Flood victims may find it hard to get home insurance

Deal of the week

Canny web shoppers thought they were on to something last week when they checked pixmania.com and found high-quality Phillips Blu-Ray players on sale for the bargain price of just €1.05 plus postage of around €15. A steal by any measure. Indeed, shoppers were so impressed they were investing in more than one with an eye to selling them on eBay. Alas, Pixmania spotted the error and recalled the products before they reached their final destination. Good try though.

Tip of the week

The financial regulator recently carried out a survey of home insurance costs using a broad range of customer profiles and found that people could make savings of between €35 and €300 for home and contents cover. There is a bit of leg work involved but spending an hour on the phone could be well worth it if your saving hits three figures. The survey brought bad news for the recent flood victims, however, with insurers applying flood excess or refusing to cover for flooding at all. The survey also found that customers with a previous claims' history may find it difficult to get insurance – only half the companies surveyed would quote for a house which had previously been the subject of a fire damage claim.

Bad value of the week

Anyone who has done their bit for the environment by switching to a biofuel engine should be irked at the fact that they will be subjected to a carbon tax just like conventional petrol or diesel users. The tax includes an exemption for fuel blends where the biofuel component exceeds 10% but most engine manufacturers will not warrant fuel blends containing more than 7% biofuel so most blends on sale in Ireland don't qualify. So biofuel users find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, which hardly makes sense for a green tax.

Debt guide

If you don't have enough to pay all of your debts then prioritise:

1. Mortgages: pay this first, keeping your home is a top priority.

2. Car Loan: for transport and because it is a secured loan

3. Credit Cards have high interest rates – try to pay them off asap but not at the risk of losing your home or transportation.

4. Personal / Credit Union loans: personal loans come last, and CU loans often have shares backing them so you may be able to negotiate.

Do you have any rights when it comes to when and how often you are contacted by creditors?

Yes: read S.46 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 www.irishstatutebook.ie

www.mortgagebrokers.ie