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Part One Of iSelect Review
Part Two Of iSelect Review

In this post, I am going to review the health insurance comparison features of iSelect. I had written a post on this very same topic a year ago but things have changed a lot since then. And so I decided to revisit the health insurance options from iSelect and write a new detailed review about this topic.

Choosing the right health insurance cover is never easy - there are way too many options and too many insurers. And once we decide on one, keeping up and making the best use of everything we are covered for is never easy.

iSelect really does an excellent job of comparing the various benefits, options, features and recommends a few that best suits your needs and requirements. Since my last year’s visit to this site, the comparison tool has been improved even further.

iSelect’s Health Insurance Comparison Tool

The first step is to select the cover type and membership type. The options under ‘cover type’ are:

• Budget Cover
• Intermediate benefit cover
• Cover to avoid tax and penalties
• Overseas visitor centre

‘Cover to avoid tax and penalties’ is the basic cover to avoid medicare levy surcharge. It is the minimum cover you need to avoid paying the surcharge. ‘Overseas visitor centre’ is the health insurance you need when you are traveling. I wish they had a better name for this last cover type, because I think it might confuse a lot of people.

The membership type is where you select a single female, family etc etc.

Step Two is where you select/enter basic information - date of birth, excess etc.

Step Three is selecting your policy preferences (Hospital and Extra Options). It is all laid out in a very easy format - no confusion at all. Every option is in plain English - no jargon.

Step Four is where iSelect displays the results for your review - again clean cut comparison. You can apply right from that page.

Comparing all the cover types is exactly the same process - except for ‘Overseas visitor centre’. For this one, you need to fill in your contact details and an iSelect consultant will get back in touch with you.

Participating Insurers

Here is a list of all participating health insurers:

* ahm
* Australian Unity
* GMF Health
* HCF
* Health Partners
* Latrobe Health Services
* nib
* rthealth
* Teachers Union Health (TUH)

As mentioned in my previous post, I wish the list was longer - but hopefully more insurers will join the result in the near future.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for health insurance, iSelect should definitely be your first step. Easy to use and great place to see what is on offer. You don’t have to always go with what iSelect recommends, you might decide to pick an insurers which is not on their list - but by using iSelect, you get to know what is on offer, what the prices are - you are much more informed.

iSelect is free to use as well - Give it a try and I have a strong feeling that you will be impressed !!!

Do you have any comments about iSelect Insurance…Please share below…

Best,

Part One Of iSelect Review
Part Three Of iSelect Review

iSelect, now offers a means to compare life insurance products as well.

Here is what you can now use iSelect for (in addition to car, travel and health insurances):

Life Insurance Total Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance Key Man Insurance Income Protection Trauma Insurance Mortgage Protection

iSelect’s Other Insurance Products

Life Insurance


This is the lumpsum that will be paid to your nominated dependents, in the event of your death. The aim is for the lumpsum to provide an assistance in the financial requirements of your dependents. iSelect has a calculator to help you figure out how much life insurance you need. Getting a quote for life insurance, is quite simple - you have the option to go for either singles or couples cover. After selecting singles or couples, enter your personal details (name, age etc), your debt and your income. Same details for your partner as well (if couples selected). And finally select your preferred method of contact - phone or email.

The quote comparison results is not live, like in health and car insurance. A consultant from iSelect will contact you (using your preferred method) with couple of quotes from participating insurers.

TPD Insurance


This is a lumpsum payment, to cover your debts and other financial requirements - will be paid if you can never work again (due to some disablement). The aim is to help you maintain an almost similar lifestyle as before.

Getting a quote from iSelect is exactly the same procedure as for life insurance - same form and you get the quote results either in an email or through phone (your preferred way of contact)

Key Man Insurance


This is more for corporate situations - if you are a key person in a company then you might get this insurance - so that your company is provided financial protection against lost revenue. If you are a small business owner or a partner in a business then this insurance might be for you.

To get a quote from iSelect, not much details required online for this insurance. Just enter your contact details and someone from iSelect will contact you.

Income Protection Insurance


This insurance provides 75% of your regular income - to compensate you for loss in income, in case you can’t work either for a short time or for long time - The cover will cease once you reach your retirement age. And the premiums you pay to get this cover are all tax deductible.

Getting a quote from iSelect is a similar procedure to life insurance - same form and same process.

Trauma Insurance


In the event that you have to take a long break from work, due to some illness then you will be paid a lumpsum payment. Different to TPD - TPD paid only if you can no longer return to work. Now for example, cancer patients, who might want to take a two year break - they will covered by trauma insurance and not by TPD. iSelect says that trauma insurance is the most claimed insurance - and also is the most expensive.

Getting a quote is a similar procedure to life insurance - same form and same process.

Mortgage Protection Insurance


In the event of death, temporary disablement or redundancy, this insurance will cover your mortgage payments. Different to mortgage insurance - Mortgage insurance covers the lenders. Mortgage Protection Insurance covers the borrowers.

To get a quote from iSelect, not much details required online for this insurance. Just enter your contact details and someone from iSelect will contact you.

Participating Insurers

There are definitely some big names in here. In the part one of my iSelect Review, I had mentioned my concerns about lack of big names in the panel of insurers. Not much concerns here…

* AXA / AC&L
* ING
* ASTERON
* AVIVA
* MLC
* Zurich
* COMMINSURE
* METLIFE
* TOWER
* AMP
* AIA
* MACQUARIE LIFE

Conclusion

At the risk of repeating myself, I love the website - simple, clean, easy to use and straightforward - everything in plain English. Quite pleased with the participating insurers’ list as well.

If you are in the market for insurance, then you have to give iSelect a try. It is easy to use and free and hence has to be your first stop !!!

Do you have any comments about iSelect Insurance…Please share below…

Best,

It is almost time for me to wind down for the day. I had a good productive day today - actually I have been having a few of those for the past couple of months. Lately my focus has been laser sharp and I am working down my to do list. The year though did not start out like this. I had a pretty dull start to the year, very static and hardly moving forward in my internet marketing business. Just one of those ‘blaaaah’ few days - no progress at all - motivation was totally missing.

	I just got complacent with where I was and was not taking much action to get to the next level. After a few months of total lack of action, I realised that I had to get myself out of this ’slow phase’.
Image: seandreilinger /

And so I took small baby steps - one small action a day - does not matter how small the action is - as long as you are you working towards something, you are on the right track. And that is exactly what I did. I had my goals for the year all jotted down in my notebook and I took small steps - slowly and steadily.

After about a month of these baby steps, I slowly started gaining momentum and in about couple of months, I was back on track.

Taking action is the key here. Getting complacent and losing motivation is not uncommon - especially if you are running your own business. No one can be on a positive roll all the time - when you are in a downward spiral, take some time to reflect (not too long though) and then get the ball rolling - small baby steps usually does the trick.

I am loving the current phase I am in - I love what I do for my living and most of the days I just can’t wait to get up and get started. It has always not been this easy. I have worked hard to get myself in this state of mind. I strongly believe that success comes from within.

Whilst, I am a long way from where I want to be, I strongly believe that I am on my way. I am loving the journey - there are days when I am completely lacking focus and am all over the place - but its all about pulling myself up and getting back on track and sprinting (or baby stepping ) towards my goals.

Best,

Part Two Of iSelect Review
Part Three Of iSelect Review

What iSelect does is, takes in all your requirements and provides you with a couple or more quotes from insurers who can offer what you are after. In the process, you will end up with the best insurance for your needs (best in terms of quality and price).

iSelect & Car Insurance

iSelect now lets you compare car insurance. This is a new service from iSelect. The panel of car insurers and there are no big names (as yet). The participating insurers at the time of writing are:

* Ozicare
* Cashback
* Budget Direct
* 1st For Women
* Heels n Wheels
* Kudos
* ibuyeco
* Retirease Insurance
* Dawes
* Silver Fox

Steps Involved

I used this service, this morning, to get a quote for my car insurance. The process was very simple and easy to use. The website is clean and very straightforward to use. You start with inputting car make, model and year. On the next screen you enter further details about your car - transmission, fuel type, standard & non-standard accessories, alarm details, existing damage etc - most of the tricky questions have drop down boxes for answers, so you can just select your answer rather than typing it - so if you are like me and struggling to figure out what your fuel type is then no worries, there is a drop down with all possible answers and the answers will trigger your memory and help you pick the right answer.

Step 3 is about driver and options - You are asked to select all the additional cover types you need - car replacement, replacement keys after theft etc etc…Then it moves on to your car financing details, your residential address and finally your personal details (date of birth, marital status etc)

On Step 4, you have to enter your email details - your results will be emailed to this address (and this way iSelect has a record of your email address and may correspond with you in the future). And when you click ‘Get my Quote’ on this screen, the results are also displayed on the screen.

The results are well displayed - not confusing - clear and informative. In my case, I got quotes from 7 insurers - and then I have an option to drill down on each quote and compare what is being offered by each insurers. The 7 insurers meet my requirements but the prices will differ. The drilling down helps me to compare the standard and additional benefits - like death benefits, towing costs.

Once you have compared and analysed and decided which one to go with, you can click ‘Apply Now’ and apply for your car insurance online - you also have the option to get some one from the insurance company to call you. I personally prefer the online application method.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned previously, I love the website - it’s all very well formatted and quite simple to use. Like for example, the comparison page for quotes and benefits (the results page) is so easy to read and compare.

I would like to see more insurers on the panel - hopefully things will change on this front in the near future.

All in all, I am very pleased with the service iSelect offers. I also am liking the fact that iSelect has so many promotions going on at the moment - this will increase everyone’s awareness of the fact that if you select the one that meets your needs then insurance is not always expensive.

Having said that, don’t base your decision on iSelect alone - The panel of insurers that they have still small and so use iSelect as your base, look around and then come back to iSelect (if need be).

iSelect is a free service. If you are looking for insurance, whether or not you decide to go with iSelect’s recommendation or not, I strongly urge you to give iSelect a try - you have nothing to lose !!!

Do you have any comments about iSelect Insurance…Please share below…

Best,

Opes Prime Collapsed in 2008, leaving behind financial heartache for many. In July 2009, a settlement was reached in the law suit against Opes Prime’s bankers, ANZ and Merrill Lynch. The creditors agreed to settle for $253 million. The creditors accepted the settlement, because the alternative of taking the banks to the court was a very lengthy process plus there was also a lot of uncertainty.

Opes Prime owed clients about $585 million at the time of its collapse and it had about 1200 clients. I had written a detailed post last year on this very topic - check it out here - opes prime collapse.

As a result of this settlement, the creditors will be paid 37 cents in a dollar and also a dividend before Christmas. The dividend amount and whether or it will even be paid is still uncertain and more details are expected in the coming months. This settlement releases ANZ and Merrill Lynch from all future legal obligations (regarding this case).

ASIC is now considering whether it should take any action against the directors - at the moment no word from them on this but we will surely hear more about it in the near future.

Do you have any comments or opinions on this topic…Please share below…

Best,

This is one of such seminars. Most of us would have received such invitations. Here is my suggestion on how to deal with such invites:

Read, laugh and chuck it in the bin OR just chuck straight in the bin.

There is no shortcut to riches. Hard work, smart saving and smart investments are the only three ways to riches. If there were shortcuts then we would all be rich. And also remember that there are no free lunches. There is a reason why the seminar is free. The hosts are not planning to make money from the seminar but from the product that they are planning to sell at the seminar. And these guys are usually excellent salesmen - so even if you go there deciding that you will not be signing up for anything, they will convince you to do so.

Don’t think they are selling a genuine product just because they have a celebrity backing them. We have had many examples of products endorsed by famous people collapsing - Dawn Fraser endorsing Money For Living scheme.

So be careful and remember there are no shortcuts…..

Do you have any comments or opinions on this topic…Please share below…

Best,

PS: For more information, read a post I wrote on a similar topic a while ago - Scams

In September 2007 big changes were made to Superannuation tax laws as a result of which self managed super funds (DIY Super Funds) can now borrow to invest in property. Up until then there was a complete ban on super funds borrowing to invest in shares and property. So these changes are quite significant and will have a positive impact on self managed super funds.

As with almost anything super, implementing this borrowing is not straightforward and you will definitely need to seek the help of a professional. In this post, I will take you through some of the main points that you should be aware of (regarding this):

1. You have to borrow through instalment warrants - wondering what it is - think Telstra Shares - investor makes an initial part payment and then makes the remaining amount plus costs in installments.

2. The vendor you buy the property from has to be arm’s length - meaning no relation and no vested interest.

3. The lender has no recourse to other assets - meaning if you (your self managed super fund) default, then the lender has the right to take hold of the property - but ONLY that property - he cannot touch any other assets in your super fund.

4. If you are wondering all the above points seem to be too much of hassle, then here is the good news - banks are now offering specially packaged loans for this very purpose - all the requirements are structured within the loan and you don’t have to worry if it is instalment warrant or non-recourse etc.

5. The loan terms of these loans will not be as long as your regular mortgages.

6. The banks usually lend between 60 to 70% of the property value being purchased - not the usual 90%.

7. There are some pretty good tax advantages - all expenses related to property (interest, depreciation etc) are all tax deductible. The property earnings are taxed at 15% (if you owned the property, earnings taxed at your marginal rate). When you retire, no capital gains tax and no tax on earnings.

8. Another obvious advantage is the leverage - if you couldn’t borrow then your probably wouldn’t be able to buy that property - buy borrowing, you are increasing the amount of money at the super fund’s disposal.

9. It is all within your super fund - rents paid into the super fund, loan payments made from super fund. You cannot occupy the property. The trustee buys the property on the behalf of your super fund.

If you run a self managed super fund, then definitely worth looking into - but there are lot more details involved and I have barely touched the surface.

Do you have experience in borrowing for your super fund - Please share your comments and opinions below.

Best,

You can access your superannuation funds only after you reach your preservation age. But under some specific circumstances, you can get access to your super fund, before you reach your preservation age. These special circumstances are called Conditions Of Release.

Here are the conditions of release:

1. Expenses regarding some severe medical conditions
2. Compassionate Grounds
3. Severe financial hardships
4. Terminal Medical condition

Each of the cases is evaluated independently - what the definition of each of these conditions also differs from case to case and is totally based on the discretion of APRA (Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority). You need to appraoch ATO or APRA to find out if you are eligible.

Click here to read more Superannuation Misunderstood Terms

Any thoughts on this post, please leave a comment below…

Best,