Three Quarters Of IVA Applicants "Living Beyond Means"

Most people who apply for Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) to sort out their unsecured loans and credit card borrowing say they were simply living beyond their means, says a new report. The findings have reignited the debate about low interest credit card deals and their effect on spending. IVAs are an alterna...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Last Will And Testament

It is never easy when a family member or friend passes away. Sorting out wills and legacies in often entangled financial affairs can be a nightmare, and cause rows in one in ten families following a death. Problems can become even worse when the person charged with executing the will's instructions may be struggling wi...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Bizarre Insurance Claims Increasing

A sharp increase in spurious or exaggerated public liability claims against local governments has led to increased costs for taxpayers and insurers. An annual list of the silliest insurance claims made against local government authorities in Britain includes a shoplifter who sprained her ankle attempting to escape and...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Home Insurance Firms Warn That Flood Cover Guarantee Dependent On Investment

A few years on from the Carlisle floods, the worst in the UK for over 100 years, home insurance companies are warning that the country is still vulnerable to rising waters. Over two million homes in the UK are still at risk of flooding, and with the effects of climate change this number is expected to increase to 3.5 ...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Millions Could Cut Costs On Travel Insurance

More than six million holiday makers in the UK could have saved money by opting for annual travel insurance cover, claim new industry figures. When we book our main annual holiday most of us know that we need to get some travel insurance as well. However, it seems that many people do not realise that getting travel in...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Check The Small Print For Winter Sports Travel Insurance

Although for many of us a hot summer sun holiday is the ideal there are plenty of people out there for whom the cold slopes are the best way to relax. Many resorts now do all year glacier skiing and so we can get our fill of the piste at any time. However, whenever and wherever we go to swoosh down the slopes it is vi...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Long Suffering Parents Lose Out To Young Drivers

Young motorists are opting to borrow their parents vehicles rather than splash out on the cost of their own, says a motor insurance survey. More than one in ten (13 per cent) motorists in their late twenties admits that they are still using their parents' vehicles. As more and more of our young people are staying at h...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Number Of Pension Age Employees Set To Increase

Many of us who are currently working are looking forward to the time when we can sit back and relax with our feet up when we retire. However, more and more people who are reaching retirement age are not retiring. It could be that for economical reasons they want to carry on working or simply that they feel they have mo...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Homeowners Warned On Home Insurance Content Cover

Many years ago Christmas was all about family; and presents, although required, were a small affair. In most households the most expensive present was likely to be a bike or train set. Nowadays, however, the scene is different. Although family is still important in these modern times the presents have changed dramatic...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Claim Your Child’s ‘Free Money’

For those of us who are blessed with children we could always do with a bit of financial help. If your child was born on or after the first of September 2002 the government has £250 to give you to invest on their behalf. The fund is to be held in trust for the child and cannot be accessed until they are 18 years ...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Money Worries Making Us Sick

Financial stresses and strains are becoming so bad that they are making us ill, according to a survey from a major health insurance provider. Money Sickness Syndrome, diagnosed by a mental health expert, occurs within people who have a poor understanding or control of their financial situation. Symptoms include headac...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Resolutions Prove Brittle In The Chill January Days

When December 31st rolls around we all want to make a clean start in the New Year and make our lives better. Many of us make resolutions in January, some are achievable and some are not but recent research shows that most of us have forgotten about our ideals by the end of the first month in the year. It seems that as ...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Credit Card Comparison Almost Impossible

Making a realistic comparison of credit card deals is all but impossible as many credit card companies do not clearly explain how they calculate interest, Which has claimed. While comparing different types of card, such as balance transfer credit cards or cashback credit cards, trying to discover their relative costs...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Over Five Million Vulnerable To Household Inferno

Would we all know what to do in the event of a fire in our homes It seems many of us would not according to a recent study. Over five million adults in the UK live in property with no fire safety devices such as smoke alarms, fire extinguishers or blankets, warn home insurance firms. Every year 11,500 injuries are c...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

A Broken Leg May Cost More Than You Think On Holiday

Although holidays are supposed to be relaxing times for us; sometimes the worst happens and one of our party sustains and injury. This is why it is vitally important to have good travel insurance before you set off. The medical and relocation bills can be exceedingly expensive. Now it seems that where you go can also m...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Metrosexual Types Underinsured

It used to be that only women carried around large quantities of ‘stuff’ in their handbags, nowadays however, increasing numbers of men are taking to the country’s streets with more gadgets than an electrical retailer. And what a lot of choice of gadgets there are out there. Starting with your simple...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Millions Planning Equity Relief To Avoid Inheritance Tax

Despite being persistently portrayed in the popular press as the generation that loves to 'Ski' and ‘Spend the Kids Inheritance’ two million retired people are finding other ways to avoid inheritance tax. One in five say they plan to avoid heavy death duties from eating into their property and savings by d...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

UK Throwing Away Billions On Tax

The UK is gifting the chancellor a collective £7.6 billion in tax revenue that they could be squirreling away in duty-free saving products, a company specialising in independent financial advice has claimed. Four fifths of adults are throwing away money that could be theirs to keep if they picked the right savin...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

Store Cards Overcharging By 20%

Britons who choose to put spending onto store cards are routinely paying 20 per cent too much in interest, the Competition Commission has said. The finding is part of a major survey that the watchdog has carried out into the cards, concluding that by choosing store cards over low interest credit cards consumers are col...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010

UK Embraces Online Banking Says Survey

With more and more of us becoming computer savvy we are doing more than check our email online. More than half of the UK (59 per cent) now regularly takes advantage of online banking, says new research. Almost two thirds of people in the UK now say that they use online banking "much more" than they did two y...16:36 Mon 24th May 2010