A car which is different from factory specifications and has been fitted with market parts and optional items after purchase are known as a modified car. It difficult to find insurance providers for modified cars as most companies do not offer cover for imported vehicles. However, here are some tips for obtaining a Modified Car Insurance:

• Inform the insurance provider of modifications

You must inform your insurance provider about changes in your car or else your insurance policy may become invalidate.

• Insurance intermediaries

Greenlight Insurance is one of the insurance intermediaries to help modified car owners find competitive quotes for their cars and other benefits for example, ‘like for like’ substitution of modified elements that have been damaged.

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With the US government helping Citigroup in the bailout process, shares of Citigroup climbed up by more than 50%. The US Treasury is ready to invest $20bn (£13.4bn) in return for favoured shares for the ailing Banking group. Loans and securities on Citigroup’s books have been guaranteed up to $306bn (£205bn) by the Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The bailout of the Citigroup by the US government was received with positive results from the equity markets. The latest plan is followed with an investment of $25bn of public funds in the bank. Last week the shares of Citigroup plummeted more than 60% last week and its market value dropped to $20.5bn compared to $270bn in 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

House owners who opted for expensive fixed-rate mortgages could be at an advantage by thousands of pounds by paying early with penalties. Experts are advising borrowers to break their Fixed Rate Mortgage loan in spite of exit penalties and increase in mortgage charges. Borrowers with a deposit of 25% who took a fixed loan at 6.25% on a £200,000 interest-only loan in June could save as much as £4,489 after choosing a tracker option at 4.79%. Individuals with a 40% deposit will fare better with HSBC’s lifetime tracker deal at 3.99%. Mortgage Monitor’s Les Jacobs said that many house owners have locked into fixed-rate deals for stability but are now paying more. Read the rest of this entry »

Owners are being pushed to sell their homes because they are not being able to make mortgage repayments. On an average more than 5000 properties are up for sale because of financial difficulties faced by the owners. Repossessions have increased by almost 70 per cent in 2008 in comparison to last year and according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ repossessions have increased to 45,000 in December from 18,900 in June. According to a survey by National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), as many as 20 per cent of sellers had difficulty in paying for their mortgages and such figures accounted for almost 50% of the properties being up for sale. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month even though mortgage lending showed a marked improvement, it is still lower than what it was a year ago, as revealed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. In October, mortgage lending increased by 6.9 per cent to £18.7 billion while in September it was 17.5 billion. It was the first substantial increase since the month of July and the largest since April. However, lending was still at an abysmal low from £33.3 billion of the same month last year. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever thought about the importance of taking insurance for a household boiler? In the recent economic crisis, opting for insurance for a household boiler might seem an unnecessary expenditure but when you have a household boiler requiring repair every 20 seconds and bills coming to £500, it is worth taking insurance for household boiler. Several energy companies offer home emergency insurance cover between £4 and £26 a month depending on the type of cover. First of all before taking the cover, ensure whether your home insurance already provides cover for household boiler, else approach any standard insurance company which will provide cover for an extra fee to a normal home insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

Pet lovers have experienced an increase of 34% of poisoning of their pets this year according to a recent research conducted by M&S pet insurance. The main reason for pet poisoning is nicotine. This is because even though pet owners have given up smoking, their pets especially dogs and cats chew nicotine patches and gums mistaking them for toys and other chewing items. A senior vet nurse is extremely worried at the rapid increase of nicotine poisoning among pets. Nicotine poisoning is very harmful and therefore it is best to prevent such poisoning than curing it at a later stage. Remember to keep nicotine patches, gums and cigarettes away from pets as you do in case for children. Ashtrays should also be kept at a distance. Anyway, even after precaution if you find your pets behaving in an abnormal manner like suffering from depression, tremors or vomiting, the take your pet to the nearest vet without much delay.

In recent times, there has been a withdrawal of several tracker mortgage options which has come as a blow to most borrowers. As a result, when homeowners plan to opt for a tracker mortgage option at the end of a deal, would be taken aback to find that they are left with limited options only. Currently, the fixed rate mortgages are very costly compared to tracker-rate mortgages. For most of the borrowers who till date had been on tracker Mortgage options for many years were in for a rude shock with the withdrawal of tracker options by many banks. Experts are of the opinion that cap and collar mortgages which were in vogue in the 1980s are ready to reappear very soon. As many as 23 tracker options have been withdrawn from the market after the Bank of England reduced the base rate to 3 per cent.

UK’s best business leaders met over the weekend at Washington to discuss the present financial situation of the world. They laid a lot of importance on greater international control on the financial sector. In a survey by a reputed law firm, most of the 286 UK based members who took part in survey is in favour of rewriting Basel II agreement, which recommended global regulations for banks in 2004. The respondents also favored greater control of rating agencies, openness of financial sector and hedge funds. However, there has been some disagreement over restriction of bonuses banning on short selling. Read the rest of this entry »

Lloyds TSB and Abbey, two of UK’s largest mortgage companies are ready with a whole new range of cheap tracker and fixed-rate mortgages at below five per cent and passing some of Bank of England’s drastic cut in interest rates last week to 3 per cent from 4.5 per cent. Most of the important banks are being forced to pass on the entire interest cut to the present Mortgage customers on standard variable rates. However, a fear is lurking in the minds of the new customers who think they would miss out on the fresh mortgage rates altogether. Abbey however, has announced that its two year fixed-rate deal for individuals who have a 25 % deposit, has dropped from 5.54 per cent to 4.99 per cent last week. Read the rest of this entry »