Families In Fear Of Redundancy Offered Cheap Income Protection Insurance Alternative To Savings

 Families In Fear Of Redundancy Offered Cheap Income Protection Insurance Alternative To Savings  No Responses »
Nov 052011
 

Unemployment in the UK rose by 128,000 in the three months to October reaching 2.64 million. This the highest figure since 1994.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released this on 14 December 2011 and confirmed the jobless rate was up from 7.9% for the previous quarter and had risen to 8.3%. Employees are beginning to wonder if their employer will be the next one to cut back their workforce and what they could do to protect themselves and their loved ones.

With the Euro Zone crisis still ongoing and now (even) talk of an economic slow down in China, the cold hand of uncertainly is reaching across the global economy. Consequently few firms in the UK are investing in new staff and extra capacity. They have every reason to expect demand to remain flat, if not fall back dramatically in the event of the Euro troubles triggering a serious double dip recession. Headline job losses in both the retail sector and travel are feeding the UK’s increasing jobless total. British consumers, squeezed by inflation hitting the essentials and paying higher taxes, are cutting back their spending. The high street is being hit hard.

With no improvement in the prospects for private industry and the accelerating job losses in the Public Sector, the numbers being made redundant can only increase. Most certainly the time taken for people to secure alternative work following redundancy will lengthen as ever more people chase fewer jobs.

For anyone who does not have much saved and loses their job, surviving for a long period with no wages coming in is very hard indeed. Furthermore, repossessions are now rising according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Many more people will find their homes at risk as lender patience runs out. Therefore, it has never been more important for individuals to have money to fall back for paying their critical bills if they are out of work. For families especially, if the ‘bread winner’ is made redundant and they have little saved, they will need urgent financial help to keep a roof over their heads.

It is the risk of redundancy to people currently in steady work and the need to keep money flowing into their households that Income Protection Insurance is designed to cover. This product is also called Lifestyle Protection Insurance by a major Building Society and other specialist providers. This type of financial protection Insurance will pay out for up to a year (some cover 2 years) if the policyholder is unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment.

The buyer chooses the monthly benefit they want to be paid. It is usually restricted to between 50 percent and 70 percent of their gross pay (that is pay before any deductions for Income Tax or National Insurance). Therefore, for most people, it may not offer them as much money each month as when they are at work, however it is enough to pay their bills and make even limited savings stretch much further. Buyers of these products usually select a monthly benefit of around £1,000 as they will also qualify for State Benefits or perhaps have a partner who can share the financial burden during their search for another job.

It should also be remembered that this cover pays out the same monthly benefit if the policyholder is unable to work for medical reasons. Some people can suffer badly in terms of their mental health following redundancy, searching for another job for months and receiving repeated rejections can trigger clinical depression. Therefore, in addition to cover for unemployment, the sickness part of this short-term Income Protection Insurance can be a financial lifesaver as well.

There are a huge number of UK families who are financially vulnerable, with budgets stretched to the limit each month. For them, saving a meaningful amount to cushion the blow of unemployment is simply impossible. However, they might be able to find the equivalent of £5 to £10 a week to pay for an Income Protection Insurance policy. Otherwise they would be extremely vulnerable to a break in their employment that lasts more than a month or two. Compared to the cost of resorting to pay day loans or the financial penalties of restructuring debts, short-term Income Protection Insurance offers a very cheap alternative.

For more information about short-term Income Protection Insurance including a free comprehensive buyers guide, please visit i:protect Insurance specialist UK providers of low cost financial protection products.

 Posted by at 3:36 am

Top Tips To Find The Best Deal For Short-Term Income Protection Insurance And Mortgage Insurance

 Top Tips To Find The Best Deal For Short-Term Income Protection Insurance And Mortgage Insurance  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 

For Motor or Home Insurance buyers in the UK, the obvious place to start looking for premium savings are on the Price Comparison sites. However, doing the same to buy short-term Income Protection Insurance or Mortgage Payment Protection cover could prove to be an expensive mistake. This is because this type of insurance is a niche product. Tips from an expert are essential for anyone looking to buy a policy to pay their mortgage and other bills if they cannot work.

In fact, a lot of people are unaware that this type of insurance exists. Short-term Income Protection Insurance is the cleaned up replacement for the now widely distrusted Payment Protection Insurance. It has just cost UK banks billions to compensate their customers for miss-selling Payment Protection Insurance. In fact, no surprise, most high street banks simply do not sell this any more. Fortunately leading Insurance companies decided to call the new cleaned up and highly regulated product a fresh name; short-term Income Protection Insurance. This distinguishes this type of cover so buyers will know that they are looking at the new type of policy that the Government’s Regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has approved. The FSA now undertakes the enforcement of the new strict rules governing how this product is sold very seriously indeed.

So just to confuse things, Britain’s biggest Building Society and several specialist providers decided to call this cover Lifestyle Protection. At least this stands out as being a totally different name from the disgraced Payment Protection Insurance. However, the FSA on their Money Advice Service website still call short-term Income Protection a version of Payment Protection Insurance! The first tip to getting a good deal is simply to know what the reliable and trustworthy suppliers now call this product.

At least the FSA’s independent and unbiased Money Advice Service website does explain the difference. It also allows anyone to find these products and compare prices on their comparison tables for every policy of this type offered in the UK. Because the regulator has made it compulsory for every provider to place details of their products on their website, it offers a huge range of over 400 different products to chose from. Up until the FSA created this point of reference, there was nothing like it anywhere in the UK, however most of the public are still unaware that this valuable research tool is provided to them absolutely free.

The commission charging commercial price comparison websites – those heavily advertised brands on TV – simply cannot come close to the Money Advice Service offering. It is also the only place to find and compare the low cost direct products that do not appear on the TV comparison sites.

Using the FSA’s Money Advice Service website, anyone can:

Look in one place at a huge range of products from all of the big brands as well as the low cost specialist providers
Have the confidence they are getting a true price comparison across the market
Get the best deal that suits their needs
Know every provider listed is authorised by the FSA offering a product they closely regulate

This is excellent information, but the Money Advice Service website can be complicated to navigate. It is hard at first to find an individual type of insurance policy for example. This is because the Money Advice Service covers so many types of financial products, not just short-term Income Protection Insurance. It is essential to preserver or to pick up on-line a simple guide to finding the lowest price on the Money Advice Service website these can be freely downloaded from one or more specialists providers. These guides provide a ‘road map’ to quickly navigate the Money Advice Service website.

Once on the right section of the Money Advice Service website, a single click will then take the individual from their chosen product to the provider. Then they can either buy the policy or simply look up more details before making their mind up. Most importantly, it allows a buyer to narrow down their choice and focus on the providers that offer the best deals.

The second tip to get good value; some of the smaller specialist providers, offer the same product as many high street brands, at less than a third of the price. The Money Advice Service website is very informative regarding the often staggering differences between the prices charged for the same cover. This is mainly a consequence of the big players in the market offering this insurance as a premium product or brokers taking a substantial commission for individual sales advice. If you do not require bespoke advice from an intermediary, there are massive savings to be had for going direct.

What’s covered? By far the majority of policies pay out for up to a year if the insured person is unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment. Benefits are chosen by the individual according to their needs. Three of the leading UK specialist providers confirm that the majority of their customers chose an average monthly benefit of £1,000. For this cover their customers mostly pay a premium of between £20 and £40 per month. The actual price depends upon the buyer’s age and the waiting period they select. The waiting period is similar to an excess on a motor policy, but it is the number of days before the claim is paid rather than a monetary amount.

If an individual were to walk into a Mortgage Broker or Financial Advisers office, the policy and price they would be offered reflects the personal service offered. It is easy to be charged double the price for the same cover, so it pays to do some research on line before visiting a broker. For anyone happy to buy on-line the process is straightforward. No medical evidence is required or an extensive lifestyle or health questionnaire needs to be completed. Contact details and a dozen or so questions mainly about the applicant’s current employment tend to be the average.

The final tip to get a good deal is concerning when to buy short-term Income Protection Insurance or the similar Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance. This is a critical point. The individual must not be aware of any impending employment problems such as scaling back of their organisation or a pending takeover. This is because most insurers will decline to accept any application where there is a significantly higher than average probability of redundancy. Therefore the only time to apply for this product is when the individual is still in a steady job.

For more information about short-term Income Protection Insurance and Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance including a guide to the FSA’s Money Advice Service website and free comprehensive buyers guide, please visit i:protect Insurance a leading specialist provider of low cost on-line financial protection products.

 Posted by at 3:33 am

What Are the Various HIPAA Rules That Need To Be Followed?

 What Are the Various HIPAA Rules That Need To Be Followed?  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 

Most people who change or lose their jobs also end up losing the health coverage and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was passed in 1996 intends to protect individuals and their families from loss of health insurance. Apart from this there are various safeguards that need to be adhered to for protecting the confidential information of patients.

There are various organizations that are classified as covered entities and they will need to safeguard all medical records of patients by following the provisions of HIPAA. The privacy and security rules of HIPAA contain all the rules and regulations that aim to safeguard the protected information of patients.

5 HIPAA Rules That Need To Be Followed

Hospitals, clinics, health insurance companies, doctors and nurses are often classified as covered entities as per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. These organizations and individuals will be storing and transmitting protected information of patients. All safeguards that have been stipulated by HIPAA will need to be adhered to by them.

All individuals who are employed in these covered entities will need to be adequately trained in the rules and regulations of HIPAA for better compliance. These training sessions can be conducted by the employer and employees will need to pass an examination to get certification.

The covered entities will need to employ a compliance officer who will ensure that all rules and regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are adhered to. The protected information cannot be disclosed to anyone and if anyone is found violating this, it will invite very strict penalties.

There are specific restrictions on how this confidential information should be accessed and used. Doctors and nurses would be able to access medical records for treatment purposes. If the medical records are needed for any other purpose authorization from the patient will be required. There are certain exemptions where the confidential information of patients can be accessed by federal agencies without authorization from the patients.

There are very stringent requirements that need to be fulfilled according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Noncompliance of HIPAA attracts very strict penalties. The law does not make any discrimination between intentional and unintentional violations. The penalties can be fines or imprisonment for the violation. The penalties are usually fines in case of civil violations and it can include imprisonment in case of criminal violations.

There are various standards that are set by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and it is important that these are followed by the covered entities. If any organization makes repeated violations the penalties could result in it losing its ability to do business.

HIPAA is an important legislation that aims to have enough safeguards in place so that there is no misuse or abuse. There are various instances when individuals who have accessed the protected information have used it for commercial purposes. This will be prevented if all the safeguards that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act stipulate are put into place.

 Posted by at 3:17 am
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