David Cameron is attending an insurance summit at Downing Street today in an effort to tackle Britain’s reputation as “the whiplash capital of Europe”. It is estimated that claims for whiplash injury following accidents are adding £90 a year on average, to car insurance premiums, which have risen by an average of 17% over the [...]
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
Soaring motor insurance premiums have prompted an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which could lead to a Competition Commission inquiry into the industry. Car insurance premiums increased by 12 per cent between 2009 and 2010 and by a further 9 per cent in the first nine months of this year. The average [...]
The government has warned that car insurance premiums for female drivers could rise by £326 when a European Court of Justice directive comes into force in December 2012. It has launched a consultation on how the decision to ban gender pricing in insurance contracts will affect the UK. The ruling will mean that insurance companies [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) today said that motorist should not be charged extra on their motor insurance for fitting winter tyres. The ABI’s members, which together account for around 90% of the motor insurance market, have confirmed that they will not expect motorists to pay additional premium if they fit winter tyres, provided [...]
AA Insurance has warned that uninsured drivers are being let off too lightly by the courts, even though they may be putting people at serious risk. According to the motoring organisation, honest drivers are being let down because uninsured motorists are being given fines and sanctions that fail to reflect the seriousness of the offences [...]
An insurance scam could have left around twenty thousand motorists uninsured according to a report by the BBC. ‘Ghost brokers’ are targeting young drivers who are struggling to afford high insurance premiums, as well as communities where English is not the first language and where residents may not understand how the UK insurance system works. [...]
The AA has told motorists to brace themselves for a sharp increase in motor insurance premiums. Research by the organisation found the average premium for comprehensive insurance has increased by 14% in the last 12 months, the biggest rise in 15 years. Simon Douglas, AA Insurance director, said consumers should expect to be hit by [...]
Fully comprehensive motor insurance is cheaper on average for young drivers than third party cover, according to moneysupermarket.com. Research by the price comparison website found third party-only cover for an average driver under 21 costs £1,434 per year. This is compared to third party, fire, and theft at an average of £1,118 and fully comprehensive [...]
British drivers treat their cars as high security vaults, collectively storing an estimated £3.8 billion worth of gadgets and accessories in their vehicles, research by over 50s insurance specialist Saga has discovered. The study found that one in five (22%) motorists over 50 keep valuables worth more than £200 in their car. This exceeds the [...]
Drivers are paying over the odds on their car insurance because of a rising number of “unnecessary” personal injury claims and associated legal fees, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said this week. The insurance industry body said soaring injury claims and associated legal fees have become a major issue for motor insurers, and are [...]
Saga is offering customers with breakdown assistance cover the chance to upgrade to a new policy that includes breakdown repair production. The over-50′s insurance specialist said the new policy covers customers for up to £500 for labour and parts if their vehicle is so damaged that it cannot be repaired at the roadside and needs [...]
Frugal householders that scrimp on home insurance to save money are playing a risky game, an industry expert warned this week. Graeme Trudgill, corporate affairs executive at the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), said homeowners should not use the recession as an excuse to stop paying premiums on buildings and contents insurance cover. His comments [...]
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 [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has declared that “time is up” for vehicle matching rogue traders who cost UK consumers an estimated £3 million a year. Last year, Consumer Direct, OFT’s advice service, received 1,600 complaints about vehicle matching scams, although the real number of victims is believed to be far higher. Victims are [...]
Motorists planning to drive overseas this summer should contact their car insurance provider before setting off, uSwitch.com has warned. Research by the price comparison site found that one in five (22%) drivers believe their car insurance provides the same cover abroad as it does in the UK. A similar number (18%) think that travel insurance [...]
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 [...]
Saga is offering accident healthcare cover to its car insurance customers. The financial provider, which specialises in providing cover for the over 50′s, said the optional add-on gives drivers peace of mind should they be injured in a road traffic accident. Saga said it decided to offer the add-on after it discovered that ill health [...]
Millions of people in the UK have cancelled or reduced their insurance policies in a bid to save money as the recession bites. Research from Sainsbury’s Finance found that nearly 950,000 Brits have either given up or cut down their home contents insurance, whilst an additional 700,000 have reduced or stopped payments for their buildings [...]
Seven in ten UK drivers have changed their motoring habits in a bid to cut the cost of driving. Research by Saga Motor Insurance found that those who have taken steps to cut costs are saving an average of £17 per week. The most popular change is driving fewer miles, with 37% of motorists reducing [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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