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 14^th 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.

John Lewis car insurance policies, which are provided by Ageas Insurance Company, offer 90 days worth of European cover as standard and also replacement car cover for 21 days in the event that your vehicle is off the road. Plus, John Lewis car insurance recognises careful drivers and those with a considerable No Claims Bonus could save as much as 75% off the cost of cover.

To request a free quote for car insurance from John Lewis log onto the site today and complete the quote form providing information on your car, your personal details and the details of any other drivers you wish to have insured on the vehicle, the value for your car, any driving convictions you have had in the last five years and any security features or modifications you have made to the car you wish to insure.

To make the most of this one-off deal, all you need to do is log onto John Lewis online, complete the quote form and you’ll receive an instant quotation for car insurance. All quotes requested before April 30th will have a 10% reduction automatically included. Once you’re happy with the price, get in touch with John Lewis to confirm the details of your policy and arrange your cover at the reduced rate.

While it was often the case that a driver’s first speeding offence would be ignored by their insurance provider, with no increase in the cost of their cover being noted as a result of being caught breaking the speed limit for the first time, this is no longer the case according to AA Insurance. The insurance provider has noted that the vast majority of insurers now increase premiums directly after a driver is hit with a speeding penalty, regardless of whether it’s their first offence.

Research shows that over the following three years while those points are on your licence, you will pay on average the equivalent to four times the £60 fine in increased insurance costs.

Bearing this in mind, the speed awareness course offered to first time speed offenders, at a cost of £90, could be a good investment as it shows your insurer that you’re a conscientious driver and you’ve taken responsible action to rectify your mistake and ensure it doesn’t happen again. His could lead to a reduction in the increase in your premiums.

While speaking or texting on a mobile phone while driving carries the same penalty as speeding, 3 points on the license and a £60 fine, insurers take a very dim view of those guilty of this offence as the act of using a phone is deliberate, whereas a driver could in theory, accidentally exceed the speed limit. As a result, insurers are more likely to increase premiums considerably for those caught using a mobile while driving, so to avoid being it with increased insurance costs, don’t use your mobile while driving.

The figures released from Confused.com/ Tower Watson Car Insurance Price Index showed that car insurance rates for female drivers have been falling year on year by 3%, however for some regions of the UK, particularly in the North of the country, insurance for some female drivers have gone up by as much as 9.7%.

Female drivers in Manchester and Merseyside have not benefited from this yearly reduction on the cost of cover, in fact the latest figures show that women drivers aged between 21-25 years of age in this region have seen an increase of 4.7% year on year.

While the cost of insurance for female drivers has reduced by 3% on average year on year, male drivers have seen a less significant drop in the cost of cover, some 1.8% year on year, the latest figures have revealed. The average cost of a car insurance police for male drivers in the UK now stands at £869, while the average cost of a policy for women drivers is £751.

While female drivers still benefit from lower insurance rates on average compared to men as they are statistically less likely to be involved in an accident, this will all change at the end of the year when gender bias in motor insurance will become illegal.

The purpose of the app is to underline the importance of home insurance. While many home owners may be tempted to cancel or not take out a policy as a way of cost saving during this period of economic uncertainty, insurance experts warn that this may be a false economy should your home become the target of thieves or if you were unlucky enough to suffer a fire or flooding at your property.

Worryingly, recent statistics from the British Crime Survey point to a 5% increase in the number of domestic burglaries in the UK in the last 12 months to September 2011, highlighting yet again the importance of having proper insurance in place.

The new House of Horrors video app from Confused.com recreates the user’s home using information from their Facebook profile and sets up the scenario of a burglar breaking into that person’s home. Confused.com hope this shock factor of utilising actual details from the user’s home will emphasise their message about the importance of home cover.

The launch of the new video app coincides with another initiative from the comparison site. Anyone who takes out a policy for home, car, pet or travel insurance through the site will receive 1,000 in Nectar points, while those taking out life cover will receive 3,000 of Nectar points.

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.

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.

According to a poll by home insurance providers, 10% of DIY jobs undertaken over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend will end in disaster, with many home owners turning to their home insurance policy to cover the cost of their mishap.

According to research undertaken by Allianz Your Cover Insurance, more and more Brits are attempting DIY tasks in the home in an attempt to save money, despite the fact that most have limited skills and knowledge to undertake home improvements. Despite this, over half of Brits describe their DIY skills as good or excellent.

If you are one of the many home owners preparing to take on a DIY improvement in your property over Easter, here is a rundown of the most common DIY disasters so you can attempt to avoid these major pitfalls.

Coming out as the most common DIY mishap is spilling paint or glue, followed by damaging walls, breaking windows or furniture and causing damage to ceilings.

Peacocks appear in four out of the twelve most unusual claims as listed by the Admiral handlers so if you’re thinking about getting a peacock for your garden, you’d better think twice as these colourful birds often take a dislike to cars. The car insurance claim experts revealed they’d dealt with claims involving peacocks attacking cars on several occasions, usually as a result of the peacock seeing their own reflection in the car’s bodywork and mistaking it for another peacock which they then attack.

Rodents were also listed in the 12 most unusual car insurance claims according to the Admiral poll, with a family of mice blamed for destroying the leather interior of a classic car kept in storage, and a rat infestation was found to cause internal damage to another vehicle after the rodents ate through parts of the engine and wires.

A puppy may seem like an innocent passenger to have in a car, however one claim highlighted by the list revealed that a front seat passenger caused an accident after the puppy the passenger was carrying on their lap fell on the floor and when that person reached down to pick up the puppy, they actually picked up the handbrake instead, causing an accident.

In a separate incident a driver was distracted by an elephant and camel tethered on the side on the road and crashed the car, while another who driver caught sight of a spider in a rear view mirror also had a collision as a result.

Can you top any of these unusual car insurance claims? If so, we’d love to hear your story, drop us a line in the comments box below.

The insurance company was one of the first to remove the upper limit on their travel insurance policies. Following on from the positive response LV= have had as a result of scrapping the age limit of their travel insurance policies, the provider has now decided to introduce the same policy of removing age limits on their motor insurance.

Prior to the most recent announcement from LV=, drivers aged 86 years and over were unable to take out a motor insurance policy with the company, regardless of whether the policyholder was an existing customer of LV=.

Speaking about the decision to remove the upper age limit on their motor insurance policies, LV= managing director, John O’Roarke, revealed that LV= decided to do away with the upper age limit on their car insurance policies as the population are living longer and so it naturally follows that people are driving for longer and so there is a need for insurance cover for older drivers.

The move has been welcomed by older people’s charities who say that the ability to drive and have access to a car enables the elderly to retain their independence.

LV= will join other the ranks of a select few well known insurance providers including Saga, RIAS, the AA and Virgin Money who offer car insurance for older drivers.