Business Literacy and Financial Literacy Go Hand in Hand for Self-Employed Seeking Personal Insurance

Melbourne, Australia, May 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Life insurance and income protection insurance for ordinary employees involves little more than ticking a checkbox on the super fund application form; however, for self-employed people taking out a life insurance policy can be a bit more of a challenge. Recently, however, leading financial product comparison service Rate Detective has noted an increase in self-employed people taking out life and income protection insurance, as sole operators and small businesses take advantage of one of the few remaining tax deductions and the free guide to the intricacies of personal insurance.

Self-employed people are using free comparison services to help them confidently take advantage of one of their few remaining tax deductions - that of income protection insurance for sole operators and small businesses.

Leading online life insurance comparison service, Rate Detective, has noted a sharp increase in the number of self-employed people taking out life insurance over the past 12 months. Rate Detective believes that the reasons for the increase are multivariate, and include:

Tax obligation pressure as some long-standing business deductions are tweaked, including the removal of the 25% entrepreneur's tax offset
Economic instability driving the need for security
The tendency for small business owners to have their personal and business finances heavily entangled

"People are looking for security, now more than ever before," said David Kaplan of Rate Detective.

"Given that personal insurance may be deductible, and the Rate Detective service is available for free to help cut down on research and comparison time, many of our customers see it as a good way to provide security for their family with quite a low investment," Mr. Kaplan continued.

Around 25% of personal insurance customers are self-employed, compared with a general workplace percentage of 9.3% self-employed. Additionally, there is a culture that appreciates the value of both life and income protection insurance among tradespeople, who represent a significant percentage of the self-employed.

A recent survey by Lonergan Research found that around 25% of Australian mothers would prefer to change a dirty nappy than talk about life insurance. Mr. Kaplan commented, "This is a standard attitude - it has traditionally been very difficult to convince people of the need for a product that they'll see only after their death. However, we can see that increasingly, self-employed people are utilising comparison services to get realistic, plan for the worst and then be able to enjoy the best in life."

About Rate Detective

Established in 2007, Rate Detective (Rate Detective Pty Ltd) is a rate comparison website which provides free information to consumers about home loans, credit cards, personal loans and personal insurance.

Rate Detective is run by a team of experienced financial industry and IT professionals, led by director David Kaplan. The company has plans to introduce more products to their comparison site including mobile phone plans and health insurance in the future.

In addition to the comprehensive database, Rate Detective publishes original stories on personal financial topics to enable consumers to remain informed no matter what their financial status is. Whether they are buying their first home, getting a new credit card, or saving for a holiday, Ratedetective.com.au has the tools and resources to help. These resources include a set of financial calculators designed specifically for the Australian market.

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