Insurance related issues

Home insurance crucial as more floods are predicted (Tesco online)
17/01/2008

Homeowners are being warned of the possibility of further flooding and some are already seeing the effects of recent weather conditions which have breached their homes once again.

The forecasts for a combination of flooding and high winds to come have urged Halifax Home Insurance to encourage people to ensure they have adequate home insurance in case their homes are damaged, especially the five million people living in areas threatened by flooding, and those affected by last summer's floods, the consequences of which are still ongoing and many families remain displaced from their homes. Halifax's recommendations include putting sandbags outside of doors and windows to reduce the amount of water entering the property, turning off mains supplies of water, electricity and gas, disconnecting pipes to appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers to avoid damage to the pipes, and moving as many furniture items, curtains, rugs and other belongings as possible upstairs.Officials have said that the next several days will prove critical in assessing the potential damage to homes, and last night the Environment Agency had 71 flood warnings in place as many homeowners battened down the hatches against the elements for the second or third time in just eight months.

Savvy shoppers set to benefit as comparison sites prepare for home insurance price war (Tesco online)
16/01/2008

Price comparison websites are preparing for battle as an increasingly competitive home insurance market is forcing down prices, providing web-savvy customers with the opportunity to snap up cut price deals. Research by Consumer Intelligence (CI) has found that home insurance customers are becoming more price conscious which in turn is likely to cause a price war for price comparison websites later this year.A survey of 2,000 home insurance buyers, conducted monthly by Consumer Intelligence has seen a ten per cent increase in price sensitivity in recent months, the biggest rise since the study began 18 months ago. Currently, around 69 per cent of motor insurance customers use price comparison websites when they renew their policies. While car insurance shoppers are making full use of comparison sites, only 43 per cent of people seeking home insurance bothered with a price comparison site when renewing their policy. However, if these people decide to start comparing quotes, that would mean an additional 5.5 million more shoppers on price comparison sites in the next few years. Recent discounts offered to customers by insurance firms have reduced annual premiums for many by up to 50 per cent, allowing consumers to get more value for money than ever before.


Budget launches short-term car insurance
Wednesday, 23 Jan 2008 11:50

Budget Insurance is launching a range of short-term car insurance policies. The polices are aimed at those moving house, borrowing a car from a friend, overseas visitors, learner drivers, students returning home during term holidays and those test driving a vehicle. Temporary cover is available from a single day to four weeks. "But traditionally this kind of cover has been difficult to find when you need it." Temporary cover also offers reassurance to the vehicle owner, as their no-claims bonus is not at risk. "In the event of an accident, an accident involving a driver added temporarily to the owner’s policy could affect their no-claims discount. But if that driver took out a temporary policy, the owner’s no-claims discount would be unaffected," Mr Gledhill concluded.

eBay launches car insurance service
Wednesday, 23 Jan 2008 11:48

eBay is launching a new car insurance service for its site eBayMotors.co.uk.

A partnership with price comparison website insurancewide.com will provide visitors to the car auction site a comprehensive choice of car insurance policies under the eBay Motors Services section. Jody Ford, head of eBayMotors, said, "With over three million visitors every month, the needs of the eBay Motors community are wide and varied. ‘We believe insurancewide.com provides the right level of choice, service and value to address these needs’.Insurancewide.com chief executive James Harrison said: "eBay has been incredibly successful in helping people buy and sell cars simply, quickly and inexpensively. Offering car insurance comparison is a natural follow on from that. Insurancewide currently has partnerships with personal finance portals at MSN, AOL and Yahoo, and offers access to almost every UK insurer and broker.