With Christmas just around the corner, many people will be thinking about doing their Christmas shopping for gifts, food and drink. It is estimated that the average amount Brits will spend on each Christmas gift will be £23, not to mention the extra costs spent on food and drink for the festive season. Therefore it is important to make sure that your contents insurance will cover you for these extra items kept within your property this Christmas. Did you know, around Christmas time some insurance companies may increase the level of contents cover they provide by up to an extra 10% for the month of December?

Protect yourself from fraud this Christmas…
With more and more people shopping online to find the best deal on Christmas gifts this year it is important that you take measures to protect yourself from the increased risks of Identity Fraud. Identity theft is an ever increasing concern with over 77,000 cases recorded in 2007. It is estimated that Identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.2 billion a year!

Here are a few measures that you could take in order to try and keep your Identity safe:
* Only buy products online from a trusted supplier.
* When making payments online ensure the webpage is secure. The web address should begin with ‘https’ rather than ‘http’ and there should be a small padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser.
* Invest in virus and spyware scanning software and scan your computer regularly to check for viruses etc which could jeopardise the security of your computer.
* Shred your bank statements and any letters containing your personal information.
* Check your credit history on a regular basis to monitor any activity

Insure4Retirement are offering Funkyfogey members FREE Identity Theft Assistance Cover when you take out a policy with them!