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Travel insurance comparison service for pre existing medical conditions from Confused.com

May 17, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
confused-com-logo

Insurance comparison site, Confused.com, have recently launched a brand new service allowing customers with pre existing medical conditions to compare across a range of providers to find cover before heading off on holiday this summer.

Travellers with pre existing medical conditions often face an uphill battle when trying to obtain cover as their medical condition means they are pegged as a higher risk group as they are more likely to claim on their policy compared to a traveller with no medical conditions. Due to the increased risk, many insurers are very careful about the conditions they cover, while some refuse to provide cover altogether for those with pre existing medical conditions.

Now Confused.com have teamed up with a range of specialist insurance companies who all offer travel insurance for those with medical conditions. The new services was launched on May 14th 2012 and will enable customers to input their pre existing medical along with their other information to compare across a range of travel insurance policies, helping them find the find right policy at the right price.

Confused.com say that not having a clean medical record should be an obstacle to finding affordable travel insurance and believe that their new service will make the process of finding suitable cover for those with pre existing medical conditions much less of a chore.

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Insurance fronting carried out by 1 in 4 drivers

April 11, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
car-insurance-keys

According to recent research carried out by price comparison website, Moneysupermarket.com, as many as 14% of parents in the UK have named themselves as the first name driver on a car insurance policy when in fact the car is mainly used by their child in a practice known as fronting, which is in fact illegal.

Despite the fact that falsely naming yourself as the first name driver on the policy to obtain cheaper car insurance is illegal, 1 in 4 drivers admitted doing this, while 13% said they would do it and a further 15% said they would consider fronting on an insurance policy, according to the findings of recent research from Moneysupermarket.com.

However there seems to be a lot of confusion over the legitimacy of fronting as 1 in 4 people who were polled by the price comparison site said they believed the practice was legal, while a third of those questioned said they didn’t know whether it was legal or illegal.

Insurance experts have described the findings of the study as “worrying” and are urging motorists to think about their actions before contemplating posing as the first name driver on a car they rarely use as not only is this illegal, but if you did need to make a claim and you were discovered to be fronting, then this could invalidate the entire insurance policy.

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Accidents involving young drivers reduced by black box insurance research claims

April 10, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
Young-female-driver

Leading car insurance provider, The Co-Operative, has found that black box technology is helping to reduce accidents on the road involving young drivers.

Telematics car insurance, also known as black box insurance, utilises satellite technology to track and monitor the driver’s behaviour on the road. The tracking equipment records the time of day the car used on the roads, average speed, cornering and acceleration rates to gauge the driver’s ability and safety on the road.

According to the latest research from The Co-Operative car insurance, telematics car insurance has led to a 20% reduction on average of serious accidents involving young drivers. The research looked at 10,000 young drivers aged between 17 years and 25 years and found that those with black box technology monitoring their driving were on average 20% less likely to have an accident.

Even when those with telematics insurance do make a claim, their insurance claims amount is typically 30% lower than young drivers with ordinary insurance.

As well as reducing the number of accidents involving young drivers, and helping to lower the cost of a claim when one is made, those who drive carefully with telematics cover can expect to see a reduction of a much as 20% off the cost of their car insurance a year after using the new style of car insurance.

Currently, black box technology car insurance accounts for less than 10% of the UK’s market of car insurance.

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Car insurer finds drivers are unsure of speed limits

March 30, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
speed-camera-sign

A recent survey by car insurance provider, LV=, found that seven out of ten drivers were unable to correctly identify the speed limit for different types of roads, which could signal that many drivers are being hit with speeding fines due to their ignorance over the limit for specific roads.

The study carried out by car insurance company LV found that 1 in 3 drivers who took part in the research could not identify that a single carriageway has a 60mph limit, while 1 in 2 drivers didn’t know what the speed limit was on a rural road without street lights.

The results of the research are especially worrying as this seems to demonstrate that a large proportion of motorists on UK roads are not fully aware of the speed limits on specific roads, which could lead to them breaking the limit without even realising that they are doing so.

Evidence suggests that many car insurance providers raise their premiums for drivers after just one speeding offence, and with 1 in 10 drivers being caught speeding since 2009, with 17% of these drivers receiving speeding tickets on two or even three occasions, this will be having a negative impact on the cost of insurance for many drivers.

The advice from car insurance experts is for drivers to brush up on their driving theory to ensure they’re not caught out by speed limits due to a lack of knowledge.

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iPhone app to help reduce the cost of car insurance

March 14, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
aviva-insurance-logo

Insurance provider, Aviva, is carrying out trials with a view to launching an iPhone app which will link to a telematics system to monitor the behaviour of drivers on the road. In line with other smartbox car insurance systems, the new app would link up with a black box on the policyholder’s dashboard which will collect data on the way the car is being driven.

The rising cost of car insurance for young drivers in particular, is something which has been well publicised. Insurance experts predict that these new types of car insurance policies, which utilise telematics technology and calculate the cost of a premium based on the driving habits of the individual, is an effective way for new and young drivers to fight back against the spiralling cost of insurance.

Research has suggested that as many as two thirds of young drivers could see a reduction in the cost of their annual insurance premium of up to 22% as a result of installing a black box system in their car for a full year.

Car insurer, Aviva, is currently experimenting with a new smartphone application which would collect data transmitted from the black box installed in the car. The telematics system would gather information which will be used to calculate the cost of the driver’s premium including the time of day the car is being driven and the number of miles covered. Practices such as braking suddenly and cornering would have a negative impact on the cost of the driver’s premium.

However one potential downfall of the new system, which Aviva are concerned about, is that the driver would need to have the phone with the app in the car at all times order for the new system to be fit for purpose.

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Home insurer reports rise in pest problems in UK properties

February 29, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
pest-control

Home insurance provider, LV, has revealed a sharp increase in pests in UK homes with a recent studying reporting that 65% of pest controllers have found that problems related to rats, mice, squirrel and bed bugs in British homes has sharply risen in the last 12 months.

One of the principle causes for this sudden increase in pest infestation in UK homes could be due to the change in waste collections. Previously domestic rubbish was collected every week, however in many parts of the UK, this has been reduced to fortnightly collections.

Another major change which is likely to be linked to the rise in vermin in British homes is the introduction of the food recycling collection. In the last five years since these changes to waste collections have been implemented, 27% of homeowners in the UK have reported seeing more rats and foxes in the vicinity of their homes.

Pest controllers also believe that warmer modern homes are also providing a haven for rats and mice seeking shelter from the cold. It’s estimated that Brits have their central heating on in their homes for almost half the year, 5.8 months to be precise, creating the perfect cosy environment to attract vermin.

Aside from the obvious inconvenience of having rats or mice nesting in your home, vermin in the house can also be damaging to the property. LV home insurance has found that the most common problem caused by rodents is the chewing of wires, 94% of homes that have suffered an infestation reported this problem, followed by damage to insulation, 93% of homes.

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Home insurance company warns of damage caused by delaying repair work

February 22, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
home-insurance

Insurance provider, the AA, have revealed that Brits are putting themselves at risk of being hit with costly damage to their homes as a result of putting off routine repairs.

According to recent statistics from the Home Emergency Response Scheme, 18.5 million UK homeowners, 39% of the home owning population, have delayed taking care of repair work on their properties or tried to fix the issue themselves in an attempt to cut back on spending.

In the last 12 months alone, 14% of homeowners have attempted to tackle DIY projects or home repair work which they would ordinarily have paid a professional to do, while 11% of people have turned to friends to help with repairs about the home. Worryingly, 8% have avoided getting their boiler fixed in an attempt to budget, 5% have not replaced damaged windows and 4% have delayed repairing a damaged roof.

The collective cost to repair damage to UK homes stands at £1 billion with 20% of those homeowners revealing that the damage was exacerbated by their decision to delay taking care of the issue.

The average amount spent to rectify these problems was estimated at £378, however unfortunately for the majority of those homeowners, only 5% of the problems were covered by their home insurance policy, meaning many ended up forking out extra to cover the repairs. With this in mind, insurers are warning homeowners that delay routine repairs to save money are actually causing themselves more problems and more expense in the long run.

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Fewer car insurance claims by Aussie women compared to men

February 15, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
car-rear-end-crash

A recent survey undertaken by a leading car insurance provider in Australia found that male drivers are more likely to make a claim and be involved in an accident on the road than their female counterpart.

The figures released by RAA Insurance in Australia showed that out of the 33,400 accidents on Aussie roads in the last two years, men were accountable for 53% of the incidents, meaning that women are less likely to be involved in a road traffic accident on roads in Australia compared to male drivers.

The details of each accident and insurance claim showed that male drivers are more likely to hit another car with changing lanes while motorway driving, reversing and crossing intersections all named as the most common causes for accidents involving male drivers on Australia roads.

While the figures used for this research were compiled from details using drivers in Australia, the male female divide in terms of more claims being made and accidents being caused by male drivers is a trend seen in the UK as well which is why women are generally rewarded with cheaper car insurance premiums. However from the end of 2012, gender discrimination in the way car insurance is calculated will become illegal in the UK following a ruling by the European Court.

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Cost of travel insurance will double for some OAPs

February 3, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
Four Retired Age People On Vacation Portugal The Algarve

The cost of travel insurance could double for some over 65’s in 2012 new research suggests. An investigation by Money Mail has discovered that the price travel insurance for an OAP could be set to rise from £163 to as much as £361 for annual cover this year.

Younger travellers are also noticing an increase in the cost of travel insurance policies, however the rise is expected to be in the region of less than 9% which is significantly less than the 121% increase effecting the cost of cover for some OAPs.

The hike in the price of travel insurance for older people has caused concern amongst charities and consumer groups who fear that elderly travellers may be priced out of the insurance market which could lead these people to travelling without any type of cover.

The rising cost of travel insurance may push over 65’s towards taking out the cheapest possible option for insurance, however this could leave them open to problems if the policy doesn’t offer adequate cover for their needs. In some cases, experts believe that the sudden hike in holiday insurance premiums will deter older people from travelling abroad altogether.

In their defence, insurance companies say the premium cost reflects the increasing claims experienced for specific groups and that the price of travel insurance takes into account each travellers risk factor, which in many cases, means older travellers are placed in a high risk category due to the increased risk of health problems.

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Home insurance rose by 10% during 2011 survey finds

January 27, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
home-insurance

A recent survey conducted by the AA Insurance group has estimated that the cost of home insurance rose by 10% over the course of 2011.

Breaking down its findings, AA Insurance discovered that buildings insurance premiums rose by 3.1% from an average of £143 a year in 2010 to £156 in 2011, while contents insurance also went up, this time by slightly more than buildings cover, increasing by 4.4% to an average £80 a year in just the last three months of 2011.

An increase in the number of home insurance claims, coupled with an increase in crime levels, is believed to be responsible for driving the cost of home insurance upwards. The past two winters have also seen the insurance industry hit with a high level of claims for winter weather damage to property including burst pipes and caused by plummeting temperatures and storm damage and flooding, which has caused insurers to raise their premiums as a result.

The British Crime Survey also showed that crime levels have increased in England and Wales, with the rate for domestic burglaries in these areas up by 10% in the last 12 months to June 2011. Insurance experts believe the increase in the number of domestic burglaries is linked to the economic pressure much of the country is currently experiencing.

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