For many, protection insurance is considered all the same, however there is a vast difference between income protection and mortgage protection. It is important to understand these differences before taking out protection insurance.

Income protection insurance helps you protect your income in case of illness, accident or disability that has left you unable to work. Most income protection insurance policies will pay out approximately 60 to 70 percent of your income while you are out of work. These payments are to use towards expenses such as medical bills, loan repayments, grocery expenses as well as other miscellaneous expenses.

It is important that you protect yourself and your family so you can continue to cover utility bills possible medical bills and all other household expenses, though protecting your mortgage is just as important.

Mortgage protection insurance on the other hand secures your mortgage repayments if you are permanently or temporarily not working. These payments will cover the Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) of your mortgage.

Mortgage Protection Insurance will protect you against loan defaults and will ensure your mortgage is paid on time without fear of defaulting on your loan.  If you are unable to make your loan repayments you run the risk of losing your property.

Having the right insurance cover and understanding your policy will ensure you are properly protected incase of unforeseen circumstances.

When making a property investment, your top priority is likely to be how to afford the mortgage repayments. Whilst you will almost certainly have purchased home insurance to protect your investment, there are other possibilities you also need to consider to ensure you are protected in every eventuality.

For every one home lost through fire, there are four lost though death and forty-eight foreclosed and lost through disability.

Essentially Income Protection Insurance will secure you and your family a steady income and relieve financial strain should you unexpectedly be unable to work through illness, injury or death. Most policies provide the holder with 75 per cent of the average salary in this eventuality. Without this, it would be extremely difficult to provide for your family and continue with mortgage, household and medical bill payments.

The extra expense may seem a lot when purse strings are already tight in the aftermath of a new investment; however, tax deductible Income Protection Insurance could be the answer.

It is likely that you have insurance through your superannuation that offers cheap cover. However, be wary – insurance proceeds through super will be taxed, often leaving insufficient funds to cover payments that you, or those left behind in the event of a death, must make.

Whilst you are paying the premium, the cheaper option through super might be tempting. However, should the eventuality of you unexpectedly being unable to work occur, the outcome could be financially devastating if you do not have a cover with minimal tax implications.

A mandatory mortgage fact sheet for home buyers has recently been suggested to educate them about LMI.

LMI, a one-off premium that the home buyer pays, does not in fact protect borrowers. It covers the mortgage lender for any kind of shortfall between the value of the mortgage owed and the value of the home in case the borrower defaults.

It is often confused with mortgage protection insurance, which is an insurance policy that covers mortgage borrowers for the payment of installments on their mortgage should any unforeseen situations arise, such as unemployment, illness or death.

The fact sheet, which would be comprised of only one page, is intended to educate consumers about the costs and the benefits of LMI when they are taking out a home loan.

The intention is to allow consumers to compare quotes side-by-side, including the difference in premiums and rebate schedules, in order to help them find the right deal.

The Treasury was against the introduction of a scheme to allow LMI to be transferred between lenders, arguing that it would be too expensive and complicated to implement and administer, and would probably benefit less than 1 per cent of the borrowers.

Contact an eChoice Insurance consultant today, we can help you find the best insurance for you!

The Federal Government made a move to put insurance taxes back on the national tax reform agenda, stating that it is an inefficient means to gather revenue.

The decision to discuss the state-imposed taxes in the October tax forum, which will examine the nation’s taxation system, has been hailed as a positive step towards making insurance affordable.

In comparison to other countries Australia has high taxes on insurance, with states having taxes on almost every general and life insurance policy.

Although the taxation rate hasn’t increased, insurance taxes have been a growing source of revenue for the states due to increased premiums, raising about $4.6 billion in 2009/10.

However, many feel that insurance taxes are an inefficient way of raising revenue and disproportionately impact on some sections of the community, such as those on low incomes.

There are worries that increasing the price through the imposition of a tax on insurance premiums will lead to some people either not insuring or underinsuring.

It is widely felt that insurance is a community benefit that should not be subject to penalty taxes, and the benefits to Australian households from the reform of state transaction taxes will be significant.

Alternative revenue sources for removing all stamp duties including a better payroll tax system, improved land taxes and adjustments to the GST will also be considered.

The tax forum will be held on October 4-5.

Whilst the majority of people wouldn’t think twice about insuring their home or car, personal risk protection is often perceived as expensive and unnecessary. In the current economic climate many Australians are hesitant to invest in life insurance.

However, a large number admit they would encounter difficulties should the major breadwinner of the household suffer an unexpected injury, illness or death and be unable to provide for family members for a span of longer than three months.

If you are the major breadwinner, you should seriously consider investing in life insurance if there are those dependant on you financially who would struggle to cope if you were unexpectedly unable to work (i.e. if you do not have a large store of funds saved). In this event life insurance would provide financial stability for your spouse and family in the absence of your primary source of income and ensure they are not left unable to fulfill such financial commitments as bills and mortgage repayments. It would also ensure your children had access to funds to help them pay educational expenses such as university tuition fees.

The average cost for a funeral service is in the region of $4000-$6000, an amount can be crippling for households left in a less than financially secure position.  Life insurance would ensure that in the event that you were to suddenly pass away, all funeral expenses would be taken care of, easing the burden for those left behind.

The practical uses of life insurance also extend further than providing a death benefit to surviving family members. Coverage can also apply for instance if another family member suffers an injury and must be taken care of, if a child is born or if the insured must care for an elderly parent or family member.

In short, life insurance is valuable simply for the peace of mind it grants – the knowledge that if something were unexpectedly to happen to you your family would not be left in financial hardship without means of providing for themselves.

A simple equation that works is that life plus insurance gives you peace of mind. If you suddenly died and you are the breadwinner, how would your family cover the expenses if you are not insured? Where would they get money to pay for the mortgage, your children’s schools fees, utility bills, medical expenses and funeral costs?

Accidents and injury can happen to anyone, though the mindset of many is that it will not happen to them. The risks are there for everyone and so you must cover yourself with ample life insurance to avoid financial woes for your family.

Life insurance is particularly important if you have a high level of debt such as a home or investment loans. If you were to pass away, it is important that your loved ones are still able to continue to service your outstanding debt, or even pay them off outright.

Income protection insurance and life insurance are often underestimated. Without life insurance, debts might be harder to pay and this might force you to sell valuable assets to pay debts and living expenses. Thus, life insurance gives you peace of mind that your family is in good condition no matter what happens to you.

Contact eChoice today and start the discussion many of us put off having, protect yourself and your family with life insurance.

We all understand the importance of home and Contents insurance, it is though just as important that you have the essential cover for your investment property too, Landlords insurance is very important in ensuring you are protected.

Landlords Insurance covers the landlord against risks that can occur in rental properties which are not included in the strata title or home and contents insurance policies. Although this cover is extremely crucial to investors less than half of landlords in Australia have landlords insurance.

Additional Covers included in landlords insurance include loss of rent, which covers you for loss or rent in the event that the building or contents become unattainable due to damage caused by a defined event.

Other additional covers include strata title mortgagee’s protection, this covers the mortgagee against loss or damage caused by any defined events and deliberate damage by tenants, this covers you for damage arising from deliberate, intentional or malicious acts to the building or contents by the tenant as well as tenants default which covers you the landlord for loss of rent, payable by the tenant.

All investment properties should be equipped with a landlord insurance policy which covers contents damage, loss of rent and personal liability. Even if insurance seems like an unnecessary expense and there is no vacancy rate on the property, landlord insurance gives you peace of mind

Contact eChoice today for further information, our eChoice Insurance consultants can help you find the right cover for you.

Mortgage Protection Insurance is a way to ensure your mortgage is taken care of upon your death or should you become totally and permanently disabled. Typically these policies are limited to the value of your mortgage.
Depending on your own circumstances and dependents, you can tailor a mortgage protection insurance policy to provide cover for a range of situations.

As your mortgage will take up a big portion of your household’s monthly expenses, having mortgage protection insurance is worth considering so that your mortgage repayments will still be covered even if you lose the capacity to gain income due to sickness, injury or death.

Mortgage Protection Insurance comes in different forms and different payment terms, it is best to apply for life insurance and income protection insurance as well to have better insurance coverage. Depending on your insurance policy, mortgage protection insurance can be paid in full or via instalments and can cost you as little as $3 a week and the application process is easy and fast.

As life insurance can give you coverage of up to $1,000,000 and income protection can be as high as 75% of your monthly salary, mortgage protection insurance safeguards your mortgage repayments without taking anything from the income protection benefit payment.

Contact an eChoice Insurance consultant today, we can help you find the best fit insurance for you!

You don’t have life Insurance? What are you waiting for? There is no wrong time for life insurance, every generation should make sufficient protection a priority, whether you are in your 50’s or your 20’s life insurance is a crucial element in ensuring that you are properly protected. Life insurance can give you piece of mind knowing that your family and debts will be taken care of.

Life Insurance is one of those things that we all need and although none of us like to think that we will ever have to use it. The same way we think about protecting our homes and our cars we need to start thinking about protecting our lives too, no matter what age you are or what your financial situation happens to be.

Generation Y should have a life insurance policy as soon as they have any debts or dependants. The amount of life insurance that you will need is based on the amount of debt, the number of dependants and your asset portfolio. If you are single with no partner, no debts and no dependants, getting a life insurance policy may not be in your plans though as soon as your situation changes it is crucial that you are protected.

If you are part of Generation X and already paying bills finding it hard to make ends meet with all the bills and expenses life insurance is a must. Life insurance when you are under the age of 50 is not an extreme expense though it will give you a large degree of peace of mind to know that your family will be looked after if something where to happen to you. Life insurance will help your family maintain their lifestyle as well as helps them with expenses such as mortgage repayments.

If you are a Baby Boomer life insurance definitely needs to be a priority, you must consider what would happen if you’re gone. Will your family be able to maintain mortgage repayments or household expenses? What about your children’s education expenses? This is definitely a time when life insurance is necessary.

No one knows what the future may bring but its best to gear up for the things that may happen by applying for life insurance, contact one of our eChoice Insurance consultants for more details.

A study by the Australian Securities and investment Commission (ASIC) has found that as many as 80% of consumers in Australia are underinsured with many Australian’s not having any life insurance at all.

Whilst there are general New Year’s resolutions such as drinking less alcohol, losing weight, to quit smoking and saving money, you should also add having an appropriate life insurance policy to your list of resolutions. If there have been significant changes to your life in 2010, such as marriage, birth of children, employment changes, divorce or retirement, reviewing your life insurance policy is essential.

There are though other reasons why you should regularly review your life assurance which can result in major benefits which could include big savings for you and your family. Life Insurance allows for piece of mind for you and your family and ensures your family will be properly looked after should something happen to you.

Insurance should be part of the bigger picture when you are reviewing your finances, now is the perfect time to review your life insurance policy or to get a life insurance policy and ensure you begin 2011 properly protected.