Many holidaymakers will embark on their annual break without any travel insurance and people taking to the roads in Europe are failing to take out breakdown cover. A study by the Money Advice Service reveals that 53 per cent of people in the UK are planning to take a summer holiday, but half of these [...]
A new initiative by the insurance industry and the UK government should make it easier for older customers to find motor and travel insurance. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has entered into an agreement with the UK Government and the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), requiring insurers and brokers to refer clients to another [...]
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Travellers whose flights were disrupted by the Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010 can now go ahead with insurance claims. Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April and May 2010, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ruled that the resulting volcanic ash cloud, which led to airspace being closed, could be considered a “poor weather [...]
Two companies have announced new travel insurance policies this week, just in time for people setting off for their Christmas breaks. Insurance provider Hiscox has launched a new policy for all members of the family, whether they are travelling in Europe or further afield. The policy offers up to £10 million emergency medical cover, up [...]
Only a quarter of travel insurance policies offer cover if the policy holder is stranded because their airline has gone bust, according to a new study. The research by Defaqto found 77% of travel insurance policies do not cover airline failure. Even insurers that cover airline failure may only offer a refund for the missed [...]
Travel agents are selling rip-off travel insurance policies to British holidaymakers, Which? has claimed. An undercover investigation by the consumer advice group found travel agents selling policies worth just £20 for up to £80.99. Over half of the travel agents visited (17 out of 29) failed to provide basic details of the insurance policies they [...]
Insurers need to “change their approach” to older travellers, moneysupermarket.com claimed this week. A spokesperson for the price comparison site made the comment after research found that British travellers can see travel insurance premiums more than double after their 65th birthday. Multi-trip policies in Europe increase by up to 174% for travellers aged 65 or [...]
Brits travelling abroad this month have been encouraged to take out travel insurance by moneysupermarket.com. The price comparison site said insurance for winter breaks is available for as little as £10 per week. “Whether you’re seeking sunshine in Spain or snow on the slopes, travel insurance is an essential item when planning any holiday and [...]
The Post Office this week launched travel insurance for “gap year gatecrashers”. The insurance, aimed at over-65s who want to travel overseas on a regular basis, provides year-round, multi-trip cover. The upper age limit of the cover is 74, and policyholders can choose to add optional extras including extended baggage, excess waiver, and golf cover. [...]
Most travel insurance firms are now accepting swine flu related claims without a doctor’s letter, the UK’s insurance trade insurance association has confirmed. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said member companies will accept swine flu claims without asking for proof from a GP. Instead, insurers will ask for the unique ID number given to [...]
A number of low-cost airlines are flouting EU rules on automatically adding travel insurance when flights are booked. An investigation by consumer rights group Which? found that easyJet, Jet2 and Monarch continue to automatically add travel insurance policies at the time of booking. The cost of this extra insurance is between £7 and £10.49 per [...]
Record numbers of holidaymakers are searching for the best deals on travel insurance at price comparison website Confused.com. Travel insurance enquires at the site are up 63% compared to this time last year – a trend Confused.com expects to see continue throughout the summer. Single trip insurance is proving the most popular, with seven in [...]
AXA Travel Insurance is to offer travel insurance to passengers of low-cost airline Ryanair following an agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of the deal, starting September 2010, AXA will offer Ryanair’s 67 million passengers single-trip, multi-trip and annual travel insurance policies on ryanair.com. Michael Cawley of Ryanair said the partnership with AXA [...]
Brits taking a well-earned break abroad are paying up to six times the going rate for travel insurance. Research by price comparison site Confused.com found that insurance bought in a travel agent can cost nearly 500% more than the best value policy. For example, the cheapest cover for a single adult spending a week in [...]
Travel insurers dramatically increase premiums ‘overnight’ when customers reach their 66th birthday. Research by Moneysupermarket.com found that the average price of annual multitrip travel insurance is more than double for a 66 year old compared to a 65 year old. Annual multitrip policies cost an average of 106% more for 66 year olds compared to [...]
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 [...]
Nearly one in four Brits are skimping on travel insurance to keep down the cost of their holiday, research from American Express has discovered. Many people in the UK are looking to escape the gloom of the recession with cheap last minute holiday deals, but an increasing number are putting themselves at risk by choosing [...]
Winter holiday luggage is more valuable than its summer holiday counterpart, according to new research released by Saga Insurance. The average contents of a winter holiday suitcase are worth £238 more than for a summer holiday. Eight per cent of Brits take a winter holiday, and travel with an average of £643 worth of luggage. [...]
Saga Insurance is now offering airline failure cover as standard in its travel insurance packages. The over-50′s insurance specialist said its decision to include the cover as standard was prompted by the recent series of bankruptcies to high-profile airlines, including XL Airways and SilverJet. Airlines are being squeezed by the credit crunch, leaving travellers at [...]
Barclays appoints new chairman
Barclays has announced the appointment of Sir David Walker as its new chairman. He will take over from Marcus Agius who resigned from the role after Barclays was fined £290 million by regulators in the UK and US for manipulating Libor, the interbank lending rate. The appointment of Sir David, a respected and experienced banker, [...]
Post Office stepping up mortgage offering
The Post Office is expanding its mortgage service with the introduction of mortgage specialists in its branches. Mortgages have been available from the Post Office since 2009, but applications have had to be made online or over the phone. It currently offers mortgage with deposits as low as 10 per cent and plans to enhance [...]
Help Loan closed after breaching money-laundering rules
Payday Loan company MCO Capital has been closed down by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and fined £544,000 after failing to check the identity of its borrowers. The firm, which traded as Help Loan, was targeted by criminals and cheated of more than £1.5m by the fraudsters due to its negligence. The criminals stole [...]
Health insurance becoming unaffordable warns Bupa
The rising cost of private healthcare is pushing health insurance in the UK up to unaffordable levels, according to international healthcare group Bupa. A lack of competition among private hospitals has led to the cost of treatment rising, and the insurer says that this could lead to health insurance becoming unaffordable. An increase in the [...]
Bank of England forecasts zero economic growth
The Bank of England does not expect the UK economy to grow at all this year according to its latest quarterly report. It had previously forecast growth of 2 per cent for 2012 but recent gloomy economic data has led to the growth forecast being revised downwards. The forecast for medium-term growth has also been [...]
Standard Chartered in money-laundering scandal
Standard Chartered has become the latest UK bank to be accused of illegal activity. It has been accused by the New York department of financial services of hiding $250 billion worth of illegal transactions with Iranian banks between 2001 and 2010. The US regulator claims that the bank, which has wholesale banking, corporate finance and [...]
Economy benefiting from PPI refunds
The UK economy is receiving a welcome boost from compensation paid by banks to customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI). British banks have already paid out £9 billion after it came to light that they had been routinely mis-selling insurance policies designed to protect repayments on mortgage, loan and credit cards. With payouts [...]
Average house price falls to £161,000
House prices fell in July, to an average of £161,094 across the country, after increasing in the previous two months. Prices fell by 0.6 per cent in July, compared with the previous month, according to the Halifax House Price Index. Average prices are also 0.6 per cent lower compared with July 2011, the Halifax said. [...]
Tesco to offer club card points on mortgages
Retailer Tesco is launching mortgage products through Tesco Bank, allowing Tesco Clubcard holders to earn points on repayments. It is offering mainly fixed-rate deals, with interest rates ranging from 3.19 per cent to 5.09 per cent and a minimum deposit of 20 per cent. With many fixed-rate deals currently offering interest rates of below 3 [...]
Holidaymakers shun travel insurance and breakdown cover
Many holidaymakers will embark on their annual break without any travel insurance and people taking to the roads in Europe are failing to take out breakdown cover. A study by the Money Advice Service reveals that 53 per cent of people in the UK are planning to take a summer holiday, but half of these [...]
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