Watchdog warns general insurers over value for money and high commissions April 10, 2019 The City watchdog has warned general insurers it is prepared to crackdown on distribution chains failing to give customers value for money. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that poor manufacturing, sales and distribution approaches were rife in the sector. Read more: Dixons Carphone hit with £30m FCA penalty The regulator’s investigation found customers were [...]
Did a monkey break your smartphone? Aviva reveals its most unusual insurance claims April 10, 2019 A horse mounting a car after mistaking it for a female companion, a monkey smashing a holidaymaker’s phone and a gorilla biting a trekkers arm, were just some of claims paid out by insurance giant Aviva last year. The insurer paid out more than £3.8bn last year as the Beast from the East and airport [...]
Self-driving cars could inject £62bn into UK economy by 2030 if Brexit is a success, says trade body April 4, 2019 Self-driving cars could provide Britain's economy with a £62bn boost by 2030, but only if the UK agrees a favourable Brexit deal, a report by a leading trade body has found. The report, produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), says the UK is the world's number one location for connected and [...]
The AA’s opting for the long road to stability April 4, 2019 Shares in the AA have been swerving all over the place since it returned to the stock market in 2014. After jumping from a float price of 250p to 430p the following year, the ambitions of the team that steered the roadside rescue outfit through an unusual management-buyout-cum-IPO began to stutter. The stock slid and [...]
Breakdown group AA blames investments for profit slump April 3, 2019 Breakdown and insurance firm AA said today that its profit before tax for the year ended January 2019 fell more than 60 per cent to £53m. The figures The company said its steep profit drop was a result of a £26m investment in its roadside and insurance business and said it was distorted by a [...]
Britain’s trade gap widens as exports to EU fall March 12, 2019 The UK’s trade deficit in goods and services widened by £1.3bn to reach £10.4bn in the three months to January as exports of cars and fuels fell, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. Britain’s trade in goods deficit widened by £1.6bn with EU countries and £0.8bn with non-EU countries to reach a total of £38bn, the [...]
Stockwatch: A recovery play and takeover target March 8, 2019 By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor Persistent director buying implies long-term value at this well-known firm, argues our shares analyst. Have shares in £260 million price comparison website Gocompare.com (LSE:GOCO) finally bottomed out? Four non-executive directors appear to think so, buying nearly £44,000 worth of stock at around 65p once the company was out of [...]
Insurer Hastings adds more customers as it grows profits and revenue February 28, 2019 Hastings’ share price ticked upwards today as it profit and revenue climbed in 2018 even as customer growth slowed. The figures Profit after tax rose three per cent year on year to £130.6m as revenue rose five per cent to £756.4m, compared to 2017’s £715.6m. Gross written premiums also climbed three per cent to £958.3m. [...]
Autotech M&A deal value falls to five-year low in second half of 2018 February 20, 2019 Merger and acquisition value in the automotive technology sector hit a five year low in the second half of 2018 as car manufacturers struggled with dwindling demand in China and a global crackdown on emissions. A total of 100 M&A deals were completed in the second half of last year, including Renault, Ford and Volkswagen’s [...]
A brave new driverless future? Let’s separate fact from fiction February 18, 2019 You can’t browse the internet without seeing a sensational headlines announcing the imminent ascendency of the driverless car. “Fully driverless cars could run on UK roads by end of year”, “Britain’s driverless revolution will be a car crash as safety rules are recklessly scrapped” and “Driverless Car! It’s about to happen on UK roads” – to [...]