Homeloans coming back into fashion

The recession. The Global crisis. The difficulty of getting a homeloan. Times have been tough for a young person trying to get into the housing market. Not long ago the banks would not give a homeloan without a large deposit. This is now changing. Both ABSA and Standard Bank are offering full 100% homeloans and even 100% plus homeloans. This is great news for anyone who wants to purchase a home. So how can you go about it

• Plan your budget
• Contact a homeloan specialist
• Choose the best value homeloan

If you want to buy yourself a house but have been waiting for the market to improve the lending criteria is getting better. This could signal that the banks are feeling more confident about the economic situation, as they are lowering the onerous requirements that were in place only a few months ago. Over the last eight years the housing market was booming and there was an abstraction of book value to real value. Meaning that the housing market went up faster than was realistic, leading to the market crashing out.

The market crashed, this was originally brought on by the subprime mortgage crisis in the US. The knock on effects crashed housing out across the world but a large correction was in order anyway. The banks want the homeloan market to take off again but what no-one knows is if the market has reached the bottom yet before it can start the cycle of growth again. This is where a homeloan specialist can help you get the best value homeloan you can afford and advise you on when and where the homeloan market is going.

Sunday Times Top Brands Awards 2009 highlights financial high fliers

Congratulations to all the winners of the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards, which were held in Johannesburg on 20 August 2009. A particular mention must go out to all the smaller brands that are receiving a well-deserved share of the limelight.

The results are based on a combination of face-to-face and telephonic interviews with 3500 adults and 400 business people. Here are the results from the financial categories:

Banking Awards
First National Bank claimed the top spot for Retail Banks in the business-to-consumer national category. Click here to browse through the stream of compliments submitted about FNB on the getclosure website. Well done to ABSA and Standard Bank who were placed second and third respectively in this category.

Impressively, the same three banks featured in the business-to-business category, with Standard Bank coming in first place, followed by FNB and then ABSA. So although South Africans love to hate banks, these three are obviously out-performing their competitors and are making a concerted effort to retain and satisfy their customers.

Insurance Awards
The array of insurance companies receiving awards was definitely larger than in the banking industry; with Old Mutual and Hollard, being the only two that featured more than once, so hats off to them both for their consistently high ratings.

In the business-to-consumer section the awards for long-term insurance went to Old Mutual, followed by Metropolitan Life and then Hollard; and in the business-to-business section the winner was Discovery Life, with Liberty in second place and Old Mutual in third.

For short-term insurance in the business-to-consumer category, Outsurance came out tops, followed by AA Insurance and Hollard; and in the business-to-business category Santam came in first, Mutual and Federal was second and Zurich Insurance claimed third place.

Medical Aid Awards
Congratulations to Discovery Health for winning first prize in the business-to-business Medical Aid awards. The runners up were Momentum and Fed Health.

For the Grand Prix categories of consumers' top brands, Coca-Cola won the Overall favourite brand award and Nelson Mandela won the South African personality award.
Pick ‘n Pay also did extremely well, winning two out of the four awards for the Company doing the most to uplift community and the Company that has done the most to promote "Green".

Says getclosure Director Patrick Deale, "The getclosure service is all about raising the standard of customer service in South Africa and helping businesses to protect and enhance their brands and retain their customers; so it's great to see companies being recognised for getting this right. It's also good to see how many businesses are taking customer service seriously and are receiving positive feedback from their customers".

Click here to read compliments about each of these suppliers on the getclosure website. You can also check out the getclosure five-star customer centricity ratings to see which businesses have been rated highly by South African consumers over the past six months.

Article by getclosure! - www.getclosure.co.za enables consumers to bring their complaints and compliments to the attention of South African suppliers. This independent service is fast, effective and free.

National Health Insurance to change Medical Aid

There is a constitutional obligation to provide access to health care for all. Currently in South Africa while there is a public health service, many people opt for privatised healthcare believing that they will get a better quality of care. This can be a very expensive thing. So we have developed a system of medical aids in South Africa to provide health insurance for private health care. There is now talk of a National Health Insurance (NHI) being set up. What will this change for your medical aid?

• Medical aids may offer less
• There will be more tax
• There will be cross over health care

The system that the government appears to be modelling on is the United Kingdom's NHS or National Health Service, which is currently under pressure. The fact is that the UK government charges a small part of tax called National Insurance or NI that provides comprehensive free health care. This kind of health care is what is called for by our constitution and is a method of keeping our population healthy and productive, however with the existence already of medical aid a new tax could lead to people paying twice for their health care.

While many will be unhappy about another tax, if we wish to be able to supply the labour market with healthy and able workers then we will need to provide more access to health care which at the moment is only really available at decent service levels to those who are able to afford medical aid. With an introduction of NHI there may be less call for private medical aids, with these providing only top-up services that are not covered by the national fund. If this national fund is managed correctly we could pay much less for our health insurance and get the same level of care as currently.

Medical aid under pressure

The registrar of the Council for Medical Schemes reported to Parliament and told them that medical aid schemes are coming under pressure. 18 out of 119 medical aid schemes have fallen below the minimum level of solvency they need. They may have to amalgamate or liquidate. This means there are some changes coming in the medical aid market, with some schemes possibly disappearing and others becoming larger and stronger. So if you are worried about your medical aid what can you do?

• Come to Justmoney
• Compare medical aids
• Choose the best for you

No-one wants to have to worry about a medical emergency, that is why we get medical aid, but if there are some medical aids that are running into difficulties, maybe it is time that you looked to make sure you are getting the best value for money medical aid out there. The big schemes should all still be ok and might even take over some of the failing schemes. Check and make sure that the tables of benefits are the same and better, if you decide to swap.

When you can compare medical aid side by side then you can make a more meaningful decision about what you are getting for what you are paying for. When you use the Justmoney medical aid comparison calculator you can input your details, choose the kind of cover that you need and then get an instant online comparison of the leading medical aid scheme offerings for your profile. You can download their brochures right then and there and take the best medical aid for you and your family, bringing you peace of mind and saving you money.

Inflation falls again to 6 point 7 percent

The inflation rate or CPI (consumer price index) is a way of measuring how fast things get more expensive. Inflation was at a high last year and is finally nudging into the Reserve Banks' target band of 3 to 6 percent, falling 0.2%. This is welcome news and might cause consumer sentiment to swing more positive introducing a stimulus to spending. If you know things are not getting as expensive as you thought they were you can plan your budget in light of that. So what were the main factors in the inflation rate change?

• Housing and Utilites increased
• Alcohol and tobacco increased
• Food price inflation decreased

Housing and utilities remain an issue contributing a 3.3% increase to the inflation figure. Petrol is also expected to go up soon due to currency fluctuations. These will factor into the next set of CPI figures, but there effect will be felt over that period that the next set of figures will measure. CPI always trails reality so what the figures say applies to the period over which they were collected. This by definition has already happened so where we are today is not what the figures say, they say where we were yesterday.

CPI figures give an indication of where we have come from so that we can better plan what will come next. Planning your budget allows you to stay on top of any expected changes, if you know that housing and utilities are going up faster than other goods then you can allocate a greater portion of your income to paying your rent or your homeloan. If you are a big spender on petrol then you can expect to pay more at the pump and also plan your budget accordingly. The important thing is to be able to get a sense of what is most likely to cost more next month and be prepared for that.

Life insurance is now so easy to get

Getting life insurance quotes used to be a hassle but now it is possible to get instant life insurance quotes online. Life insurance aggregators basically collate the various quotes that are available from the various institutions that do life insurance and put them next to each other in an easy to compare format. No more calling around looking for the best deal, now it is at your fingertips with nothing more strenuous required than a click of your mouse. So how do you go about it?

• Come to Justmoney
• Use our calculator
• Just click and compare

Life insurance quotes are worked out using a simple formula that includes your age, your gender and whether you smoke or not. All you need to do is fill in your details on the form and it will instantly get online life insurance quotes for you. Then you can decide how much cover and what type of cover that will suite your particular needs best. All you need to do then is tick the quotes that you want and click the big red Get Quotes Now button. Instant online life insurance quotes delivered direct to your inbox.
All quotes are estimates that are based on the information that you entered and the actual quote may differ from the one displayed, so fill in your details as accurately as possible in order to get an accurate quote. Getting your life insurance sorted has never been as easy and as quick as it is now. Taking the hassle out and providing you with peace of mind, knowing that should anything happen you are covered, you can get obligation free online quotes in an instant with Justmoney.co.za, Your online guide to money.

Do you have the right medical aid yet?

Medical aid schemes are apparently changing what they will pay out compared to previously. There are less benefits being paid out than before and many people are worried that they will not have adequate cover. Medical aid is health insurance and apart from being there when you need it, it also provides peace of mind. So if you are worried about your medical aid you can quickly compare medical aid quotes using Justmoney. This way you can find out if what you need is covered. So what do you do?

• Compare medical aids
• Check the details
• Swap and save

Justmoney compiles medical aid details and puts them into an online medical aid quote comparison calculator where you can set who you want the medical aid for, check if you have any special needs for your medical aid like chronic condition cover, if you need more than a hospital plan, if your employer subsidises your medical aid and how much you can afford to spend each month on medical aid. Using these criteria along with others such as your age and income our calculator works out for you a range of affordable options. You can then delve deeper into your choices.

After you fill in you details you can see a side by side comparison including the details and benefits offered by each scheme. Now as medical aid is apparently covering less than before you can compare your medical aid with other medical aids and find the best cost to benefit ratio for your requirements. Make sure you check the details, because medical aid is a complex product, however with our calculator you can get all those details laid out in front of you. Check exactly what will be covered, by downloading the brochures and then you can make an informed decision as to whether the medical aid you have covers what you need and is value for money, and you can work out if you can swap and save.