The future of Direct Line and Churchill hang in the balance as their owner, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), considers means of raising new capital. Last week, RBS shareholders were surprised and angered by reports that the bank was planning a deeply discounted rights issue. Only last month, RBS chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, strongly [...]
Travellers passing through Heathrow’s Terminal 5 may experience difficulties purchasing insurance for flight delays and lost baggage. A number of companies are withdrawing cover for those using the £4.3 billion terminal, which has seen various states of chaos since it opened on 27th March. Problems with baggage handling have led to record baggage mounds plus [...]
A new range of business insurance products has been unveiled by Direct Line. The new range is designed to cater to small businesses, and provide them with comprehensive coverage. Small businesses can be more vulnerable than their larger counterparts, as a single unfortunate incident such as fire can cause damage to the entire firm. With [...]
Direct Line has been taken to task by a national newspaper which suggests that the firm is taking unfair advantage of its loyal customers. According to a report in The Guardian, the company is issuing renewal premiums significantly above the rates than can be purchased online. One Direct Line customer claims to have been quoted [...]
Leading insurer Direct Line has today announced two further product lines within its new commercial product catalogue, which has seen it move from an exclusively consumer-driven insurer into more lucrative commercial markets, mainly at the small to medium business niche. The announcement today saw the launch of the commercial property and shop cover products, which [...]
Direct Line insurance has today announced it has launched an insurance policy designed specifically for owners of buy to let property investments, targeting those with medium sized investment portfolios in the short term. The policy is designed to reflect the growing trend towards buy to let as a business model, and is designed to provide [...]
BIBA, the trade association of general insurance brokers, has criticised the decisions by some insurers to increase their household premiums. It has described the increases as opportunistic and as a knee jerk reaction to this summer’s floods. The association is reminding consumers that the market for home insurance is very competitive, and that is has [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reported that the insurance industry is currently handling over 50,000 claims resulting from the flooding in June and July. Claims for the July floods currently stand at 12,000 for homes, and 3,500 for businesses. Experts believe that the cost of the damage caused by the July floods is [...]
The insurance industry is now predicting that claims for flood damage this summer could exceed £2 billion. The Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) estimate for the June flooding stood at £1.5 billion and this combined with the damaged caused by the July floods is certain to make 2007 the worst year for the industry since [...]
