Home insurance January sale launched by Direct Line

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Insurance provider, Direct Line, has unveiled plans to launch a January sale on its home insurance policies this week. So if you’re looking to re-evaluate your outgoings and streamline your spending ready for the New Year, Direct Line are offering some highly competitive deals on their home insurance packages to help you cut back your spending in 2012.

Direct Line say their January sale on home cover is geared towards helping customers who are looking to cut back on their spending after Christmas. After an expensive festive season, many of us will be looking to get our finances in order in January, and home insurance is a big part of that, and so Direct Line hope to offer their customers a head start with their New Year budgeting with the introduction of their reduced home insurance rates.

As part of the January sale at Direct Line, new customers taking out a home insurance policy with be eligible to receive an introductory discount of 30% off their home cover, while customers will be able to take advantage of a further discount of 20% by purchasing their insurance policy online with Direct Line, please see the insurers main website for further details.

The Direct Line January sale will be supported by the launch of new TV adverts airing from this week.

New car and home insurance app launched by Zurich

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Zurich has become the first insurance provider to launch a smartphone application for home and car insurance combined. A number of insurers have introduced apps for either car or home cover, but Zurich are the first in the market to offer the two elements side by side.

The new app from Zurich is available to download onto Android and iOS devices and allows customers to record data following an accident, report an incident, and track their claim through the company.

These types of features are standard of insurance apps, however the Zurich application also provides customers with information on the nearest Zurich approved mechanic or home maintenance engineer, and also a helpful parking locator tool as well as advice on how to minimise the risk of a mishap in the home and tips for driving in severe weather conditions.

Having an app to hand when you encounter an accident can be especially beneficial in the claims procedure as the step by step guide ensures you record all relevant information your insurer will need to carry out a claim.

The app will also enable customers to submit pictures of damage which can be beneficial when filing a claim, and also ensure that the whole claim process is fast and efficient as information is received by Zurich with just a few taps of your phone keypad.

Losing your job could cause your car insurance to increase

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When you’ve been made redundant, the first thing you will probably consider doing is tightening your belt, but unfortunately for some drivers, losing their job has had a negative effect on their car insurance as they’re hit with a rise in their premium.

In a case highlighted in The Mirror this week, 51-year-old Tony Costello revealed how his car insurance rocketed from £630 a year to £861 after he contacted his insurance company to inform them that he’d been made redundant.

After checking the small print on his insurance policy, Mr Costello found that his car insurer, Tesco, had stipulated that loss of employment can affect the cost of the premium.

The Association of British Insurers also reiterated this point, saying that many insurers increase the cost of cover after the policyholder loses their job as statistics there is an additional risk factor once a person becomes unemployed. There’s also an argument that the driver is likely to be on the road more as he or she is out looking for work and attending interviews.

The car insurance company in Tony’s case said that the additional £231 which had been added to the cost of his premium after he became unemployed would be refunded should he find work, although an admin cost of £15 would apply to each change made.

Advice from insurers issued to homeowners as storms approach

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Home insurance providers have issued advice to homeowners on how best to protect their homes ahead of the wintry and stormy weather which is forecast to strike in the coming days.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for large parts of the UK to be on high alert for strong winds, with much of the country set to experience winds of at least 45mph, and also selected areas which could be hit by snow and ice and plummeting temperatures.

Home insurance provider, Aviva, has issued a number of recommendations to home owners to help minimise the effects of the stormy weather on property. The insurer advises policyholders to park their cars in a garage if possible, and also to secure any loose items outside their property such as garden ornaments and furniture, toys, ladders and bikes, and also to ensure all doors and windows are fastened securely.

Aviva also recommend that home owners check for any loose roof tiles, as this is one of the most common issues reported to them, and also advise that any weak fences or gates are secured and to check that all TV aerials and dishes are securely attached.

The home insurer also advised that a home insurance policy is not a maintenance policy and that your insurer will expect that your property is maintained to a reasonable standard as work to repair wear and tear is not covered by home insurance.

Car insurance premiums to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading

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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed plans to investigate car insurance premiums after drivers in the UK were hit with yet another price hike in the average cost of an annual car insurance policy this year.

Following two successive of rises in car insurance premiums, in which an increase of 12% was calculated between 2009 and 2010 and a jump of 9% reported over just 9 months of this year believed to be linked to replacement car costs, the OFT have announced they plan to look into the rising cost of cover.

In recent years the OFT identified personal injury claims as one of the main causes for huge hikes in the cost of insurance, however more recently the regulatory body has highlighted credit hire replacement cars and third party vehicle repairs as two areas which it believes may be having an impact on the rising cost of car insurance premiums.

The credit hire companies offer a replacement car to the drive that was not at fault in the accident to use while their car is being repaired. This is being offered to the driver, regardless of whether they had a replacement car feature on their policy or not as the cost of the hire car is then passed onto the insurance company of the driver at blame, driving up the cost of a claim further. The impact of these more costly claims is then being felt by motorists in the form of more expensive premiums.

The OFT is continuing to probe this issue and will have concluded its enquiry by early next year.

Co-op Insurance runs down the best Christmas driving songs

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Co-op car insurance has conducted a poll recently to discover what the favourite Christmas driving songs are in the UK. The results have been collected and verified and the top 10 of the nation’s best loved Christmas songs to sing along to while driving during the festive period are as follows –

In first place, it’s that Irish classic from the Pogues, Fairytale of New York, which often tops polls for favourite Christmas songs, the main reason often being because it isn’t as blatantly Christmassy as some of the other festive anthems that get played on a loop at this time of the year.

The runner up prize for second place was clinched by I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day, followed by Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade, while the most aptly named festive driving tune, Driving Home for Christmas found itself in fourth place on the list, followed by Do They Know It’s Christmas, Wham’s Last Christmas, with Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas was in seventh place, followed by Happy Xmas (War is Over), Wonderful Christmas Time and Baby It’s Cold Outside was voted the 10th most popular according to the poll from the insurance provider.

The classic Christmas songs seemed to triumph in the list, with more recent festive releases not finding their way into the top 10 at all. However the insurance company warned that although many of us will singing along to our favourite Christmas songs while driving over the festive period, this time of year often throws up challenging driving conditions so it’s vital your concentration is on the road, and not your singing, first and foremost.

Car insurance comparison website introduces new feature to Facebook page

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Car insurance price comparison website, tiger.co.uk, have launched an interactive question and answer service via their official Facebook page which will enable customers to obtain answers to the questions that are important to them, quickly and efficiently.

Ask the Tiger is the name of the new interactive FAQ feature offered via the independent car insurance price comparison site’s social media page. Fans of the company on Facebook will be able to post their questions and get a response within 24 hours.

Tiger.co.uk first introduced the interactive support facility to their main website back in February of this year, however the insurance provider decided to make the feature even more accessible for their users by installing the service on their Facebook page making it even more convenient for customers to get answers to their questions.

Since its launch back in 2009, tiger.co.uk has been striving to track down the most affordable deals on motor insurance for its many UK based customers by comparing quotes across a massive range of 140 insurance providers.

With the introduction of tiger’s new interactive FAQ service on Facebook, the comparison website hope to make it even easier than before for their users to track down a value for money car insurance policy which is ideally suited to their driving needs.

New car insurance provider for young drivers is launched in the UK

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A brand new car insurance provider with policies aimed specifically at young or first time drivers has been launched in the UK this week.

INGENIE is masterminded by three individuals namely the ex footballer and sports pundit Gary Lineker, former MD of RSA Insurance Group, Steve Broughton and the Chairman of British Airways, Sir Martin Broughton.

The innovative new car insurance company was set up with the intention of providing affordable insurance options for young drivers who the company directors feel are often priced off the road. With some youngsters being issued with quotes for over £2,500 for annual cover, it’s not surprising that many are being left unable to afford to get on the road at all, and so that’s where INGENIE hope to help.

While the vast majority of other car insurance providers employ a technique known as collective risk assumption to calculate insurance premiums which often leads to all young drivers getting tarred with the same brush and being branded high risk and hit with an unaffordable insurance premium, INGENIE are proposing to utilise the very latest telematics technology in order to create a true picture of each drivers’ ability on the road.

Through the data collected from the technology, INGENIE will tailor a car insurance policy to that individual driver and so the safe and sensible drivers will be rewarded with lower premiums, while those who are found to less careful behind the wheel will be quoted a higher priced premium to reflect their riskier behaviour on the road.

INGENIE plan to market their product to the young drivers through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Home insurers advise property owners to prepare for winter

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Home insurer Direct Line have issued a recommendation to home owners to prepare their properties ahead of winter to avoid damage which can be caused by the change in weather. The insurance provider has estimated that 40% of UK property could be left vulnerable to winter damage as the weather starts to turn, which leaves a number of homes open to problems and consequential insurance claims.

According to the home insurance provider, frozen pipes and broken down boilers are two of the biggest culprits causing headaches for home owners during the winter months and so it’s a good idea to have your boiler serviced, and to ensure any exposed pipes are well insulated before the cold weather sets in to help prevent your home falling victim to these two common issues.

As the last two winters have clearly demonstrated, cold weather can cause havoc for home owners and serious damage to property. Insurance experts advise UK home owners to ensure they have essential home energy cover in place as this will help safeguard against any unexpected problems and make sure you get the help you need right away.

It’s also advisable to have a comprehensive home insurance package as these policies will generally cover against a range of winter damage, however it’s recommended you check up on the details ahead of time to ensure you have adequate cover in place before the winter sets in.

The cost of festive drink driving could see your insurance rise by 85%

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Experts are warning drivers to not be tempted to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol this Christmas as they reveal that car insurance premiums rise by an average of 85% after a driver has been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The research carried out by insurance price comparison website, Moneysupermarket.com, found that on average, the cost of an annual car insurance policy would rise from £424 to £784 as a result of the main driver being caught driving while over the legal drink drive limit which works out as an increase of 85%.

While the drink drive limit in the UK is 80mg of alcohol per 100g of blood, Drink Aware recommend not consuming any alcohol whatsoever if you know you will have to drive in order to avoid being caught out. They also advise arranging travel plans in advance if you do intend to celebrate with a drink over the Christmas period to ensure you have a safe way of getting home which does not involve you getting in the driving seat after a drink.

Police in Scotland have even gone one step further in their bid to encourage designated drivers to stay alcohol free as they’re offering a buy-one-get-one free on soft drinks in Scottish pubs as part of their “Christmas Coke on Us” campaign.