Welcome
to the issue 9 of the weekly Polar Money Tips
newsletter. In this edition we show you how to
find out your car’s past history and explain
the difference between cash plans and private
medical insurance. Enjoy!
Find
the skeleton’s in your cars’
closet |
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|  You are buying
a used car, you’ve checked out
it is safe, taken it for a test drive
and feel happy you have bought a realistically
priced, nice car. However, did you realise
that the car may have a hidden past
that could end up costing you thousands
of pounds?
Around
375,000 cars are stolen every year and
only half of these are recovered - the
remaining 17,500 end up as burned out
wrecks; are exported by organised gangs;
or, shockingly, end up back in the marketplace,
offered for sale to unsuspecting buyers.
Research
shows that as many as one in three used
cars on sale have some kind of hidden
problem. For example, it could be stolen
or may be a ‘cut and shut’
- two cars welded together.
Figures
for the amount of cars that are ‘written
off’ then sold on by unscrupulous
individuals and businesses as a ‘bargain
buy’ are unknown, but, if you
find that you have bought a stolen car,
you could lose both your money and your
car. Or, in the case of a write off,
maybe even your life.
The
AA website says that 1 in 12 cars checked
by the motor trade in 2003 showed mileage
discrepancies. If you are unfortunate
enough to buy a car that has been “
clocked “ you may well be paying
thousands of pounds over its true value.
Three
quarters of all new vehicles are bought
on finance. If you purchase a car without
the finance settled on it, you will
lose the car and the money you paid
for it.
However,
there is a way where you can check out
any car’s history – the
Car
Data Check service. This
service gives buyers access to such
things as mileage history; any outstanding
finance; whether the car's currently
recorded as stolen; whether it's been
written off; plus much more, thus saving
future possible hassle, loss of money,
the vehicle and even your life.
For
more information on the Car Data Check,
visit AA
Car Data Check
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|
Take
a quick trip to marbles |
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|
If a marbles credit card were a city it’d
be Barcelona – funky, cosmopolitan, nice
to look at and decent value for money.
You get an excellent 0%
pa fixed for 6 months from account opening
on balance transfers, plus a fantastic
0.5% cashback on all purchases. Once
the six months are up, it will revert
to a variable rate. Typical
**11.9% APR** (variable).
So just apply
now.
You also get cool stuff like free travel
accident insurance* and exclusive offers
from our travel partners as well as
up to 52 days' interest free credit
and of course no tedious annual fee.
For a decision in principle in 60 seconds,
as well as more info about marbles,
click
here
Important,
please read the following information
before you apply. marbles
credit card is issued by HFC Bank Limited
and is only available to persons aged
21 or over, who are resident in the
U.K. or Channel Islands and who are
not already (or have not recently been)
marbles card account holders and is
subject to status and conditions. If
you do not qualify for a marbles credit
card, we may, with your specific permission
only, pass on your details to other
divisions of HFC Bank Limited, who may
be able to offer you an alternative
credit card product. Written quotations
are available on request from marbles,
PO Box 3615, Birmingham B3 2RJ. marbles
and marbles card are trading names of
HFC Bank Limited. HFC Bank Limited is
a member of the Financial Ombudsman
Scheme (further details are available
upon request) and is regulated by the
Financial Services Authority.
*Terms
and Conditions apply.
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|
MONEY
SAVING SNIPPET – switch your utility
supplier |
|
|  Check out www.uswitch.com
and you could save around £140
a year on gas and electricity bills
and around £150 on your ‘phone
bill!
|
PMI
or hospital cash plans – what
medical insurance is right for you? |
|
|  While there
is no doubt that the NHS offers a brilliant
service, with waiting lists growing
longer, many people are now looking
for medical insurance cover to complement
the service provided by the NHS.
So,
which one is right for you? There are
basically two types of insurance - private
medical insurance (PMI) and hospital
cash plans. A typical PMI policy pays
for the cost of medical treatment. Subject
to a limit on which hospitals can be
used and, in some cases, the type of
medical treatment required, a PMI policy
will pay the cost of your treatments
and your stay in hospital.
Following
referral by your GP, the insurance will
pay consultants’ invoices for
investigations, operations and necessary
treatment. Normally, 100% of costs are
met, meaning premiums for PMI can be
expensive.
Hospital
cash plans – or just cash plans
– are lower costs alternatives
to PMI. Designed to complement the services
provided by the NHS, they cover the
costs of every day healthcare, such
as dental and optical bills. Additional
features of some of the plans are payments
towards the cost of consultations and
treatments such as physiotherapy or
even homeopathy or reflexology.
Cash
plans pay towards the costs of everyday
treatments, so it is expected that you
will make several claims a years –
every time you visit the dentist, optician
or physiotherapist for example.
As
individual cash plan claims are lower
– they do not pay the cost of
treating specific illnesses, rather,
bills are reimbursed up to an agreed
limit or there is a fixed daily amount
if they are hospitalised –cash
plan premiums are cheaper than traditional
PMI policies.
.
PMI premiums continue to soar due to
the rising number of claims and advances
in medical science – and many
people find it outside of their budget,
so they will take out a cash plan instaed.
For
the people who either subscribe to PMI
themselves or have PMI provided by their
employers, many supplement their PMI
cover with a cash plan. This means all
their healthcare needs, whether it be
a trip to the dentist, or major surgery,
are met.
An alternative to both PMI and cash
plans is self-pay. You pay the bill
for an operation as and when you need
it, so there are no monthly premiums
over many years. However, you should
consider this option carefully - what
would happen if you had the bad luck
to be struck by a very serious illness?
Could you afford the cost?
For
more information on PMI and cash plans,
click
here
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Tell Us What You Think |
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| We would love to hear what you think of this issue of Polar
Money Tips. And of course,
if you have any suggestions for upcoming
issues that you'd like to share with
us, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at: moneytips@polarloans.co.uk
PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL!
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feel free to pass this around to friends and family!
They will thank you for it! PolarLoans.co.uk is
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here |
In
This Issue:
- Find
the skeleton’s in your cars’ closet
- Take
a quick trip to marbles
- MONEY
SAVING SNIPPET
- PMI
or hospital cash plans – what medical insurance
is right for you?
Polar
Services
PolarLoans
Polar
Mortgages
Polar
Insurance
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