Take out insurance

Being adequately insured can provide peace of mind that should the worst happen, financial support may help to reduce the impact suffered.

There are numerous types of insurance available, with the most common including:

• Home and contents insurance
• Motor insurance
• Health and life insurance
• Travel insurance

There may be certain circumstances where there is a requirement to hold an insurance policy, for example:

• As a condition of your mortgage to have adequate building insurance cover in place.
• As a condition of your mortgage to have Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), when the amount borrowed exceeds a percentage of the value of the property (usually 80%).
• When travelling to some countries, or on a cruise or organised tour.
• As a condition of holding a car loan to have Comprehensive Motor Insurance.

Before taking out any insurance policy, it's important to remember that policies have different exclusions, caps, limits and other conditions which can vary between insurers, so it is important to ask questions and read the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) when comparing different policies.

Understanding what is and isn’t covered by your insurance policy means that should you experience a loss, you won’t endure the added stress of discovering you didn’t have the appropriate cover in place - or any cover at all.

It is also essential to correctly value the items or assets being insured, so you can obtain suitable cover and avoid being underinsured. Some policies have a specific value threshold and may require you to individually list items over a certain value or limit. Keeping an inventory of your valuable items, seeking independent valuations and using sum insured calculators provided by most insurers, can help you estimate the type of coverage you may require.

G&C Mutual Bank has partnered with leading insurers, who can help to protect you and your assets with a range of insurance products.

Please consult with a financial adviser for personal financial advice.