Older new drivers can save money on their car insurance!

Much cheaper quotes if you sit your pass plus driving test – whatever your age!
Old and no discount!
Insuranceblogger has always lived in a city close to bus and train routes so I never felt the need to learn to drive. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to drive I did , but life moves so quickly and before I knew it, I was reaching my forties and  I still had not taken any driving lessons. As public transport was not as frequent and with train prices escalating I treated myself to a driving course and I loved it!
I passed my test with flying colours. Couldn’t believe it first time!
Passing your test is fantastic, but reality hits home when you find out the real cost of driving especially purchasing car insurance, when you are not entitled to no claims bonus. No claims bonus is a way insurance companies reward their customers for not claiming in the year. The more accident free years the larger the discount. I knew that new drivers had to pay more, but I had wrongly assumed that this only affected the youth of this world not me I was nearly forty! My days of fast cars and driving at high speed were long gone I just wanted to be able to get from A to B in my little car.
Luckily, I spoke to a member of my family. He has just passed his test and had found it really expensive to purchase car insurance. He told me that he had taken an extra driving course arranged by the Driving Standards agency and had saved himself a fortune.

Specialist Home Insurance is often Cheaper!

It’s that time of year again when frost and ice damages your property and your home is at higher risk to fire and pre Christmas theft!
Home Insurance has really suffered during the recession of the last two years as homeowners have cut out what are often mistakenly seen as marginal expenses. Consequently the potential market is larger now which explains the plethora of Home Insurance ads you see on TV all day long at the moment!
Wherever you live, you should have protection for your buildings and contents and this is of particular importance if you have invested a lot of time and money in your home. In this case you may be much better off if you visited an online specialist home insurer, who can provide you with a range of quality policies to choose from, which will protect ALL of your property.
Specialist Home Insurance is often cheaper if you have own a non-standard construction property which includes a range of covers for buildings of thatched and stone construction through to blocks of let flats. You should also consider going to a specialist home insurance broker or provider if you own a large multi bedroomed house or have specialist contents insurance requirements.
For home owners in the UK, purchasing the best insurance cover is of the most significance. Lots of people individuals, even so, usually do not take the time to examine the terms and conditions proposed by the home insurance policy they buy from a price comparison website. These same persons often realise too late, that their cover is not enough. This is most often the case for those who are in possession of high value homes.  Below is some detailed information about ways to provide proper coverage for a high value home with specialist home insurance.
Specifically What is a High Value Home?

Insurance company failures predicted as Euro Solvency rules are applied

QIS5 set to see an increase in Insurer failure rates:
As final implementation of Solvency II looms ever closer, more and more industry experts are now predicting a complicated and worrying time for a growing number of insurers. Willis Re have recently admitted their own fears for the UK’s smaller regional insurers, predicting that many more companies are looking likely to fail in QIS5 than did so in the previous such exercise QIS4.
In a recently released report the global insurance brokers reinsurance arm announced that Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) 5 is shaping up to be a far tougher test than its predecessor, of which only 11% of insurers failed. Whilst claiming that the failure rate will be “much higher, especially for smaller regional insurers” the report also warns that the smaller players as well as regulators will have multiple problems particularly when developing and reviewing  internal models. One of the major reasons the report singles out the smaller players is the fact that they are often unable to benefit from the   diversification credits that are available.
Commenting on the report, Willis’ MD for analytics and head of international enterprise risk management, David Simmons said “Solvency II and IFRS will have profound implications for all insurance professionals in Europe, but the repercussions will be felt worldwide with the new IFRS being adopted by most major economies in 2013 and the rise of Solvency II-like regulatory regimes worldwide.”
Meanwhile, the International Underwriting Association (IUA) has warned that the government’s plans to reform financial regulation within the UK are currently being heavily undermined by the demands being placed on insurance regulators as Solvency II implementation draws nearer. With demand for high quality regulators now often comfortably outstripping the supply, a lack of qualified and competent staff is proving to be a very real concern.

Mobile Technology for Insurance Claims

Insuranceblogger was out walking the other day when I heard a loud bang!
First I saw two smashed up cars with steam hissing out of them…
Then I saw two elderly ladies fighting to be the first to video the scene and get it to their car insurance company before the other.
First to Claim victory mentality!
Here’s an interesting post on the subject of mobile technology and car insurance claims from the pen of the Car Insurance Blog ….

Nokia 6700 Mobile Phone Makes An Instant Online Car Insurance Claim

by Car Insurance Blogger
I’m not a great fan of mobile phones. Let me rephrase that…I wasn’t a great fan of mobile phones, I don’t even own one, I get sick of the site of one stuck to my Mrs’s ear or ringing with the most absurd ‘personal’ ringtone in the train carriage on the way to the Car Insurance blog office.
No I didn’t like mobiles, they invade your personal privacy and demand to be answered even at the most inconvenient times.
As for the use of mobile phones in cars I was and still am a great advocate of the hands free rule. If you’d seen the number of car insurance accidents that were occurring before the clampdown, you’d agree!
So I wasn’t the least bit interested when my wife was going on about this new mobile she’d got for free from Vodafone, a Nokia 6700. It’s got bluetooth and she asked me to set it up for her to use in the car, which I obligingly did under threat of not getting my dinner cooked!

A look at Pub Insurance risks

Protect your business with public house insurance from specialist commercial insurance brokers

Pub insurance is a valuable form of insurance as it provides you the publican with protection for your employees in the event of them being injured. It also provides security against theft in the workplace.

Pub insurance can provide cover for a variety of risks, which can be tailored to your individual business needs.
If you hire staff to work in your pub , then your public house insurance must include employer’s liability insurance, as this is a legal requirement in the UK.
You may wish to include additional forms of cover in your insurance, for example property or public liability insurance.
You might also choose to insure your stock and inventory,have protection against a loss of your license, or to protect money on the premises.

UK Insurance and US Insurance Regulatory Bodies Swap Notes!

FSA HEARTS FINRA
The FSA and their American cousins the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have  taken an unprecedented step of entering an agreement to work more closely together. Whether this means that they will be able to compare notes on incompetency or even heaven forbid try to learn from each other’s mistakes, we will have to wait to find out. It does however show that maybe, just maybe, that they may be prepared to start listening to outside suggestions. Could this lead to the unthinkable, the mighty FSA one day actually listening to the humble broker? Well one step at a time lads, mighty oaks and tiny acorns and all that.

So what do we know of  FINRA?
Well we know that they have a habit of over extending their reach into areas where its not particularly welcome. Towards the end of 2009 a group of prominent Financial Planners were moved to petition US congressional leaders to amend a bill including them within FINRA’s authority. On the surface a strikingly similar situation to the UK General insurance industry being shoe horned into the FSA’s remit. Certainly both bodies have shown an overzealous one size fits all attitude to financial regulation when it is clear that a more refined, considered and cultivated approach is more suited to such intricate industries.

Comparing Yacht and Boat Insurance Quotes

With the recession affecting goods in particularly the luxury end of the market, if you own a yacht or a boat, it pays to shop around at the moment for boat insurance, and to compare the numerous offers to get the best value for your money in what is a bouyant competitive market.
Yacht insurance covers loss or damage to yachts and/or damage or loss caused by the yacht to third parties. Yachts can be a significant investment hence requiring comprehensive cover to prevent losses due to unforeseen events is essential. As a yacht owner you need the composure which you will get when you know that you are covered, should anything untoward happen.
Providers of yacht insurance in most cases tailor make the policies for your individual needs. You should therefore assess the risks you and your yacht will be exposed to during intended use. You should also figure out the cruising range for your yacht. Will you use your yacht abroad or in the confines of your country coastal areas? How often will you travel abroad? Such questions should guide you in assessing your needs. When you know what you need you can obtain quotes from the different insurers.
The sum insured for your yacht can be based on a value that is agreed on or on the actual value of the yacht taking into account any depreciation. Most policies however are based on the value that is agreed on. That way the losses due to depreciation are not incurred in the event of total loss of the yacht. Repairs can also be made with new components.

Buying Insurance on your mobile phone? Talking is Quicker!

Thank God for Bank holidays!
Apart from no nasty letters through the door, getting down to my beach and not having to go to work in the City are a small retreat from the hectic world of UK Insurance. Last week was no exception with the attempted takeover of the AVIVA General Insurance Division by the much smaller RSA (those of More >han Fame) for a paltry £5 billion!
According to the UK Insurance News this week the rationale behind this move was that there is a general feeling amongst the Insurance Illuminati that Composite Insurance companies are a thing of the past and Insurance companies should be broken up into specialist areas.
In politics they call this decentralisation. In IT it’s called distributed processing.
Whenever we get a Government in the UK that swings to the right you will get calls for decentralised power and this time it appears the doom mongerers are spreading their ill informed zeitgeist amongst the Insurance movers and shakers!
Fortunately the predominantly life insurance company AVIVA managed to laugh this takeover attempt off this time!

Boat Insurance in the UK

With warm temperatures right here in UK, water season is luring the boat enthusiasts. If you are on your boat every day or whether on weekends, you must have boat insurance at least during summer months, and beyond if possible. With this in mind Insurance Blog thought we’d take a look at the oldest type of insurance….
What is boat insurance?
Boat insurance is a custom made insurance that covers your boat and this coverage becomes applicable once you have the boat insurance policy from your preferred insurance company. You need to pay certain premium and while the policy lasts, the insurance company will cover all the expenditure that has occurred due to damages resulting from mishaps, accidents or calamities. This insurance also covers damage done by your boat to other boats or people.
Things to consider when buying boat insurance
Different companies provide a variety of policy wording and you may be confused what sort of policy you require. The cover offered by an insurance company and the service provided by it can differ greatly. Hence remember that if you buy a cheap policy, you may end up spending more money in the long run, if you make a claim. The most important points to consider before you buy insurance for your boat are:
• Third party liability: You must always go for liability insurance as this covers you in case you have caused damage to another boat or have caused injury to a person.

Bank of England is Steady at the Helm with Sensible Interest Rate

CPI annual inflation stands at 3.1 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent in June, reveals the latest Consumer Price Index showing that the market will self adjust to inflationary pressures without the intervention of monetary or fiscal policies designed to rock the boat!
The CPI fell by 0.2 per cent between June and July this year compared with no change over the same period a year ago. These 1-month changes are both within the normal range for a June to July period; since 1996, the monthly movement between these two months has varied between a fall of 0.8 per cent and an increase of 0.1 per cent.
Some myopic Internet financial analysts who have been arguing for a base rate increase for over a year are still crying foul……
“Inflation is a stealthy enemy for savers and when rates are low, it quietly erodes the spending power of a hard earned nest egg. Savers may have had a short respite from a marginal fall in inflation, but savings rates have hit a plateau and may be there for a while.
“The average one year fixed bond rate has fallen from 3.07% in January to only 2.54% today and the average five year fixed bond rate has fallen from 4.56% to 4.08% for the same period.
“The average instant access savings rate is still at rock bottom at a rate of only 0.74%. The only trigger for any improvement in savings rates may be a surprise increase in the Base rate by the Bank of England, but this is most likely not to happen soon.”

Lloyd’s Slips have come a long way to the current Electronic trading

An Explanation of Lloyd’s Slips and how they are used to place Insurance Risks on the London Market
By Dave Healey

Lloyd’s slips were originally pieces of paper containing all the details of a risk to be placed on the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, although today these are accepted electronically. Lloyd’s slips are documents in a standard format which are intended to assist not only the underwriter giving consideration to the risks presented to them but also the policy drafter and those responsible for checking and accounting for the premium. The slip has to be correctly compiled or it will be rejected.

Asbestos Compensation Claims To Cost UK Insurance Companies Dear!

Asbestos Compensation Claims Are an Insurance Industry Time Bomb just waiting to go off  – If the current law is successfully challenged!
By Insurance Blogger
The use of asbestos was banned over thirty years ago, but the UK Insurance Industry now faces a time bomb of claims from people directly or indirectly exposed to the deadly substance.
Asbestos was once hailed as a miracle product but its use has exacted a terrible price for those exposed to it. Diseases caused by ingestion into the lungs such as Asbestosis and Mesothelioma may take over forty years to become apparent, and the true cost of the substance use in damages claims, is only just beginning to occur.
Asbestos has been used by man since ancient Greece for its fire resistant properties, but even then it was recorded that slaves exposed to it were dying from terrible lung disease and breathing difficulties.
In the twentieth century Asbestos was used in all sorts of construction and manufacturing processes. In every public building you would find pipes and boilers covered with the material. Shipbuilders and dockyards were particularly prevalent in its use and it was not uncommon to regularly see old ‘laggers’ and pipe workers coughing up the so called ‘Dockers oysters’. Offices were also exposed to asbestos with the use in partition walls and suspended ceilings. In the home it was used in all sorts of ways ranging from ironing boards to car brake pads and shed roof coverings.
By far the most deadly variety of asbestos is ‘blue asbestos’ of which a single strand in the lungs can cause the deadly disease years later.

Business Insurance: Business Interruption Cover Explained

Business Interruption Insurance is usually sold as part of a Commercial Insurance combined policy or package and provides a layer of insurance against not being able to trade following a claim.
In addition to the physical loss of the claim, the financial loss to the business stemming therefrom needs to be dealt with by an interruption policy.
Formerly called ‘consequential loss’, ‘loss of profits’ and/or ‘profits insurance’, which can be misleading terms, the protection granted is in accordance with a policy formula, i.e. rate of gross profit applied to the reduction in turnover of the business in consequence of an insured peril, together with the increased costs to minimise an aggravated loss (but not exceeding the loss so saved) arising within the maximum indemnity period (as selected to be insured).
Provision is made for the accountancy definitions and the business, the premises and the insured to be defined. In any claim, adjustment can be made to the precious financial account figures so that the loss is in respect of the ‘would have been’ results that would have applied if the damage had not occurred.
The perils insured (for which there must normally be counter-part physical damage cover) can extend to include those normal to property insurances and such special perils as failure of public electricity or gas supply, loss from infectious disease for hotel and similar trades, or electrocution of cattle in farming risks.
Machinery breakdown covers can usually be arranged on selected plant. Advance profits covers can be arranged for new ventures and these may include marine transit risks.

A look at Lloyd’s Insurance Market

Lloyd’s Insurance Market originated in a coffee house belonging to a certain Edward Lloyd in 1688, which was the haunt of those concerned with maritime trade.
For many years business transacted at Lloyd’s was confined to marine insurance.

In the nineteenth century, however, a large non-marine business began to be built up, particularly business from overseas, and Lloyd’s is now a major international market in this field as well as being famous as a provider of specialist car insurance.
This organisation is unique in the world. The Council of Lloyd’s, established under the 1982 Lloyd’s Act, is the governing body and activities under its jurisdiction are governed by Acts of Parliament. Statutory regulations aimed at preserving the solvency and integrity of Lloyd’s underwriters differ from those applicable to insurance companies, though the intent is the same.

Quotezone comes out top in UK car insurance price comparison website review!

Quotezone car insurance comparison website wins praise in UK public poll

Fledgling UK Car Insurance comparison company Quotezone has beaten it’s larger rivals in a poll conducted for UK Car Insurance Television

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 12, 2010 – The car insurance television review panel, which is widely regarded amongst industry peers as the toughest and perhaps more truthful of the on-line car insurance review websites,  has unusually come out strongly in favour of two aggregator websites which compare car insurance quotes in separate independent reviews released this week.
The review team praised the small independent car insurance comparison website Quotezone.co.uk and the ubiquitous Moneysupermarket.com , however the praise was for differing reasons.
Moneysupermarket received the thumbs up from the public for it’s speed and overall ease of use and one stop shop facilities.

Smaller rival of the car insurance supermarket giant, Quotezone.co.uk received great praise for the prices of the premiums returned and the value for money of the deals  and as such may well help the fledgling website’s cause in vying for the lucrative Insurance Times and Insurance Industry media award of car insurance comparison website of the year.

Unemployment to hit North of UK First warns Specialist Insurer

As the CON DEM coalition Government budget deficit cutbacks begin to take effect, Insurance Blog asked one of the UK’s  leading Unemployment Insurance specialists to look at where the cuts are going to be made and who is going to suffer……….

UK Government Cutbacks Will Widen the North-South Divide

News of job losses continues unabated. Not so much for those employed by the house builders or major financial institutions, but further down the economic food chain. Those companies such as fashion house Ethel Austin with 300 stores predominantly in the North of England. They called in the receiver in February 2010 and have since set about closing 120 stores and issuing 1800 redundancy notices. They, like many others shedding labour, held on waiting for an upturn in the economy that never came soon enough to save them. Faced with still hesitant consumer spending, their loses continued and creditors ran out of patience. However, for the North, it is about to get a lot worse.

Insurance Industry reacts to ‘immoral’ claims farmers:

Ever since they first began appearing from murky corners of the industry back in the late nineties, ambulance chasers have never been particularly good at making friends. The thorny issue of claims farming has consistently remained on the lips of insurers and brokers alike ever since they first boomed from our TV sets advising us to sue everyone and anyone.
If there’s blame there’s a claim. The epitome of the nanny state. They exist at the heart of compensation culture. In fact they are the wholly accountable for the whole bloody system. Professional parasites feeding off us all.
As you may have guessed I’m not a fan.
Yet somehow they defiantly remain a part of the industry and worryingly it seems some brokers are leaning towards the easy ‘quick fix’ solution they can offer. Lets be honest times are tough and the majority of us are having to work that little bit harder for a hell of a lot less. With the  ridiculous increases in the FSCS being the latest over the top fee handed out to the broker community by the ever incompetent FSA, a little extra revenue from those damn ambulance chasers could prove highly tempting right now, but what is the real cost of this short term financial injection?
Trevor Cutts, business development director at independent broker network 1 Answer Network recently commented that the practice of claims farming threatened to undermine not only the claims process but also the very ‘integrity of the industry’ itself. For an industry dependant upon consumer trust, anything that can damage the broker/client relationship is of course inherently dangerous.

The Changing World of the Car Insurance Broker

The Role of Car Insurance Brokers has changed significantly over the years. Rationalisation of  the market, new technologies, new methods of working, financial regulation , call centre and demands for new products from the public,  has led to a new breed of intermediary…….
The role of a car insurance broker traditionally, is to act as an intermediary between the customer and the underwriting Insurance Company. Within this role there are various functions that they carry out in interaction both with the car insurance buying public and the Insurer with who they place the business.
When a broker places car and motor insurance risks on cover, their role has a major difference to other types of insurance in that the spread of risk is smaller. This is because a very high proportion of motor business is eventually placed on the basis of ‘one risk, one underwriter’ – that is to say, a Lloyd’s underwriter or Motor Insurance company.
When a member of the public goes to a motor insurance broker they expect that the broker should be fully aware of all the covers available and offered in a standard car insurance policy and a commercial motor policy. A broker also should be knowledgeable about the differences in policies and prices offered by the various Insurance Companies and underwriters with which his brokerage does business.

Commercial Insurance Risks Explained

If you run a small or medium sized business you will need to understand the risks that your enterprise is exposed to in order to avoid financial loss. We asked our resident insurance expert to give us an overview of Commercial Insurance risks:
Understanding Commercial Insurance Risks and Business Insurance Covers
By Dave Healey
If you own or manage a business, either large or small, you will require some type of insurance to protect your company against the various risks and potential multitude of claims, that your business will face.
Commercial insurance or Business insurance as it is commonly known, is a complicated area of underwriting and because all businesses are different, and face different risks depending upon the nature of the company, various packages and combined policy covers have been introduced by insurance companies and commercial broker schemes, to make the process easier.
An example of a small business insurance package which is commonly sold online is the Tradesman’s insurance package, which includes all elements of cover required by a small business or self employed trader such as basic liability covers and theft of tools.

Insurance Brokers Pay for UK Banks PPI Claims

It’s that time of year again when UK Insurance Brokers and Intermediaries are asked to pay their annual membership fees for the soon to be defunct, Financial Services Authority (The FSA).
Reading through the Insurance news this week you will find multiple stories from Brokers moaning about the ‘ridiculously’ high fees they are being asked for in order to trade. In some cases the fees have risen three fold on last years costs and many small operators are threatened with going out of business. In some cases the fees represent 20% of their income.
The reason, the FSA’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme to which all members have to contribute.
In the last couple of years the FSCS has paid out over a billion pounds in damages for claims to individuals who were mis-sold payment protection insurances (PPI), such as mortgage protection or loan protection primarily by – The Banks.
Yes those good old bastions of the British financial system, the Banks and not forgetting the Building Societies who were equally as guilty, had been systematically robbing their customers for years, who took out PPI on the back of their mortgages, loans and credit cards .
On average these institutions were charging in excess of five times the premium for the same cover that could be had from an independent supplier or Insurance Broker offering mortgage protection.
They got away with it for years because you and me the UK public were initially only too keen to sign their agreements to secure the loan!

UK Public Demand Cheaper Young Drivers Car Insurance

Insurance blogger was searching the blogosphere when he came across this interesting story about the incredible number of uninsured drivers there are on the UK highways and byways, that quite frankly make you paranoid every time you get behind the wheel of your car:

300,000 Young Drivers without Insurance on UK roads

by Performance Car Insurance on July 22nd, 2010

According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau in a report released today, there has been a twenty percent drop in the number of people driving without car insurance in the UK.
However, there are still a third of a million uninsured drivers on the roads in the UK without adequate car insurance cover.
And it’s young drivers who are the biggest culprits when it comes to breaking the law and putting other road users at risk of loss.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) reports:
Young drivers are the least likely to be insured with new figures suggesting the problem is worse in Britain than any country in Western Europe.

The effect of the Budget upon the UK Insurance market

The hatchet man Chancellor George Osborne has spoken and the little red box opened to reveal one of the most stinging budgets in recent memory, already named the austerity budget, with huge public sector job losses, spending cuts and tax rises for all!
On the face of it Insurance escapes fairly lightly with Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) raised for the first time in over ten years to 6% from 5%.
 IPT is chargeable  on every insurance policy sold within the UK,  although Insurance is currently VAT exempt.
This rise will harden the market with slightly raised premiums,  however it is suggested by many in the City that the percentage increase will mostly go un-noticed by the majority of the insurance buying public.  A spokesperson for specialist car insurance company Car Insurance TV said that ‘this increase in IPT will add just a few pounds to the cost of an average car insurance policy, however levels of competition will often see this absorbed by the Insurance Companies trying to win your business’.
A major impact upon the supply of Insurance and adding further inflationary pressures, will be the raise in the basic level of VAT from 17.5% to 20%.
 The rise in VAT will add additional costs to the supply of insurance. Most distributors of Insurance such as Insurance Brokers are UK VAT exempt and therefore unlike VAT registered businesses, cannot claim back their VAT expenditure against their VAT income.

UK Government CON DEM The FSA Insurance Regulator

The Coalition UK Government led by the right wing Conservative party, have fired their first major shot in the destruction of the Bureaucratic State with the announcement last night of the abolition of The Financial Services Authority, The FSA, which governs the regulated activities of all sectors of the UK Insurance Market.
In a speech to those lovable Bankers and Merchants (Merchant Bankers having a Ruby to you and me Cockneys!) at the annual Lord Mayor of London’s dinner at the Mansion House last night,  Champagne swaffing hatchet man George Osborne announced that the FSA will cease to exist in it’s current form by 2012.
Osborne said,
“What we are proposing is a new system of regulation that learns the lessons of the greatest banking crisis in our lifetime. I can confirm that the Government will abolish the tripartite regime, and the Financial Services Authority will cease to exist in its current form.

The Cost of Insuring The FIFA World Cup

Every four years Insurance Companies underwrite all the risks associated with holding and attending the World’s largest sporting event – The FIFA World Cup Finals.
Insurance Blog reports on the risks and covers available and the large premiums paid to ensure that this years Tournament currently going on in South Africa, went without a hitch…

The prior concerns and fears that had been raised over the insurance cover for the 2010 World Cup failed to materialise as the tournament passed off without a major incident or claim.
FIFA had been forced to build a R6.3 billion contingency fund (around a billion US dollars) to cater for the possible collapse of the 2010 event -  a lot of money when you consider that the winners Spain only receive £40 million pounds ($60 million) in prize money.  FIFA have taken out cover  for any kind of interruption, delay or abandonment of the World Cup and the consequent loss of revenues.
Individual players and their respective Football Association’s had to make their own arrangements for sports disability and sports accident  insurance , with the number of top players appearing at the tournament making it the most injury exposed in the history of the sport.

Insurance Marketing Old School

Insurance Blog was gazing through some very old travel guides when we noticed that Insurance Marketing has come a long way since the start of Insurance….
This old advertisement for The London Assurance Company from the turn of 19th century suggests that insurance was something that you didn’t talk about in public – like money!

‘Very good people to deal with”  What’s all that about then?
Good at what? Deal with What?
“Good Day Mister. I’m from London Assurance. We’ll deal with it for you! (Cockney Accent required)
An interesting thing about the advert is the Firemark in the centre depicting the coat of arms of the Corporation of the City of London, The George Cross.

Aon in the Red! AIG loses the Shirt off it’s back

The prawn sandwiches were out in force yesterday at Old Trafford as the new sponsors of Manchester United Football Club,  Aon the giant American Insurance Broker, took over the lucrative deal from disgraced and broke AIG the not so giant American Insurance Company.

AIG had to pull out their 14 million a year deal which ran until the end of May this year, after the company was bailed out by the US Treasury to keep it alive.
It’s been a bad week for AIG who failed to complete the sale of their Asian division AIA to the man from the Pru, as the Treasury ‘overvalued’ the operation at 24.5 billion.

UK Housing Market Home Insurance Mini Boom

Wthether it’s a sign of Spring or the green shoots of recovery, recent activity in the UK housing market has seen an appropriate response from the major UK home insurance companies, with a multi million pound spend on prime time TV advertising.
The home insurance market had gone quiet in recent months but recent positive indicators in the housing market have led to this bombardment on every TV and commercial Radio station. Home Insurance is definitely the flavour of the month with the market under capacity due to many people cutting levels of cover or dropping covers completely because of the recession.
So what’s been happening in the UK housing market recently to have caused this big budget spend?
Well in April house prices had risen by 8.5 % since January which is a startling recovery in itself, and the figures for the number of valuations carried out in May confirm the trend with Valuation activity in May up by over a quarter compared to May 2009, according to the latest research by Connells Estates Survey team.
This confirms that both the supply side of housing and the demand side from potential buyers appear on the face of it bouyant. It remains to be seen if the Bank Assurers are prepared to underwite this economic activity with the supply of mortgages necessary to complete all these potential deals.

Insurance Companies must be held to account for the Recession

Who really calls the shots – The Government or Big Business when it comes to setting the direction and flow of the future economy?
You don’t need to look much further than the Insurance Industry to see that new forces are in play in a new world economy, driven perhaps by Government steering rather than a cyclical wave of uncertainty created by the money markets who are ultimately the owners, underwriters and profiteers of the multi national corporations.
The Insurance Industry which is at the top of the triangle of the money market distribution, is renowned for it’s slow reaction to change.
You’ve only got to ask a dynamic young business analyst or insurance product underwriter how difficult it is to implement solutions that would ultimately bring an Insurance Company competitive advantage……
Insurance Companies are naturally cautious and are able to absorb external change over time through their ability to control the provision of products and the levels of competition within the market.
They do this by controlling the rates at which they sell their products to the retail market through various differing distribution channels.
The rates that Insurance Companies set for Insurance are typically determined by the levels of profit that the investment side of the company is making.