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Should I Choose an Ethical Bank?

There are many financial decisions to be made through our loves, but many of us look further than our own pockets when we are deciding which financial institution to use. There are some people that like the idea of an ethical bank. But what is an ethical bank and is it right for you?

What is an ethical bank?

An ethical bank will only invest money in ethical places. When banks lend or invest money they will choose where to do this. Some will just invest in anything that gives a good return and the same with lending. However, an ethical bank will avoid dealing with certain types of companies. They will try to avoid dealing with companies that have a negative influence on society. However, what they consider to fall into this bracket will vary between the banks. For example, they may not deal with companies that trade in fur or sell arms or that do anything against the ethical code of the bank.

It is worth noting that building societies could be more ethical than banks. This is because they have stricter regulations about their investments and profits go to borrowers and savers rather than shareholders. Credit unions are also another alternative. These are often run by churches or community groups and are set up to run as a financial co-operative to help those on low incomes to get affordable loans. These are very local, so you will have to see if you have one you can use and they usually have limited opening hours and do not operate online normally either.

Advantages of an ethical bank

It can feel good to know that your money is not being used for unethical practices. This can give you a feel-good feeling. If you have particular things that you really are against money paying towards then this can be a really good thing for you. It might be that you are a vegetarian, for example and want to make sure your money will not be used to finance the fur trade or you might be against war and want to make sure that it is not used to finance weapon production. However, there might be lots of other things that you care about and want to try to protect against your money being used for.

You may also find that their products are comparable with other banks and so you may not lose out just because you use an ethical bank. This will depend though as obviously all banks do differ in what they offer to their customers. You may find that it is actually the building societies that are more competitive here as they do not have shareholders and therefore, they are not profit driven and may therefore give back more to their customers In the way of higher interest payments on savings or lower charges on loans. You will need to check carefully though as it is unwise to just assume that this will be the case as it may not be.

Disadvantages of an ethical bank

It is probable that you will find better deals with banks that are not ethical. This is simply because there are more of them. There are only a few ethical banks in the UK and so there is so much competition from other banks that it is likely they will not always be able to be the most competitive. You may not mind though as you may feel that your morals are more important than getting the best return on your savings or lowest mortgage rate.

You may also find that even though the bank is ethical, it may still have practices that you do not agree with. It could be worth taking a look in more detail before you switch banks. This will depend on whether you have very strong and specific morals or whether you are just interested in something that is better with no specific thoughts as to how.

So, knowing whether to switch can be a case of finding out more about which places you consider to be ethical and then deciding whether you are happy with what they are offering. They may be very competitive so you will be happy to switch but if they are not quite so good, then you may have to think about whether you are prepared to go without a bit of interest on your savings or pay more money for your loan so that you can feel good knowing that money is being used ethically. It is worth finding out who the more ethical banks and building societies are and then you will be able to look at what products they have. This will allow you to start to decide whether they have something that might appeal to you. If they do then you will be able to compare the rates and think about whether you want to go with them or not.

How to Pick the Best Insurance Company

by admin//Insurance

There are many insurers available providing cover for all sorts of things. When it comes time for you to choose one, it can be really overwhelming. It can be hard to know what to look for in a good insurer as well as deciding which one will suit your needs the best. There are things that you can research though, which will enable you to make a well-informed decision.

Identify what you need from your insurance – it is important to start by thinking hard about what you want from your insurance and your insurer. You will have a specific type of cover you are interested in and you will need it to provide certain functions for you. You might prefer to have all your cover in one place to make it easier for you to know who your insurer is, or you might be happy to use different insurers. You may also have preferences with regards to the insurance company, perhaps wanting one that comes recommended, that you have heard of, that you trust or things like that. Think about this and note down your requirements so that you find it easier to compare different insurers and see which fit with your criteria. You can add to or change this list though, as you continue with your research.
Consider whether your current insurer will work – it can be worth starting by looking at your current insurer, if you have one. See whether you are happy to stay with them. It might be that you are looking to change because you have problem with them but maybe you are just curious to check whether they are giving you good value for money. It is wise to check this as it is easier to stay where you are, but it could be costing you more than necessary.
Ask others about their experiences – it can be really useful to chat to other people about their experiences of using insurance companies. If you are unsure of what different insurers are like then this can really help. They will be able to tell you about any significant experiences, good or bad, that they have had with particular insurers and this could help you to decide whether you feel that they will be a good insurer for you.
Consider using a broker – an insurance broker could take a lot of the hard work out of finding a good insurer. With their knowledge of the insurance market, they will be able to match you up with an insurer that should be able to match your needs. This will enable you to find out a lot more about what is available without doing much work yourself. It is worth noting though that brokers will only look at a limited amount of companies. This will therefore mean that you will not get a comparison of every single company and therefore you need to make sure that there are not other companies that will be better value for money for you.
Look at comparison websites – comparison websites will do a similar job to a broker in that you will be able to use them to compare different insurance deals. However, they will also normally be limited in the companies that they compare. You will find that the different comparison websites may also differ in the insurers that they compare. It is worth noting that they do take commission on the leads that they generate. This means that you will be likely to only get recommendations of the insurers that pay good commission. There may be better ones available that they may not list and so it could be wise to do additional research.
Do other research – this can be more time consuming and complex. You may need to look in search engines to find what insurers there are and then investigate each one by looking at their website. This can take time, but if you are only interested in companies that you know it will be quicker. Hopefully, you will feel it is worth it, especially if you find an insurance company that offers you really good value for money.

This can sound like a lot of work. It is important to make sure though, that you are happy with your choice. Obviously, you will be able to decide how much work you are willing to put in, in order to get the result that you want. You will need to decide whether you think that it is worth the work, but if you have lots of insurance or pay a lot of money then it could make a significant difference. Once you have done it a few times, it will get much easier as well and you will be able to do it more and more quickly.