Female drivers feel the pinch as insurance premiums rise today December 20, 2012 YOUNG women drivers are set to see substantial rises in the amount they pay for car insurance from today, after a new EU ruling came into force. Last year the European Court of Justice ruled that it was discriminatory to charge people different amounts for insurance products based on their gender. “The new rules are [...]
City Views | Are the new car insurance rules fair? December 20, 2012 JEN HAWES-HEWITT ACCENTURE No, not really. I think it is fair to let insurance companies assess their risk. I do not quite see it as discrimination. It will just make things more blunt, and that does not benefit the consumers. DANIEL BLYTON RPS No, I do not really think it is fair. You have different [...]
Whiplash claims crackdown to push down cost of premiums December 11, 2012 DRIVERS will find it harder to make fraudulent insurance claims for whiplash injuries, thanks to new proposals that the government says should drive down the cost of motoring. Proposals unveiled yesterday include independent medical assessments of whiplash claimants to ascertain which injuries are real. In addition, most whiplash claims would be dealt with in the small [...]
Electra waits for prices to fall as it builds up war chest to £400m November 28, 2012 UK listed private equity firm Electra Partners yesterday said expensive price tags on companies being sold had stopped it buying more firms this year after revealing solid numbers in its full year results. The firm, which has holdings in motor car insurer esure and caravan park operator Park Resorts, said the chasm between buyer and [...]
Mark Carney’s Canadian legacy has still not weathered the test of time November 27, 2012 MARK Carney, the Bank of England’s new governor, will leave his current position as governor of the Bank of Canada with a sterling reputation. The widespread acclaim he has attracted is based on his Bank’s deft handling of the beginning of the financial crisis, and his recent appointment as head of the G20’s Financial Stability [...]
Gloating over broken windows forgets their real costs November 25, 2012 THE price of payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling continues to spiral upwards. Barclays put aside an extra £700m in October for PPI compensation, taking its expected payout to £2bn. RBS and HSBC have each set aside well over £1bn and Lloyds added another £1bn at the start of November, taking its PPI provision to an [...]
FTSE 100 down on concerns over Greece November 21, 2012 The blue chip index edged down in early deals today, weighed down by a lack of agreement among Greece’s international lenders on emergency aid for the Eurozone country. Credit card insurer CPP Group fell 7.48 per cent, while Imagination Technologies sank 6.42 per cent on the news that it faced a rival for its bid [...]
Zurich misses profit target due to troubled German business November 15, 2012 ZURICH Insurance shares plunged nearly four per cent to a three month low yesterday after missing third quarter profit targets. The group, which does car and home insurance, saw net profit fall 62 per cent to $477m (£300m) compared to last year. For the nine months up until 30 September this year net profit was [...]
Ageas UK profits hit record high November 7, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurance giant, yesterday announced its best ever results as pre-tax profits jumped 36.4 per cent to £106.7m for the first nine months of this year. Total income crept up by less than one per cent but a strong underwriting performance allowed profits to surge. Barry Smith, chief [...]
Have you bought a car over the last year? November 6, 2012 GARY MIDDLETON LOTHBURY FINANCIAL SERVICES Yes I did buy a car – but it was a used vehicle, so it wouldn’t have affected the figures. ABBY VANN RIGHT MANAGEMENT No, I don’t need a car to get around as I live in London – I can just use the trains. The public transport in the city [...]