Finance Matters

• 11Mar

  Revealed: UK’s uninsured driver hotspots

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Hebden Bridge, in West Yorkshire, and Glasgow were placed second and third in the list. Once again males in their early twenties were the main offenders.

  A surprise addition was London’s posh W11 postcode, where offenders were also older than the norm.

  The cost of uninsured drivers

  ‘The cost of running and insuring a car can be expensive-especially for younger drivers- however it is quicker and easier than ever to find a good deal for your car insurance by shopping around.’

  The AA says that fortunately the advent of automatic number plate recognition equipments (ANPR) on police cars is meaning that numberplates are being constantly cross checked against data taken from the MID (Motor Insurance Database).

  Some, like Germany, have about 1 in 500. However, in the UK we are making inroads into the problem and at the forefront are the police who have power to stop and confiscate cars they suspect of being driven without cover.

  The MIB exists to compe…

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• 11Mar

  Get into shape to cut insurance premiums

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Supermarkets, meanwhile, cash in on our desire for a fresh start in the New Year by packing shelves with special deals on fruit and vegetables. And in January, sales of nicotine patches and inhalers boom as hundreds of thousands of smokers struggle to stub out their cigarettes for good.
  Of course, many of these New Year good intentions evaporate within a few weeks, but there can be hidden rewards for those who stick to their new healthy regime.
  As well as the obvious benefits, there is a financial bonus as lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise are increasingly used by insurers to calculate the cost of life and health cover.
  Prudential has led the way, setting up PruHealth five years ago. Customers participate in a Vitality programme and by exercising regularly, eating well and looking after their health they can benefit from medical insurance premiums that are up to 25% lower.
  Shaun Matisonn, chief executive of PruHealth, says: ‘After five years, we’re convinced this is…

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• 11Mar

  ‘EBay generation’ needs extra cover

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  Spare bedrooms, garden sheds and even the kitchen table are becoming the new base for working Britain.
  More than 3.5m people work at home for some or all of the week, according to the TUC – about one in eight of the working population.
  The wave of redundancies triggered by recession has prompted thousands more to set up on their own. But recent research by insurer Direct Line found that almost a third of people running a business from home had no specialist insurance.
  Many basic policies offer cover for business equipment used in the home, typically between £3,000 and £5,000, but this is designed only to protect those who occasionally do screen-based work at home.
  Graeme Trudgill of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association says: ‘If you have customers visiting you at home regularly, or if you pay someone else to work with you, get in touch with an insurance broker and discuss a business policy.’
  Small traders who keep stock at home – for example, the growing ar…

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• 11Mar

  Comparison websites ditch watchdog plan

  Insurance No Comments

  From This is Money:

  One former boss of a comparison site warned that as a result of the collapse, many consumers could be misled by false claims and misleading information.
  Sites such as Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com, which sell millions of insurance, mortgages, phone and internet deals, led a boycott of the new voluntary code.
  The Comparison Consortium was set up to provide a recognisable stamp of quality for the sales practices of price comparison websites.
  The voluntary code was viewed as a last-ditch attempt to stave off compulsory Government rules on sales practices.
  But so few firms signed up, the consortium has collapsed. Now firms can continue displaying information about their products with minimal controls on their activities.
  Sean Gardner, former managing director of the Moneyexpert website and head of the Comparison Consortium until its demise, says: ‘Trying to bring many of these people together felt like herding a group of angry cats.
  ‘It is hard to avoid the conclusion…

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• 11Mar

  Payment protection rules delayed

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is delaying its plans to combat the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).Criticism from the financial industry has forced the FSA to extend its consultation by another six weeks. The FSA’s own consumer panel said this pressure was to blame for delaying the fair treatment of consumers. PPI is supposed to help people repay their loans if they fall ill or lose their jobs. In September 2009, the FSA proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the rules not only on selling PPI, but also of the way that lenders and insurance brokers should deal with complaints about past mis-selling. The FSA was responding in part to a huge upsurge in complaints filtering through to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Consumer organisations have welcomed the suggested rule changes, but not the lenders and insurance brokers for whom PPI sales are very lucrative. “We are disappointed that the industry has responded so critically to our proposals but we remain 100% comm…

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• 11Mar

  Npower will cut gas bills by 7%

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Energy company Npower is to cut domestic gas bills by 7% from 26 March, following price cuts by other suppliers.The company has become the fourth of the “big six” energy suppliers to announce a reduction in prices. Customers will see an average fall of £50 on their annual bill as a result of the change, the company said. Wholesale gas prices have fallen over the last year, prompting the latest flurry of cuts in domestic bills. “We always aim to offer competitive prices to our customers and we have lowered our gas prices although our profits halved in 2009,” said Kevin Miles, chief executive of Npower Retail. ChangesThe company is also making changes to its discount structure for those customers who pay by direct debit.
  For dual-fuel customers, the discount remains at £100 after 12 months using the payment system. But for gas-only customers, the discount rises from £20 to £50, and for electricity-only customers the discount doubles to £40. The announcement…

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• 11Mar

  ‘Sharp cut’ in pensions deficit

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  A sharp cut has been reported in the deficit of final salary pension schemes in the private sector, figures show.The deficit was reduced from £51.9bn at the end of January to £15.1bn at the end of February, the Pension Protection Fund said. The value of pension funds can be volatile especially on a month-by-month basis. But the 7,400 schemes covered by the scheme were in a stronger position than a year ago. At the end of February 2009, the deficit stood at £204.7bn. Stock marketThe healthier position for pension funds has been led by the improving picture with shares and gilt yields.
  “During the month of February there was a 2.5% increase in assets due to rising UK and global equities,” the PPF said. At the same time, improved yields on government bonds meant that the cost of paying for pensions fell by 2%. A change in actuarial assumptions in October 2009 also reduced the estimated liabilities of schemes by around £70bn during the past year. “Funding positions…

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• 11Mar

  ‘Low morale’ hits tax authority

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Low morale and poor leadership is affecting performance at HM Revenue and Customs, a report by MPs has said.A staff survey carried out in February 2009 brought “dire results” for the tax authority, the Treasury Committee said. It found that only 11% of staff felt that change was well-managed in the department. The poll also found that only 57% of calls made by the public to the Revenue’s contact centres were answered in 2008-9. During the peak period for calls, during July, the response rate was lowest, at just 33%. Review”We are particularly alarmed by the low of staff morale and engagement at HMRC, and its effect on performance,” said Michael Fallon, the Treasury committee chairman.
  “We are deeply troubled by the apparent absence of any plan to ameliorate the situation, and call on HMRC management to re-double their efforts here.” But a spokeswoman for the tax authority said its senior managers were addressing the causes of low morale. “The department’s new business plan includes a…

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• 11Mar

  House price rises ‘to ease off’

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Further rises in house prices may be held back by more properties coming on to the market, surveyors have said.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says new instructions outpaced inquiries from new buyers in February. It was the second month in a row that this had happened. The rise in house prices during the past year has been attributed by many commentators to a shortage of stock for sale. Despite the suggestion that the balance between buyers and sellers may be changing, Rics still found more surveyors reporting rising prices than falling prices last month. “There was a resumption of interest in the housing market following the fall that took place in January, which was due partly to the extreme weather conditions during that month and the reversion back to the previous stamp duty regime,” said Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf. “The magnitude of the gains going forward is likely to continue to ease, reflecting the fact that new supply coming on to the market is starting to…

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• 11Mar

  Profits at John Lewis rise 9.7%

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Staff at John Lewis will share a £151m bonus after the retail group saw annual pre-tax profits rise 9.7% to £306.6m.The owner of the Waitrose supermarket chain said the bonus amounted to about eight weeks’ salary for each employee. John Lewis chairman Charlie Mayfield said the company emerged from recession “in a stronger competitive position”, but he warned that 2010 would be tough. John Lewis said gross sales rose 6.5% to £7.4bn as it continued to take market share from rivals. The company’s 70,000 staff – or partners, as John Lewis calls them – will share a bonus pot of £151.3m, equivalent to about 15% of their salary. “Today’s results reflect the collective hard work of our partners,” Mr Mayfield said. John Lewis’s co-ownership model, “while not a universal panacea clearly underpins the partnership’s performance”, he said. John Lewis, whose operations include 28 department stores and 225 Waitrose supermarkets, saw profits fall in the first half of the year….

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