Archive for December, 2008

You are now entering Slough, please drive carefully!

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Drivers who live in a town need to beware when it comes to driving. According to research, drivers who live in more built up areas are more likely to have a road accident than anyone else.

One town in Great Britain stands out to be crowned the worst road accident location – Slough. According to the article “Slough named as the riskiest place in the UK for road accidents” the drivers in the Berkshire town have made more claims on their motor insurance than any other. More claims were made in Slough than high accident spots of Ilford (east London) and Birmingham according to recent statistics recorded by the people at Endsleigh Insurance.

To contrast Slough, the best places to drive include Belfast, Aberdeen and Swansea. These cities outside of England have a lower frequency of insurance claims for motoring accidents.

According to the report, Belfast in Northern Ireland reported the lowest case of accident claims at 44% below average while Slough totalled 49% above the average.
These statistics serve as a warning to drivers during the most hazardous season of the year, that of the festive one! Extreme cold weather conditions can only add to the speedy last minute Christmas shopping trips and Christmas party excesses. Endsleigh claim that if you live in a town or city, you are at more risk of being involved in a road accident than if you live anywhere else largely because of the extra volume of traffic on the roads at this time of year. Calls are made from the company for extra vigilance throughout the season.

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Posted in Car Insurance, Car Insurance For Women | 1 Comment »

Insurance for surgery when it goes bad abroad!

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Last year, in excess of a hundred thousand British people sought medical treatment abroad. This figure is set to soar, according to the article “Into insurance and still wearing a halo” by the year 2010 producing a market worth £886 million. One person who is set to reap the benefits of this rapidly growing market is the TV entrepreneur Leila Wilcox. Avid TV viewers will recall Ms Wilcox winning Channel 4’s “Make Me a Million” show with her kiddies toiletries range called ‘Halo’s Horns’.

Her second most significant venture, Angelis, is self funded and is set to provide insurance for people who travel abroad for surgery that is more affordable than that available in the UK.

People who venture outside of the UK for medical procedures tend to travel to the likes of Thailand, Eastern Europe, South America and India. Ms Wilcox discovered the need for protection should surgery go wrong having experienced a cosmetic operation abroad herself. Additionally, the gap in the market for medical tourism, she realised, was too huge to ignore. Until recently, there was in fact no protection for operations that have ended up fraught with complications.

The added protection you will receive at Angelis is included in what appears to be a regular travel insurance policy. Should the operation incur further expenses due to complications, this policy will ensure you are protected.

She hopes her familiar name will launch Angelis into the marketplace with a vengeance! If you are interested, two weeks cover will cost £123 for cosmetic surgery including regular travel insurance. Lloyd’s of London’s Cassidy Davis are underwriting the policies while One Group the travel insurer administrate the claims.

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Posted in Travel Insurance | 1 Comment »

You may regret cancelling that boiler insurance!

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Hang the expense because boiler insurance is very necessary. It may seem like an unnecessary cost especially considering all your other outgoings, but imagine how dreadful it would be if your boiler was to pack in right in the middle of a harsh winter. Boiler insurance offers peace of mind and is a necessary expense despite tightening our belts (on the scale that we all are). According to the article “If the heating suddenly packs up, who will get you out of hot water?” a large number of boiler insurance policies are currently being cancelled because of the credit crunch.

According to the price comparison website, uswitch.com, over a million households have switched off their boiler insurance cover. Is this a false economy as we consider the overwhelming statistics? Over thirty percent of boilers will actually break down within six years of its installation. The repair bill for a boiler averages out to about £220 and a brand new boiler will cost £2,500. Could we be making a mistake in cancelling our boiler insurance in an effort to cut costs?

Breakdown contracts are not however favoured by the consumer organisation “Which?” who claim it is cheaper to call out an engineer than to pay for insurance cover.
The people at “Confused.com” argue boiler insurance is worth the money however. Boiler insurance does tend to vary according to your provider so it is important to check exactly what you are covered for.

There are a number of ways to ensure your boiler is protected including through your energy supplier, through a new product warranty or through your home insurance. If your provider is Esure, you can elect their Home Emergency cover as an addition to your buildings or home contents provision for an additional £44.99 a year. With Home Emergency, not only your boiler is covered but also your plumbing, drainage, domestic power and main heating are protected too.

If you are after specific boiler insurance, which includes an annual service and emergency boiler professionals, the price varies between £5.99 and £8.99 a month. There seems no end to the list of providers to choose from so you would do well to shop around for the best deal.

For household with an aging boiler waiting to break down, an energy efficient replacement could cost as little as £800 and can save you over a hundred pounds in bills. When you do proceed in getting a new boiler, your priority is to ensure it is checked regularly for carbon monoxide omissions.

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Posted in General, Home & Contents Insurance | No Comments »

Insurance cover proves hard to get as terrorism continues to grab the headlines.

Friday, December 5th, 2008

As another terror campaign hits the Indian city of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) we find ourselves asking ourselves the question, are we insured for terrorism? According to the article “Terrorism: the more attacks, the less insurers covering you for it” ‘terrorism insurance’ is difficult to find.

Norwich Union, immediately the 07/07 bombings hit London with a terror campaign, were observed amending the home insurance policy content. Their new wording stated clearly and concisely that terrorism acts were not to be covered. No fewer than sixteen large insurance companies followed suit stating clearly that terrorism could not be insured against.

Despite the likelihood of a terrorist attack being very small, when they do happen, all the usual risk models go out the window. In terms of monetary and financial value, insurance is engineered to protect against the threat of the probable to the very improbable. Terrorist attacks are considered extraordinary events and so it is difficult for any insurance company to realistically account for it. One terrorist attack is capable of being highly catastrophic within a concentrated and minimal period of time and so is difficult to measure.

The cost of the damage of the IRA attack on the Manchester Shopping Centre in 1996 exceeded £200 million while the Canary Wharf bomb attack caused over a hundred million.

The government are looking at ways to encourage our insurance companies with some sort of encouragement to provide terrorist cover. Once such incentive is to get insurance companies to pool their resources. According to an article in the Telegraph following 9/11, negotiations have taken place instigated by the government between insurers and something called Pool Re. Pool Re is a scheme whereby insurance companies and the Government join forces to provide a guarantee that any losses brought about by acts of terrorism to enterprises will be covered.

In the meantime, it is very difficult to come by terrorism insurance although the situation does seem to be in a state of elementary metamorphosis. Although terrorism cover is practically impossible to come by, you may be able to achieve it through your travel insurance policy (check your small print for confirmation!)

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Posted in General, Home & Contents Insurance, Travel Insurance | No Comments »

‘Tis the season to be… wary (of fires!)

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Fire accidents in the UK every year average 45,000, equating to a whopping annual bill of millions of pounds worth of damage (not to mention the risk to health and safety – 300 people were killed in house fires in 2006). According to the article “Sharp increase in house fires during winter months” the likelihood of us placing a claim on our home insurance for fire damage increases by sixty one per cent in December. We need to be ever vigilant for fire hazards during the winter months because if ever you were likely to have a fire, it would be now, during the Christmas season.

As a result of analysing trends of fire claims between September 2007 and August 2008, Direct Line discovered first of all that it was the Summer that produced fewer fire claims than any other season and that secondly, fires become more common as we head towards the winter. They found that average total fire claims increased by 25% throughout the autumn and increased by 50% in the winter.

With statistics revealing the likelihood of fire incidences being much lower in July and August than any other time of the year we can all be on our guard as we prepare to embark upon the season with the worst house fire occurrences.

Thinks to look out for in order to prevent a house fire are our Christmas lights. They may look pretty but fairy lights and illuminations are the worst fire contributors of the lot! Next ensure your open fire is secured and not left un-manned and the same applies to oil burners and candles.

Take the proper precautions when smoking indoors. During the winter months, we would rather keep warm when we are puffing away so there is a tendency to fall asleep with a cigarette left burning.

Fires are additionally caused during the winter through faulty electric blankets, heaters and other electrical items. Do not leave them on unattended for long periods of time or you will risk a fire starting.

Thanks to campaigns to increase awareness of fire hazards and the presence of smoke alarms, we are on our way to protecting our families and preventing incidences of fire in our homes. Direct Line who have been monitoring the trends in fire claims throughout the year are now taking positive steps and providing safety information for their customers. One such significant piece of fire safety advice is that a smoke alarm should be placed on every floor in your home to detect swiftly any threat. By testing your smoke alarm every week in case the battery runs out and discarding old Christmas tree lights you are on the road to good home fire safety. Other fire safety measures include not smoking in bed, not overloading power sockets, keeping matches and lighters away from children, not burning candles near curtains, under shelves or on the bath and always having a fire escape plan.

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Posted in Home & Contents Insurance | No Comments »

Get those presents insured this Christmas!

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat, as they say, so now is the time that we ought to check our Christmas present insurance according the moneysupermarket website in the article “Unwrap the right cover this Christmas!”

Even amidst all this doom and gloom brought on by the credit crunch, Christmas brings out the generous side in people and we can find our cupboards suddenly packed with expensive present items. These added valuables are rarely remembered on the home insurance however.

Now is the time to make sure those extra valuables are covered for the pickings are about to get extremely rich for the house burglars. They’ll be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of Christmas so you need to make sure you are prepared. All the more important is that you are not under-insured, say the money supermarket, having to pay out huge excesses because you have misunderstood your cover.

The good news is that insurance companies increase your home contents cover automatically but by how much, it can inevitably vary. Generally at Christmas, an insurance provider will increase contents values by 10% with no extra charge. One exception is the AA who increases their value of contents by 20% between December and January.

There are two sides to every coin and the point of the article is that you need to be aware whether or not your insurer will increase their contents cover because while some vary by up to 20%, not all companies vary at all such as Endsleigh. Endsleigh does not and will not provide instant free extra cover over Christmas so many customers could find themselves misguided and under-protected – only finding out at the worst time, when they come to claim.

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Posted in Home & Contents Insurance | No Comments »

‘Insuring’ our ex-offenders get a good deal!

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

Thousands of ex-offenders are being helped to get their lives back on track in more ways than one! The Delite Insurance Agency offer a unique service by not only providing home insurance cover to people who are struggling but provide advice and support where needed too.

According to a recent article issued by the National Association of Reformed Offenders “Concerns about insurance for ex-offenders” difficulties with insurance often arise when an ex-offender sets up home with their family after a spell in prison. Premiums can often go through the roof once this information is disclosed so people avoid disclosing this information when the time of renewal comes. Thanks to Delite, insurance premiums do not have to go through the roof and there is no question of holding back information regarding the new addition to your house. In addition, thanks to Delite, people who have returned to society from a spell in prison are offered a new lease of life when all too often they are held back or constantly under further pressure to resort back to ‘old ways’.

Delite who have joined forces with JML insurance for the last eighteen months are working together to offer an insurance product that is not standard and geared towards specific circumstances. The companies are set to assist many more ex-offenders in addition to their client base of Northern Ireland residents.

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Posted in Home & Contents Insurance | 1 Comment »

Stranded at Bangkok Airport!

Monday, December 1st, 2008

In the light of the troubled situation in Bangkok, especially the city’s airport, what are passengers expected to do when planning a trip to this troubled part of the world? According to the article “Bangkok Airport: what to do if you’ve booked a holiday to Thailand” the situation is changing very rapidly and people planning to travel to Bangkok should check for up to the minute information from their tour operator or airline.

An anti-government protest campaign that has been occurring in Thailand during the last days of November have left thousands of business travellers and holidaymakers stranded in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. People were arriving at the airport to find they were unable to travel. Confused and bewildered, holidaymakers destined for the UK were being refused travel and basically hanging around waiting for information – any information! It turned out to be a long wait as they were eventually redirected to other airports.

If you were planning visiting Bangkok in the very near future, you will probably want to find out how safe you and your family are going to be. Some tips are provided to help you on your way.

Aside from contacting your tour operator, you would be well advised to contact the Foreign Office. Check with the airline or tour operator if you can rearrange your travel date or whether you would be able to cancel. Check your insurance company to find out if your travel insurance will pay out if you cancel your holiday under the current circumstances. If it turns out that the Foreign Office advises UK travellers not to visit the country, your travel insurance will become worthless and operators will put measures in place to fly home any British citizens that are stranded out there with immediate effect. In such circumstances, people who are about to travel will be offered a complete refund or an alternative holiday to a comparable destination.
What if the Foreign Office does not advise against travelling to Bangkok? If you cancel your holiday on the basis of caution, you will not be able to cancel without incurring a penalty (read the small print of your small print). However, that said, some tour operators do tend to offer an alternative should you show “disinclination to travel”.

The situation in Bangkok is a rapidly changing one so if you are soon to travel to this destination, all you can do right now is to keep an eye on the various information channels. By the time you are set to travel, you may find the situation completely alleviated and go about travelling to the city as normal.

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Posted in Travel Insurance | No Comments »