- Insurance RSS Feed

Pet and household cover lift RSA

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:01 +0100

RSA, the country's biggest insurer, said 2012 got off to a "solid start" driven by good demand for household and pet insurance in the UK and strong sales in emerging markets, particularly Latin America.

Crackdown on whiplash injury claims

Wed, 02 May 2012 07:45:44 +0100

Whiplash injury claims cost insurers more than £2 billion last year - adding around £90 to the cost of a typical car insurance policy, the AA has revealed.

Julian Knight: Whiplash away! As claims create ever-rising premiums

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

This week the insurance industry will lay out for the Government exactly how it is tackling the problem of escalating car insurance premiums.

Ministers seek commitment to cut car insurance costs

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Insurers are to attend a crunch meeting with ministers and civil servants this Wednesday where they will commit to reducing car insurance costs. The meeting, hosted by the Transport Secretary Justine Greening, will be attended by Otto Thoresen, head of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and the chief executives of Aviva, Admiral and Zurich. It follows February's Downing Street summit on the rocketing cost of cover.

Five Questions About: Landlords' insurance

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

What is landlords' insurance?

Hidden fees are increasing the cost of car cover

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

If you need to change a detail on your car insurance you could be slapped with a £30 charge. Insurers say the fee is to cover admin costs, but with the price varying between different firms, the evidence shows they seem to charge what they like.

Homeserve fined for abandoned calls

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:33:08 +0100

Home insurance and repairs company HomeServe has been fined £750,000 for making an excessive number of silent and abandoned calls, Ofcom said today.

Private medical insurance: Is it a wealth risk?

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Private healthcare caught the unwanted attention of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) last week with the watchdog referring the industry to the Competition Commission. Concerns have been raised that nationally there aren't enough providers and insurers to ensure healthy competition in the market and that costs aren't always transparent for private patients.

Five Questions About: Car insurance premiums

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Why is car insurance so expensive?

Hopes that insurers' deal marks a turning point for older drivers

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Older motorists and travellers have long been the pariahs of the insurance industry, often being charged over the odds or even refused cover altogether, but they could find life a little easier following an announcement this week.

'Black box' helps to cut accident figures by a fifth

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

A little black box that sits in your car and uses satellite technology to discover how well you drive has had a dramatic effect on accident figures.

Five Questions About: Motorbike insurance

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Is motorbike insurance like car cover but with fewer wheels?

New, smaller bid from Canopius

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

The 18-month battle for control of Omega, the Lloyd's of London insurer, took another twist yesterday when its rival Canopius approached with a £156m takeover offer.

Voluntary excess on insurance may be false economy

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:01 +0100

We're always looking for ways to bring down our insurance costs and for many people that means opting for a high voluntary excess but could this be a false economy?

Five Questions About: Insuring your garden

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Why start thinking about my garden now?

Homeserve is still in talks with FSA

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0100

The home emergency services company Homeserve has admitted it has not resolved last year's mis-selling allegations and remains in "dialogue" with the Financial Services Authority.

Halifax rebuked over pet insurance

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:03:17 +0100

The ombudsman has rebuked Halifax after it made a potentially "misleading" claim promising life-long insurance to pet owners.

CPP shares dive after fall in profits

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Shares in CPP Group dropped by a third yesterday as they returned from a five-week suspension following a year-long inquiry into the mis-selling of credit-card insurance and identity-theft protection by the Financial Services Authority.

Resolution eyes two-way split

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0100

Resolution shares tumbled towards the bottom of the stock market movers yesterday as the insurer unveiled plans to split the business in two by 2014.

EU insurance law 'to pass vote'

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

A tough new EU financial services regulation that threatens to push major insurers out of the City should pass through a crunch vote on Wednesday.

Home insurance is rising with the tide

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The cost of decent cover for your home is set to soar, as climate change pushes up the twin risks of flooding and subsidence. But, even more frighteningly, around 200,000 homes in Britain could be left uninsurable within the next three months as an agreement that ensures flood-prone properties can continue to be insured comes to an end.

Aviva's backing Britain as it leaps to £2.5bn

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Aviva yesterday declared that the UK is a great place to do business, a stance that might be seen as a dig at arch-rival Prudential.

Surge in complaints against banks over pension, insurance and mortgage deals

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Complaints to the financial ombudsman over mortgages, life assurance and pensions, and general insurance soared in the last half of 2011.

Royal & SunAlliance shares dip after dividend disappoints

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Royal & SunAlliance disappointed investors yesterday with a "prudent" 4 per cent rise in the 2011 dividend due to tough market conditions, inviting unflattering comparisons with rivals Allianz and Swiss Re.

Jump in profits boosts Redrow recovery

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Redrow said its recovery looked set to continue after a strong start to the second half, as the builder reported an 80 per cent jump in first-half profits, driven by a focus on higher-priced family houses.

Five Questions About: AA insurance black box

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

How does it work?

Thai disaster costs Lloyd's $2.2bn

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years last October will cost the Lloyd's of London $2.2bn (£1.4bn), the insurance market warned yesterday.

Cameron vows action on whiplash insurance claims

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:28:52 +0000

Action will be taken to reduce the £2 billion-a-year cost of insurance claims for whiplash to help deal with the UK's “compensation culture”, David Cameron will say today.

Home insurance launch for Sainsbury's shoppers

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Sainsbury's Finance has launched two new home insurance products aimed at Sainsbury's shoppers.

Claims firms coining it in from PPI compensation

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Claims management companies will rake in more than £12.6m in fees this year from victims of the bank payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal.

Home insurance a 'soft target' as number of fraudulent claims rises

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Exaggerated home insurance claims have surged in the past year amid the recession, research suggests.

Satnavs to spot good drivers

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

TomTom satnav devices will be used by insurers to monitor driver behaviour, the manufacturer has announced. Drivers who display "good behaviour" could have their premiums reduced.

A guaranteed rip-off? Shops forced to come clean on warranty deals

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:01 +0000

Comet, Dixons and Argos have agreed to overhaul the way they sell warranties for electrical goods in response to an Office of Fair Trading investigation which found they were poor value.

Simon Read: Mis-selling claims are a nice little earner for ambulance chasers

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:01 +0000

The biggest winners from the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal are ambulance chasers. The firms, which offer to help people with their claims, pocket around 25 per cent of each successful claim they manage.