"Dog eat Dog" doesn't even begin to describe Britain's reaction to recession

NCD News: "Dog eat Dog" doesn't even begin to describe Britain's reaction to recession - 03.02.10

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"Dog eat Dog" doesn't even begin to describe Britain's reaction to recession: >>>> Research by Gocompare.com has revealed that one in five pet owners would struggle to pay vet bills if their pet were to fall ill. They would have to rely on an animal charity or not take their pet to the vet at all. Despite this pet owners spend an average of £676 on their pets each year, more than £100 of which goes on treats. Gocompare point out that pet insurance can be bought for as little as £4 a month, making it a false economy not to buy pet insurance. Simply cutting out treats would cover half the cost.

>>>> A study by the UK Fraud Prevention Service has revealed that there has been a 9% increase in fraud reported by its members, while CIFAS has seen a 55% increase in false insurance claims. The increases are put down to the recession. CIFAS say that they experienced a surge in staged accidents, rather than simple inflated claims. They say that these types of increases show that customers are becoming increasingly dishonest and criminal. Peter Hurst from CIFAS points out that the best way to tackle the problem is for insurance companies to share information and fraud data.

>>>> Aviva UK Health has conducted research into the effect that the recession is having on their customers mental health. They have found that close to one in four businesses believe that the recession has taken a lasting toll on the stress levels of their staff and has led to an increase in long tern absenteeism. In response the Consumer Credit Counselling Service has conducted research of their own and asked questions about whether their clients felt depressed due to their debt levels. 86% said yes. Just 7% indicated that they had no stress or depression regarding their level of debt.

It has been reported in the Daily Mail that Aviva is allowing financial advisers to take 10% of a savers money when they buy one of their investments. These large commission payments can lead to a distortion in the advice given and are taken from the investments, lowering the value. Aviva claim that the average commission they pay is between 0% and 3% and that the adviser must make the customer aware of the commission. They have in the past admitted however, that when they need to boost sales they simply up the commissions brokers can claim.

A six year old girl from Cornwall has won the 2010 Childsure Children's Health Insurance competition in association with Aviva. She was selected after 4 rounds of competition by shoe designer Jimmy Choo and model agency Elliott Brown. She will now become the face of Childsure and will take part in a number of professional photoshoots around Cornwall.

>>>> A £5.6m package of compensation has been awarded to a teenager who was left disabled after her birth at Wycombe General Hospital in Buckinghamshire. Alice Joyce who was born 13 years ago requires 24 hour care and has learning difficulties. She has been looked after by her parents who have fought a nine year battle for compensation. The money will be used to fund a hydro therapy pool and to maintain the round the clock care she needs. Her father commented that the NHS is continuing to pay out huge sums in cases such as these and he believes lessons needs to be learnt. The hospital has admitted negligence and have made a public apology.

>>>> Direct Line are reported in The Express as having used a private investigator to get back £4m in damages which were awarded to Mark Noble for his injuries, which he said were crippling. Direct Line who are battling the claim in the Civil Appeal Court claim that they have videos of Mr Noble walking long distances, doing DIY and driving a dumper truck. Mr Noble's lawyers say that if any recovery has been made it is down to the determination of their client. A decision in the case will be made at a later date.

>>>> A former BBC presenter is claiming compensation from her former employer for discrimination on the grounds of age and sex. Miriam O'Reilly presented Countryfile and was one of four women in their 40's and 50's who were dropped from the programme. The new presenters were both in their 30's. She also claims that she was held responsible for reports which accused the BBC of ageism and sexism which caused her career to nosedive. She is seeking compensation for loss of earnings and hurt feelings. The BBC has denied the claims and point out that they have a number of older women presenters.

>>>> Kwik Fit have discovered in their Big Motoring Survey that 79% of the 721 people questioned would not use public transport even if improvements were made. In fact people are spending more time than ever in their cars. 20% spend 10-20 hours a week driving and a third spend 5-10 hours a week. The survey also questioned what irritated drivers the most and found that traffic jams and road rage came in at numbers one and two. When asked about how they planned their journeys 39% used online route planners and 31% used SatNavs. 22% still use a map and 53% thought that SatNavs had made drivers lazy.

>>>> Residents on two streets in Wigan have expressed their anger that they have been told they must buy insurance through a company specified by their leaseholder. The Compton Group have sent letters to residents telling them they must buy their buildings insurance from Zurich or transfer to Zurich when their policy comes up for renewal. Residents have since discovered that they have the right to challenge the leaseholder if they can get a better deal elsewhere. A change in law from 2005 says that residents have the right to choose their own insurer as long as certain conditions are met.

>>>> Legal & General have revamped their income protection insurance to ensure that all policyholders can identify their occupation. Previously the Income Protection Benefit Plan included a section where customers could describe their occupation under an "any" heading. In these cases customers can now define their occupations which means they can receive a competitive quote and advice from brokers. Other features include an increase in the maximum benefit from £120,000 to £200,000 and the age of expiry has been increased from 65 to 70.

>>>> A report from The Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies commissioned by Premierline Direct has found that 52% of small and medium sized businesses (SME's) believe that reduced demand for their goods is the biggest risk they face, while late payments come second at 41%. Increased competition comes in at 32% in third pace. Cashflow problems were also a concern for 29% of SME's, with a lack of accessible credit posing a problem to 15%. When it came to insurance, 43% wanted to cover bad debts, 21% intellectual property and 16% wanted to insure against the costs of litigation should they have to sue clients. However it seemed that many SME's do not realise that policies they already have may cover areas such as loss of income and environmental damage. A spokesperson from Premierline Direct commented that they were looking at ways to keep jargon to a minimum so that SME's can be more aware of what is included in their policy.

>>>> Research by Moneysupermarket.com has found that protecting a no claims discount can result in savings of 73% on policies purchased after a crash. Those who protected their no claims bonus are likely to see their insurance rise by just 18%. Steve Sweeney from Moneysupermarket.com points out that paying the extra to protect the policy may be worthwhile, but that it is important to realise that in the long term, the cost savings may be outweighed by the extra which has been paid. He also says that customers need to be aware that premiums can still increase each year, as the protection is for the discount offered, not the price of the policy. †