A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Underwriting:

The process by which an insurer takes into account your health, sex and age to assess how likely you are to make a claim. This will determine how expensive your premiums are.

Unearned income:

Money that comes from another source than a salary, such as savings interest or share dividends

Unclaimed assets:

Monies in financial institutions that have been untouched by their owners for a considerable period of time, usually 15 years or more. Some banks call accounts where there has been no activity by the account-holder for several years 'dormant accounts'.

Unit linked:

A life assurance policy in which a portion of the premium is used to purchase life cover and the balance is then invested in a unit trust/trusts. The return on the policy is thus linked to the performance of the units in the unit trust.

Unit linked policies include single premium bonds or investment bonds, unit linked endowment assurance and unit linked whole of life assurance. A unit-linked pension plan is one where members' contributions are used to purchase units in an authorised unit trust

Unit trust:

A system whereby money from a number of investors is pooled together and invested collectively on their behalf. Each owns a unit (or number of them), the value of which depends on the value of those items owned by the trust. A pooled investment which gives investors greater security and lower dealing costs than if they had invested directly in company shares

Upper Earnings Limit:

The maximum earnings on which National Insurance contributions are payable at 11 per cent by employees. Workers pay 11 per cent on earnings between the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) and the UEL. The current UEL (2007/2008) is £670 per week. NI is charged at 1 per cent on earnings above this threshold.