| Honest John: 20 questions
The biggest problem we have is trying to find insurance at a reasonable cost. It’s hard to find quotes online at much less than the cost of the car. Are there are any insurance companies specialising in covering this category of driver? S.B., Farnham Quinn Direct seems to be cheapest while the youngster is learning, but the premium rises hugely once he passes his test and statistically becomes a greater risk. Direct Line, Tesco or the Co-op might then be cheaper. As usual, it’s a case of shopping around. Snubbed tow My faithful Daihatsu Fourtrak is now too rusty, so I’ll have to replace it. I need something pleasant, reliable and economical to drive, with a diesel engine and the ability to lug 7.5 tonnes.
Plumbing, Discrimination, and Health Insurance Rates
Joyce Foster (D-Denver) asked insurance broker/insurance underwriters representative Jamie Scholl why women pay more than men for health insurance in the individual insurance market. His answer: "You'll have to ask God, because he put our parts on the outside and yours on the inside." Crude and laughable, but the rest of the insurance industry's reasoning basically follows the same appalling logic (and just for emphasis, he repeated his response in the afternoon session). Women are complicated and more health conscious, therefore more expensive. Men are simpler and less likely to see a doctor, therefore cheaper. Another health insurance lobbyist backed him up in the Denver Post, telling a reporter that women's health care is more expensive because their reproductive systems are more complex and require more complicated, costly and risky procedures.
Beat the rising costs of home insurance
With the costs of insurance tipped to increase for the remainder of 2009 and beyond, savvy home owners can still ensure they are getting the best deals by remembering the following tips when they are looking for home insurance. 1. Check any monthly payment terms. To help budget many of us will opt to pay our insurance on a monthly basis, however this can in a many cases cost more. It's not uncommon for APR rates of 20-30% to be charged for the benefit of paying monthly for your insurance, this can be as much as an additional 15% of your annual premium over the year! Instead check the payment terms you require and if necessary look to spreading the payments out over a 0% credit card, or look for an insurer who offers interest free payments, it could work out cheaper over the year 2.
Health insurance to go up in 2010
Healthcare insurance premiums will be considerably more expensive next year, partly as a result of swine flu, report the Trouw and the free newspaper Spits on Friday. In an interview with Spits, health insurer CZ says that it expects costs to rise by as much as €10 a month in 2010. As well as swine flu, premiums will be higher because of the increasing number of older people, higher salaries in the healthcare sector and more cases of diabetes and other diseases, say the papers. They also point out that the health ministry used reserves to keep health costs for consumers down this year. According to the Trouw, this measure meant premiums in 2009 were €5 cheaper than they would have been otherwise. It is unclear whether a similar compensation is being considered for next year.
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