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.

The figures reveal a 14% increase in the number of rogue insurance claims being made when compared to the previous year. However the ABI were keen to point out that the increase could be due to better detection methods for uncovering dodgy claims, and not that more claims are being made.

Motor insurance fraud had the highest value with the amount of bogus claims detected estimating to cost £410 million. The area of insurance where the most fraudulent insurance claims were found was in home insurance with 62,000 cases of exaggerated claims were uncovered.

There was also a notable rise in the number of dishonest personal liability claims which were being made in 2009.

One example of a fraudulent personal injury claim which was uncovered was that of a young woman who was attempting to sue after claiming to have fallen over a loose pavement stone. An investigation revealed that in fact, the woman had sustained her injury after jumping down a flight of stairs while trying to flee from a security guard who was pursuing her on suspicion of shoplifting.

Insurance companies are working hard to clamp down on the number of unlawful claims being made as each bogus claim has a knock-on effect on honest policyholders who are then hit by higher premiums as a result.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reported a high number of elderly British nationals encountering problems while abroad as a result of being hit by enormous medical bills because they had failed to declare any pre-existing medical conditions to their insurance provider before travelling. Failure to make this known can cause your travel insurance policy to be deemed invalid.

Other medical issues faced by UK travellers arose as a result of forgetting to pack their medication.

The volcanic ash situation emphasised again the importance of a good travel insurance policy. Those with cover were able to gain help from their policy in paying for extra accommodation and expenses while their flights were delayed.

Issues relating to drink and drugs were high on the list of situations encountered by British holiday makers aboard, according to the report.

The countries where Brits required the most assistance from the FCO was found to be in Spain, although as a proportion of UK visitors the country where the most help was needed was Thailand, followed by Pakistan and Cyprus.

Despite the dangers of travelling outside of the UK without appropriate cover, 1 in 5 Brits are still holidaying abroad without travel insurance a survey found.

Motor insurance costs are lower for Audi drivers because of the award-winning security measures and competitive repair costs of the models.

According to data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which represents the collective interests of the insurance industry in the UK, Audi drivers pay less for their car insurance than the owners of other equivalent premium-sector models.

The ABI data was used to calculate the average motor insurance group ratings for Audi models and their rival premium counterparts.

Cars are rated using a system which allocates penalty points to each vehicle based upon a number of different factors.

These include the purchase price of the car, the cost of its key parts, ease and cost of repairs as well as the results of an independent crash test.

Vehicles with the most penalty points end up in higher car insurance groups.

Almost every range of Audi’s cars posted low average ratings, meaning they cost less to insure.

News source: swiftcover.com