The Financial Services Association have suggested to the insurance industry that they should take the moral highground and offer refunds to customers who had Payment Protection Insurance mis-sold to them and whose compensation claims have been rejected. This comes after the industry has agreed to review their sales books back to January 2005 and to refund anyone who may have been mis-sold. 60% of claims have so far been rejected, however most claims which reach the Financial Ombudsman are accepted.
The Director of spareroom.com has estimated that the number of people offering their spare room for rent has shot up from 471,000 to 720,000 in the past year. The ABI has responded by issuing a warning to homeowners that they should inform their insurer if they sublet any part of their home. They also warn that any convictions a lodger might have will impact on premiums.
Swiftcover have released figures today which show that although people cannot afford to buy new cars, they can afford to update their registration plates. 69% of those surveyed said their driving expenses had increased this year and the number of new cars sold had dropped by 21%. Despite this the sales of personalised plates only fell by 4%. With prices going for £350 online and £2500 at an auction, a new registration plate hides the age of your vehicle without having to splash out. Be warned, though, you cannot actually put a number plate on a vehicle that is beyond it’s actual age e.g. an **08 *** plate cannot be placed on a 2006 car.
Aviva have been warning small and medium sized businesses today about the need to keep their commercial insurances. In particular they are concerned about liability insurance which is required by law. The warning follows the results of a study which shows that 69% of small and mediums sized businesses felt that cashflow was their biggest challenge over the last year. In the leisure sector this figure rose to 75% and to 70% for retail. Many of these types of businesses had resorted to cancelling insurance.
Insurer LV have revealed the results of their survey regarding identity theft in the UK. They found that one in seven burglaries are carried out with the intention of getting identity documents and one quarter of burglary victims become victims of identity fraud as a result. In addition, 75% of break ins involve the theft of identity documents. It is hardly surprising when it is realised that a burglar can get as much as £150 for a bundle of documents such as credit cards, utility bills and birth certificates.
Bearing in mind the recent tragic case involving antisocial behaviour, Halifax Home Insurance have released figures following a survey of 1200 of their customers. They found that one in five suffered serious anti-social behaviour from neighbours with excessive noise being the most common complaint. Rudeness and intimidation was next on the list. This represented an increase of 34% on the figures from their 2007 survey which asked the same questions. Gordon Brown has said in his keynote speech at this years party conference that “chaotic” families will be targeted and punished.
A company known as Exit With Profits and run by financial planning analysts DMP, has come up with some very disturbing figures regarding with profits policies offered by insurance companies. They found that just 40% of with profits scheme are invested effectively. This represents £120bn invested unwisely. Those with the worst investments are Equitable Life, Zurich Life and Sun Life. Those requiring “serious attention” included AXA, Clerical Medical, Friends Provident and Scottish Widows. Just Aviva, Prudential, LV and Wesleyan came out as having invested wisely.
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