The credit crunch has brought with it rising prices and access to borrowing much harder than it used to be. Looking at how this impacts on UK residents the Post Office, insurance providers as well as much more, have seen the over 50 market hit the hardest.
The rise in the cost of living has meant almost two thirds of the over 70s now use credit to buy basic food and groceries. This will be in the form of credit cards or overdrafts. Meanwhile 35 percent of over 50s can no longer put savings aside regularly said the Post Office insurance against harder times in the future.
Speaking of which a Post Office insurance spokesman urged people to make sure they are paying reasonable rates for their life insurance. An essential like this can still be bought effectively and as such leave a little more money for day to day costs.
A spokesman from Norwich Union has said that the GBP2.6 billion reattribution of surplus funds is close to being resolved following previous disputes.
A representative for policyholders has been asking for changes since the reattribution of funds was biased in favour of Norwich Union shareholders and needed attention. Following this a committee from the government has been looking at the situation to ensure fairness.
Norwich Union are offering payments to with profits insurance fund policy holders but they will then not be eligible for any further annual bonuses. They are yet to hear if this latest offer is acceptable but hope it will be so that the funds can be paid out.
The improvements made to their critical illness insurance cover by Legal and General have been supported by Only Finance, who are pleased to see positive changes in this market.
Although BUPA still leads the way with its critical illness insurance offering Legal and General have clearly taken positive steps an Only Finance spokesperson said. It is also great news that they have not used the cover improvements as a device to increase the price, thus bringing a real benefit to the consumer.
The Only Finance spokesperson also discussed the fact that it is certainly more cost effective to buy both life and critical illness cover together, saving money and also having a more comprehensive level of protection than when only taking one of them. He went on to advise purchasers of critical illness protection to ensure any medical questions were answered fully and completely, as almost twenty-five percent of claims made were rejected due to illnesses not being declared at the time of policy purchase.