For anyone lucky enough to have some savings set by, particularly in the form of an ISA, you may be in for a shock when your statement comes in this year.
Over the past 5 years we have been pushed and pushed to buy these products and this is usually because of a headline grabbing interest rate. These have fallen by the wayside, unless you are sensible enough to move your money around. For a £10,000 investment, you could be receiving as low as £5.00 as your bonus for leaving money in for a whole year.
How does this relate to small business insurance you may ask. There are two ways that this will affect you, when you come to renew your policy.
Firstly, the banks and financial services companies (including commercial insurance underwriters) are desperate to get your business, either in the form of renewal or a new policy.
Secondly, as a sign of this, they are prepared to offer you some fantastic deals. One of these is interest free instalments.
Of course, interest free is not “free” because you may need to pay 20 or 30 pence per direct debit. But, you do not pay any interest on your premium, whether this is £250 or £25,000. Now that really is a good deal when you consider that some insurers have traditionally charged interest rates of nearly 10% on top of your insurance premium.
What you need to do is to set aside some time. Think of shopping for a nice new suit to go to a wedding. Not many people will go to one shop, try on one suit and buy it. You need to look around and decide what is best, price and quality wise, for you. It is the same with your annual cover, the more time you spend looking, the more chance that you can save some money.