If you need insurance for a classic car you either own already or are thinking about buying – you’ll know just how problematic a process this is.

Insurance quotation systems based on the web or by data-inputting school-leavers in the UK, or foreigners on a line that sounds a little distant. This is all fine if your requirements are fairly standard. If you meet the norms across the board in terms of yourself and your car, you decide on the parameters such as level and type of cover and excess etc., then it usually works pretty well. But divert from those norms and the system can’t cope because it’s purely a numbers game and there is no human decision at any part of the process.

Try and get a quote for classic car insurance and you’re often in real trouble – even from many of the companies that claim to be specialists in this area; it’s simply a marketing gimmick that you quickly find out about once you get into the real nitty-gritty.

Thankfully, classic car insurance from cherishedvehicleinsurance.co.uk is truly different. That’s because the people on the other end of the phone are classic and “alternative” vehicle enthusiasts themselves – so they understand how problematic it can be and understand what you need. They understand that you’re less likely, by far, than the mainstream population to have to make a claim.

The main thing they know is that each situation is different. Often, classic cars have been modified heavily and trying to pin an accurate valuation on a replacement cost is almost impossible. But insurance with CVI really is different. Of course, all insurance is ultimately about numbers, but Cherished Vehicle Insurance is part of a larger group, K. Drewe Insurance Brokers, who’ve been serving customers’ different specialist insurance needs for over 50 years – so they know what they’re talking about and can make a difficult process a lot easier.

Of the many types of different policies that are available, one that is of particular interest to older people is equity release. This is a way of freeing up the value in your home in exchange for a lump sum of cash. You can then use the cash however you want, whether it’s for spending on a new car, a holiday or funding a comfortable lifestyle during retirement.

Of course, there are many different equity release schemes available, so it pays to shop around and decide which one suits you best.

You can find out more about equity release from Age Partnership on their website. It’s an independent company that will search the entire market of equity release providers and find the most appropriate and best priced deal for your needs.

There are four main types of equity release.

The lifetime mortgage is where you take out a mortgage that represents the total or a partial value of your home. You can take a lump sum of cash that won’t be repaid until after your death you’re your property has been sold. Interest payments on the loan will be included in the payment.

An interest only lifetime mortgage is basically the same, except you make payments regularly to pay off the interest from the start of the loan. This means that after your death, only the initial amount borrowed will be repayable.

A drawdown lifetime mortgage is another version of equity release. Here you can take amounts of cash as and when you need them, rather than a lump sum. This reduces the amount of interest that will be payable at the end of the mortgage term.

Finally, the home reversion plan means signing over ownership of your entire property in exchange for a lump sum. You also get to live in the property rent-free until you pass away.

There is further information about the different types of agepartnership.co.uk equity release plans on the company’s website.

Every year, you’ll get a notification from your insurance company that your insurance policies will be automatically renewed, and that there is nothing for you to do to ensure your cover continues.

This may all be very reassuring, but it’s also a business model that most insurance companies rely on. They count on most people being too lazy or too busy to shop around for fresh insurance quotes at renewal time, and increase the premiums slightly year on year. And so, gradually, over the years, your premiums will increase until you become aware of a big difference in the sum you’re charged now and the original quote you agreed to.

So, next time you get a renewal letter in the post, take the time to get a few comparative quotes. You can shop around for the cheapest homeowners insurance and see how your existing insurer’s premiums compare. Of course, you have to put in the same details, and request the same amount of cover and excess payments to make sure you are comparing like for like, but you may come up with some pleasing alternatives.

There are also a number of additional options that you can tack onto a home insurance cover. These extras used to be quite expensive, but now have become much more reasonable as so many insurance companies now offer them. For example, if you get home emergency insurance quotes, it may only add a pound or two to your monthly premium, but this gives you the cover for emergency call-outs on plumbers, locksmiths and electricians if you need them. If, for example, your boiler breaks down, this is something that could be included under home emergency cover.

The likelihood is that if you shop around for home insurance that you’ll find an insurer that offers you the same cover as you already have and much more for the same price as or less than your current premiums.

Did you know that in a recent survey of UK women, close to 50% of them say they’re their family’s main breadwinner?

But did you also know that over 50% of these women have no life insurance cover?

Put together, these are two frightening statistics – or should be for any family where the main breadwinner has no life insurance.

This is fair enough if you have no dependents, or if your assets in the form of equity in property, investments, cash and other assets would leave any dependents you do have comfortably off until they were able to manage on their own. But the statistics suggest that there are far too many families out there overly reliant on the ongoing good health and general job and income security of the Mother of the family.

If you find yourself in this position – then you really owe it to your own peace of mind and to the security of your family to do something about it.

Another survey in the UK revealed that 20% of men from the lower income groups fail to survive to state retirement age. This is another frightening statistic and even if the income grouping doesn’t apply to you – it still helps paint a picture of just what a risk many men are placing on their families where they are the main – or sole – breadwinner and have either inadequate life insurance cover, or no cover whatsoever.

Even if you have cover, it’s necessary to update it and change your policy with a reputable supplier as and when your life circumstances change – like with a new child in the family, for example.

Seek out a name you know you can trust, like Suncorp, for example.

Suncorp should be able to advise you what sort of life cover you need based on your individual circumstances – as every family’s need is different.

But whichever company you choose – make sure it’s reputable and that your family has cover if it’s needed.

One of the reasons that insurance premiums for driving keep going up is because of the number of uninsured drivers on the roads. Insurance companies have to increase the premiums of insured drivers to cover amount lost through uninsured drivers and fraudulent personal injury claims.

In the UK there are thought to be more than one million uninsured drivers on the road. A tenth of these are thought to be under 20 years old. Correspondingly the AA has suggested that young drivers’ premiums have increased by 20% in the last year.

However, it’s thought that a new law which allows the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to cross check against DVLA records is helping to track down uninsured drivers. If the MIB finds a vehicle is registered with the DVLA but not insured, the MIB can send out a warning letter that it is uninsured.

However, the increased premiums and the increased cost of fuel means that many young people may be able to pass their test but then won’t be able to afford to pay for insurance and other running costs associated with a car.

And of course, many of the eco cars UK consumers can now choose to buy as they have cheaper running costs will be too expensive for young people to buy.

There are ways to reduce insurance premiums. Tips include:

• Fitting a black box which records your driving and the data can then be sent to your insurer
• Fitting an alarm or immobiliser will reduce premiums
• Putting time limits on your driving – which limits night time driving – a peak time for young drivers to be involved in accidents
• Going onto your parents’ policy rather than having your own insurance policy will reduce premiums
• Checking the insurance group that a car falls in before you buy one. For example, a Honda will have a different premium attached to it than a Porsche.

Figures suggest that young drivers have been voting with their feet and have decided to stop driving rather than face the costs associated with it. The number of young drivers has fallen by 3% in the last three years.

Whenever you book a plane or ferry ticket on the internet, you get a page that asks you if you want to take out travel insurance and if so, what kind of level. Indeed on many sites, they automatically put travel insurance onto the cost of the flight and you have to make a choice to opt out of it.

Some people don’t see the point in it. They take the view that they are unlikely to be involved in an accident or are unlikely to get ill while they’re away, or that they don’t have anything particularly valuable in their luggage, so what’s the point in paying an extra £20 or £30 on top of the ticket price.

And, in theory, if you’re going to Europe, your health care should be covered – or at least reimbursed by the UK government on your return to the UK.

But travel insurance covers you for other things that you might not have thought about. For example:

Cancellation

If fate conspires against you and you have to stay at home for reasons of illness or bereavement, cancellation will allow you to reclaim money lost through no fault of your own.

Lost documents

A lost passport can work out to be really expensive to sort out when you’re abroad, as can replacing lost travel tickets. Travel insurance will cover these losses.

Personal liability

You may not be worried about your own health, but what if you damage someone else’s property or cause them injury through your driving? Having travel insurance that includes a liability cause will help to protect you in a legal claim.

And, if you think carefully about the items that you’re taking with you, you’ll probably realise that the value adds up. What if your bag was lost or stolen – how much would it cost to replace everything? Things like electronic items such as ipods, cameras and smartphones are obvious but even certain clothing items like mens waterproof jackets and fleece jackets can be quite expensive.

Of course, it’s up to the individual whether they take out travel insurance, but looking at it in context, an extra £20 or £30 suddenly doesn’t seem so much, does it?

On a general scale looking at a range of different insurers there seems to be little difference in the costs for insuring a hybrid as opposed to a conventional car powered by diesel or petrol.

Depending on which one you call you might get a lower or higher premium than you would for a conventional car. For example, a Honda Insight in the UK is in insurance group 15 or 16 and a Ford Fiesta is in insurance group 11 to 22, depending on the exact model.

However, certain insurers often see hybrid cars as somewhat of a specialist technology and therefore they push the price of premiums up. The reasons behind this are because there is concern that hybrids cost more to maintain. Hence somewhere who makes a claim on a hybrid might cost an insurance company more than an owner of a conventional car.

There is also the value of the vehicle for the insurer to consider. If a hybrid is stolen, the replacement value will be higher than for a conventional car.

On the other hand, some insurance companies offer a better deal for hybrid owners, because of the perception that hybrid owners are more careful and conscientious drivers. As a rule, owners of hybrid cars tend to be older and represent less of an insurance risk.

As well as the particular car that you choose to buy and need insurance for, your personal details will also make a difference to your insurance premiums. If you have any penalties on your license this will push your premium up. Where you live can also affect your premiums, as insurance is calculated on your postcode and whether you have a garage to store your vehicle in.

Whether you drive a hybrid or a conventional car, you will find the best insurance premium for your vehicle by getting a number of quotes before making a decision.

When you move home, you need to review your buildings and contents insurance for your home. It may be that you’ve lived in your previous home for a number of years, and not really considered the relative value of new items of furniture or possessions you may have accumulated over the years.

So, moving home is a good time to reassess what cover you have and to decide whether it is still sufficient. Of course the premium on your new home may be different for the buildings insurance as it may be of a greater value and in a different postcode area.

Your contents insurance is worth checking as well – to make sure you are adequately protected. When speaking to different insurance companies they will run through all the possibilities with you, and you can usually rely on them to nudge your memory about items you might forget – like accidental damage or naming individual items of high value.

You may have a garage in your new home, which will affect insurance premiums for items like bikes and sports equipment, especially if you have more secure storage than in your previous home.

Accidental damage cover is definitely worth considering – for those accidents such as spills or stains. What you should try to avoid is doubling up accidental damage cover. Many stores offer insurance to protect individual items that you buy. For example, Harveys furniture store offers Product Protection for three or five years, for accidental damages to soft furnishings like stains, rips or tears. So, if you have cover like this, you don’t necessarily need to get it with your home insurance deal. The same is often true for items like computers and printers, and other electronic goods.

Find out an insurance company’s policy on replacements. Do they insist on you choosing from a number of equivalent value options, will they offer a cash equivalent, and do they offer an ‘as new’ value or will it have an amount deducted for wear and tear, depending on how long you’ve had an item? Some insurers will not replace the undamaged items of a three piece suite, for example, so you could end up with two matching chairs and a replacement sofa that doesn’t go with them. Before you get caught out, check the small print on your insurance policy and ask questions that you need answers to. Otherwise you might find that you have to trawl through sofa sales to find something that doesn’t clash with your armchairs!

When you are getting organised on the home front, make sure you don’t overlook important details like home contents insurance.

Unfortunately, you can never predict when the unexpected may happen, but in the case of fire, flood or theft, you’d feel a whole lot better if your possessions were covered and you didn’t have to pay out to replace them all.

When you ring round for contents insurance, the insurance company will have a whole list of questions about different items around the home and anything that is exceptionally valuable. If you have a cheap dining table you won’t need to put that down as a special item, but you may have more valuable items like jewellery and electrical items like cameras and computers that you need to list specifically.

Check with the insurance agent whether the cover you choose will cover replacement value or value of the item after wear and tear has been accounted for. Otherwise you might be in for a shock when you think you are going to get replacement value and you actually don’t have adequate cover for it.

There are special extras that you can include such as cover for accidental damage. This can be really useful if something like red wine gets split on a cream carpet or sofa. It may seem like a good idea to say no to extras when you are going through the quote, but when an accident occurs you may regret not spending that little bit more on your policy.

If you do have to make a claim, some insurers give you a set amount to spend on each replacement item. It’s a good idea to wait for a sofas sale to come up, as you may be able to get a better sofa for the same amount of money.

If you run a small business that involves taking equipment around with you – then an estate car is often a great option as it kills two birds with one stone and doesn’t necessitate a car and a handy van of some sort.

The downside is that if your business necessitates the carriage of tools or supplies or other equipment that gets dirty – or needs to go into dirty areas like building sites etc., then the car can quickly begin to look like a builder’s van rather than a family car. There’s no way round this beyond protecting the vehicle with plastic sheeting etc., cleaning it regularly and treating it a little more gently than you would a van bought for the same purpose.

But the upsides are great – particularly for your pocket. A vehicle that can help your work and ferry your family around saves you a fortune on what would otherwise be the cost of two vehicles – and if you can demonstrate that the vehicle is a necessary business expense then it’s perfectly justifiable business cost.

In many cases, however, it works out better tax-wise to own the vehicle privately, outside your business (if you have a limited company) and simply to claim a reasonable mileage allowance for all the miles you legitimately cover in pursuance of your business.

So the same goes for insuring the vehicle, i.e. whether privately or through your business. Obviously, this is something for your accountant to decide – but otherwise, there is usually little or no difference in insurance premiums between a standard saloon car and its estate car equivalent.

But making one vehicle a hybrid solution somewhere between works vehicle and family car – by picking the right estate – can really pay dividends.

And the final clincher is that an estate car is great for holidays!