Mobile broadband Learner driver insurance Super-duper health cover Mortgage protection Pet insurance Life insurance Whoops, sorry...
Sunday February 07 2010
OK, so it sponsors the rugby, the Point and a stack of GAA stuff -- but it's still not very good value. O2's dongley thing is the most expensive deal offered by the major players -- including Meteor, Vodafone and 3. Average monthly cost calculated by callcosts.ie
Best: Imagine Wimax 3mb €14.17
Avoid: O2 Clear 3Mb €21.48
Saving: €87.72 per year
contact www.imagine.ie or call 1890 9299007
Learner driver insurance
Not even Jim Corr could deny the irreversible damage caused by a learner driver to a shiny new clutch. Fully comp cover for a 50-year-old Carlow woman with no points or claims for five years, driving a 2007 Fiat Punto 1.2L worth €9k. Parked off road. Excess €200, and alarmed. And with an 18-year-old female named driver who has had her provisional licence for one year. No claims or points. No cover for death rays. Quotes from www.chromeinsurance.ie
Best: Quinn €813 per year
Avoid: AXA €1,320.00
Saving: €507 a year
contact www.quinn-direct.com or 1890 89 1890
Super-duper health cover
Gold-plated health cover gets you a private room in a top private hospital. All the nurses look like Amy Huberman and you'd almost be safe eating the food. Quinn has a sneaky 3 per cent surcharge if paying monthly (nearly €70 a year in this case). Quotes from www.freetocompare.ie.
Best: Quinn Essential Gold €2,215
Avoid: VHI Plan E €2,832
Saving: €617
contact www.quinnhealth.ie
Mortgage protection
Only seven months to go until the new Lansdowne Road stadium reopens. Ever wondered how Aviva could spend so much on buying the naming rights? Here's a hint. Have a look at how much it charges for mortgage protection... double the price of the best deal on the market for decreasing cover on €75,000/15-year cover for two 40-year-old non-smokers. Quotes from www.freetocompare.ie.
Best: Zurich Life €10.12 per month
Avoid: Aviva €20
Saving: €118.56 per year
contact www.zurichlife.ie or 01-7992711
Pet insurance
Cover for a three-year-old male mongrel in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. The beast is untagged, and has no health problems. Excess €150. Online insurer www.123.ie has a dirt-cheap accident-only premium of €83.95 -- but doesn't Fido deserve the best?
Best: 123.ie premium €149.92
Avoid: Allianz €157.21
Saving: €7.29
contact www.123.ie or 1890 221123
Life insurance
Chances are that you won't get rubbed out unless you have a big policy. Probably not the best selling point for life cover. A policy worth €400,000 over 20 years for a 45-year- old male smoker. Chill.ie is offering a fairly chunky 60 per cent discount in the first year. Year two isn't quite so pleasant.
Best: Chill.ie €477.75 per year
Avoid: Canada Life €1,554.36
Saving: €1,076.61
contact www.chill.ie or 1890 30 20 20
Whoops, sorry...
Last week's figures for the interest paid on an €80,000 lump sum lodged with Investec, Permo or Ulster were plum bonkers and horribly wrong. Sorry. Sadly, 3.6 per cent is about as good as you'll get.
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