Insurance is financial cover for something you own.

You can insure your car, your home, your travel, your health, your pets and your bank and store cards amongst many other things.

Insurance helps you out with the costs when something goes wrong. For example, if your pet needs an operation, then the insurance company can help you with the vets bills.

Some types of insurance are compulsory. For example, you need to have insurance to drive in order to cover you for accidents or damage to another person’s car or property.

Other types of insurance are down to personal choice. For example, travel insurance. In order to work out whether it’s worthwhile getting this type of insurance, you will need to consider the likely impact on you if something went wrong against the cost of the insurance.

This video talks about holiday insurance, is it aimed at families but is does give you some good advice….

With insurance cover, you pay a premium which is a sum of money paid to the insurance company every year or every month. This covers you in case something should go wrong.

Each insurance company has different policies for different things. Some are more expensive than others, so it’s important to shop around for a good deal.

Read the insurance policy very carefully before you sign and make sure you understand exactly what it covers.

Most insurance policies specify an excess. This is an amount you will need to pay when you make a claim from your insurance. For example, if you have an excess of £50 this means you must pay the first £50 of any claim. Your insurer will pay the rest.

The Money Advice Service has an excellent section on debt management including:

• How insurance works
• Things to look out for when buying insurance
• When to use an insurance broker
• Making an insurance claim
• How to buy insurance using comparison sites

You can contact the Money Advice Service on:

0800 138 7777 (English)

0800 138 0555 (Welsh)

Typetalk: 18001 0300 500 5000

If you would like more information on this topic or you have questions please call into the INFO Shop or contact us on 01978 295600 / Instant message.  If you leave us a message we will get back to you as soon as we can.