Consumer group warns on insurance for music downloads
July 31, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
A consumer group has issued a warning relating to insurance cover for music downloads. Downloading music has become a hugely popular way for younger generations in their teens, twenties, and thirties to enjoy listening to their favourite music.
However, Which? has carried out a survey into insurance cover for music downloads and is urging consumers to be aware of exclusions relating to these policies.
According to the result of the survey carried out by Which? music downloads will not be covered by insurance if they are lost as a result of a computer virus – these music collections are often worth hundreds of pounds in total, and therefore can cause considerable financial loss to consumers. Many insurance firms also did not cover music downloads if they were lost as a result of hard drive failure.
As part of the survey 46 insurance firms were reviewed by the consumer group, and out of these only 22 actually offered insurance cover for music and digital downloads. The cover is offered when the downloads are lost as the result of fire, weather conditions, or theft. However, out of the insurance companies surveyed none of the policies offered provided protection against loss of music through virus or computer failure.
One spokesperson from Which? stated: ‘Downloading music online is widely accepted now as being the easiest and most convenient way to buy music. Music lovers know it, the music companies know it – but it seems insurance companies are determined to stay behind the times.” Consumers that do take out this type of cover for their music and digital downloads should ensure that they know what is excluded from the policy, and therefore consider whether the cover is actually worth the cost.
Tom Smith
31st July 2007
Direct Line launches campaign against price comparison services
July 1, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
One of the UK’s best known car insurance companies, Direct Line Insurance, has launched a campaign against price comparison websites that help consumers to find that they claim is the cheapest insurance for their needs.
Price comparison websites require consumers to input a number of details, and then use these details to find the cheapest deal on car insurance cover. However, this is only from their database of insurers and not from every major insurance company in the UK.
According to research carried out by Direct Line over 40 percent of consumers that had used price comparison services to find cheaper vehicle insurance had thought that all major insurance companies would be included in the search.
The research also goes on to indicate that over 90 percent of those that have bought their vehicle insurance cover through a price comparison site feel that there should be some sort of warning so that consumers know right away that not all insurance companies are part of the database.
The Royal Bank of Scotland owns Direct Line, as well as Churchill and Privilege, and will not provide any quotes for customers through price comparison websites. An advertising campaign has now been launched by Direct Line to make consumers aware that price comparison sites do not represent all leading insurance companies in the UK.
One Direct Line spokesperson stated: ‘Consumers are confused about price comparison websites and our research shows many believe they provide an independent, public service designed to ensure consumers get the best deal on their insurance. Unfortunately this is not the case, as these websites are really just on-line middlemen who make money out of commissions on insurance sales, just like a traditional high street broker.’
Tom Smith
1st July 2007
