Gross
A gross amount has not had any deductions taken from it.

Gross interest
This is the interest on savings before any tax is taken off.

Gross pay
This is your pay before anything is taken away from it like income tax and National Insurance contributions.

H

Health insurance
There are many types of health insurance - some give you a lump sum if you become ill, others pay you a regular income while you cannot work. Some health insurance pays for your treatment at a private hospital - and lets you jump the waiting list.

Hire purchase
This is an agreement that lets you take away goods and use them while you pay for them with regular payments. After a set length of time, when you have paid for the goods, they will become yours. Cars are often bought this way. You would not own the car until you have finished paying the hire purchase agreement - so you would not be able to sell the car until you had paid for it.

I

Identity
Your identity is who you are. You may be asked to show documents that prove that you are who you say you are. You can use lots of different documents to prove who you are including: 

your birth or adoption certificate
a valid passport or a marriage certificate and
papers that show your address, date of birth or photo.

The person who needs to see your identity will be able to give you a full list of documents that you can use.

In credit
'In credit' means that there is money available to spend in an account.

Income
Your income is the money you have coming in. It includes things like wages, benefits (like income support or child benefit) and child maintenance payments.

Index linking
Index linking means that the value of the financial product or service (for example, a pension or insurance policy) is increased in line with an index such as the Retail Price Index which measures how much everyday prices have gone up.

Inflation
This is the general increase in the cost of everyday items such as food and travel.

Instalments
These are repayments made over an agreed period of time to pay off goods bought on credit or to pay off a loan taken out to buy them.

Instant access
If you have an instant access account, you can get your money immediately without having to tell your bank or building society in advance.

Insurance cover
Insurance cover describes what you are insured for. For example, if you have a car you might have comprehensive cover or only be covered for third party, fire and theft.

Insurance premium
This is the money you pay to an insurance company for your insurance. Some premiums are paid every month, others are paid every three months or once a year.

Interest
This is the money you get on your savings in a bank or a building society. It is also, the cost you pay when you borrow money through a loan or credit agreement. It is usually worked out as a percentage of the money you have borrowed.

Interest rate
This is the percentage of money that is paid on savings or loans. For example, a savings account offering an interest rate of 10% would pay you more interest than one offering 5%. But, if you take out a loan with an interest rate of 10%, it will cost you more than one with a rate of 5%.

ISA
ISA means 'Individual Savings Account'. You do not have to pay tax on the interest you receive from an ISA. There are mini and maxi ISAs and there are strict rules about how many ISAs you can hold and how much money you can pay into them each year. Your bank or building society will be able to explain the rules for ISAs to you.

Itemising
(see Phone call itemising)