UK pensions: Charges for accessing pensions early to be capped as many who wish to use the pension freedoms face a fee for doing so January 19, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne has today announced that a limit on the amount that people can be charged for accessing their pension pot early will soon be introduced. Speaking in the House of Commons, Osborne said that nearly 700,000 of those who were eligible to use the pension freedoms rules, which came into effect in April last year, to gain access [...]
Insurers including Direct Line, Aviva and Admiral band together to examine future of driverless cars January 18, 2016 Some of Britain's largest motor insurers, including Direct Line, Aviva and Admiral, have banded together to plan for a future when driverless cars are the norm. The Automated Driving Insurance Group, which will be led by trade body the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is assessing the insurance implications of the rise of driverless technology. The group [...]
Direct Line Insurance Group share price rises as it reveals its estimated costs of the storms of up to £140m, while PwC predicts a mixed bag for premiums this year January 12, 2016 Direct Line Insurance Group today revealed that it estimated that this winter’s floods would cost it between £110m and £140m in claims across both its home and commercial divisions. The company stressed that these figures were estimates only and that an actual amount for insured losses could not be given with certainty for some while. After [...]
Train fare rises: The worst value rail journeys in Britain revealed as London to Newcastle, London to Edinburgh and London to Leeds January 11, 2016 A new study has revealed which rail journeys offer the worst value for money compared with the cost of driving – and some of the routes are even slower than going the distance in four wheels. A return trip from London to Newcastle costs nearly £159 more than travelling by car, making it the worst value [...]
UK Weather: Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank have already cost insurers £24m, with the total bill looking like it could be £1.3bn January 11, 2016 Insurers have already forked out nearly £24m in emergency payments to deal with the aftermath of storms Desmond, Eva and Frank. Statistics released today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which is a trade association for insurers and represents over 250 companies, revealed that these emergency payments comprised of £9m to domestic customers and £15m [...]
Business is in denial about the true likelihood of Brexit January 5, 2016 What are the economic implications of Brexit? Pro and anti-EU camps have been trading statistics for years about the number of jobs or level of exports linked to EU membership. It is a theoretical debate but, if Britain does vote to leave the EU, it will become very real. Most recent opinion polls have showed [...]
£40m promised for flood defences by David Cameron after storm Eva and Frank January 3, 2016 A package of £40m has been promised by the government to fix Britain's flood defences in areas devastated by storm Eva over Christmas. “I have seen at first-hand the devastation caused by flooding. And that’s why this work to repair and improve flood defences is so vital," said Prime Minister David Cameron. “We are already spending [...]
Hebden Bridge flooding “worse than 2012” as red warning issued for rain in Yorkshire and Lancashire December 26, 2015 Insurers are braced for the fall-out from severe flooding in Yorkshire and Lancashire which some local business owners have described as worse than the devastating floods of 2012. Homes in Lancashire and Yorkshire have been evacuated after the Met Office issued its most severe red weather warning for rain. Some areas are expected to experience a month's [...]
Christmas comes early for Uber as burdensome regulations look set to be disregarded December 23, 2015 Uber is expected to receive an early Christmas present today as a raft of burdensome regulations that would have effectively shut the firm down in the capital look set to be disregarded after fierce opposition from business groups and consumers. The final responses to a Transport for London (TfL) consultation on how to better regulate [...]
Storm Desmond cost £520m – as insurers shell out £2.6m in emergency payments December 18, 2015 Almost two weeks after the event, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has finally put a price tag on the havoc wreaked by Storm Desmond: the flooding is likely to cost insurers £520m, it said today. Thousands were evacuated, with thousands more left without power as Storm Desmond passed through Cumbria and the Scottish borders at the beginning [...]