The gateway to community care services is a care assessment and access to this for claimants is vital. The government has introduced a single assessment procedure (SAP) for older people which combines the assessment for local authority social services with health needs guidance.
When the care assessment has been completed, the local authority will decide whether or not it should provide or arrange community care services under eligibility criteria set by each local authority. Local authorities are obliged to involve other departments in the assessment process such as welfare benefits, health, housing, transport, etc.
The assessment process will normally consist of three stages:
Assessment of need and circumstances.
Identifying needs to be dealt with by the local authority under its eligibility criteria.
Financial assessment, if appropriate. (more…)
Homeowners all over the UK have had the frightening thought of how well they’re covered in the event of flood damage to the most important of their personal assets; their home.
Thousands of families now find themselves dwelling in flood plains, and live with the looming threat that they can be hit with flood damage practically without warning. With the recent flood activity that’s been experienced across the UK, and the ensuing damages that property owners have had to face; people have experienced a lot of difficulty attempting to find an insurance company that will provide flood risk insurance coverage. Increases in the number of areas facing possible flooding has increased over the years, and the number is expected to continue to grow with the erosion of the polar ice caps caused by global warming. (more…)
A holiday to Hogwarts is an exciting thought – and few people can say that they would not be interested in entering a magical world for a few days. But should the option exist for a real life holiday to Hogwarts, a few little mishaps could occur that ordinary UK travel insurance may not cover.
You’re likely to be extremely excited before your holiday starts, and as you make your way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters you’ll probably start to notice a few extraordinary people passing you by. Owls transported in cages, wire-haired grey wizards hurrying by with straggling children, and rats poking their noses out of small boys’ pockets are likely to be the sights that will meet your eyes. And if you’re a little nervous about running through the wall onto the mysterious platform, you can always ask a kindly witch for a few tips on crossing through. (more…)
Expensive Vacations
If the vacation that you’re booking is costing you a small fortune between the flights, hotel rooms and other details, then travel insurance is probably a good idea. Unlike a cheap vacation, if your expensive holiday plans fall through or are otherwise compromised, you could be out a great deal of money. Rather than take that kind of chance, you should at least purchase cancellation/interruption insurance when your trip is going to cost you a pretty penny. If something happens and you have to cut your trip short or cancel it altogether, the nonrefundable part of your reservation – as well as other fees – will be covered.
Package Deals
Package deals are great ways to save money while traveling; all-inclusive deals are even better still. However, they usually come along with very strict rules regarding cancellations. Many times, changing even a single part of your reservation will be penalized by all of the rates being reverted back to their full price. This can turn a cheap vacation into an incredibly costly one. Insurance can help protect you against this type of situation, allowing you to make your plans without fretting about any unforeseen problems ruining everything. (more…)
Running a caravan site is a business like any other. And no matter what the business there is always risk. Fortunately you can insure against many of these risks, giving you peace of mind and financial security.
For a caravan park with employees, employee liability insurance is compulsory by law and caravan park owners must be insured for at least £5m. The Health and Safety Executive can levy fines of up to £2500 per day if any employer does not have adequate cover in place and on display..
Now many might think that a caravan site is a low risk environment, but accidents can and will happen and it is for this reason that caravan park businesses are required to insure itself against this risk. Employee liability insurance enables caravan park owners to meet the costs of damages and legal fees if any employee is injured or made ill at work through the fault of the employer. (more…)
Insurance for unoccupied property in the UK is definitely very different from the standard home or building insurance policy. It is a non-standard type of insurance as the UK companies that make such insurances take into an account various circumstances. Often people might get surprised when they find that their ordinary home insurance policy does not cover the situation when the property has no occupant.
One of the first questions that arise in the process of getting an insurance policy for such type of property is for how long the property is supposed to be unoccupied. This depends mostly on the reason why the property is considered unoccupied.
Such reasons might be: the building might be empty because it is in a probate, the owner renovates it in order to sell it, there might be some construction works that expand the house, the house is prepared for tenants or the property is bought as a vacation or holiday home.
The majority of these reasons require a cover for a short period (no more than 30 days) and this is the most wanted type of unoccupied home insurances in UK. After that period the insurance usually could be transformed into a normal building insurance if the house gets occupied. (more…)
Sometimes a property can become vacant or empty and generally its ordinary insurance in the UK does not cover that period. For such periods one must purchase a vacant property insurance.
The reasons why the property gets vacant may vary. The property might be in a process of building and developing in order to sell it for profit, the owners might be moving to another house and selling the old one, occupants may be temporarily out of the house because of renovation or extension works or the property might be bought as a holiday or a vacation home. All these reasons determine periods of different length in which the property stays vacant.
Generally UK insurance companies offer insurance policies for such vacant properties that are located in the UK. Offering policies for properties located abroad is much more difficult as these types of insurances are often connected with an initial inspection of the property’s conditions. Insurance for vacant properties located outside of the UK is easier to get from the respective country office of an international insurance company or a local insurance company in the country where the property is located.
Vacant properties often require special insurance arrangements. Usually these are properties that will be vacant for some time and then become inhabited again. For this amount of time is needed the special insurance for unoccupied properties. The main difference with ordinary property insurance is within the cover clauses. For the cover to be effective and valid in the case of a vacant property usually some actions are required from the owner. (more…)
