RBS to try and sell Churchill and Direct Line ... again

NCD News: RBS to try and sell Churchill and Direct Line ... again - 03.11.09

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RBS to try and sell Churchill and Direct Line ... again: >>>> According to a report issued by AXA Insurance, the UK is bottom in terms of pension provision out of all the G7 countries. The report shows that two thirds of people in the UK are planning on relying on the state for their pensions even though it is only currently 31% of average earnings. This is well behind other countries such as Italy at 68% of average earnings, France at 51% and even Japan which comes in at 34%. AXA say there has been a fall in those taking out an occupational pension from 10.7m in 1991 to 8.8m in 2007. The Government has plans in place to make occupational pensions available on an opt out basis only, however the AXA study shows that just 19% would take part.

>>>> RBS is having to sell more of its business than originally expected with the Churchill, Direct Line and Green Flag insurance businesses all up for sale ... again. This is on top of the likely sale of 312 RBS branches. They will also be taking part in the Government Asset Insurance scheme which will see the Governments share in the bank rising from 70% to 84%. The scheme will mean that the taxpayer will be insuring 90% of the banks debts.

>>>> New overdraft charges put into place by Halifax are causing customers to leave the bank in their droves. The fees are changing from an interest charge to a daily charge of £1 for each day the customers account is overdrawn. For some this could mean huge increases in monthly charges for even a very small agreed overdraft. Halifax have defended the move by saying that the new scheme is easier to understand and that other banks will soon join them in this method of charging. One other bank also has daily fees, but caps them at £5.

>>>> A delegation of 3 MPs and 3 members of the House of Lords are currently meeting with the Libyan Government regarding the possibility of compensation for victims of IRA violence. While the Libyans could not refuse to meet the delegation it seems unlikely that they will agree to the compensation requests. They are said to be resisting despite having agreed to compensation for the Lockerbie bombing.

>>>> A Halifax study has shown that 46% of householders have not installed a fire detection device in their homes and a further 1 in 5 do not have home contents insurance. Halifax point out that there are 200 house fires a day in the UK and with Fire Safety Week coming up, home-owners should seriously consider the safety of themselves and their belongings.

>>>> A 3 year study by the European Commissions transport department has recommended that black box devices are fitted in cars on a mandatory basis. The boxes which record 20 items of data including speed, braking and indicating could be used by insurance companies and the police to ascertain guilt in accidents. The study found that drivers with the boxes installed were 10% less likely to have an accident and accidents which did occur incurred 25% less cost. The MET police have been using the boxes since 1999 and have had a £2m reduction in accident costs. The boxes cost £500 each and only keep recordings of a 45 second window of time both before and after an accident. The AA have expressed concern over how the boxes will be paid for and believe it should be voluntary.

>>>> Breakdown service Green Flag have released details of a study into what people would do given 30 minutes of spare time. They found that 40% would read, followed by TV, gardening and DIY. Only 11% of men would want to spend the "time" with their partners, the same as those who would want to listen to their I-Pod. If at work, most people would use the time to go home early, while some men would want to flirt with a co-worker. 30 minutes represents the amount of time it takes for Green Flag to reach a breakdown (in case you were wondering why on earth a recovery company was asking people such a bland question). But unless you've packed a book, gardening kit or a co-worker to flirt with, the half hour wait for them to show up is going to be just you staring at the passing traffic.

>>>> Sainsburys Home Insurance has searched the details of 100 parties advertised on Facebook and found that 50% advertised the location and time openly. They point out that this can lead to home-owners being very vulnerable to gatecrashers. It could also impact on any claims made for damage during the party. They say that claims for party damage have made up one third of all home insurance claims in the last 5 years and the average claims are between £1000 and £5000.

>>>> An ASDA store in Bideford is denying liability for damage to cars caused by traffic calming roadworks near their new store. The measures have been installed as part of the planning permission for the store and the technical specifications were put in place by the council. One local garage has seen 2-3 people a week complaining of damage to wheels, bodywork, tyres and bumpers due to the roadworks which are difficult to negotiate. The Council say that the road is the responsibility of the developer until it is adopted, which has not happened yet. ASDA say that they are only following the councils specifications with regards to the layout.

>>>> Surveyors have been facing up to 100% increases in their Professional Indemnity Insurance after a huge increase in claims over the last 12 months. Insurers have been pulling out of the market leading to a lack in competition for the insurance.

To add to their concerns the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have said that their members are receiving letters from No Win No Fee solicitors on behalf of lenders, implying that the surveyor may have mis-valued a property and is under investigation. It is thought that the solicitors have approached the lenders offering the service in an attempt to get back house value lost following repossession. Surveyors must report all investigations to their insurers which will lead to increased Professional Indemnity premiums. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has said that it is unusual for banks to use No Win No Fee solicitors and would normally approach surveyors themselves if they have doubts about a homes value.

>>>> The ABI are due to release a report on climate change and are expected to report that a 4 degree rise in temperatures could result in extreme flooding and an increase in costs of 30%. Damage caused by wind storms are expected to rise by 14%. Chairman of Climatewise and Chief Executive of Allianz, Andrew Torrance has said that more frequent and extreme weather patterns are likely and that insurers will need to hold more capital to be able to cope.

>>>> Laing and Buisson's Healthcare market review report has been released and has shown that 900,000 patients in the UK paid for private operation in 2008 which is 30% down on 2007. They believe that the drop is due to more money being spent on the NHS, who are paying for people to be treated in private hospitals. 151,000 operations were performed privately on the NHS last year. †