Archive for March, 2009

Beat the blues and get planning your summer holiday NOW!

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Aside from losing our jobs and signing on at the local employment office, is there anything more depressing than not having a summer holiday to take our minds off our credit crunching woes?

We REFUSE (!!!) to miss out on our holidays this year but how do we pull it off? The bearer of good news, here is help to advise us of the best ways to find and to organise our holidays in order to save us money during the credit crunch.

According to an article written by the Moneysupermarket entitled “Credit crunching holiday tips” you don’t need to give up on your holiday just yet – not it you play the game by a few simple rules!

Some tricks up the sleeve of the money strapped person determined to go on holiday this year include knowing where to go, when to go and how to go.

Firstly, consider location. You may be aware that Spain is going to be expensive this year (thanks to the low pound!) as well as most of Europe. If we pick a destination outside of Europe, a summer holiday could be feasible after all! It is recommended that you look to Turkey, Egypt and Morocco for those cheaper holiday destinations!

Secondly, consider booking your holiday at the last minute! Not for the faint hearted admittedly but all the same, an excellent devise for keeping those costs down!

Thirdly, what about camping instead of a hotel somewhere? Pick a British location (perhaps somewhere you haven’t been since childhood) and pitch a tent! Camping is really taking off as more people discover what a lot of fun it actually is! If the thought of camping fills you with sheer horror, to keep those costs down, why not consider the latest thing of house swapping?

There are many ways to have a cheap holiday, all it takes is an open mind and a readiness to try the new and undiscovered! The credit crunch could do for you more than tightening your finances it could be the making of you as you get to know your chance taking adventurous side!

Last but not least, get some travel insurance. Shop around for the cheaper rates it is a lot cheaper than you would think! One thing is for sure the great British public are not about to give up their summer holidays because of the credit crunch! Pack the Brownie Grandad we’re going back to Bridlington!

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No holiday this year? Things could be worse!

Friday, March 13th, 2009

There is nothing like a holiday for relaxing from the woes of everyday life, but what if you can no longer go on that holiday you’d booked two months ago? According to the article “Holidaymakers urged to buy insurance for breaks in Britain” many people are finding themselves in the position of having to cancel their holiday.

Whether through redundancy, jury service or illness, Direct Travel Insurance reported over 150 claims for cancelled UK holidays in 2008. With each claim averaging out at about £1,074 these people were very glad of their travel insurance. More reason for the insurance firm to urge holidaymakers staying home for the summer should still take out travel insurance.

Everybody seems to be planning to take a holiday in the UK as opposed to the usual holiday abroad. Due in main to the economic downturn and the low pound this holiday season will be marked with differences to any other year. Holidaymakers opting for a domestic holiday, eager to save money wherever possible, are not buying travel insurance according to a very concerned Direct Travel Insurance. The price comparison website confused.com reveal that only 2% of all holiday insurance quotes are for UK holiday cover.

Arguably, when holidaying in this country, UK residents do not require medical cover out of their travel insurance but the issue of cancellation is still too big to ignore. Without travel insurance, should your holiday be cancelled for whatever reason, you will be at risk of losing your deposit and being charged a cancellation fee. Beware you don’t double up on your insurance, says the head of insurance at Confused, as belongings taken on holiday may already be adequately covered by home contents policy. Additionally, insurance customers need to be aware that any annual cover they already have for Europe will adequately suffice for travel around the UK.

In Britain, it is predicted that this year 5 million people will either scale down or cancel their insurance policies in one way or another and a quarter of those stating travel insurance would be on the list to go. We are seriously urged to rethink our motivations by the insurance people LV. In an effort to offer us pause for thought, they remind us that in comparison to the cancellation costs of a holiday, the outgoings of a travel insurance policy is very little expense at all.

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The return of the 7 inch single!

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Welcome back the seven inch single! This month the vinyl single commemorates its 60th anniversary and according to the article “Music to my ears!” there is no sign of it ever departing from this music-loving world!

We thought we’d said goodbye a long time ago to the little old single because music lovers seem to prefer to groove to the sound of downloads. Sales for downloads were in excess of one hundred million in 2008 but lookout for the seven inch vinyl becomes it is mounting a comeback! With over one million 7 inch vinyl sales taking place throughout last year in the UK alone the mighty single is set to return with gusto as people come to appreciate the benefits of the limited editions of vinyl especially to music collectors.

We, the listening public are not the only ones getting more turned on and tuned in to the vinyl seven inch as bands like Girls Aloud, and White Stripes are laying tracks onto vinyl as we speak and have been doing so for the last year and a half.

But with vinyl comes the need for care. Singles on vinyl are fragile and require proper protection and owners lucky enough to have good collections of singles are urged to seek out adequate insurance. The importance of home contents insurance or possessions insurance is especially paramount because vinyl is becoming so valuable on the music markets. The chance of a top evaluation is dependent upon the condition of the vinyl over a period of time (and we could be talking decades in some circumstances!)

Some tricks of the trade for vinyl collectors include stacking the records side by side (never on top of one another!), keeping records away from heat, get adequate insurance cover and take special care of the sleeves.

One last preservative measure for all would-be vinyl collectors is to ensure all new purchases are documented and recorded by photograph. Happy vinyl hunting!

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Sign up NOW for chocolate explosion/floating cow insurance!

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

We need to be constantly sure our insurance policy details are accurate according to NFU Mutual insurance. In order to be fully protected against all kinds of eventualities, there is an absolute necessity to review our policies for amendments on a frequent basis.

The NFU Mutual is talking from first hand experience for being a rural insurance provider all kinds of interesting situations can rear their (in some cases bovine) distinctly heads!

According to the article “Will your insurance cover a cow in your swimming pool?” any number of crazy situations can occur in the heart of the countryside. Although extremely cute sheep can be a nightmare, as one customer of NFU Mutual discovered when he had to claim for his broken false teeth after being rammed by an excitable ram!

What about the customer who was enjoying a nap by the pool? Did he expect upon awaking, a cow floating about in his pool when a herd of cows enjoyed a spot of recreation in his garden?

When you live in the country, all kinds of eventualities can occur although some are just errors in judgement like the wife who threw what appeared to be an old unwanted envelope onto the bonfire but turned out to contain two hundred and fifty pounds worth of cash?

“Never work with children or animals” as one magician once rightly advised me due to the outbreaks of unpredicted chaos that often ensues. The NFU Mutual concurred recalling an incident at a children’s party where a chocolate fountain exploded covering everything and everybody within close proximity with runny chocolate. Cheers all round please for the fact that despite efforts to remove the chocolate the carpet was replaced within two weeks (however nobody mentioned whether cleaning the chocolate covered children proved all that much of a problem!)

According to a recent NFU Mutual poll, over fifty three per cent of us have fail to review our home contents insurance every six months! The point to these stories here is that we need to regularly spring clean our insurance policy documents to cover ALL eventualities!

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A new price comparison website takes the insurance market by storm!

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

A new price comparison website has been launched! Supermarket Compare provides insurance quotes for all manner of needs from van to household cover. What is more, this is where to find the most competitive of quotes brought about by the sheer number of insurance providers on the Supermarket Compare database. How can you go wrong?

According to the article “Launch of Supermarket Compare the All New Insurance Comparison Website” there are several reason why you would use this website over any other.

We all need to get the best deals in all walks of life from the best value supermarket for our food products to heating fuel rates. Shopping around has been happening for a while now, although the tendency in recent weeks is to do so with a vengeance! We have all been bitten by the credit crunch! Supermarket Compare capitalises on the growing need to shop around and compare quotes and this it delivers with ease.

First of, the site is navigation friendly and so easy to use. Secondly through use of this site you can simply access no fewer than eighty quotes from a variety of popular insurance providers. Thirdly, the quotes are served following the completion of a basic form taking only a few minutes. Last but not least, you are able to compare a range of policies for a variety of requirements such as travel, breakdown, household and car insurance.

No need to continue spending precious hour upon hour shopping around for the best deal, as this one spot is where to begin your search for insurance quotes.

Best of all, Supermarket Compare is free to use!

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All hail the Burglary rescue plan!

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

You return home to find your door open and all your personal belongings and contents in places where they have no right to be strewn across the floor. Your mind races as you realise your house has been burgled. What do you do?

The first thing to do is to enter your home only when absolutely certain no one is inside and to resist the overwhelming urge of rescuing ornaments from precocious positions about the room. Now is the time to heed something of a burglary plan.

It has been announced that burglary is on the rise in the UK and that this is directly linked to the downturn of the economy. Burglary rates have risen for the first time in eight years because, according to the Guardian newspaper, thieves are attempting to weather the tough times by taking advantage.

According to the article “Should the worst happen” a stark reality is that once you have been burgled that your chances of being burgled again will have increased by four times. In an attempt to weather your first nightmare of a burglary, something of a rescue plan has been formulated for readers’ attentions by ‘aboutproperty.co.uk’.

One important point to make is to take out some home contents insurance. In the event of a burglary, your loss will not be a permanent one. With the rate of burglary on the increase it is highly recommended that you take out some protection.

As already mentioned, upon discovering your house has been burgled, do not enter your home until sure that no unwanted guests remain inside. Do not touch anything, including the front door! There may be evidence lying around that can assist the police bringing the culprit to justice. Call the police dialling ‘999’ but do not call them from your home telephone, as the phone may again be a source of evidence. Ideally, you should call the police from a neighbour’s phone or a mobile.

Next, commit yourself to making sure your house is burglar proof by changing locks on your doors and windows. Check to ensure any banking paperwork has not been stolen, if it has then immediately call your bank or credit card providers. While you are on the telephone, call your insurance company and report the incident with a case number issued to you by the police.

The effect of burglary can be emotionally catastrophic, if you feel you can’t talk about the crime to your family, get in touch with Victim Support. Don’t underestimate the detrimental effects of burglary, instead, during the aftermath of the crime, seek out help immediately.

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How do the experts buy travel insurance?

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Are you planning on buying travel insurance in the near future? If you are, avoid those all too common travel insurance pitfalls with a little help from the experts!

According to the article “Ten tips for buying travel insurance” people buying travel insurance usually look no further than the policy provided by the tour operator they are dealing with. This could be a mistake as the tendency is to be issued with a policy that offers the absolute basics and sometimes not even that. By taking the first policy that comes along in this fashion, you are very likely paying over the odds. To save money and purchase travel insurance that is much more efficiently suitable for your needs, the first thing to do is to approach a travel insurance specialist such as Preferential or Direct Travel.

The insurance experts will mention annual travel insurance cover, producing a good saving. You will save money if you consider purchasing multi-trip insurance if you have lined up a number of holidays across the year. To do this efficiently, you will need to have planned the holidays you have lined up. Travel insurance does not automatically include ski protection so you will need to mention this fact to your insurer.

Buy your travel insurance as a couple for better savings. You do not necessarily have to travel together to benefit either but you must state this fact when drawing up the policy.

Other savings include comparing excess charges as well as checking cover limits when needing medical aid abroad. Remember to compare rates as much as possible, thank you Internet for making this so easy for us!

Last but not least, read every word of the small print so that no surprises turn up when least welcome and least expected at a later date!

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Clicking all the right buttons!

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Endsleigh Insurance Services are not a company to stand still during this changing financial climate and the new regulation to travel insurance. In response to latest figures revealing 85% of Endsleigh Insurance Service’s new business comes from the Internet, it comes as no surprise that the company plan to ditch their high street presence for the Web. According to the article “Endsleigh goes from bricks to clicks!” the company are set to become more IT based targeting students and new graduates.

The new move will entail losing up to one hundred and nineteen branches allowing the money saved on shop leases to be spent on supporting an efficient core system for managers working remotely. The company are set to operate from service centres at two locations and will be committed to offering an improved service to trade partners such as travel agents.

Endsleigh have commissioned CIBER UK to help perfect an efficiency plan whereby improving upon productivity, reporting and performance.

Endsleigh, today a respected household name in the UK, hopes to continue in their success focusing on their new business model and responding to an even greater extent to the needs of a constantly changing market.

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