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Request a home insurance quote from Confused.com for chance to win £1k

March 5, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
confused-com-logo

Leading insurance price comparison website, Confused.com, is offering four lucky winners the chance to pick up a £1,000 prize just for requesting a home insurance quote in March.

The competition has been launched off the back of recent research conducted by Confused.com which found that a third of homeowners in the UK have never switched their home insurance policy from their current provider, despite the fact that the comparison website estimates that 70% of us could save money on our policy simply by shopping around.

So if you’re one of the many Brits who’s never switched their home insurance provider, Confused.com are hoping to motivate you to compare a range of quotes this month to see if you could make savings on your cover. You might be surprised how much you could save, plus as an extra bonus, by utilising the price comparison services of Confused.com to request a home insurance quote in March, four users will be randomly selected to win a £1,000 to spend on household bills.

The insurance price comparison website hope that the £1,000 prizes being offered to four users to request home insurance quotes over the next four weeks will help homeowners at a time when many are struggling to keep up with home essentials including maintenance and repair costs as well as household bills.

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Get two months worth of free car insurance with Direct Line’s special offer

March 2, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
direct-line

Car insurance provider Direct Line are offering two months worth of free car insurance for customers who request a quote before May 31st 2012. The special offer is only available for a limited time so you’ll have to act before the end of May to take advantage of this value for money deal.

Even if your car insurance isn’t due for renewal in the next three months before the offer finishes, Direct Line say their quotes are valid for 90 days so you can still make the most of this special offer as long as you obtain a quote before the deadline and take out a policy within the following 90 days.

With new studies being released daily informing us yet again that the cost of car insurance is continually rising, any special offer which will help lower the price of an annual premium will be especially welcome for UK motorists.

While many of us now turn to price comparison websites in an attempt to find the very cheapest deal on car insurance premiums, Direct Line are not listed on any of the comparison sites so quotes can only be obtained by contacting them directly.

To make the most of the 12 months of car insurance for the price of 10 deal, get in touch with Direct Line and request a free quote.

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Car insurance study finds drivers switch off after 11 minutes behind the wheel

March 1, 2012 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
bored-driver

Car insurance provider, Esure, conducted a study into the driving habits and attention span of drivers in the UK and discovered that on average, drivers switch off and go into autopilot mode just 11 minutes into a long journey.

1003 motorists took part in the survey which was conducted by the motor insurance provider Esure. Boredom seems to be a problem for drivers during car journeys, with 22% saying they find themselves falling into autopilot easily, with 34% admitted to arriving at a destination with no memory of the journey they undertook to get there.

A number of the drivers who took part in the survey revealed they’d driven to their place of work instead of their intended destination after going into autopilot mode. The main reasons for falling into autopilot according to the results of the study were feeling tired, or thinking about work.

25% of motorists admitted they got bored easily when undertaking long car journeys, with 32% revealing they attempt to relieve the boredom by switching radio stations and music at regular intervals and checking their phone.

Drivers in the North East of England were found to be the most likely to switch off behind the wheel, while motorists in the East Midlands were found to have the best levels of concentration.

When it comes to the gender divide, 16% of male drivers said they mentally switch off when their partner starts talking during a car journey, compared to just 10% of female drivers.

Safety and insurance experts recommend staying focused on the road, however long or short the journey you’re undertaking, to ensure you stay safe while behind the wheel.

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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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Personal injury claims adding £2.4 million daily to the cost of insurance premiums

February 24, 2012 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
car-accident

New figures released this week show yet again that the high volume of personal injury and whiplash claims being made in the UK are putting extra strain on all policyholders as statistics revealed that £2.4 million is being added daily to the cost of insurance premiums, which equates to £30 extra a year to every policy in the country.

It’s estimated that £876 million is being paid out every year in legal fees, with £1,666 being added to the cost of insurance premiums in the UK every minute. The cost of an average car insurance policy now stands at £418 up by 18% in the last year, with legal costs as a result of personal injury claims being blamed for pushing up the cost of premiums.

In many cases, the legal costs often outweighs the amount of compensation won, with one case highlighted this week revealing a £37,250 bill was run up in legal fees pursuing a claim where the compensation won was just £15,000.

The recent figures were released by the Association of British Insurers ahead of a special insurance conference held in London this week. The ABI say the excessive legal costs for personal injury claims are unsustainable and are urging the government to push ahead with plans to implement legislation to limit the cost of legal fees charged in pursuit of a claim.

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Travel insurance and star sign link investigated

February 23, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
Zodiac

A recent study has revealed that your star sign could determine how likely you are to claim on your travel insurance. The research was conducted by Mondial Assistance and appeared to establish a link between a person’s astrological sign and the average cost of their travel insurance claim, including how frequently they are likely to process a claim.

According to the results of the study, travellers who fall under the star sign of Taurus make the most expensive claims out of all the signs in the zodiac, on average 8.5% higher, however they only came in third place for the frequency with which they make claims.

While Virgos have a reputation for making order out of chaos, when it comes to accidents while on holiday, they’re up in second place right behind Taurus, for making costly claims on their policy, however they don’t claim as often as other signs.

The sign which is most likely to make a claim was found to be Capricorn, however they’re not all bad as they were also found to claim the least on average. Gemini came in second place for the frequency with which they make claims.

While the group behind the study insisted that astrological signs are not one of the factors taken into account when calculating a premium for travel insurance, Mondial Assistance said they hoped their survey would help to raise awareness of the importance of having a travel insurance policy in place before we head off on our summer holidays.

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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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Home insurance survey shows Brits cause £700 million of damage while drunk

February 17, 2012 By Samantha Lewis Leave a Comment
after-party

A recent study by insurance provider, More Than, has found that as a nation over the course of two years, we cause £700 million of damage to our homes as a result of being drunk. A third of us have either smashed a valuable item while under the influence or started a fire or caused a flood, all because we’d had a few too many according to More Than research.

The insurance provider studied over £1.5 million claims on home insurance policies to collect the data, with stumbling around drunk and breaking an item or damaging something in the home, being the most common claim for inebriated homeowners.

Worryingly, starting fires came in as the second most common claim, often caused as a result of falling asleep, leaving burning candles unattended, or trying to cook while drunk; the advice from insurance experts is to get a takeaway to avoid setting fire to your home while trying to rustle up a post-pub snack.

Typically we’d imagine students and young people to be most likely to cause damage after a few too many beers, but surprisingly, the study found that the biggest culprits are those aged 35-54 years of age with an average house of value of £242,673.

More Than found that the average cost of a claim for a mishap in the home caused by a drunken person is £461 each time, with the total cost of claims throughout the UK over a two year period calculated at a staggering £700 million.

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Home insurance deals from Sainsbury’s and rewards for shoppers

February 16, 2012 By Fiona Clarke Leave a Comment
sainsburys_logo

Sainsbury’s has just introduced two home insurance packages which will not only allow consumers to save money on their policy, but also on their shopping and petrol when they shop at the supermarket chain.

Nectar Card holders will receive a discount of up to 15% off any new standard home insurance premium they take out with Sainsbury’s, while those taking out premier standard cover for home or contents insurance will receive two years of double nectar card points.

For shoppers who regularly spend £100 at Sainsbury’s, they’ll receive Nectar points up to the value of £104 a year, which Sainsbury’s say is the equivalent to 49% of the average cost of a building and contents insurance policy.

An extra incentive being offered which is likely to tempt many customers, is Sainsbury’s recent deal which offers 12 months cover for the price of 9 months, available to any customer who takes out a combined buildings and contents insurance policy before June 4th.

For customers who take out a home insurance policy with Sainsbury’s online, they’ll also receive a 20% discount off the price of the policy, offering another great way for consumers to save on essential cover for their homes.

Sainsbury’s say they hope to offer their customers support during these times of economic uncertainty through discounted insurance policies, and also by offering rewards on the things we buy most frequently, such as petrol and grocery shopping.

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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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