten have managed to do damage on two or more occasions in the last year.
Causing damage to your home may well be annoying but it can also be very costly, with Churchill claiming that the average accidental damage claim is around £540.
“Householders who have elected to include accidental damage cover under their home insurance policy have the added reassurance that they are covered if a DIY accident causes damage in the home,” said Martin Scott, head of Churchill Home Insurance.
A poll carried out by the firm shows that over half (51 per cent) of Brits believe that they are no any good at DIY, while 79 per cent wish that they were better.
If you are planning some serious DIY this Easter it may be worth making sure that your home insurance policy covers accidental damage.
