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NEW YORK (AP) – Fixed mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest levels of the year, giving Americans more incentive to buy homes or refinance their loans.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.63 percent from 4.71. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.82 percent from 3.89 percent. Both are at their lowest points since December. It marked the fourth straight weekly decline.

Rates track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell close to its lowest level of the year this week.

Low mortgage rates could boost the struggling housing market, which has dragged on the economy. Home sales are far below healthy levels. Most homebuilders reported a drop in new orders in the first three months of the year, an indication of future activity.

Job worries and strict lending standards have kept potential buyers on the sidelines. And the high number of foreclosures is forcing home prices down, leaving some would-be buyers concerned that prices have yet to bottom out.

Fewer homeowners had their houses repossessed by banks in April than a year ago, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. But that’s because it’s taking lenders longer to take back homes already in the foreclosure process because of paperwork delays. Last fall, evidence surfaced that lenders pushed through foreclosures without properly reviewing each case.

The holdup threatens to push back a resolution to the foreclosure crisis and a meaningful recovery in housing.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.41 percent from 3.47 percent. The five-year adjustable-rate loan hit 3.25 percent last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate loan fell to 3.11 percent from 3.14 percent. That marked the lowest level for the rate on the 1-year ARM in the last year.

The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year fixed loan and 15-year fixed loan in Freddie Mac’s survey was 0.7 point. The average fee for the five-year ARM was 0.6 point and the average fee for the 1-year ARM was 0.5 point.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Life Insurance: Security At Its Very Best

One of the hazards of modern day life is the fact that it has become extremely uncertain. The statistics also attest this fact. The rate of road accidents in the UK has increased manifold in the last ten years. What is even scarier is the fact that most of these accidents have proved to be fatal. It is not difficult to understand why. Life today is being lived at a very furious pace, and in the eagerness to reach places quickly, one often overlooks traffic signals with disastrous consequences.

Another thing that is synonymous with today’s world is the continuous rising expenses in life. Indeed, it is a tough task keeping the body and soul together in today’s age. Particularly, for the middle class who have to live strictly within their budget. Any sudden and unexpected expense can really send their lives out of gear. In this scenario, imagine the plight of a family whose only working member faces sudden demise. However, this critical situation can very well be taken care of, at least financially, had one opted for life insurance.

Life insurance, on the demise of a person, provides his family with the amount of the policy, thereby relieving them from financial worries. However, to gain maximum from life insurance, it is mandatory that people pay a good deal of attention while signing the policy. Certain points can be termed as absolutely important, and therefore must be verified.

Such points include information like whether the policy comes to life as soon as it is signed and what the amount is that one has to pay as monthly premium. One should also ensure that no false information is provided to the insurance company, for it might lead to the cancellation of the policy. If such precautions are taken, there cannot be an iota of doubt in the fact that opting for life insurance will prove to be a very worthy decision for any individual.

Allan Elvin is an MBA in Finance and has a rich experience of writing on topics related to finance. He professes special interest and expertise in Life Insurance and in guiding you on its various details.

Life insurance, on the demise of a person, provides his family with the amount of the policy, thereby relieving them from financial worries.

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Healthcare Insurance : Know What All Are Not Insured

Beyond life insurance, buying a health insurance is always on priority list for people when it comes to buying an insurance. Despite the medical advancement has increased the life expectancy level, today we are prone to catching disease of several types. Thus having an insurance, which gives you full-proof healthcare becomes an important thing much in demand. But the large number of insurance companies creates big havoc in form of confusion about which insurance policy is best to buy.

Many of the insurance companies even manipulate the facts about their policies, and persuade customers to buy their policies. Thus, it is very important that you collect all insurance related information before you finally decide to buy the policy. Often, insurers are misled when it comes to knowing what all are covered and not covered by the healthcare insurance. Thus some discussion about what all are the conditions, which are not covered, can guide you while buying it.

Most of the healthcare insurance policies are specific about covering the number and types of diseases. Usually if you are suffering from any chronic disease, which is incurable, the insurance will not cover you. So, it is very important for insurers to know exactly about the diseases, which will not be covered. If the disease you are suffering from is not covered, it is better that you don’t buy that insurance. You should rather look for a health insurance, which will cover your disease appropriately.

The other excuse you might face from insurance company after you have bought the insurance is that the medical condition for which you are insured is an pre-existing condition. Thus, you need to beware of such condition with appropriate medical check-up certificates. The whole confusion in the process of availing a healthcare insurance can be availed by giving a careful reading of documents while buying the policy. Try to understand all the rules and guidelines of the policy at the time of buying it.

The author is associated with UKโ€™s leading healthcare and medical insurance broker, Essential Health Ltd, which provides medical benefits, to its clients in UK and around the world, for Cancer, Medical insurance, Critical illness, Travel insurance, Dental insurance, Financial protection, Life, Term Assurance, Accident Insurance, Healthcare, Health insurance and even Sickness insurance.

Due to the flood of insurance companies in the market, people are often confused about buying the right healthcare insurance. They are often misled by insurance agents. Knowing some information about what all are not covered by the insurance can save them from being beguiled.

Tag: health care, medical insurance, medical health insurance, family health insurance, quick medical insurance