Ashburnham Insurance Services Limited

New Trades for Public Liability Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:49:00 +0000

We have just added 40+ new trades to our public and employers liability quote system and can now provide instant online quotes for nearly 400 different trades. A couple of the new trades we have added provide public liability insurance for engineers and plant hire.

Even if you can't find your trade on our extensive list (maybe you have a unique or obscure occupation), we do have offline markets that can usually help so give us a call instead.

Our markets are extremely versatile meaning we can provide personal public liability insurance for a self employed individual right up to large limited companies with many employees.

What is Landlords Insurance?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:57:00 +0000

The phrase Landlords Insurance is being used all the time, but it seems different people have different ideas on exactly what it is, so we're here to set the record straight!

The common use of this term is when talking about landlords buildings insurance which provides cover for a property let out to tenants. A typical policy would cover the building in respect of various perils such as fire, flood, storm, water damage, etc. as well as providing the landlord with property owners liability cover.

You may also hear landlord insurance used when referring to landlords contents insurance which is for any contents such as furniture and carpets that a property owner leaves in his rented accomodation while letting it out.

In fact any insurance policy that a landlord could take out could fall under the umbrella of "Landlords Insurance". Buildings and contents insurance are the most obvious but it could also include policies such as legal protection, rent guarantee and home emergency cover.

Please visit the Ashburnham Insurance website to read more about Landlords Insurance.

Interest Free Direct Debit

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:33:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce that we now offer the option to pay via INTEREST FREE direct debit on our public liability and employers liability insurance policies with Covea Insurance. This will give policyholders the ability to spread the cost of their annual premium over simple, low cost monthly instalments at no additional cost.

Not only does this make your liability insurance easy to pay for, it makes renewing your policy a breeze too. We will simply send out details of your renewal premium and the forthcoming payments and if you are happy with the terms proposed, you don't need to do anything. This offers a great peace of mind to those people who believe they are forgetful in renewing their insurance as it means that you will be continuously covered.

Even if you already hold a policy with us that you paid for in full, let us know at renewal that you would like to switch to our 0% direct debit scheme and we will give you the details on this interest free facility.

This option is only available with Covea Insurance on new tradesman policies and renewals that are not already paying via direct debit. It is also subject to meeting standard direct debit criteria and may not be available on some lower premiums.

Get in touch with us if you would like some more information.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:35:00 +0000

We have been providing Professional Indemnity Insurance for several years and after checking some recent customer feedback, it seems that our product is getting some good reviews. Such has been the success of our other products such as public liability, landlords and landowners, the professional indemnity insurance we offer has somehow slipped out of the limelight but this doesn't mean to say it's not a great product - because it is! Here I will offer a brief insight into this great insurance coverage that we provide.

Professional indemnity insurance can be described by several different terms such as PI insurance, professional liability insurance and errors and omissions insurance to name but a few, but all usually mean the same as the initial, most commonly used phrase. The policy covers any professional negligence by you or your business where you may give incorrect advice or service to a customer which results in them suffering damage, injury or a financial loss of some sort.

Our insurance panel can cover many different trades and offer various indemnity levels starting from £50,000 right up to £5,000,000 of cover. They can also offer them as stand alone policies or as full liability packages (i.e. including public liability, employers liability, etc.). The options are endless meaning we can tailor a policy to suit your specific needs. Not only that, premiums starts from as little as £50.00 per year so it is really affordable and something that no business can be without.

Public Liability Insurance for under 18 year olds

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:59:00 +0000

We are being contacted by an increasing number of young people seeking Public Liability Insurance who have been having problems obtaining cover from other companies due to their age.

This seems to mainly be affecting 16 and 17 year olds who have left school and become self employed straight away but because they are under 18 they are struggling to get the liability insurance they need.

We are pleased to confirm that Ashburnham Insurance has no problem in providing public liability insurance for under 18s as long as they are legally entitled to work in the UK.

Head over to www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk/public-liability-insurance.html to get a quote now.

An Eventful Week at Ashburnham Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:52:00 +0000

The last few days have been eventful in the world of Ashburnham Insurance. We thought we'd write a quick update to keep you all up to speed.

MMA Insurance now Covéa Insurance

First up is a change of name for one of our main insurers. MMA Insurance who underwrite a large amount of our public liability insurance and land insurance policies has integrated with Provident Insurance with both trading under the one name of Covéa Insurance with effect from 1st October 2012.

If you are insured with us and have an MMA Insurance policy then the only thing you need to know is that they have changed their name. Your current documentation remains valid and unaffected and will simply be replaced with Covéa Insurance branded documents next time you make a change or renew your policy. All claims numbers and correspondence addresses also remain the same.

Happy Birthday Ashburnham Insurance

On 26th September 1995, Ashburnham Insurance was formed so last week marked our 17th birthday! Times have changed dramatically since the early days of being a high street insurance broker to what we are today. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our loyal customers, some of which have been with us from the start, as we wouldn't be here without you.

Happy Retirement

The end of September marked the end of an era for one of Ashburnham's founders who has taken retirement. John Massey has been in the insurance business for a majority of his life and has been an integral part of getting Ashburnham Insurance to where it is now. He remains a director of the company so will be in and about the office from time to time but has left the daily grind to the rest of us while he concentrates on his allotment skills and passion for Southend United. We wish him all the best!

Insurance Companies Are Not All Bad

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:26:00 +0000

In our perusal of the Internet and just general conversation with the public, it is obvious that the Insurance Industry hasn't got the best of names. The main reason for this seems to be how Insurers are deemed to wriggle their way out of claims. I thought I would offer our insight into this as the middle men in a (probably futile) attempt to change some of the public opinions.

The main point is that an Insurance Policy is a legal agreement between Policyholder(s) and the Insurer. The Insurer's side of this agreement is that they will pay compensation for anything that is covered in the Policy. Yes there will be exclusions, terms and conditions but these will all be made available to you before taking out the policy. If any of these are not acceptable to you then it would be best to arrange for the policy to be altered to your requirements if possible (by way of an endorsement on the policy to say a certain exclusion is not applicable to you which will probably result in a premium increase) or to arrange insurance with a different provider before taking out the cover. Always remember, you decide who to insure with so not being happy with certain exclusions at the time of a claim is not really the Insurer's fault.

The Policyholder's side of the agreement is to provide accurate information to the Insurer so that they can access and rate the risk you are proposing to them. This information must then be kept up to date so any changes in circumstances should be told to the Insurer immediately so they can continue the Policy on the correct basis. This is the biggest stumbling block and the reason why claims end up having their payout reduced or even repudiated.

Insurers have obtained this reputation of getting out of claims because this is the main point in time that they check all the information provided is correct. At the time of taking out the insurance policy, they will take your word that all the information is correct. They don't have the time and resources to check every single policy (imagine them coming round your house to make sure it is semi-detached and has 3 bedrooms like you told them to every person that takes out Home Insurance). However, when you claim they need to make sure you have kept your side of the agreement by giving them correct information. If you haven't then they probably have the legal right to not pay you a penny.

We are Insurance Brokers so our concern is to keep the customer happy. We will therefore always help to ensure a customer receives the compensation they are entitled to. In our experience though, it is when information provided by the customer is wrong that causes the most issues with claims. With most Insurance Policies being processed by the customer online nowadays, it really does mean that the customer is fully responsible for the information provided so it is important to check every single piece of information you are disclosing. You will normally be provided with a Statement of Fact after taking out the policy and it is vital that you double check all the information is the same as you provided.

We'll probably struggle to change the opinion that the public have on Insurance Companies but try and remember that they will always keep their end of the bargain as long as you have too!

New Look Ashburnham Insurance Website

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:19:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming but it is finally here. The new look Ashburnham Insurance website went officially live today. If you haven't seen it yet, take a look now at www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk.

Initially you will notice the new layout, menus, pictures and the different colours we have used. We are still transferring a lot of the old pages over to the new site so you may find that your browser will display the old look site on some of the pages and the new look site on others. Functionality is still 100% regardless of what page you are on. The update is continuing behind the scenes so keep checking back for new content and other updates.

Feel free to give us your feedback on how you like the new site (good or bad!) and any features you would like to see in the future.

Public Liability Insurance for a Bricklayer

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0000

I'm a Bricklayer, do I need liability insurance?

Being a Bricklayer you will understand that there are many risks associated with the trade and as such it is crucial to have liability insurance in place.

What are some examples of possible liability claims for a Bricklayer?

• Whilst working you accidentally damage a third parties property (e.g. you go into someone’s property and accidentally knock something over)

• Whilst working you accidentally damage a third party (e.g. you leave a toolbox lying around and someone trips over it)

These are just two examples of what could quite easily happen in the day to day job of a Bricklayer. The costs for such liability claims can obviously be quite substantial which is why the indemnity limits for liability insurance are generally so high.

How much is will it cost for liability insurance for Bricklayer?

Generally speaking, liability insurance for a Bricklayer can be purchased through ourselves at very competitive rates whether its just public liability for yourself or if you have employees and need employers liability.

Unoccupied Property Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:29:00 +0000

Unoccupied property insurance is insuring your property (by insuring your buildings, your contents or both) whilst you are not actually living in the property. There are a few types of insurance that you can get for this circumstance ranging from insuring the property before a tenant moves in to insuring a property that you are going to renovate and then sell on.

If you get the basic level of cover then it will cover the buildings and contents from any cases of fire, lightning, earthquake, explosion, aircraft and subsidence damage. This is the standard level of cover on unoccupied property insurance and will protect the property and the things that you have left in there. This insurance is usually more expensive than most property insurance as the property is at a higher risk of incurring damage as there will be nobody in the property to notice any damage immediately after it has happened.

The second level of cover will cover all the things in the basic cover level but will also include things such as storm, flood or weight of snow damage, escape of water and escape of oil and collision by any animal or vehicle. This level of cover is one that will cover a lot of the perils that may happen but leaves out cover for things such as theft or attempted theft or malicious damage. You can get these last two perils covered by choosing level three cover which will cover an unoccupied property for the same things that it would if the property had someone living in there.

Due to the levels of cover the premium that you pay will increase as you get the higher levels of cover on the policy; this is due to the higher likelihood of their being a claim on the policy the more things that it covers against. There are also certain things like subsidence that are covered on all the policies apart from if you are selling the property as the insurers will not cover a long term peril such as subsidence if you are planning to sell the house on.

The excess that you may pay on this type of policy may be higher than the standard one hundred pound excess simply because of the higher risk; therefore you may be given either a two hundred and fifty pound or five hundred pound excess whilst the property is unoccupied. If the property is vacant but will be let out eventually then there may be a time limit on the policy in which you must find a tenant and get them in to occupy the property, this is generally a ninety day time limit and if you choose that policy and then don’t get a tenant in time then the insurer will cancel the policy and you will lose cover after the period is up.

So if you have a vacant property that you want to insure it then follow this link to get a quote for unoccupied property insurance.

Tenant's Contents Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:34:00 +0000

A product we have been offering for some time has now been made available for our online customers. Tenant's contents insurance is a policy specifically designed to meet the needs of tenants in rented properties. As a leading landlord insurance provider in the UK, we have always met the insurance needs of the property owners but now it is time to extend this service to those who actually reside in their properties.

New Liability Trade Search Facility

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:59:00 +0000

We have just launched a new trade search facility for our liability quote website. This will enable users to start typing what trade they are seeking public or employers liability for and then be presented with various options depending on what has been typed.

Click thumbnail to see a website snapshot of the trade search in action

With an ever increasing number of trades, we have felt the need to offer our customers a new trade search facility. When we first started our online liability quote website we had less than 100 trades and a simple drop down list seemed to suffice the needs of its users. As time has gone on, we have gradually added more and more trades and now find this list topping 200 trades. There is also a queue of other trades waiting to go on the list that could easily see this being several hundred more!

We have realised that a drop down list is no longer practical and have changed this to an instant search facility where the user begins typing in their occupation and then after a few letters the system beginnings to predict what trade you are looking for. If more letters are typed, the list is whittled down until a user finds exactly what they need or they can stop at any point to browse the list and simply select the one they are looking for.

If you have any feedback on the new system or any other suggestions then please feel free to email website support from our contact page.

6% Insurance Premium Tax

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:51:00 +0000

Following our blog post last month (New IPT rate begins), it is now the 4th January 2011 so all premiums shown will now be at the new higher government imposed insurance premium tax rate of 6%.

New IPT rate begins

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:02:00 +0000

Just a quick message to all customer obtaining new quotes from us. You will begin to notice differences in premiums quoted for policies with inception dates of the 4th January 2011 and later. This is due to the change of Insurance Premium Tax by the Government on this date from 5% to 6%.

With the way insurer accounts work, some policies will apply the higher rate based on the inception date of the policy (i.e. the date cover commences) whereas others will base it on the transaction date (i.e. the date you take out the policy regardless of when it starts). This means that the next few weeks leading up to deadline date, some quotes will incur the new higher rate of tax while some do not. From the 4th January onwards it is more straight forward as all policies will be at the new rate.

At the time of writing, we are not aware of any forthcoming rate changes by our insurers so the apparent increase in premiums will purely be due to the higher tax rate that you are paying.

Commercial Property Insurance Instant Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:25:00 +0000

If you have a commercial property that you need to insure it used to be a case of giving the insurance company the details and then having to wait while they manually work out the quote before coming back to you with a figure, but this is no longer the case as there are insurance companies that are now starting to give instant figures for this type of insurance which cuts out the waiting part of it.

There are various types of commercial properties that you can insure and you can also insure properties that are part commercial and part residential under this policy (for example a shop with a flat above where the owner wants to insure both on the one policy). Mainly however this is for commercial places such as shops, surgeries and even more obscure things such as leisure halls or recording studios.

You cannot insure these under other types of insurance unless you are also looking to insure things such as the stock, or the goods that are kept in the property in which case you would need a commercial combined policy which would include things like public and employers liability insurance for the people that work within the premises, but if it is just the bricks and mortar and loss of rent cover you are looking for then this is the insurance for you.

There are certain circumstances where you may still not be able to get an instant figure for example if the property was in a high risk area of either subsidence or flooding then it would have to be referred to the insurance company and the same if the property has either construction that is beside the normal or if the load bearing walls or the roof had been touched during any building work that may have occurred at the property in question.

Aside from that if you know things such as the postcode and full address, the rebuild cost of the property, the commercial use of the property and the year of build and construction details then that should be enough to get a quotation for this. So if you have a property that you need insuring you can visit us at Commercial Property Insurance to get more details.

Public Liability Insurance for Northern Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:55:00 +0000

In the past if you were working in Northern Ireland then you would have to go to a broker within the BT Postcode to get your Public Liability Insurance but that has all changed thanks to Ageas Insurance (formerly known as Fortis Insurance) who now allow us to quote for tradesman that work in the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland.

Tradesman within large areas of Northern Ireland such as Belfast and Londonderry can now come to us for a quote on their Insurance and although most companies will still not provide a quotation there is now one that can after they saw an opportunity in the market for Public Liability Insurance in that area as so many other insurance companies refuse to offer quotes and cover for any BT Postcode.

This seemed like a large whole as we have always been able to offer quotes in that postcode for both Residential Landlord Insurance and Commercial Property Insurance but the area of tradesman insurance is always one that has eluded us until recently. Most insurers tend to see that they can insure properties in these areas as they have a postcode which the insurance can be rated on and now that we can offer liability quotes in that region as well we have the area covered for the main markets that we do.

The terms on the policy would be the same as they would be if the insured was working anywhere in England, Wales or Scotland and if a claim was to be made it would be handled the same way it would for these areas as well. So if you are a tradesman who needs Public Liability Insurance for Northern Ireland then visit us to get a quotation.

Land Insurance - Buy Online NOW

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:35:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce a new landowners insurance scheme exclusive to Ashburnham Insurance and underwritten by MMA Insurance.

The new scheme offers public liability cover for all types of land such as private roads, undeveloped land, woodland, moorland, development sites and more.

It is available on our website at www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk/land-insurance-quote/ and offers a full quote and buy online facility which we believe is the first of its kind in the UK.

Climate Change WILL Increase Insurance Premiums

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:40:00 +0000

We could have a big long discussion over climate change, how it is caused, what it is doing, what we can do to stop or reduce it. The bottom line is, it is happening and we will be looking at changes in our climate in future years.

What we are here to discuss is how this could affect insurance premiums. The hardest hit are going to be property insurances, in particular home insurance. Changes in climate will lead to more severe storms and higher sea levels meaning an increase in storm and flood damage claims.

It is said that more and more places will be deemed as being in flood area making it difficult if not impossible to obtain insurance full stop. The main thing we will see is steady increases in such insurance costs as claim levels begin to rise.

There is little we can do to stop this happening. It is not just home and other property insurance that will be effected but motor insurance as well. Poor weather will unfortunately result in more accidents and floods obviously affect whatever is in their path which includes your house and the car parked outside.

Insurance Fraud on the Increase

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:04:00 +0000

The accountancy network known as BDO have released their half year report on fraud which has made for some very interesting reading. The report has been running for seven years and for the first time has broken the £1billion mark for a 6 month period. The total amount of recorded fraud for the first 6 months of 2010 is almost the same as the whole of 2008 which shows how worryingly fraud is become more common.

Obviously BDO are recording all types of fraud but their figures show that the insurance sector leads the way with 49% of recorded fraud making it the most targeted by the fraudsters. Whilst the distribution is not surprising, and probably hasn't changed a great deal over the years, the amounts we are talking about are increasing at an alarming rate.

Regulators are taking more and more steps to combat fraudulent activities but these figures show that they may not be working. It is not coincidence that this dramatic change is happening at the same time as the recession. BDO has predicted these figures will continue to rise in the second half of 2010 so we could end up seeing further records being broken that we perhaps don't want to see.

BP Oil Spill Raises Liability Insurance Awareness

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:23:00 +0000

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has certainly raised the awareness of the need for liability insurance. The cost of the spill is still unknown but is certainly going to stretch into the billions of US dollars.

Obviously in most businesses, the amount of risk is very unlikely to get anywhere nearer the cost of this incident but it is an eye opener as to the unexpected things that can happen. Some people think that £1 million cover is more than enough but you just never know how much injury or damage you could end up causing.

I'm sure BP probably thought that £1 billion cover should be enough to cover any event but we can see this wasn't the case. I don't know anything about BP's insurance protection but an event of this magnitude was certainly unforeseen.

This is the whole purpose of liability insurance, to protect against the unforeseen. You should always obtain more cover than you think you need otherwise we are putting ourselves at risk of footing a rather large bill.

IGI Insurance is now AmTrust Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:11:00 +0000

With effect from 1st July 2010, IGI Insurance Company Limited have re-branded to AmTrust Europe Limited. IGI Insurance are one of the main insurers we use for landlords insurance but from now on they will be known as AmTrust Europe.

Our website has been updated to show the new name for all new customers. If you are an existing policyholder of IGI Insurance then your policy will not be affected. From renewal you will notice that documentation will have been updated to reflect the new name.

The change of name comes about due to the acquirement of IGI by AmTrust International Insurance Limited back in 2007. AmTrust are developing their presence in the UK and other European markets. They have now decided to consolidate this under one brand being AmTrust Europe.

Keith Wardell, the managing director of IGI Insurance has said:

"The change of name is about growth and progression. We have an exciting future ahead of us and this development is hugely positive. Our priority is to continue to deliver profitable and cost-effective insurance products backed up by a reliable and quality service."

Insurance Premium Tax up to 6%

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:58:00 +0000

As predicted in our blog post a few weeks ago (Emergency Budget - Insurance Premium Tax on the Increase), Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is being increased.

The increase is not as extreme as we thought but the current rate of 5% is being put up to 6% with effect from 4th January 2011. This means that for every £100 of insurance premium we pay, we will have to pay an extra pound of tax to the government.

A typical car insurance premium of £420 which consists of a £400 premium and £20 IPT will now go up to £424 being the same £400 premium but with £24 tax instead. A £4 increase may not sound a lot but this is only one insurance policy.

When you take into account all the insurance that you hold as an individual, family and/or business then the extra you are paying could be very considerable.

We are also seeing an increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20%. This rate is used as the tax rate on travel insurance policies so if you are taking out this cover then be prepared for a large jump in your premium when the new rates come in to effect.

FSA to be Abolished

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:32:00 +0000

George Osbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the UK, has followed through on a promise that the now Prime Minister, David Cameron, made in July 2009 in that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be abolished.

Over the next 2 years, the powers of the FSA will be split among different regulators but with most power going to the Bank of England. The current chief executive of the FSA, Hector Sants, will become the Chief Executive of one of the new agencies called the Prudential Regulatory Authority. There will also be the Financial Policy Committee which will also be headed by Sants but the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, will have the overall control over both these bodies making the ultimate decisions at both. Workers at the FSA will be split among the new agencies over time and by 2012, the FSA will no longer exist.

The decision to make these changes comes along due to the conservatives thought that the FSA have failed in what they had set out to do. The former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, set up the FSA in 1997 as they believed that Bank of England were not handling the supervision of the financial services in the best possible way. It looks as though that 15 years on, the power will switch back to where it originally was.

Emergency Budget - Insurance Premium Tax on the Increase

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:06:00 +0000

Almost every insurance product in the UK is subject to tax known as Insurance Premium Tax (IPT). This tax rate currently stands at 5% and has been the same for over 10 years. The new Government has announced an "emergency budget" in little over a weeks time and there are rumours that there could be a significant increase in this rate.

It is being said that the rate could be doubled to 10% or even brought in line with VAT which is currently 17.5%. To put this in to perspective, if you currently pay £525 per year for car insurance, this would go up to £550 or even £587.50 depending on the rate decided upon. This doesn't even include changes in the premium itself which, at the current moment in time, is on the way up. Your £500 premium could easily be over £600 next year when you haven't even made a claim! What you need to keep in mind is that this is only one type of policy and this sort of increase would be likely to happen against all your individual insurances.

Insurer and broker associations BIBA and the ABI are against this increase on the basis that the increase would actually end up costing the treasury more money than the increase would actually earn them. This theory comes from the fact that massive increase in insurance premiums people are going to have to pay for things like car insurance and the like are going to affect all of us. Insurance is a common thing to be avoided by individuals or businesses who are trying to reduce their outgoings so is likely to increase the number of people who are uninsured when, in the current climate, people should be encouraged to be protecting themselves.

Of course, this increase has not been announced yet but it is certainly something that requires a lot of thought by the Treasury as any quick decision could end up costing them, and ultimately us, more money.

Capital Gains Tax Forcing Landlords to Quit

noreply@blogger.com (Ashburnham Insurance) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Capital Gains Tax (or CGT for short) is a tax charged on the profit made from the sale of let property, stocks and other assets. The current rate of this tax in the UK is 18% but the new coalition government has plans to increase this to a staggering 40%.

Many landlords who invest in the buy to let property market have been forced to re-evaluate their business venture as this possible change could strike a huge dent in profit made.

An example of what difference this could make would be to look at a property purchased 10 years ago for £90,000 and sold this year for £190,000. The profit would be £100,000 and currently £18,000 would be paid in tax. This is set to change to £40,000, an extra £22,000 in this example which is a very significant amount of money that was once in the landlord's pocket but now in the government's pocket instead.

There are rumours that landlords are beginning to bail out now before the tax rise occurs and who can blame them? There are obviously other costs and taxes involved in the buying, selling and development of property which all eat into the profit margins.

The budget happens later this month on June 22nd 2010 when we will see if the proposed change occurs and what the future holds for the buy-to-let landlords of the UK.