Reducing car insurance costs

Recent reports and figures have recently shown how the cost of vehicle insurance cover in the UK is soaring, with premiums now thought to be a massive 30.8 percent higher than they were a year ago. This is especially troubling for drivers in the current climate because of the soaring cost of fuel, which is already financially crippling many drivers. The rocketing cost of insurance is an added problem to the many drivers who are now struggling to keep their cars on the road.

For many people these costs are unavoidable, because they need to use their cars to get to and from work in order to earn money but at the same time they are struggling to earn enough money to pay for the cost of running their cars. With many having their pay frozen and having to cope with other living cost increases too the financial pressure it getting too tough to handle.

For those that have seen their car insurance costs soar there are a number steps that they can take to try and reduce these costs. This includes:

Comparing cover: The key part of getting cheaper cover for your insurance is to compare cover from a range of providers as the cost of cover can vary from one provider to another. Get online and see what sorts of prices the different providers can offer – you can use an insurance price comparison site but do bear in mind that not all insurance providers will be included on these sites.

Drop you level cover: Of course you do need to have insurance cover in place in order to legally be able to drive your car on the road. However, there are different levels of cover available so you may want to consider dropping the level of cover that you have if there is a big difference between your current level of cover and the next one down.

Change your car: If you have a car that is eating petrol and costs more in tax then it may be worth considering changing your car to a more economical model to cut costs in a range of areas, which would include lower insurance bracket, less petrol, and lower tax. Some people have vehicles that are much larger than they actually need so now might be a good time to trade this in and opt for a cheaper, more economical model.

 

Tags: part, uk, vehicle, big difference, Driving, order, different levels, Vehicle insurance

Osborne fails to instil confidence in consumers

Earlier this week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered his 2011 Budget speech, which was watched by many people hoping to get a glimmer of hope with regards to their financial situations. Osborne did announce a range of measures that were aimed at trying to boost affordability for different groups such as first time buyers and drivers. However, according to the results of a recent poll many people are still facing uncertainty and are not feeling any more confident about their futures following the budget.

The chancellor announced a number of measures designed to try and help struggling consumers in the current climate, such as a new equity loan scheme for first time buyers to help them get onto the property ladder and a cut in fuel tax instead of an increase in order to help drivers cope with the soaring cost of petrol.

Despite these measures a recent poll carried out by uswitch.com has shown that many people now feel less confident about their financial situations than they did before the budget speech was delivered. The survey resulted showed that around 36 percent of consumers were less confident about their finances now than they had been prior to the budget speech. Another 20 percent of respondents admitted that they were concerned about their jobs.

Around 58 percent of the people that were polled as part of the survey said that they believed that now as not a good time to take on any additional financial commitments or make any major decision relating to finances because of the uncertainty that they faced with regards to their finances and their jobs.

One official from uswitch.com stated: “Stripping down living costs and household bills to the bare minimum will help consumers enjoy more disposable income.”

Tags: loan, additional financial commitments, fuel, chancellor, chancellor of the exchequer, part

Rising costs for BA travellers

Whilst British Airways is the epitome of Britain when it comes to air travel it seems that for those that want to fly BA will have to pay over the odds, as the airline brings in a variety of new regulations to try and help it cope with rising costs and increased financial losses. Read more

Tags: Ryanair-style, part, flights, reserve seats, low cost airlines, cash, BA, british airways

Deposit levels could shoot up further for would be buyers

Until the end of 2007 the UK, along with many other nations, had enjoyed around a decade of easy credit, and for many the sudden financial restrictions that came into play with the onset of the global credit crunch in 2007 came as a real shock. Read more

Tags: Commercial mortgage, nigh, house deposits, mortgage industry, part

Merger between Co-op and Britannia

According to recent reports there is to be a merger between the Britannia Building Society and Co-operative Financial Services. The merger will take place in the event that a new law that allows mutuals to merge is given the go ahead in March. Read more

Tags: mergers, recent reports, provider, Co-operative Financial Services, britannia, substance

PM prepared to plough billions for into financial sector

Earlier this month the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, indicated that they were prepared to plough billions of pounds more into the financial sector through the use of taxpayer’s money in order to try and get things moving again. Read more

Tags: part, month, gordon brown, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, government financial help, purse, Prime Minister and the chancellor

Future bleak for economy in UK

According to business leaders the future for the economy in the UK is looking very bleak, with many claiming that in the final part of last year the economy experienced ‘frightening deterioration’. Read more

Tags: interest, British Retails Consortium, Business Finance, recession, rate, uk economy, consumer, part

Consumers must get into saving discipline

Consumers need to “get into the discipline of saving”, according to an independent financial advisor.

Colin Jackson, director of Baronworth Investment Services, has said that once a consumer gets into saving, it becomes part of general financial overheads.

“If you decide that you really must save every month it’s no good saying that you’ll put £10 in a building society account every month, set up some sort of saving scheme where it’s paid by direct debit,” he recommended.

Another tip for effective saving would be to work out what money is being put away for.

Mr Jackson advised that consumers should use a building society account for a holiday. An Isa would provide greater tax-free benefits if the money was being saved for retirement purposes.

Recent statistics showed that total UK personal debt at the end of October 2007 stood at £1,391 billion. The growth rate has increased to 9.7 per cent for the previous 12 months.

This equates to an increase of £122 billion.

Tags: rate, retirement, investment, part, personal debt, colin jackson, consumer, previous 12 months

Home insurance should cover new installations

Homeowners could benefit from increasing home insurance cover to cater for the increased value of their homes following renovations advised an industry body.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) said that the reassessment of the contents value and building cover is dependent on what work has been done and its size.

Steve Foulsham, technical services officer for BIBA, said: “If it’s an expensive, state of the art new kitchen worth £10,000, then you may wish to increase your sum insured to cater for that.”

He added that BIBA gets many queries from members of the public asking for clarification on what falls within home and contents insurance.

The “general feeling” among insurers is that once a renovation has been fixed down, it becomes part of the building, Mr Foulsham concluded.

According to the British Retail Consortium, citing figures from Datamonitor, in 2008 the UK DIY and hardware market is estimated to be worth £16.1 billion.

This is an increase of 17.7 per cent since 2003.

Tags: industry, building, sum, part, cover, body, economics, public asking

Housing market slowing down

House prices in the UK are increasing in price at the slowest rate they have all year.

The Halifax House Price Index shows that properties increased in value by 0.3 per cent in May, signalling the third consecutive month of the market slowing down.

The average house price sits at a lofty £196,893 and buyer interest fell for the fifth consecutive month.

The housing market is expected to continue to slow down in the coming months, with increasing interest rates and reduced real earnings each playing a part.

Commenting on the 0.3 per cent price increase, Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, cited rising interest rates as the main factor.

“This is the smallest increase so far this year and the third successive easing in the monthly growth rate,” he said.

“The recent slowing in monthly house price inflation, together with further evidence of moderation in housing market activity, suggests that the interest rate rises since last summer are having an impact on the market.”

A slowing down of the housing market is good news for first-time buyers as ever-increasing house prices are making it very difficult for young buyers to get onto the property ladder.

Tags: value, Subprime mortgage crisis, United Kingdom, halifax, Index, successive easing, part, rising interest rates

Chip and pin – one year on

It was more than a year ago that the UK was first introduced to the payment system of chip and pin.

February 14th 2006 was officially named Pin Day and consumers were told to brace themselves for one of the biggest changes ever seen to the way in which we paid for goods.

Of course it all went off without a hitch, despite scare mongering in some quarters that we would all suffer mental breakdowns as a result of having to remember our pin numbers.

To mark the anniversary of chip and pin, the UK payments association Apacs has released figures regarding the system and its implementation.

Apacs says that more than 185 chip and pin transactions take place every second, 138 million chip and pin cards have been issued and 98 per cent of all shop tills in the UK are chip and pin-friendly.

The association also points to credit card fraud figures, which fell in 2005 and are expected to do the same in 2006, while retailers have reported that transaction times have fallen after an initial bedding-in period.

“The rollout of chip and pin has been a tremendous success,” said Sandra Quinn from Apacs.

“Chip and pin cards now account for 97 per cent of all payment cards in circulation in the UK. As a result, it is now safer than ever to use your card when shopping, and far more difficult for fraudsters to get access to your money.”

Despite the positive figures, chip and pin technology was recently hacked into by researchers at Cambridge University as part of a project designed to test the system’s robustness.

Tags: pin numbers.To, pin technology, hitch, Technology, rollout

Blame it on Morse

The price of a home in Oxford has shot up since the first series of TV show Inspector Morse was broadcast 20 years ago.

That is according to research by Halifax, which says that the region has consistently outperformed regional and national averages.

A house in Oxford will now cost an average £304,467, an increase of 388 per cent since 1986, the year before Morse was first aired.

House prices in Oxford now stand at 70 per cent higher than the national average, an increase on the 56 per cent difference which existed 20 years ago.

Figures show that Oxford is now the third most expensive area in the UK, behind London and St Albans.

This is another signal of the region’s growth, as it was ranked 59th back in 1986.

“The premium between house prices in Oxford and the UK average has increased over the 20 years since Inspector Morse first appeared on our TV screens. The average price in Oxford is now 70 per cent above the national average,” said Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax.

Inspector Morse first came to our screens with an episode called The Dead of Jericho, taking its name from the historic part of Oxford.

House prices in Jericho are now the most expensive in the city.

Tags: part, Inspector, national averages, cent difference, show, Mass media

Brits confused over credit ratings

The majority of Britons are confused about their credit rating and have been fed misinformation about how it works and what it is for.

Research, carried out by Credit Expert, found that a huge 71 per cent of people believe former residents who previously lived at their address can affect their credit rating.

This is untrue and is just one of a string of falsehoods which many people have come to associate with credit ratings.

Of those who took part in the survey, 63 per cent said that they thought friends and family can affect the ratings of people they live with.

In addition, 41 per cent thought that a poor credit rating meant that you were on a blacklist. Credit Expert says this is untrue and points out that all lenders make decisions based entirely on their own policies.

As well as highlighting the myths surrounding credit ratings, Credit Expert has also outlined what kind of things can affect a person’s credit score.

Past debts play a big role in an individual’s credit rating, with missed payments remaining on a credit report for 36 months.

The score can also be affected by other people to whom you are tied financially, for instance if you have a joint account with somebody. Even if the person is an ex-partner and you have split up, it is important to ensure that all financial ties are broken.

Bankruptcy is another negative mark and will show on your credit report for at least six years.

Tags: role, credit ratings, lenders make decisions, Credit history, myths, part, Credit Expert