Mark Williams's Blog – February 2012 Archive (10)

Recent data released by one of the biggest insurance providers in the UK has revealed the rather alarming statistic that half the life insurance claims received were made for those under 55 years old.

It noted that the average age of claimant was 56 and that it paid out almost £42m in benefits to bereaved families.

This data serves as a timely reminder for adults of all…

Hundreds of thousands of customers could see their mortgage payments rise after Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that it is raising the cap on its Standard Variable Rate (SVR) – the first step towards a rate rise.

Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, has written to forty thousand customers indicating that it is raising the cap on its SVR to 3.75pc above Bank of England Base Rate or 4.25pc. These forty…

We are all familiar by now with the pension time bomb; it has been rearing its ugly head in the news for years.

However, we are less familiar with another time bomb that has also been ticking away over the past 20 years or so and which is now going off in people's faces up and down the land.

I am talking about the waves of interest-only mortgages taken out in the late…

The end of the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers on 24 March will have little impact on the housing market compared to the availability of 95% loan to value deals.

The increased availability of 95% deals, which hit a four-year high, is likely to have a far more positive effect on the housing market.

Recent data in fact shows the concession has done little to…

Parents are risking the financial security of their families should they become seriously ill by not thinking about critical illness (CI) protection.

Of the small percentage of those who have purchased insurance, a significant number did not know if it included cover for their children.

It is a sad fact , but children's illness are the fourth highest claim reason on…

Interest-only mortgages are set to disappear as a major high street bank restricts access to home owners.

Santander has become the first major high street bank to insist that home owners need a 50pc deposit – or 50pc equity in their home – if they want an interest-only mortgage.

This move not only affects those buying a property, but will also hit existing borrowers who…

Tough new rules to ban unsustainable mortgages and prevent another housing bubble are to be handed to the Bank of England, the Chancellor signalled last night.

George Osborne told MPs the Bank of England was set to win powers to vary what mortgages customers can buy to prevent overheating in the housing market.

A new Financial Policy Committee at the Bank would be able…

People living in the UK would still rather insure their pets than themselves or their loved ones.

Although parents are more likely to buy protection, almost two-thirds (60%) do not have any cover in place.

The research found that less than one in ten (9%) people have bought critical illness (CI) protection, while 12% have pet insurance.…

Lenders are urging the government to pay out Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) to reflect borrower's mortgage rates and save around £26m a year or almost £40m with a cap of 1.5%.

Borrowers are eligible for SMI  if they are on income support, jobseeker's allowance and pension credit , and can claim payments to cover their mortgage interest at a flat rate of 3.63%, with all payments paid direct to the…

The mortgage indemnity scheme originally intended for first-time buyers is to be extended to all UK buyers of new homes at up to £500,000.

Housing minister Grant Shapps has renamed the scheme New Buy Guarantee, and it is to be launched officially in March.

The NewBuy Guarantee scheme is welcome news for aspiring home owners, significantly reducing the deposit needed to…