Seek advice on insurance, urges Biba

Consumers have been urged to seek advice from an insurance broker before taking out a policy by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba).

Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive at Biba, has said that many insurance policies have become over-complicated and could be confusing for customers.

He advises people looking for insurance to consult a broker in order to avoid over-insuring and wasting money on “too many frills”.

Mr Trudgill commented: “The broker would be the best person to advise individual customers [on what cover they need] depending on individual circumstance.”

He added that over the past few years many insurers have made their policies more comprehensive and have tried to “include too many frills rather than sticking to the basics”.

Earlier this month, financial advice website Fool.co.uk reported that the average consumer takes out six different types of insurance on an annual basis costing £1,500 per year, yet is unaware of how much they are actually covered for.

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Credit card holders ‘wasting money’ on withdrawals

Consumers in the UK who use their credit cards in order to make cash withdrawals could find they are paying way over the odds in order to do so.

According to research from Moneysupermarket, Britons withdraw £8.3 billion using their credit cards annually – but they could be paying 27p per pound in interest and charges over the year.

The average amount paid across the major providers on one £20 withdrawal a month over the course of 12 months is 15 per cent, or £36.

“At a cost of up to 27p for every pound taken out, this is an exceptionally expensive way to spend,” said the price comparison site’s head of credit cards Rob Kenley.

“Wherever possible you should only withdraw cash from your current account, but we realise sometimes people face unexpected emergencies.”

A separate study from Abbey found recently that 23 per cent of credit card holders intend to consolidate different credit cards using one that offers a good value deal.

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