Ordering a Vodafone Free Sim

This is a Pay as you go SIM that you can order and receive free of charge. You can get a free SIM for your mobile phone, iPad or tablet.

Unlike the SIMs you can buy in our stores, our free SIMs don’t come with any credit - so you’ll need to top up if you want to make calls and texts.

With a free Pay as you go SIM, you can join Vodafone's dependable network without needing to take out a long-term price plan. You can also keep your existing mobile phone number, be rewarded for every TopUp with Vodafone Freebee Rewardz, and have the chance to join us at some of Britain’s best events with Vodafone VIP.

You can have up to 8 free sim cards, which is more than enough for the family. I myself have one and they provide very good network coverage around the UK, you should try it out!

Vodafone Urges IPhone Users

UK network Vodafone is warning users of iPhone 4S handsets on its network to avoid upgrading to iOS 6.1. Vodafone is sending out text messages to its users as well as issuing a statement that claims Apple is already working on a fix for the problem. Apparently it is only affecting iPhone 4S users and is an intermittent 3G problem causing failed calls and texts as well as internet access problems.

We’re aware of an issue caused by Apple iPhone 4s handsets that have been upgraded to iOS 6.1 which impacts performance on 3G.

Some customers may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the Internet. Apple is working on a solution to their software issue. These connection problems are intermittent.

While Apple’s investigations continue, we would recommend that anyone who has not yet installed iOS 6.1 on their iPhone 4s should delay doing so until Apple has confirmed that their problem has been fixed.

We know that Apple has already released iOS 6.1.1 beta to developers for testing and maybe this contains the fix that Vodafone is referring to. As with any new release of iOS firmware there are always many differing reports especially when it comes to battery performance. This release has been no different in that respect however the fact that Vodafone felt the need to publicly comment on this particular 3G problem does mean it could well be a major problem for many on its network.

My wife actually has an iPhone 4S on the Vodafone network in the UK and it is updated to iOS 6.1. Her iPhone is working perfectly with no sign of any issues with 3G. If there are any other readers on Vodafone in the UK experiencing any issues, please let us know in the comments!

Car Insurance for Older Drivers

Turned down or charged more for car insurance

Getting car insurance can be tricky if you're over 75
Older drivers have long felt penalised by car insurers - having to pay higher premiums or being refused cover altogether. Our research has shown that many insurers currently don't cover those aged 81 and above.

Insurers maintain that they're entitled to charge higher premiums for older drivers because the likelihood of claiming on car insurance and the cost of those claims are greater for this group. However, charities like Age UK feel that these restrictions leave many people struggling to pay increased premiums just when they may need cover most.

A car insurance premium for getting older
Our analysis of car insurance policies shows that average premiums increase sharply as you move through the age groups. For example, we found that an annual policy for a 75-year-old woman living in north London and driving a Citroen would cost £702 with Saga. However, at 85 it would cost £1,224 - a 74% increase.

It’s vital at the best of times to shop around for the best rates, but even more so as you approach those age milestones. For example, there are considerable differences between online and telephone quotes even with the same companies - we found that a 65-year-old man in the same scenario would pay £465 annually with Direct Line over the phone, but the same deal online would cost £362.

The Equality Act – what does it mean for older drivers?
The Equality Act (2010) has paved the way for more up-to-date discrimination legislation. Companies will no longer be able to turn down your application for car insurance because of your age and the ABI, BIBA and the government are set to announce their approach to the discrimination objectives in the summer of 2012.

This is good news for older drivers, but there's a catch. As a result of this Act of Parliament, insurers may still be allowed to charge older drivers more for cover if there's reasonable grounds for doing so – but they'll have to do more to justify the increased premiums, backing up the pricing model with statistical evidence.

The Act also stresses that insurers will have to help consumers who are turned down at point of sale, directing them to an independent source of information able to offer assistance in finding affordable cover - this is known as 'sign-posting'. Currently, customers unable to find quality and affordable cover are left to continue their search alone without the knowledge of where to find alternative insurance.

The car insurance industry view
Car insurance organisations are obviously keen to retain some flexibility in choosing customers and setting premium levels. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) wants the Bill to help older people access cover more easily: ‘BIBA’s own vision of legislation is one that ensures fairness and sign-posting to help people, but does not force insurers to cover areas they have never dealt with and do not understand.'

Malcolm Tarling from the Association of British Insurers told Which?: ‘We believe that the government understands that insurers should continue to be able to use age as one of the risk factors, providing this approach is based on authoritative statistical data.’

Car Insurance for Young Drivers

Car insurance quotes for younger drivers vary enormously
Young drivers are statistically more likely to have an accident and make a claim on their insurance. According to road safety charity Brake, one in eight drivers is under 25, and one in four road deaths is a driver within this age group.

Tips to reduce premiums
Car insurance premiums for younger drivers don't have to cost the earth, but even where they are expensive you can help to limit the impact by following the following tips.

Downsize your engine
Buy a car from a low-risk insurance group, such as a supermini, to limit your premium. Get some quotes before you buy so that you know the rough price bracket it falls into.

Top up your learning
Enrol in a Pass Plus scheme, run by the Driving Standards Agency, to help new drivers gain extra experience.

Look for tailored policies
Some insurers offer policies more suited to young drivers such as the i-kube or Coverbox policies, which offer cheaper premiums in exchange for not driving between 11pm and 5am. According to the Association of British Insurers, 50% of serious or fatal accidents among under-21s happen at night.

The use of 'telematics' or 'black box' systems is becoming more common and allows younger (and older) drivers to secure cheaper premiums in return for 'good' driving behaviour. Policyholders' driving performance is tracked and assessed, with premiums either going up or down depending on the results.

Add a named driver
Adding named drivers to the policy can reduce the premium, particularly if they're older and more experienced. If the insurance policy is to be in the young person's name, transfer the car into their name too – many insurers won't provide cover unless the main driver is also the owner.

Consider increasing the excess
Be realistic though. If you're 17 and don't have much money, could you afford a £600 excess if you had an accident? Explore the options. Don't assume that comprehensive cover is always more expensive than third party, fire and theft. Third-party cover may be cheaper if you're buying a low-value car, but it's worth getting quotes for both.

The risks of 'fronting'
It may seem cheaper to put the policy in the parent's name, with the child as a named driver. However, if the child is actually the main driver, this practice is known as 'fronting' and is illegal. Insurers are increasingly tracing fronted policies.

If your child doesn't drive your car very often – if they're away at university, for example – you may be able to add them to your insurance as a temporary driver for short periods rather than taking out a policy of their own.

If you're fronting and you're found out, the insurer may refuse to pay out in the case of an accident and the parent may lose their NCD. In some cases the insurer may even pursue legal action for fraud.

Annuity Rates

Like life insurance, annuities will be affected by the ruling because they are based on life expectancy, which currently takes gender into account.

Women live longer than men – their life expectancy is 82, compared with 78 for men – which means that women pay higher premiums than men because the pension fund will have to last longer, whereas men’s annuities generally cover a shorter time period.

Action point: Annuities explained - read our in-depth guide for more information on current annuity pricing.

Better annuity rates for women
Once gender is no longer a pricing factor, women will get more for their money and men will get less. The general consensus is that women’s annuity income will rise by 2.5% and that men’s will fall by 2.5%.

Rates could be impacted even more than that. Some organisations, such as the ABI, think rates may change by more than 2.5%. They predict an 8% decrease for men and a 6% increase for women.

Other predictions say rates for men will fall by as much as 10%. Roughly translated, this means that a man with a £100,000 pension pot could be almost £700 a year worse off – and nearly £12,000 worse off over their lifetime.

How to find a better annuity rate
For women, waiting to purchase an annuity until after December 21 is the best idea, as they will almost certainly get an uplift on their annual income once the ruling's in place. As you get older annuity rates increase, so holding onto purchase an annuity may be a better option.

There is also the option of taking out an alternative to an annuity, such as income drawdown. Income drawdown allows people to take an income from their pension savings while leaving them invested in the stock market.

The future of annuity rates
Rates may rise slowly as annuity providers and insurance companies watch and wait to see what their competitors do, so any rate increases or decreases may not be felt for some time.

It's hoped that, in time, the annuity industry will develop more sophisticated assessment methods, which may balance out the negative impact of the gender ruling on consumers.

One thing worth remembering is that those people who take out enhanced annuities won't be as badly affected. This is because enhanced annuities take a broader range of factors (such as postcode and health) into consideration.

Whatever the outcome, you should always shop around when looking to buy an annuity. If you don't, you could end up with a bog-standard, homogenised annuity that doesn’t suit your needs and is poor value for money.

Annuity Information

It is very important to choose good investment patterns and schemes so that you can invest your financial assets in a proper way. This is the reason why some people choose annuity insurance for themselves. Before choosing an investment you must perform a good amount of research.




It is very important to find out the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the insurances that you take. The future of your financial assets depends on the pattern you choose. If you are considering an annuity then you must first find out the actual meaning of this term.

An annuity is actually the contract or the deal between the investor and the insurance company. The insurance company involved promises to something good with the money of the investor. It either helps to grow the money or pays the money out after a certain period of time. You must always remember that insurance is an essential part of your investment. If you are interested in annuity insurance then you must surely find out the pros and cons of this pattern. First of all the annuities provide guaranteed rates for the return on the dollar you invest.

Secondly it also provides a guarantee of lifetime payments. Annuities also offer the tax deferred growth of your money. Other than this, there are certain other features of the annuity insurance which can prove to be useful for your investment. But at the same time there are certain qualities of the annuities which might prove to be bad for your investment. Some of the deals might have surrender period which might tie up the money for a longer period of time. Some of the annuities might be overused in the banks.

This is the reason why it is very important to find out the details about the company rules regarding the annuity, before you invest. There are three popular annuity insurances available. Fixed, indexed and variable annuities are the major annuities provided by the companies.

All the annuities usually have some common characteristics. So you need to decide about your investment procedure from these three types of annuities. Fixed annuities are the most common and the easiest to understand. These annuities pay a fixed rate of return and after a certain period of time you can remove the money. One of the advantages of this investment is that the money is free from any kind of risks because of the fluctuations in the market. On the other hand the variable annuities have an effect on the principle because of the market fluctuations.

Variable annuities offer an opportunity for the market growth with the help of fund investing. This kind of insurance is for long term. The longer you keep your money the more it will grow. Finally when you receive the money you will be the gainer.

The third kind of annuity is actually a mixture of the first two. You can choose your annuity insurance according to your requirements. Always try to consult an expert before investing.

What is Annuity?

Some sort of living annuity is really a monetary agreement such as a good insurance product or service as outlined by which usually any home owner (issuer) — typically any lender say for example a a life insurance policy organization — can make several future payments to your buyer (annuitant) as a swap with the quick check of the group quantity (single-payment annuity) as well as several regular payments (regular-payment annuity), before the beginning of the annuity.

The check steady stream through the issuer towards annuitant comes with an unfamiliar period dependent primarily when the night out of loss of life of the annuitant. At this time the agreement will terminate and also the other parts of the deposit accumulated is usually forfeited except if there are additional annuitants as well as beneficiaries inside agreement. Hence any living annuity is usually a form of long life insurance, the spot that the anxiety of the peoples life-span is usually moved through the individual towards insurer, which usually decreases its very own anxiety simply by pooling a lot of consumers. Annuities are offered to deliver profits in the course of old age, as well as originate from any methodized relief of a personal injury court action.

There are two possible phases for an annuity:

• The accumulation phase in which the customer deposits and accumulates money into an account, and ;
• The distribution phase in which the insurance company makes income payments until the death of the annuitants named in the contract.

It is possible to structure an annuity contract so that it has only the distribution phase; such a contract is called an immediate annuity.

Annuity contracts with a deferral phase—deferred annuities—are essentially two-phase annuities, but only having growth of capital by investment in the accumulation phase (now the deferral phase), with no customer deposits.

The phases of an annuity can be combined in the fusion of a retirement savings and retirement payment plan: the annuitant makes regular contributions to the annuity until a certain date and then receives regular payments from it until death. Sometimes there is a life insurance component added so that if the annuitant dies before annuity payments begin, a beneficiary gets either a lump sum or annuity payments.