BDML launches Gadgetsafe
by Gill Montia
Story link: BDML launches Gadgetsafe
The Capita Group’s BDML Insurance Solutions division is launching Gadgetsafe, a new policy that provides cover for personal electronic devices.
The move is in response to the rapid change in lifestyle that has left many people increasingly dependent on mobile technology.
According to DBML large numbers of individuals are commonly carrying around gadgets that are worth up […]
Cyclists should look to insurance
by Gill Montia
Story link: Cyclists should look to insurance
According to Cycleguard, the online specialist in insurance for cyclists and their equipment, 40% of those on two wheels rather than four are leaving themselves exposed to risk.
The British Crime Survey shows that reported bicycle thefts have reached almost 560,000 so far this year.
At the same time, when taking to the roads to commute […]
Aon spotlights image protection
by Gill Montia
Story link: Aon spotlights image protection
Aon is urging broadcasting and telecommunications businesses to review the means by which they protect their image and reputation, particularly when taking into account the role of subcontractors.
This role has recently come into sharp focus because of incidents relating to misleading programme content and the scandal surrounding television phone-in competitions.
In these cases it could be […]
Sub-prime implications for European insurers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Sub-prime implications for European insurers
Moody’s, which specialises in credit ratings, research and risk analysis, has reported that it expects the US sub-prime mortgage crisis to have a limited direct effect on European insurers.
In its investigations, Moody’s found that for many of Europe’s largest insurers, exposure to sub-prime residential mortgage-backed securities is of a high credit quality overall.
At the same […]
Fool enhances motor service
by Gill Montia
Story link: Fool enhances motor service
Fool.co.uk, the personal finance website, has secured an agreement with comparethemarket.com, which will be providing the motor insurance quotation facility on Fool’s Motley Fool Insurance Service.
Consumers logging on to The Motley Fool’s Insurance Service Centre will be taken to a site powered by comparethemarket.com, when they select car or van insurance as their area of […]
Motor premiums rise on the back of floods
by Gill Montia
Story link: Motor premiums rise on the back of floods
This summer’s devastating floods are likely to cause car insurance premiums to rise.
This unexpected outcome can be attributed to the fact that some insurers have been subsidising losses in the extremely competitive car insurance sector, using profits from reserve funds.
Motor insurance experts have estimated that in recent times, car insurers have been paying […]
Employees value PMI above bonuses
by Gill Montia
Story link: Employees value PMI above bonuses
Bupa is suggesting that employees are showing an increase in their interest in health and well being, to the extent that the majority value private medical insurance (PMI) above many other employee benefits, including bonuses and flexitime.
In its Health of the Nation report, which is based on an annual survey of the general public’s attitudes […]
New technology enhances location intelligence
by Gill Montia
Story link: New technology enhances location intelligence
Pitney Bowes MapInfo (PBM), the provider of location intelligence, has plans to improve its technology.
The company, part of the AIG group, is integrating its location intelligence systems with i-aXs, an online risk management platform developed by Guy Carpenter & Company, the world’s leading risk and reinsurance specialist.
Location intelligence is used to help retailers maximise profits […]
School bags contain expensive surprises
by Gill Montia
Story link: School bags contain expensive surprises
Esure, the online personal lines insurer, has shocked parents with its estimate that the average school bag, belonging to those in the 11 to 16 year-old age range, is worth £265 including the contents.
The figure has been arrived at by means of a survey in which 60% of parents questioned admitted that their children never […]
Standard charges misled endowment mortgagers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard charges misled endowment mortgagers
Insurance companies that sold endowment mortgages during the late 1980s and early 1990s could be liable for a proportion of claims totalling £200 million.
Over 200,000 consumers, who took out endowment mortgages at that time, could be eligible to make claims because insurers’ marketing material did not fully illustrate the impact of charges on future policy […]
London liable for US sub-prime compensation costs
by Gill Montia
Story link: London liable for US sub-prime compensation costs
London insurers may face compensation claims arising out of the crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage market.
So far, at least ten claims have been lodged against mortgage providers in the US.
These have been made by investors who are maintaining that the lenders did not explain the true risks associated with selling home loans to […]
Nationwide bans PPI sales
by Gill Montia
Story link: Nationwide bans PPI sales
Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, has ceased all sales of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), after admitting that its staff have not been advising customers properly.
The building society apparently mounted a covert operation and discovered its PPI sellers were not up to the mark.
PPI is sold alongside loans, mortgages and credit card agreements, to […]
Link and Zenith to merge
by Gill Montia
Story link: Link and Zenith to merge
Link is to merge with Zenith. Both insurers are owned by GHL Europe, the holding company for the European businesses of Guardian Holdings, a Caribbean-based financial services group.
The merged companies will be based in Gibraltar and subject to the approval of the Gibraltar financial regulator (which should be obtained by the end of 2007), the […]
Difficult times for PPI
by Gill Montia
Story link: Difficult times for PPI
Datamonitor, the market analyst, has found that the number of people taking out payment protection insurance (PPI) has fallen.
During 2006, the premium value of PPI policies collected by insurers fell by nearly 4%, to £5.4 billion, and Datamonitor attributes this to both lower lending levels and bad publicity about PPI cover.
PPI provides debt repayment for […]
UK motorists nervous abroad
by Gill Montia
Story link: UK motorists nervous abroad
Norwich Union’s (NU) Driving Abroad Uncovered report has come up with some alarming findings amongst British drivers taking to foreign roads.
According to the NU’s survey, 48% of UK motorists admitted to being nervous about driving overseas.
This figure is hardly surprising when 35% of respondents admitted to having accidentally driven on the wrong side of the […]
Recruitment rethink needed
by Gill Montia
Story link: Recruitment rethink needed
Search Consultancy, the UK’s fastest growing recruitment consultancy, is advising the insurance and financial service sectors that they need to rethink their recruitment strategies, if they are to secure the best candidates.
Many companies in the insurance industry view the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate (AFPC) qualification as an essential requirement for a paraplanner.
However, paraplanners (who […]
Gardeners and adventurers should check small print
by Gill Montia
Story link: Gardeners and adventurers should check small print
Gardener lovers and adventurers would be well advised to check their insurance policies.
According to Alliance & Leicester Personal Loans, almost a third of the people participating in their recent survey would spend more time in their gardens if only they were more attractive.
Those aged in their twenties and early thirties were particularly keen on more […]
Students’ possessions need insuring too
by Gill Montia
Story link: Students’ possessions need insuring too
Home content insurers are promoting awareness of the value of the possession likely to accompany students leaving their parents’ homes to study at university.
According to Endsleigh Insurance, the average value of a UK student’s belongings is £4,200 and many students assume their possessions are covered by their parents’ home content insurance, when they may have […]
Motorists sloppy over car contents
by Gill Montia
Story link: Motorists sloppy over car contents
Prudential Car Insurance is urging motorists to exercise more caution in leaving their personal possessions in unattended vehicles.
According to a survey by the insurer, one-in-ten car owners in the UK are putting themselves at risk of identity theft by leaving sensitive documents, such as bills and bank statements, in their vehicles.
Such items are very attractive […]
Sharp rise in lost luggage claims
by Gill Montia
Story link: Sharp rise in lost luggage claims
InsureandGo, the travel insurance company, has reported a steep rise in the number of claims received for lost baggage.
During the period January to June 2006, the company received 1,133 baggage claims, but for the same period in 2007 claims increased 85%, to 2,094.
According to the number of people insured by the company, the figures for […]
