Over 300,000 UK motorists have downgraded their insurance cover to third party as the recession takes it toll on their finances. Meanwhile, an additional one million third party policy holders could no longer afford fully comprehensive cover even if they wanted it. The news comes despite the fact that more than a third (34%) of [...]
Many UK drivers treat their cars as cupboards-on-wheels, using them to store valuable goods including sat navs, books, glasses and sports equipment. Around 7 million motorists store items worth more than £200 in their vehicle, with 2.8 million of these storing items worth more than £400, recent research discovered. Youngsters and Londoners cite lack of [...]
One in ten UK adults will buy a second-hand car this summer, each spending an average of nearly £4,500. With 4.5 million drivers forking out cash for a used car between March and August 2009, the second-hand market could be worth more than £20 billion. However, this represents a 21% decrease in spending compared to [...]
Drivers who modify their cars can find themselves paying thousands of pounds extra in insurance premiums because insurers believe they are more likely to crash. A simple spoiler can hike annual premiums by as much as £700. Flared wheel arches and wings add almost £3,500 to premiums for a Ford Focus 1.6. Tinted windows, side [...]
Premium hikes on car insurance will leave motorists ‘infuriated’, a price comparison site claimed this week. Gocompare.com said insurers are raising premiums by record amounts due to soaring claims costs and increased insurance fraud. Hayley Parsons, Gocompare.com chief executive, said: “These increases are likely to infuriate drivers when they are passed on via their renewal [...]
Motor insurance firms are guilty of age discrimination, according to new research by Moneysupermarket.com. The price comparison site found that an average 17-year-old male will pay over £3,000 for a motor insurance policy – twice as much as an 18-year-old male driver. Young women drivers are subject to the same discrimination, with a 17-year-old female [...]
Up to 1.5 million motorists are set to take advantage of the new car scrappage scheme announced last week by Chancellor Alistair Darling. Research by Experian found that 7.1 million privately owned cars and vans are eligible to take part in the scheme, which offers £2,000 for cars at least 10 years old if traded [...]
Motorists looking to renew their insurance policy should shop around for the best deal available, esure said this week. The insurance provider said consumers should ‘spring clean’ their insurance policy by using a price comparison website, providing an accurate estimate of the insured car’s mileage, raising voluntary excess, and paying off premiums in a single [...]
Asda’s car insurance customers are to be covered for road rescue by LV= following a partnership deal between the two companies. LV’s Britannia Rescue division – the UK’s fourth largest road rescue company – will provide the cover for an initial period of three years, starting this month. The breakdown products will be sold in [...]
March is traditionally the month when drivers renew their insurance policy, and according to research by Saga, nearly three million motorists have downsized to a smaller car in recent months to save on insurance costs at policy renewal. Eight percent of motorists – 2.7 million drivers -have opted for a car with a smaller engine [...]
Looking for the best available car insurance deal is more cost effective than investing savings in a Cash ISA, price comparison site GoCompare.com claimed yesterday. British motorists are wasting up to £1 billion per year on unnecessary insurance costs by not taking the time to compare prices, GoCompare.com’s research found. One in five (19%) drivers [...]
Being ‘economical with the truth’ when buying car insurance is false economy, motor insurer the AA has warned. Failing to admit to previous claims or convictions is insurance fraud, the AA said, and will result in insurance being voided if the cover-up is discovered. “Not telling the whole truth amounts to fraud and can result [...]
The AA has lashed out at government plans to make age and gender discrimination illegal on car insurance policies. Premiums could double for some drivers, the AA said, if the Equities Bill, due to be brought to parliament this spring, is extended to cover the sale of insurance. Age and gender are key factors that [...]
Seven in ten UK motorists think using a handsfree kit whilst driving is a distraction, according to insurance firm esure. A study by the car insurance provider found that 71% of drivers believe making or receiving a call on handsfree technology is a distraction. Whilst it is illegal to use a handheld mobile phone whilst [...]
Motorists who have been caught using their mobile phone whilst driving pay higher insurance premiums, research by AA Insurance has discovered. Increased premiums quadruple the cost of being caught, as the average premium increase is around four-times the cost of the standard fine. Meanwhile, drivers found guilty of dangerous driving whilst using a mobile find [...]
Tesco has launched an array of car insurance special offers for the coming month – the time of year when motorists typically look to renew their policy. Clubcard customers who buy Tesco car insurance before 1 April will receive a £50 Tesco gift voucher to spend in store. In addition, online customers buying a breakdown [...]
Car insurance, along with new and used cars, will be available at bargain prices over the next month, the AA has revealed. The motor rescue and insurance company said February and March will be the ‘sale of the year’ for car insurance, and ‘the sale of the century’ for new and used cars. March vehicle [...]
Five million Brits plan to reduce outgoings by cutting back on insurance cover, LV= found in a recent survey. Most popular for cutbacks was home insurance. LV= discovered that 2.2 million households plan to reduce or cancel their home insurance policies to reduce spending. Flood risk insurance is the most likely to be cut, with [...]
Motor insurance premiums dropped 3.1% in the six months to 31 December 2008, according to figures from Sainsbury’s Bank. The supermarket insurance provider said annual car insurance premiums fell to an average of £498.22 in December 2008, compared to £514.16 in June 2008. However, the bank warned that premiums are likely to rise again this [...]
Specialist motor insurance for women and older drivers is often more expensive than traditional insurance, claims moneysupermarket.com. Research by the price comparison site found that a 30-year-old woman driving a Ford Focus would pay an average of £622 with a women-only brand. This is 60% higher than the average cover price of £388 from traditional [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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