Insurance Premium Finance. There’s getting it done, then there’s doing it right.

Lenders are now considering your credit score when assessing your applications. Scores rank on a 0 to 1200 count, with 1200 being the best score you can maintain. A score between 700-1000 is generally the sweet spot for lenders to be satisfied, but a lower score won’t totally rule you out of a new loan. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CREDIT SCORES:

Every application you place to a bank leaves a permanent “enquiry” on your records. Too many enquiries in a short space of time is likely to impact your score negatively, leading to difficulty obtaining finance from lenders or higher interest rates. THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR: An inexperienced Broker might not approach the right bank for you the first time, potentially resulting in a loan application decline. As a workaround, they might then resort to ‘flooding’ your application to multiple lenders until they finally get you approved. This can burn your credit score, and it’s detrimental to getting support from financiers in future. OUR APPROACH: Machine Finance never formally submits any applications to lenders unless we have your permission and consent. We take the time to assess all of our clients thoroughly, so we know that the first lender we approach for you is the most likely to offer you an approval. It’s a matter of respect, and the reason why no one sets the standard higher than us.

Insurance premium financing is worked out on what the industry refers to as “Flat Rate”. What this means is, the ‘flat rate’ you are quoted as a percentage is the equivalent to the amount you are being charged on your borrow amount. Example $100,000 of premium financing at a 4% flat rate = $4,000 in charges, and $104,000 is what you will repay your financier over monthly instalments. Most insurance brokers will provide a premium financing option (monthly instalment plan) with your annual renewal invoices. It’s important you check the flat rate to see what you are being charged, but equally important to be aware a 10-month plan isn’t the only choice you have. We provide tailored options such as 11- or 12-month terms with lower monthly instalments and lower ‘flat rates’ than most insurance brokers. Allow your insurance broker to be experts at insurance, come to us for experts in finance.

Insurance premium finance agreements must be structured so they end before, or at the same time as the insurance covers’ policy end date. If your insurance policy started 2 or more months ago, but your invoice is almost due and you are seeking premium finance now, in most cases a premium funder might ask you ‘make up’ the 1st month and 2nd month of repayments you would have already made had you financed at the start of the insurance policy period. to bring the loan in line with the This is the reason you can end up with a double, or triple instalments up front on a premium financing agreement. To avoid this, you should be asking your insurance borker to not delay your invoices, and send them to you as early as possible, instead of close to their due dates. For financing, send us your invoices as early as possible to avoid double up of instalments. If you are running a little late, that’s okay, we can alternatively look to structure your loan to start ‘in arrears’ (or in other words, 1 payment behind). This way you can achieve one instalment up front, but note, it can usually result in a slight increase to the rate, but nothing dramatic. In any event, it’s important to talk to us before signing off on your insurance brokers premium finance (or monthly instalment plan). They are experts at insurance, but the nuances of how you can structure your financing with a tailored fit is best managed by us.