Which type of life insurance: level, decreasing, whole of life and family income benefit
Level term, decreasing term, whole of life and family income benefit compared: how each pays out, what it costs, and the joint versus single policy question.
UK breakdown cover levels explained: roadside, recovery, home start, onward travel and European cover
A one-off recovery without cover typically costs £150 to £300 locally and more over distance. UK breakdown cover comes in four levels, roadside, national recovery, home start and onward travel, plus European cover. What each level includes, personal vs vehicle cover, and exclusions.
Black box car insurance: what the telematics device records, how it changes your premium and your data rights
Black box insurance records speed, braking, acceleration, cornering, time of day and mileage. Young driver premiums often exceed £1,000, and a good score can cut renewals while poor scores or curfew breaches can end the policy. What is recorded, who sees it and your rights under UK GDPR.
Temporary car insurance in the UK: the legal rules, who can use it and what it does to your no-claims
Uninsured driving means a £300 fixed penalty and six points under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Temporary policies from one hour to 28 days lawfully cover borrowed cars, new purchases and learners. How they interact with the owner's policy, the MID and your no-claims bonus.
Extended car warranty vs breakdown cover: what each pays for and where they overlap
Breakdown cover moves you and the car; an extended warranty pays for the repair. Warranty claim limits typically run from £1,500 up to vehicle value, breakdown cover is defined by service level. What each excludes, which are regulated insurance and how to complain.
GAP insurance: when it pays out, why the FCA intervened and the four-day rule at dealerships
GAP insurance pays the gap between a write-off settlement and your purchase price or finance balance. The FCA found some products paid out as little as six percent of premiums in claims and paused most GAP sales in 2024. The four-day dealer rule, policy types and when a claim is worth it.
Car hire excess insurance explained: what the rental desk sells, what standalone cover costs and how claims work
Car hire excesses usually run £1,000 to £2,000. Desk waivers cost about £15 to £30 a day; standalone annual excess insurance is typically £40 to £70 and reimburses you after the rental firm charges your card. How the two differ, what is excluded and how to claim.
Non-disclosure and refused life insurance claims: what the 2012 Act says and how the ombudsman decides
Around 97 percent of UK term life claims are paid, ABI figures show. Most refusals are for non-disclosure, but since the 2012 Act only deliberate, reckless or careless misrepresentation can void a claim; careless errors usually mean a proportionate payout. How the rules work and how FOS decides.
Writing life insurance in trust: how it avoids inheritance tax and probate delays
Life insurance paid into your estate counts towards the £325,000 nil-rate band and can be taxed at 40 percent above it. Writing the policy in trust keeps the payout outside the estate and bypasses probate. How the trust types differ and what the 2030 freeze means.
Critical illness cover: what the claims data shows about payouts, refusals and the conditions that matter
Around 91 percent of UK critical illness claims are paid, ABI data shows, with cancer making up roughly 60 percent of payouts. Refusals come mainly from non-disclosure and definitions not met. How definitions work, what ABI minimum standards require and how to avoid a refused claim.
Private medical insurance and NHS waiting times: what the waiting list data says and what PMI does and does not cover
NHS England's waiting list was around 7.4 million cases in 2025, with about 40 percent beyond 18 weeks. Private medical insurance speeds up diagnosis and elective treatment for acute conditions but excludes chronic and pre-existing illness, A&E and most maternity. What it does and does not buy.
Life insurance vs income protection: what each pays, when, and which risk is bigger
ABI members paid around £7.3 billion in protection claims in 2023. Life insurance pays a lump sum on death; income protection replaces up to 60 to 70 percent of earnings while you cannot work. Which risk is bigger, how deferral periods work and what claims data shows.
Storm and heat damage: what home insurance covers when the weather turns
Insurers often define a storm as involving wind speeds of around 55 miles per hour or more, or extreme rain, hail, or snow, and standard buildings insurance covers the resulting damage.
Years dog food recall: buckwheat meals pulled over suspected dry eye link
Fresh dog food brand Years has recalled its buckwheat meals over a suspected link to canine dry eye, affecting around 40,000 customers. What owners need to know and how pet insurance may respond.
Home Insurance and Subsidence: Signs, Cover and Claims
Subsidence is when the ground under a property sinks and its foundations move, often after dry weather shrinks clay soil. Most standard buildings insurance covers it, though a high excess (typically £1,000) applies. In Q2 2026 the average subsidence claim hit a record £20,000 (ABI).
Home Insurance and Storm or Flood Damage: What Is Covered
Most standard home insurance covers storm and flood damage: buildings cover pays for repairs, contents for belongings. In 2025 the average home flood payout hit £30,000 and the average storm payout £2,450 (ABI). Cover, excesses and exclusions vary; gates and fences are often excluded.
France Wildfires: Your Refund and Insurance Rights if Your Holiday Is in the Fire Zone
44,000 evacuated from the Gironde coast at peak British holiday season - your rights by booking type, and why you should never cancel first.
Who Pays for Long-Term Care? What 683,000 Council-Funded Care Users Reveal
683,000 people in England receive council-funded long-term care, including more than 1 in 9 over-85s, new data shows. Who pays under the means test, why insurance mostly cannot cover care, and the planning levers that exist.
B&M Fined £2 Million for Food Hygiene Failings: What Business Insurance Would and Would Not Cover
B&M fined £2 million over food hygiene failings at three Birmingham stores. Why commercial insurance cannot cover the fine, and what it can cover instead.
Does Travel Insurance Cover Car Rental? What It Does and Does Not
Standard travel insurance covers 0 of a rental car's own damage: the hire agreement governs that. What some travel policies add is car hire excess cover, paying the excess you owe after damage or theft. Standalone excess policies do the same job, usually cheaper than desk waivers.
What Is Tenant Liability Insurance and Do You Need It?
Tenant liability insurance covers accidental damage you cause to your landlord's property: the carpet, fixtures and furniture. With deposits capped at 5 weeks' rent, it is what stands between an accident and losing the deposit or a larger claim. It usually comes bundled with renters' contents cover.
Do I Need Contents Insurance as a Landlord?
It depends what you leave in the property. There are 2 landlord contents situations: furnished lets, where your furniture and appliances need cover, and unfurnished lets, where limited cover for carpets, curtains and white goods is often enough. Tenants' belongings are never yours to insure.
Is Contents Insurance Worth It? How to Decide Honestly
Contents insurance is the only product that protects your belongings: buildings insurance covers 0 of them. Whether it is worth it comes down to what replacing everything you own would cost after a fire or theft, versus a modest premium. For most households the honest sum says yes.
Does Landlord Insurance Cover the Boiler? Breakdown vs Damage
Standard landlord insurance covers the boiler only against insured damage, such as fire or flood. Breakdown from age or wear is excluded unless you add home emergency or boiler cover. Landlords must also have gas appliances safety-checked every 12 months regardless of insurance.
What Insurance Do Landlords Need? The 4 Core Covers
A landlord's insurance stack has 4 core covers: buildings insurance at rebuild value, property owners' liability, loss of rent, and landlord contents for furnished lets. Add-ons like rent guarantee, home emergency and legal expenses sit on top. Here is what each does and who needs which.
Do I Need Landlord Insurance If Renting to Family?
Yes: renting to family changes 2 things but removes neither. You must still disclose the letting to your insurer, and many standard landlord policies restrict or exclude family lets, so the arrangement needs declaring and sometimes a specialist policy. Informal family lets void cover fastest.
Do I Need Landlord Insurance? What the Law and Lenders Say
No UK law makes landlord insurance mandatory, but 2 forces make it near-essential in practice: buy-to-let mortgage conditions that require it, and the gap it fills, since standard home insurance is typically invalid once tenants move in. Here is what actually applies to you.
Does Comprehensive Car Insurance Include Breakdown Cover?
No: comprehensive car insurance and breakdown cover are 2 separate products. Fully comp covers accidents, theft and damage; it does not send a patrol when your car will not start unless a breakdown add-on was bought. Here is how to check what your policy actually includes.
Broken Down Without Cover? Your 2 Options and What Each Costs
If you break down with no cover you have 2 routes: buy instant one-off cover, usually at a premium and often excluding the existing fault, or pay a recovery operator directly for a single rescue. Get safe first, then choose. Here is how each route works and what to check.
Breakdown Cover Excess Explained: What You Pay Per Call-Out
Most standard UK breakdown policies carry a 0 excess: call-outs are included in the membership with nothing to pay per rescue. Some budget and insurance-bundled policies charge a per-call-out fee instead, trading a lower premium for a cost at the roadside. Here is how to check yours.
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