Insurance Discussion

Weather forecasters have warned that the current cold temperatures being experienced around the country are set to last for another two weeks. The country has already had the coldest December in a decade and temperatures may drop as low as -15C in Scotland and Northern England over the coming ten days. The cold snap has prompted the RAC to warn drivers to take special care as they return to work this week, after a spate of ice and snow related motor accidents.

>>>> The AA has reported that they have seen a 40% increase in claims over the winter so far, with many claims relating to cars which have been abandoned in the snow and broken into. They have also reported an increase in stolen vehicles and warn motorists not to leave their car unattended while warming it up in the morning. In addition, the AA have warned of the threat of potholes, due to the expansion and freezing of water on the road surface. Usually potholes become a problem during spring, but the AA has warned that it may become an issue earlier this year

>>>> Swiftcover.com has warned that the number of accidents on the roads could more than double during the rush back to work and school this week. They say they experienced twice the usual number of claims during the same two day period last year. The school run accounts for 18% of all morning traffic, which when added to the wintry conditions could lead to traffic chaos, according to the insurer. Craig Sutland from Swiftcover has commented that drivers need to learn to change their driving habits to suit the conditions. He recommends leaving earlier and driving more carefully.

>>>> A chef who was sacked by Kingston Hospital after eating a piece of garlic bread while at work, has been awarded £25,000 compensation. Hamid Elkhiyari had worked at the hospital for 23 years and had gotten up at 5am to walk to work on the day in question, due to the heavy snowfall during February of 2009. The employment tribunal had offered the chef his job back, but Mr Elkhiyari refused saying his previous employer was the worst company anyone could work for.

>>>> Lloyds TSB has finally paid out on a pet insurance claim after the owner was originally refused her claim after her pet had to be put down. Alison Scorgie had expected a payment of £800 for replacement of the dog, but was refused as she had bred him herself and therefore had not paid. Lloyds say that customers are expected to produce a proof of purchase of the animal to prevent fraud. In this case, as Mrs Scorgie was proven to be a breeder they were able to pay the claim eventually.

>>>> It has been revealed that Royal Mail has paid out more than £1m each month in compensation over the last year, due to lost, damaged or late parcels and letters. The number of complaints made was up by 9% on last year and reached 1000 per day. The figures for this year are expected to be even worse following the industrial action taken before Christmas. 56 customers complained and received compensation for impolite staff. Despite these figures, the Royal Mail has seen fit to raise the price of their stamps to 41p for first class and 32p for second class.

>>>> Almost one quarter of the voters of Iceland have signed a petition asking the government to have a referendum on the payment of compensation due to 300,000 British investors. The savers lost money due to the collapse of Landsbanki in 2008. Individual savers have been offered a 100% guarantee and the total bill comes to £2.35bn. The debt amounts to 12,000 Euros per Icelander and the interest rate alone is the same as running the health service for 6 months. If Iceland did not make the repayments on the loan required to pay the compensation, they may affect their entry into the EU.

>>>> Those who commit minor offences such as anti-social behaviour and speeding may be asked to pay higher fines to fund a new compensation scheme. A £15 surcharge has been added to the fines of those convicted of a crime for the last 3 years. Now the government is hoping to extend this scheme to minor offences. The proceeds raised from these surcharges go towards funding organisations which provide support to victims and witnesses of crime. The RAC have commented that motorists may see the increase as a stealth tax and may regard the extra surcharge as unfair and out of proportion to the crime.

>>>> Sainsbury’s Home Insurance is expecting an increase in claims during the first two months of this year after a 37% increase during the same period last year. They put the increase in claims down to mishaps in the home during the festive period and the increase in the value of home contents after Christmas. Ben Tyte from Sainsbury’s recommends that home-owners check their policies to ensure they automatically receive extra cover during the festive period.

>>>> Research by the “Know your limits” campaign has revealed that those who drink at home often give themselves and their friends much stronger drinks than those offered in pubs. In fact, home measures can be on average 128% stronger. This could easily lead to people drinking and driving without realising they are over the limit. A drink driving conviction can lead to problems securing insurance in the future.

>>>> Research by Moneysupermarket.com has found that more than 60% of UK retailers would consider offering a non-sale discount to a purchaser if asked. This is despite the fact that just one third of UK shoppers have ever tried to negotiate money off their shopping. On average those who do haggle can achieve discounts of more than 13% and up to as much as 20% off the recommended retail price. A spokesperson from Moneysupermarket.com stated that retailers who have been affected by the recession are more likely than ever to offer a discount.

>>>> Marks and Spencer Home Insurance is the first insurance company to offer an eco-friendly product to their policy holders. From today they will be offering as standard an A-rated energy efficient kitchen appliance should customers make a claim for replacement of their old appliance. They will also rebuild homes in line with the Code For Sustainable Homes 4, by using sustainable materials. This will reduce the carbon emissions of the home by 44%.The move follows research which indicated that 61% of home-owners would consider an insurance product which reduced the environmental impact of their home after a claim. M&S say that customers do not value carbon off-setting used by other insurers, and would rather see changes being made in a more tangible way.

>>>> The British Insurance Brokers Association as revealed the results of research into business continuity plans, which show that 45% of businesses have either little or no continuity plans. They are urging the Government to help raise awareness of the importance of businesses being prepared for a major incident and how they might continue their business should the worst happen. The research also showed that just 37% of businesses have credit insurance. 24% say that a disaster would impact their business within one hour and 27% would have disruption after one hour. Just 28% felt their business would recover from a major incident within one week and 11% felt it would take longer than 6 months. Of those who had no formal written plan of how their business might continue, 66% felt they would cope and 26% had never actually thought about it.

>>>> The ABI has joined forces with Which? and a number of comparison sites to develop a set of guidelines for those buying car insurance online. The guidelines have been developed to ensure that online shoppers can identify the best policy for their needs and understand the terms and conditions, in the absence of a broker. The guidance will help users review policies, understand which features are add-ons and which are standard and understand the concept of voluntary and compulsory excess. The site will also offer a referral section for those refused insurance.

>>>> Despite reports from Munich Re that natural disasters cost the insurance industry $22bn in 2009, the losses were far lower than those experienced in 2008. It is believed that this is due to the low incidence of hurricanes in the North Atlantic. There were however, more than the average of 770 natural hazard events during 2009. The trend appears to be heading toward weather related events which accounted for 45% of losses during the year. Munich Re Chief Executive, Professor Nikolaus von Bomhard has said he is disappointed by the results of the Copenhagen climate change conference and felt that climate change is a man-made problem which is contributing to the losses experienced by the insurance sector.

>>>> Axa is the latest insurer to produce an iPhone app to help customers in the event of a motor related accident. Known as AXAdent, the app will guide motorists through the claims process, allow them to take photographs, store information and log the time, date and GPS location of the accident. AXA customers will be able to contact their claims team via email and be able to contact a repairer for their car should it be damaged. The app is available to both AXA customers and others, free of charge, on iTunes.

Tags: AXA customers, British investors, cold snap, drinking and driving, freezing of water, Hamid Elkhiyari, proof of purchase, traffic chaos

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Auto Insurance, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.