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An undergraduate student is warning fellow cyclists to check their policy terms after her insurer refused a bike theft claim on what she says is an “absurd technicality”.

History student Susan Helter has been unsuccessfully fighting her insurance company ever since her racing bike was stolen from her digs in Oxford. Despite numerous phone calls and letters, the insurer has refused to pay her 325 pound claim because she had not removed the front wheel and saddle.

“The whole thing is silly, and has made me think twice about ever insuring my bike again,” says the 19-year-old. “The bike was a present from my parents for getting to university and meant a lot to me. I locked the bike up properly using a heavy brass lock. But when I sent in my claim the insurer told me that, because I had not removed the front wheel and saddle, they would not pay out. They told me that the policy said that I had to remove the front wheel and saddle, which was totally news to me. Only when I looked at the very detailed small print did this particular aspect emerge.”

Her argument that this very important detail should have been made absolutely clear in the policy’s wording fell on deaf ears. “The idea that everyone should take their saddle and front wheel with them all the time is completely unworkable and ridiculous,” she says.

The good news is that the insurer now seems to have come to the same conclusion. At last it agreed to pay her claim. In a statement it said: “We have updated our policies so that our policyholders do not now have to remove the front wheel, saddle or any other part of the bicycle in order to be insured for theft. We understand that removal was impractical and so we have updated our cover. Although the previous policy clearly stated that they should be removed, we have decided to retrospectively pay the claim as a goodwill gesture to a valued customer.” The insurer also agreed to cancel her 32 pounds and 50 pence excess.

But this case spotlights the problems faced when insuring students’ belongings, and the high premiums they pay. Our student was paying 45 pounds a year to insure her 325 pound bicycle and the policy had a 10 per cent excess. Many students will think it is more economical to insure their contents and bicycle on their parents’ home insurance policy. Perhaps better still, buy a cheap non-specialist student policy.

We quickly got some quotes and found we could insure the same bike online for 31 pounds and 25 pence. The policy also included personal accident cover, third-party insurance for up to 1 million pounds, and a cycle rescue package – and that was not much more than it would cost to add it to a standard home and contents policy. The excess on a 325 pound bicycle would also be more reasonable at 25 pounds. Sounds a good deal to us!

This just goes to prove that it’s worth shopping around, especially online. And if you do think that your insurer is acting unreasonbly, even though their action is covered in the terms and conditions, do not give up. Give them a hard time. It pays to persevere!Accidents happen particularly on the roads, so proper Car Insurance is a must. Visit the Brokers Online web site. Brokers Online offers helpful articles and information about all the options on Car Insurance. We can also give our clients quotes for Life Insurance and many other Insurance products.

It was revealed that the cost of life insurance has dropped dramatically in recent years. How do you know what kind of policy is best for you?

Term policies are the cheapest and simplest type of life indemnity – you pay a premium every month for an agreed amount of indemnity cover for a fixed term i.e. the number of years that the policy will run for. When you die, it then pays out a lump sum. When the policy reaches the end of its term and you are still alive, no money is paid out.

There are several types of term insurance: “level” term where the payout is a fixed amount; “decreasing” term, which is often slightly cheaper because the sum to be paid out lessens year on year. In most cases this type of indemnity is taken out to cover a mortgage. There is also ‘increasing’ term insurance, where the amount payable increases slightly during the course of the term; this can be a good way of protecting your cover against inflation.

Joint life cover pays is useful for couples who want both of their incomes to pay the mortgage because a payout is produced if either partner dies. The most economical form may be pension term assurance.

Family income benefit offers the policyholder’s beneficiaries a regular income from the date of death until the end of the policy term rather than paying out one lump sum.

How much cover you need will depend on your own individual circumstances. Most large and medium-sized companies offer a death in service benefit which normally pays out three or four times you’re your annual income to your partner whenever you die though being employed. Hence if you are reasonably confident about remaining in employment, you may reach the conclusion that paying for additional life cover with a separate policy is unnecessary.

The cost of a life insurance policy depends on a number of factors, namely the length of the policy’s term, the type of policy and certain medical criteria – whether you are obese or whether you smoke, for example. Insurers are clamping down on obesity in particular.

As an indication, a fit 34-year-old man needing two hundred thousand pounds worth of cover over a 25 year term can get it for thirteen pounds and thirty six pence a month through Norwich Union. For a 44-year-old smoker, however, the premium increases to a minimum of $55 a month for exactly the same stage of cover.

If you are paying more than this, you are of course, free to change at any time. It pays to workshop around.

There are serious advantages to switching to pension term sureness. When you already have a term insurance policy which pays out a lump sum, you can save a considerable amount on your premiums by changing to pension term.

The reason for this is since under new pension laws announced in April, most individuals qualify for tax relief on the money they pay for life insurance whenever they opt for a pension term assurance (PTA) policy. PTA is basically the same as term insurance in so far as it is still protection-only. So it pays out when you die within the term but if you survive, no payout is given.

Not everyone stands to benefit from switching to PTA, however. For instance, whenever you purchased your standard policy a long time ago, the higher premiums that you may now have to pay owing to the increase in your age could well outweigh the benefit of tax relief. Similarly, if your health has worsened since you took out your policy, you will tenably be more beneficial off keeping your term insurance.

Likewise, souls who want a family income benefit policy (which provides regular payments) would not hope to switch because PTA only provides a lump-sum payout.Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor For further information on life insurance policies as well as product recommendations and services, I suggest you check out: Cheap Insurance Life Policy