New pet owners should get their pets insured

With Christmas Day now over for another year there are many households that will have a new addition to the family in the form of a new pet, such as a cat or dog. However, whilst families will be looking forward to starting the New Year with a new member of the family it is also important to start thinking about the health and welfare of the pet as early on as possible.

It is important for new pet owners to start thinking about getting their pet some health insurance, so that if they pet falls ill or suffers an accident it can get treatment or medication without the owners having to worry about finding the huge amounts of money that this can cost without insurance cover.

Officials have advised new pet owners to compare pet insurance to find a good deal, and to make sure that their pet gets the protection of health insurance as soon as possible. This is particularly important for those that have had younger pets such as kittens and puppies, as they are more susceptible to health problems.

Whilst there are a number of insurance companies that offer competitive health insurance policies there are also some veterinary surgeries that offer their own pet cover, so when you get your pet registered with a pet – which should also be done as soon as possible – you can enquire about their own bespoke pet health cover schemes.

Without pet insurance cover in place it can be very difficult for pet owners if something happens to their beloved animal, but with cover in place pets will have the protection of being able to get treatment and medications quickly and easily if the need arises, and pet owners will be able to enjoy peace of mind.

Tags: Ownership, worry, pet, welfare, Pet Emergency Management

PPI bill for UK banks could hit £5 billion

An analysis group has claimed that the UK’s major banks could be facing a bill of around £5 billion in relation to PPI claims from customers that believe that they were mis-sold this cover. US investment bank officials from Morgan Stanley claims that this could be the bill that UK banks are facing over the next five years, with the estimates cost of dealing with these claims continuing to increase.

Barclay’s Banks, Lloyds TSB, and HSBC are amongst those that may be footing some of this huge compensation bill. The prediction comes after American banking giant, the Bank of America, had to set aside $592 million to deal with forecast claims over Payment Protection Insurance. Officials believe that the cost to UK banks will be even higher.

Morgan Stanley has said that at the very least, as a base case scenario, the bill for UK banks is likely to be just over £2.6 billion. However, this is based on only a quarter of PPI policyholders making a claim, and also on fewer than half of these claims being upheld. Should the claims and approvals be higher than this the cost of dealing with claims could be considerably higher.

The average payout to each successful applicant is likely to be around £2000. PPI came under fire after investigations showed that over the years banks and financial institutions had been involved in mis-selling the cover, and this has resulted in many people finding themselves eligible to make a claim for compensation.

The Financial Services Authority has been trying to clamp down on PPI sales, and has brought in new proposals. However, these are being appealed by the British Bankers’ Association, which claims that the financial regulator is trying to apply new rules and standards to old sales.

 

Tags: uk banks, Primary dealers, Barclay's Banks, Business Finance, PPI sales, bank, protection, mortgage

Norwich residents urged to ensure home insurance up to date

Residents in the Norwich area of the UK are being urged by officials to make sure that their home insurance is up to date and adequate. The warning comes after several break-ins in the area, which took place at the end of May and the beginning of June.

Whilst most people are well aware of the importance of having home insurance in place many forget to get their policies renewed or fail to ensure that the policy is amended to provide adequate coverage. This can cause big problems in the event of a break in, as the homeowner may find that he or she is unable to make a claim because of lack of coverage.

Residents in the area are being warned to check both their buildings and contents insurance to make sure that it is all up to date and provides adequate coverage. Officials are now stressing the importance of having home insurance policies in place for residents in Norwich, particularly given the spate of break ins that has been seen over recent weeks.

Police are still appealing for information with regards to the break ins, and in the meantime are warning residents in the area to be on their guard and do as much to protect themselves and their homes as they can.

Consumers that are looking for affordable home insurance coverage are able to choose from a range of options these days, and it is therefore possible to get a low cost policy that provides adequate protection. Police have confirmed that a number of high value gadgets and cash were taken in the recent break-ins, so consumers could save themselves a fortune in the cost of having to buy replacement simply by ensuring that they have insurance cover in place.

Tags: police, norwich, Insurance, home insurance, protection, business, claim, insurance cover

Consumers warned over belongings in care homes

Consumers have been warned to be careful about belongings that are in care homes, as they may not be automatically insured against theft, loss, and damage. Read more

Tags: expensive jewellery, addition, care homes, report, protection

“Imperative” for travellers to get the right insurance

It is “imperative” for travellers to ensure they have the correct insurance cover for their trip say experts.

STA travel said that every level of travel insurance is different offering various degrees of inclusion and levels of cover.

A spokesperson for the company said there is also a ‘no-one-size-fits all’ approach to purchasing travel insurance.

With adventure holidays and long-haul trips there are increased levels of risk which must be taken into account when selecting insurance cover.

“It may not be the most exciting, but travel insurance is probably the most important purchase you’ll make for your trip,” she said.

It will help you enjoy your trip, offering you protection “against the unexpected” she added.

According to figures from the Mintel Gap Year report, predictions are that the global gap year market will be worth £11 billion by 2010.

The research showed that the market demographic is split into those travelling before, during and after university, as well as those taking a ‘career gap’ and the post-retirement travellers.

Tags: research, gap year, risk, Oceania, travel, protection, global gap, cover.A spokesperson

Shopping around for credit card deals ‘vital’

Consumers are advised that carefully considering their options is extremely important when it comes to credit card deals.

With pressure being felt on the UK economy after the credit crisis, it is “more important than ever that people should shop around”, according to Cathy Neal, senior researcher for Which?

“Even if you’ve got the best credit card today, keep checking it every two months to make sure that it still is one of the best – and switch if your card has changed significantly since you took it out,” she advised.

Shoppers would be best using their credit cards on higher cost purchases as they will have better protection, although they must also take into consideration how they are going to repay their balance, she continued.

This Christmas, 76 per cent of Brits plan to spend around the same amount or more on their gift purchases than they did last year, with average spending at £397 per person in 2006.

Meanwhile, 29 per cent confess that their financial situation is tighter this year owing to the credit squeeze.

Tags: shopping, senior researcher for Which?, Gift, protection, plan, credit, senior researcher, business

Payment Protection Insurance Cover

Anyone that takes out finance likes to have the peace of mind that they are protected against situations that could render them unable to make repayments, and payment protection insurance cover is an effective way to do this. Read more

Tags: illness, cost, credit, Loans, accident, protection, cover

Competition Commission still investigating PPI

The controversy over payment protection insurance has been going on for some time now, and regulators have been investigating the problems surrounding the sale of PPI after it was found that many consumers were being mis-sold this insurance, and that in some cases the cost of PPI was higher than the interest costs on a loan.

The Competition Commission has stated that its investigation into PPI is still ongoing as no conclusions have yet been reached.

The Competition Commission has stated that the issues that are being considered are complex and therefore more time and consideration is required. The Competition Commission plans to publish its provisional findings in May of next year. The chairman of the inquiry stated that the Competition Commission had already reviewed a substantial amount of evidence, but added that there were areas that needed to be looked into further.

The chairman stated: “We are far from making up our minds. But we are focussing on the amount of competition for PPI that distributors face at the retail level.”

He added that the Competition Commission was aiming to complete the inquiry as soon as possible but had to take into consideration areas that needed to be looked at further. He said: “…we are also conscious that the issues we are deciding upon are by no means simple and it is vital that we carry out our work thoroughly, ensuring that all parties receive a fair hearing.”

A number of issues relating to PPI are being looked into by the Competition Commission. This form of cover is designed to protect against falling behind on repayments on loans, credit cards, and other forms of finance.

Alan Wright
13th November 2007

Tags: ppi, credit, Mortgages, commission, competition, Loans, cards, protection

FSA to publish new PPI guidelines

The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, is to publish new guidelines in relation to Payment Protection Insurance on its website next year.

Payment Protection Insurance, or PPI, has been at the centre of controversy over the past year, with many claims that this type of insurance was being forced onto borrowers, mis-sold, and in some cases added onto finance deals without the consumers even knowing about it. Banks and lenders make a lot of profit on the sale of PPI, but in many cases customers end up with expensive policies that they cannot even benefit from.

Payment Protection Insurance is designed to help those taking out finance, such as credit cards, loans, and other forms of credit. The idea behind the cover is that consumers will be covered for a specified period in the event that they are unable to work and therefore make repayments due to redundancy, illness, or accidents. However, research was carried out by various agencies, and the industry came under severe criticism for the inappropriate sale of policies amongst other things.

Many people have ended up purchasing PPI that is not suited to their needs as a result of this mis-selling, and the FSA aims to steer customers towards suitable plans based on their needs via the website. Customers will be asked a number of questions on the site, and will then be able to view a choice of suitable policies so that they do not end up purchasing inappropriate PPI.

In addition to helping consumers to find the right PPI policies for their needs, the FSA has also promised that it will be taking far more stringent action and imposing far higher fines on companies that are found to be mis-selling Payment Protection Insurance in the future.

Tom Smith
4th November 2007

Tags: Loans, ppi, Insurance, credit, protection, misselling, investigation

Bright Grey: Life insurance top priority

In principle life insurance is top of people’s insurance priorities but many do not put this into practise.

Recent research by Bright Grey protection specialists shows that 40 per cent of people felt that life insurance was most important, however when it comes to spending, Brits are putting there money towards home contents and holiday insurance over life insurance.

While 53 per cent insured their life, 74 per cent insured home contents and 61 per cent insured travel.

Roger Edwards, product director at Bright Grey, commented: “For most, life insurance is key when it comes to planning properly for the future. It protects your dependents if you die and they lose your income.

“And if you don’t have dependents, and really don’t need life cover, then what about critical illness cover or income protection – if you value yourself, you should be protecting yourself.”

He added that people should seek guidance on different forms of cover and how important they are, while also finding a deal that suits them.

Tags: dependents, holiday, protection, Bright Grey protection, practise.Recent research, insurance top priority

Benefit from low cost home insurance cover from Sainsbury’s

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s recently announced changes to its credit cards that meant consumers would be able to enjoy longer interest free periods on purchases in addition to a low life of balance transfer interest rate, as well as other benefits.

The supermarket giant has now announced that it has some good news for homeowners that want to enjoy the peace of mind and security of having comprehensive home insurance cover in place without having to pay over the odds on this type of cover.

Sainsbury’s has announced a special deal that will be available for consumers that wish to purchase both buildings and contents insurance cover as a bundle package. These consumers will be able to get twelve months of cover for the cost of just nine months, saving them 25% on the cost of their premiums right away.

Furthermore, consumers that make the purchase online will be able to save a further 10% on the cost of their cover, which means that some consumers could save a whopping 35% on the cost of their cover for a year.

The offer is open to consumers that take out cover before the 27th November, and could attract many customers who are taking out cover for the first time or are due to renew their cover. As a special bonus consumers that take out this cover before 27th November will also enjoy being in with a chance to earn one million Nectar points. The cover includes protection against accidental damage, and customers are able to pay conveniently and easily by direct debit.

Officials from the company state that although insurance premiums on home and contents cover has risen recently, particularly after the flooding problems that hit the country in June, there are still affordable policies and deals available.

Tom Smith
9th October 2007

Tags: personal, buildings, cover, home, claim

Nationwide stops PPI sales

The largest building society in Britain, the Nationwide, has stopped sales of Payment Protection Insurance with its financial products, after admitting that customers were not being properly advised with regards to PPI by staff members.

Payment Protection Insurance has been at the centre of controversy for some months after it was found that customers were being pushed into purchasing this non-compulsory cover, and that the cover was often being mis-sold inappropriately so that customers ended up purchasing a costly policy that they would never be able to benefit from.

The Financial Services Authority has been running a long term investigation into the sales of Payment Protection Insurance for two years, and is in the final phase of its review and investigation. The cover is designed to assist those that cannot keep up with repayments on their financial commitments due to accidents, illness, or redundancy, and is sold with products such as credit cards, loans, and other financial products that may need protection.

However, the review revealed that in many cases sales staff were mis-selling this policies, making the customer think that they cover was compulsory, and in some cases even adding PPI without the customers’ knowledge. This has led to a real crackdown on the sales of PPI after many people ended up purchasing policies that they were either not eligible to claim benefits on or that they were not even aware that they had purchased.

A Nationwide spokesman stated that the halt in sales of PPI is a temporary one, adding: ‘We did some mystery shopping and weren’t satisfied the sales processes were as robust as they should be, so they have been halted temporarily.’

Tom Smith
27th September 2007

Tags: Insurance, protection, cost, policy, benefit, cover, ppi, payment

Norwich Union tried to catch out insurance customers

One of the UK’s leading insurance companies, Norwich Union, is targeting customers that hold critical illness insurance policies in order to try and find out whether they have withheld information in the past that could in effect mean that their policies are null and void.

The insurance giant is writing to five thousand critical illness policyholders to try and find out whether they withheld information when they initially took out their critical illness cover.

This is a pilot scheme being trailed by the insurance company, and the policyholders being questioned have been selected at random. However, if the scheme does prove successful then the insurance company is looking to widen the scheme to all two million of its critical illness policyholders. Critical illness cover has already been at the centre of controversy over recent years, as statistics show that around 20% of critical illness claims from customers end up getting rejected due to either incorrect claims on diseases that are no covered, or due to lack of information from the policyholder when the insurance was first taken out.

Critical illness cover is designed to pay out a lump sum to the policyholder in the event that he or she is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses that are specified on the policy. The policyholder gets to keep the money even in the event that he or she goes on to make a full recovery from the critical illness. However, the level of rejected claims with this sort of cover has resulted in a great deal of negative publicity for critical illness insurance cover.

Norwich Union states that the exercise is to try and update all customer information before any claim needs to be made. One official from the insurance company stated:  ‘We want to be able to clearly advise people . . . how to proceed if they believe they may have missed something off their application form. We feel this is the right approach to try to help customers prevent non-disclosure in the event of a claim.’

Tom Smith
17th September 2007

Tags: union, critical, home, Insurance, norwich

Hips introduced today

Home insurance packs (Hips) are introduced today across England and Wales.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) also warned estate agents yesterday that it would get tough on those who were found in breach of the new regulations.

The packs are now mandatory on the sale of all four-bedrooms or more homes, with all other houses to be covered as the policy is rolled out in future months.

A ban can now be imposed by the OFT on any estate agent found to be in breach of the new Hips regulations, after the issuing of a Warning Order first.

Head of consumer protection of the OFT Mike Haley said that “it is important that agents are aware of their obligations and the possible consequences if they fail to comply.

“If an agent fails to comply, this could trigger an investigation into an agent’s fitness to continue estate agency work.”

Originally drafted in June 2006, the legislation has suffered many setbacks, including facing a parliamentary vote to decide whether Hips be scrapped, and also being delayed from its original introduction date on 1st June this year.

Tags: business, office of fair trading, fitness, sale, consumer

Insurance for the Critically Ill

Many people unfortunately become ill at some point in their life with a sickness that turns critical and need constant treatment on a daily basis. Life insurance is a popular product but it is actually more likely that an individual will contract a “critical illness” than die. Medical treatments, either at the hospital or in home, can be very expensive to have privately, but the unnoticed cost is the loss of earnings of a breadwinner, and the incidental expense of travelling to hospitals, childcare etc. Read more

Tags: critically ill, basis, case, protection, illnesses, critical illnesses

Customers’ rights ‘breached’ by bank laws

New rules, concerning the sharing of information about customers between banks, are being criticised.

Credit check firm checkmyfile.com says the move could be in breach of millions of people’s basic human rights.

The company claims that the rules will erode customers’ rights to privacy as details of around 33 million current accounts could be shared without the individuals’ consent.

At present, it is not legal for the details of older accounts, those opened before 1998, to be shared, but the Department of Trade and Industry is said to be looking into getting around this.

“The government’s proposal will drive a coach and horses through banking confidentiality, data protection laws and the European Convention on Human Rights,” said a checkmyfile.com spokesperson.

“For many people, their bank account is sacred and most bank accounts are still not shared with the credit reference agencies.”

The present law means account details cannot be shared with anyone without the individuals consent.

Tags: Human Rights, protection, reference, bank account, older accounts, banking confidentiality

The Pros And Cons Of Payment Protection Insurance

Lenders are always eager to convince borrowers to protect their repayments for loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages and other financial products. And they have a point. People in the UK are saving less and borrowing more, with a high rate of debt. Read more

Tags: Loans, cards, claimsoft, protection, fair, Mortgages, cover, payment

Is travel insurance more important than life cover?

Most Brits are well aware of the complications that can arise without the protection of life insurance cover. Nobody knows what lies around the corner, and an accident, sudden illness, or unexpected event could change everything in one fell swoop for our loved ones. Although nobody likes to dwell on the prospect of death it seems that many Brits are simply burying their heads in the sand when it comes to providing their loved ones with protection and peace of mind through life insurance cover, and a survey has revealed that an alarming percentage of Britons do not insure their lives.

A recent survey was carried out by Bright Grey, and a sample group of two thousand Brits was used in the survey in order to determine average figures relating to insurance cover. The results from the survey indicated that Britons considered life insurance cover to be the most important form of protective insurance, with thirty eight percent of those surveyed stating that they felt that it was most important to insure their lives. Home contents insurance and mortgage insurance cover were ranked next in line when it came to importance by the group surveyed.

However, despite the fact that the survey revealed the majority think that life insurance cover is the most important cover to have, it seems that Brits are more interested in protecting their travel than they are their lives. The most popular insurance cover, according to the report statistics, was home content cover, with seventy four percent of people having this type of protection. Hot on its heels was travel insurance cover, with sixty one percent taking out this type of policy.

According to the results of the survey life insurance cover came in third, with only fifty three percent enjoying the protection of this type of cover. Mortgage protection figures were also alarmingly low, with only twenty three percent having this type of cover. Bright Grey products director, Roger Edwards, stated: “This is a real worry. Less than a quarter of people protect their mortgage – over three times more people insure their home contents. And although people seem to know how important life insurance can be, many simply aren’t taking out cover.”

Tags: premium, claim, emergency, travel, protection, life, Insurance, cover, policy, accident

Insurance : Do You Care More About Your Pet Than Yourself?

Latest figures from the UK’s insurance industry show that over half of the nation has no life insurance cover. Only 1 in 5 of us has any accident insurance. And less than 1 in 10 of us will take out any type of income protection insurance. By themselves these figures should be a little concerning, but when you add the fact that 1 in 4 of us in the UK has some form of pet insurance, you start to wonder whether or not our world-wide fame for being a nation of animal lovers may have gone a little too far! Read more

Tags: prudent financial management, Credit card, Human Interest, pet insurance, thinking, bonus, worth, protection