50% of Brits don’t seek financial advice
June 20, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
More than half of people in the UK have never sought professional advice regarding their finances, a new study has revealed.
Research from Zurich has shown that 57 per cent of all Brits and 84 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 years old have never asked for financial advice.
Half of the people surveyed said that one of the reasons they have not approached anyone for advice about their money situation is that they feel is would not be of much value to them as they do not have a large disposable income.
Tony Solomon, director of Life Marketing at Zurich, said: “The sheer number of people walking blind into their financial decision-making presents a disturbing trend in society and an alarming picture for the future.”
Figures from Credit Action have revealed that the households pay an average interest of £3,790 each on their total debt every year.
Londoners spend the most on loved ones
March 1, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
London males spend an estimated £2,458 on their loved ones per year, double the national average, according to the latest figures. 
Findings from moneysupermarket.com show that women spend £659 on their partner each year while men fork out £1,326 on items such as anniversary gifts, dining out, flowers and special holidays.
According to the figures, female and male Londoners spend an average of £1,776 on each other compared with those in the north where £873 is spent.
Richard Mason, director at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said: “People might laugh at the north where the starry-eyed spend is less than half of that in London, but £873 a year is still a pretty respectable figure.”
“And it’s the Midlands that has the dubious honour of having three per cent of people spending nothing on their partner,” he added.
The research also found that British males spend seven times more on gifts for their partners than on extras for their cars, which came in at £191.
Further findings from the firm show many Brits miss out on the significant tax-free savings available in Individual savings accounts.
Pet insurance affected by location and housing
September 28, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
The cost of insuring a pet can be affected by where the animal is housed and what part of the country you live in.
According to insurer Allianz, there are various factors which determine the price of pet insurance premiums such as the age and breed of a pet, how much it cost to buy it, how much physical activity it takes part in and if the owner lives in an area where it is expensive to run a veterinary surgery.
Clare Wheatley, risk and underwriting manager for Allianz’s Petplan programme, noted that “the cost of setting up and running a vet practice can vary greatly across the UK”.
She added: “We take a pet’s age, breed and location into account when insuring them.
“Age is a factor because just like humans, pets are more likely to fall ill as they get older. A man or woman may develop diabetes and arthritis later in life, and so may a pet. Therefore, to cover the additional risk of insuring an older animal we charge slightly more for dogs over the age of eight (five years for some breeds) and cats over the age of ten.”
Wimbledon is smashing time
June 20, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Tennis is soon set to dominate our lives again as the Wimbledon Championship approaches.
However, as the UK gears up for the country’s premier tennis tournament, Halifax Home Insurance is warning that it is likely to see an increase in claims.
The firm says that claims for smashed windows and other broken glass peak in July as thousands of people try to emulate their sporting heroes.
Figures from 2006 show that broken glass claims increased by 76 per cent in July, compared to January, and it is a trend that Halifax sees every year.
“Last summer we saw a particularly high rise in claims for smashed windows and other domestic breakages as Wimbledon and the World Cup coincided,” explained Vicky Emmott from Halifax Home Insurance.
“We’d advise any budding [Andy] Murrays and [Maria] Sharapovas to take care when playing racquet sports close to home and check they are insured for accidental damage should a mishap occur.”
Wimbledon runs between June 25th and July 8th and Halifax says that it expects to see most claims coming from Southend, Romford and Illford and Ipswich as these areas made the most claims last year.
Pet costs ‘overlooked’ by Brits
April 13, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Pet insurance prices and veterinary fees are among many costs forgotten by pet owners in the UK, who are currently paying out a collective £520 million each year, according to Halifax Pet Insurance.
The insurance provider claims that the average cost of buying a dog in Britain is £282, or £92 for a cat, and that some 59 per cent of Britons did not research the potential cost of their pets before they made a purchase.
Vets bills alone were one of the most overlooked costs among the 1,000 people surveyed, with owners allegedly underestimating costs by as much as 103 per cent.
“It is worrying that so few pet owners are researching the upkeep costs for their chosen pet before selecting an animal,” said Halifax spokeswoman Vicky Watson.
She added that the cost of keeping a pet varies enormously between different breeds due to the amount of food required and the different ailments that would require expensive treatment.
Ms Watson finished: “Purchasing comprehensive pet insurance can mitigate the financial risk of a pet needing expensive treatment that an owner has not budgeted for.”
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