Get help, advice and information on all your Finance issues. http://advice-and.info/Finance/protect.htm Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:35:57 GMT en Thieves can use even the most simple of personal details to help them "verify" that they are someone they are not. A thief intent on committing identity theft will likely use one of the most common ways of obtaining personal details, "Dumpster Diving". This is surprisingly common in upper middle class and upper class neighborhoods and is spreading out cities into more rural areas; with 75 of local authorities now admitting it happens regularly in their area. An exercise carried out with the support of Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire Police analyzed the contents of hundreds of household garbage cans to see what people were throwing away. It found that 86 of domestic rubbish contained information helpful to criminal intent on identity theft. Three quarters of the trash cans that were checked contained the full name and address of at least one person from the household, while 20 of trash cans contained a bank account number and sorting code that could be linked to the name and address of a person from the house. So please stop throwing your junk mail, such as credit card solicitations, into the everyday trash. Invest in a good quality shredder NOW!. This is the number one way to protect yourself from identity theft. Shredders can be purchased today for less than fifty dollars. Don't keep all of your bills, receipts and other personal documents in an obvious place, if you can lock it away. If you don't have anywhere to lock it, try and keep it somewhere out of the way, or separate it out into different files and keep them in different cabinets. Another tactic is to cruise thru upscale neighborhoods and look for mailbox flags that are up, waiting for the Mailman to make a pick up. Thieves attempting identity theft will stop and raid your out-going mail, hoping that you slipped a check in one of your envelopes. Now they have your name, address, bank account numbers to the correct bank you use and... your signature. Don't do it. Take a few extra minutes and drop your bills in a US http://advice-and.info/Finance/91475_Protect_Yourself_From_Identity_Theft.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:54:12 GMT Having to find the money each month to continue meeting your mortgage repayments if you lose your income would be a great struggle. While you could turn to savings to support the outgoings, these could very soon run dry. Relying on the State could also leave you stranded. Considering mortgage payment protection cover is a far better way. The State can give you help but only for the first 100,000 of the interest part of the mortgage. To be able to benefit from this you also have to qualify. You would have to be eligible to claim income support and not have a partner in full time employment living with you. If you had taken out the mortgage after October 1995 then you would have to wait for up to 9 months before you would see any help. http://advice-and.info/Finance/84018_Mortgage_Payment_Protection_Cover_Can_Protect_Your_Home.html Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:12:21 GMT Payment protection insurance (PPI) can be taken out to protect your future against the unknown. No one knows what is around the corner. If you should become unable to work, you would be left struggling financially. Protection can be taken out to cover against becoming unable to work due to accident or sickness. It can also be taken to insure against becoming unemployed due to such as redundancy. Payment protection insurance is a generic name for three types of insurance - mortgage protection, loan protection and income payment protection insurance. All three policies work by paying a fixed premium each month that is decided by how much you want to cover and your age. There will be a period of waiting which is usually between 30 and 90 days of being unemployed or unfit for work continually. Some policies can be backdated to the first day and they would then continue for between 12 and 24 months. http://advice-and.info/Finance/83589_Protect_Your_Future_With_Payment_Protection.html Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:52:54 GMT If you were to suffer from an accident or became ill then you could be left struggling when it came to maintaining your mortgage. The same would happen if through no circumstances of your own you were to become unemployed. Mortgage payment protection insurance could give you the income needed to ensure you would be able to keep the roof over your head. A mortgage payment protection insurance policy can be taken out at the time of borrowing. However, by adding cover onto the mortgage with the high street lender you could be paying well over the odds. High street lenders are known to charge high premiums and a standalone specialist can knock hundreds off what could be a lifeline. Getting several quotes is essential as even with independent providers the cost of a policy will vary. The information that is given varies too. However, by going with a standalone specialist you are sure of getting the key facts. The key facts can contain exclusions and the terms and conditions of the policy, such as when it would begin and end. http://advice-and.info/Finance/83588_Protect_The_Roof_Over_Your_Head_With_Mortgage_Payment_Protection_Insurance.html Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:44:40 GMT While we all like to think that our jobs are secure, the fact is that no ones employment can be classed as a job for life anymore. Companies that have been household names have collapsed and in some cases, hundreds of people have lost their jobs. If you were to lose your job through redundancy, you would be left struggling when it came to repaying your essential outgoings. Redundancy insurance can be taken out to safeguard against this fact and give you the security of an income. All that the individual needs to do is to shop around with a specialist provider and get quotes. Redundancy insurance can be taken in the form of mortgage protection, income payment protection and loan payment protection. Which type of policy would be most suitable would depend on your circumstances. However, all three would work the same when it came to providing you with an income that would be tax-free. http://advice-and.info/Finance/83584_Protect_Against_Being_Made_Unemployed_With_Redundancy_Insurance.html Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:45:24 GMT Did you know that each year, all across the country, states search for the rightful owners of millions of dollars that have been sitting idle in financial institutions? Its called unclaimed property or abandoned property and its more common than you might expect. In Colorado alone, more than 100 million has been returned to residents and former residents since the state instituted its Great Colorado Payback in 1987. In 2007, approximately 9 million in unclaimed property was returned to rightful owners and heirs in that state. And thats just Colorado! http://advice-and.info/Finance/82273_How_To_Protect_Your_Assets_From_Reverting_To_The_Government.html Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:05:09 GMT Income protection insurance can be a valuable product if you have mortgage repayments or credit card or loan repayments to meet each month. No one knows what is around the corner and if you should become unemployed or have an accident or illness then you could be left struggling. If you can get back to work very quickly then savings could get you by; however, if you should need months away from work to get back on your feet then savings would soon run dry. A far better solution that does not have to be expensive is taking out an insurance policy that covers your income. There has been much bad publicity surrounding payment protection products, of which income protection is one. However, if you stick with a specialist in protection insurances you can be sure that you will be offered a quality product. You can also make good use of the information that an independent specialist will make available on their website. But by far the biggest benefit of going with an independent provider is the low premiums that are charged for cover, which will be based on your age and the amount of your income you wish to cover. A specialist will allow you to insure up to a certain amount of your monthly income. http://advice-and.info/Finance/79564_Protect_Your_Lifestyle_With_Income_Protection_Insurance.html Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:04:56 GMT If you should find yourself unable to work and lose your income then finding the money needed each month to continue making your mortgage repayments could be a struggle. In the worst case scenario the situation could lead to you getting behind on your loan and ultimately losing the roof over your head. Mortgage payment insurance can protect your home from repossession, providing you ensure that the policy is suitable for your needs. There are certain exclusions that can habitually be found in a policy. Being retired or self-employed, suffering an ongoing illness or only working part time as opposed to full time can all mean you would not benefit from cover. However, this is just a guideline and the exclusions are not set in stone: all policies vary. For example, you could benefit from mortgage payment cover if the illness has not reoccurred during the last two years. And if you are self-employed and you find yourself having to cease trading through no fault of your own, then a policy could pay out. It is essential that you read the terms and conditions fully before taking on the cover. http://advice-and.info/Finance/79406_Mortgage_Payment_Insurance_Can_Protect_Your_Home_From_Repossession.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:45:22 GMT