Government to crackdown on insurance cover from travel agents

According to a recent report the government in the UK plans to crackdown on travel insurance cover purchased from travel agents in a bid to provide consumers with higher levels of protection when they purchase this insurance.

The government has announced plans to regulate the sector, and this means that travellers could look forward to increased levels of protection when they purchase their travel cover from travel agents.

The government has announced that the Financial Services Authority will now be regulating travel insurance sold alongside holidays by travel agents. Travel agents that plan to sell this type of insurance with holidays will therefore have to make sure that it is designed to fit the needs of customers.

Customers will have to be treated fairly in line with Financial Services Authority regulations when buying these policies, and in the even that the customer of dissatisfied with an aspect of the sale of the policy he or she can go through the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, stated: ‘Evidence shows that companies regulated by the FSA are better at getting consumers to make an informed choice because they are better at explaining the key features and exclusions of the product and guiding the customer through the sales process.’

The crackdown results from complaints from consumers groups with regards to unsuitable and expensive policies being sold to customers in the past – a problem that this move will help to reduce. The new regulations are set to come into force in 2009, although many officials from the travel agents industry are not happy about the move.

The travel agency industry had asked for the opportunity to make changes without these new regulations being put in place, but were not granted this opportunity.

Tom Smith
4th July 2007

Tags: finance, agency, cover, holiday, price, cost, options, Insurance

Banking Facilities Made Available For Migrant Community

With a vast number of new workers entering the UK on an annual basis, financial institutions have recently realized the need to offer banking facilities to those that have no national insurance number, no guarantee of employments, and no credit history within the UK. In the past migrant workers have found it very difficult to set up any sort of banking facility, leaving them in a difficult situation if they get work and need to have their salaried paid in.

With over four hundred thousand workers coming into the UK over the past twenty four months, a number of banks have now started offering facilities, such as HSBC bank, which now offers the passport bank account. This is a bank account that can be opened in advance for workers coming over to the UK, and gives workers moving to the UK valuable basic banking facilities. Account holders will have somewhere to have their salaries paid in, can use telephone and Internet banking, can set up standing orders and direct debits, and can enjoy the benefits of a current account with an International Maestro debt card.

However, HSBC has now hit out at an alternative solution that is being introduced by Mastercard. The credit card giant has introduced a pre-paid card onto which employers can pay the employee’s salary. The card holder can then use the card through the use of chip and pin technology, and it can be reloaded at one of thousands of post offices throughout the UK.

Both HSBC and the Halifax have stated that although the card might seem like a good idea for those desperate to obtain facilities and have found it difficult to open a bank account, there are hidden charges that can really add up and make using the card a very expensive alternative to a basic bank account.

Tags: foreign, Banking, muslim, faith, religion, migrant, options