Based on reason, some of the most popular personal loan varieties are homeowner loans or home improvement loans, debt consolidation loans, holiday loans, car loans, wedding loans, education loans and bad credit loans. One may even find a personal loan for business purposes.
Personal loans have the following sub-types:

# Secured personal loans for homeowners and property owners
# Unsecured personal loans for tenants, homeowners, property owners and students

According to recent statistics, more and more people in the UK are availing secured personal loans, as they are much cheaper than other loan options like unsecured personal loans and payment cards (credit cards, store cards, charge cards and overdrafts).

A secured personal loan is availed by offering collateral against the loan amount. Presence of collateral makes it easy for the lender to part with his money and facilitate the borrower with quick attention, high credit limit, competitive low APR, flexible payback terms and negotiable loan conditions. Hence, opting for a secured personal loan makes sense when the monetary requirement is big or credit record is poor or an unsecured loan application has been denied.

A secured loan deal has one risk (collateral seizure) – in case of repeated defaults or non-payment, the lender gets the authority to sell the pledged asset to recover his investment. And, one limitation (slow approval process) – the loan application can only be approved after time-consuming property evaluation along with other credibility factors.
However, it makes no sense risking a property for something that could be solved by another mean like unsecured personal loan. The most outstanding features of an unsecured personal loan are: no collateral (no deposit against the loan amount), less paperwork (no red tape), quick service (fast loan processing) and no immediate risks in the event of repeated defaults or non-repayment. Hence, opting for an unsecured personal loan makes sense when:

# The loan seeker is incapable of offering collateral, as he does not own one (tenant) or is living with his parents (student)
# The loan seeker is unwilling to get into property related legalities or risk his property for a small amount (homeowner or property owner)
# The monetary requirement is small and offering collateral may not be necessary (routine lifestyle needs)
# The need is urgent and getting into lengthy property evaluation procedures may not be feasible (urgent needs)

An unsecured personal loan too has certain limitations – limited amount, high APR, fixed payback terms, non-negotiable loan clauses – because in the absence of collateral, the stakes are normally high for the lender.