A brief video explaining some of the main features of home insurance policies, and how they meet the needs of the customer.

When it comes to renewing your home insurance, the thought of having to fill out huge forms or speaking to an insurance company over the telephone can be off-putting, especially if you’re calling a premium rate number. The thought of just renewing your current home insurance policy to make your life easier is tempting, but you should think again if you want to save some money. Insurance companies will often offer great deals for new customers as they know that most people don’t bother to shop around and will just stay with the same provider each year.

Other than shopping around to find the best quote, there are other things that you can do to save money on your premiums.

To lower the risk of making a claim, you should protect your home from theft. This can be done by changing the locks to your home if you have lost your keys or have just moved in, as you never know who has access to your home. You should make sure you get an alarm system fitted in your house. Approved burglar alarms can also reduce premiums with some companies. Another idea is to get switch lights for your home, to give the impression that someone is at home when you are away, or even at night time.

Only pay for the insurance cover that you actually need. When purchasing your home insurance, it’s always easy to get talked into buying extras such as 24 hour emergency cover, legal protection, garden cover, accidental damage cover and other add-ons you don’t need. You could also increase your voluntary excess to lower the overall premium.

Don’t be tempted to let your current home insurance automatically renew. In some cases, there is no reward for brand loyalty so it’s worth shopping around to get a better deal.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement can help you get out of debt

If you have incurred debt and are looking for debt solution, you can take help of individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). There are many organizations that can help you with debt reduction and also help your finances stay steady. It’s completely a voluntary option and cannot be forced on you.

What is an IVA?

An IVA is a legal binding between you and your creditor and you agree to make single monthly payment for 5 years. Apart from the payments you can make, the rest of your debt amount is cancelled by the creditor. This is a legal contract and during the agreement, the creditor cannot add any more interest rate or any other charges.

In the IVA, you still have to make single monthly payments but you make the payments which you’ll be able to manage and not more than that. But you must make sure that you follow the rules of the IVA and not fall behind in your payments. If you fail to make regular payments, you may even have to face bankruptcy or may have to pay full outstanding balance as per the creditors.

What are the advantages of IVA?

It completely depends on you when you agree to an IVA. There are quite a number of advantages of paying your debt according to this agreement. Take a look at the advantages of IVA:

1.You get rid of debt after few years.
2.You pay the amount that you can pay and not more than that. The rest of your debt payment is cancelled by the creditor.
3.Singe monthly payment is required in an IVA.
4.Your house and other assets are protected in an IVA and your unsecured creditors cannot ask you to sell off your house.
5.The interest payments are stopped as per the law.
6.You’re not harassed by the creditors for the debt payment.

What are the disadvantages of IVA?

Apart from the advantages, there are also certain disadvantages of this agreement. Check out the disadvantages of getting into this agreement:

1.If you default in your debt payments, it may result in bankruptcy.
2.The equity of your house goes to your creditors. This can be done by extending your mortgage payments toward the end of the IVA. You can also extend your IVA payments for the next 12 months.
3.The creditors may not agree to this payment.
4.The credit rating suffers a lot and the credit score remains low for one year after the IVA.

If you want to go into this agreement to pay off your debt, you must consider all the options before you agree to this legal contract. You do pay off your debts but your credit score suffers and you also need to release your equity to the creditor. But according to the requirement of IVA, you may not be required to sell your house.

Author’s Bio: M.J. is a contributory writer associated with some financial communities and has written several articles for various financial websites. She holds her expertise in the debt industry and has made significant contribution through her various articles.