Payment Protection Insurance Claims cost Lloyds Bank £3.2 Billion

On of the major players in the Credit Crunch which had to be bailed out by the UK taxpayer and contributed to the current deficit  – Lloyds Banking Group – has announced today that it has set aside a £3.2bn provision for claims from clients that they were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), which accounts for the bulk of the £3.7 billion loss it has reported.

Lloyds Bank  has decided to settle all the PPI misselling claims after UK banks lost a High court judicial review called by Barclays and others over PPI  claims compensation last month.
Payment protection insurance also known as ASU, Income Protection Insurance and Mortgage Protection Insurance,  was sold by the large banking corporations at inflated rates to cover in particular credit cards, personal loans and mortgage repayments  if income ceases or falls because of accident sickness or unemployment.
Since 2009 thousands of Uk complainants have received compensation because their policies were mis-sold. Missold, because they were sold policies that were either not explained to them, did not cover them because of certain exclusions or in the majority of cases was only taken out for fear of not obtaining the loan.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) published guidelines last year which said banks should contact all PPI past policyholders to ask them to complain if they believed they had been mis-sold PPI.

Professional Indemnity Insurance Buyers Guide

5 Things To Ask Yourself Before You Buy Professional Indemnity Insurance

The What, When, How, Where and Why Guide to Indemnity Insurance for professionals.

Professional Indemnity Insurance is designed to protect you when a problem arises with any professional work you have done. In today’s litigation culture, this form of insurance is becoming increasingly relevant for a range of professions.
Are you thinking about Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Before you buy, it pays to consider the crucial 5 questions:
What exactly is Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance is designed to protect you in the case of professional error. In the course of your working life an instance may occur where unfortunately, the professional skill you exhibit is deemed inadequate. In this situation, a dissatisfied client may seek some form of compensation, resulting in financial implications for you and your business. This is where PI Insurance comes in: it provides financial support for defence costs, withheld fees and any compensation which may be awarded against you. In simple terms, Professional Indemnity Insurance is financial protection against professional error.
Why do I require PI Insurance?

The Bad Boys of Insurance

The UK Insurance industry watchdog the FSA has been very busy in it’s final year of existence before it is replaced by another quango, and has published figures of which firms are the most complained about by consumers. The FSA is keen to point out that the larger the operation the more likely there are to be complaints about that firms services or products and that the figures do not constitute a league table of bad boys.
Hmm……..what do they show then?
Here’s the top fifty of the most complained about Insurance companies in the UK:
Firm name | Number of complaints opened |Number of complaints closed |Complaints closed within 8 weeks (%) | Closed complaints upheld by firm (%)
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc 84,775 39,789 97 68
Barclays Bank Plc 59,003 40,230 65 68

Do You Know What Your Home Insurance Really Covers You For?

How many of us actually read our insurance policy documents when they drop through the letterbox? Insurance Blogger has just renewed my home insurance and the particular policy booklet is thicker than the local freeads, that arrived at the same time. So this got me thinking about all those people who purchase home insurance cover online and are probably under-insured in some minor or major way!
Although many people who own their own houses in the UK are likely to have some type of basic insurance policy on their property, the extent of that cover, sometimes turns out to be entirely inadequate for the misfortunate few who thought they had bought a good deal.
Stop for a moment and think: You have worked hard to purchase and maintain your house. Why risk losing it or its contents because you have tried to save on your home insurance and have not considered what really needs to be covered?
Specialist House Insurance – The Problem with Standard Home Insurance
If you have a standard home insurance policy, you might think your home’s contents are completely covered under your contents insurance section. Although this could be right to a certain degree, the thing is that some types of home insurance policies that put limitations and restrictions on the cover they supply as described in the policy booklet and online keyfacts documents.

Google Buys Insurance Aggregator Beatthatquote.com

Meerkats and Opera Singers beware: Google are coming
The big insurance industry story that made the headlines of both the trade papers and the nationals this month was mega global search engine come media owner come O/S provider come whatever else they are now, company Google have bought financial comparison site Beat That Quote for a cool £37.7m.
It was an interesting if somewhat fairly inevitable move from the mega global search engine come…. well you get the point.
I say inevitable as apart from the fact that Google are trying to get their grubby little mitts into pretty much every possible vertical there is to be had, it was also a fairly well known industry ‘secret’ that they were looking to step into the financial comparison site arena, ever since news of their failed attempt to purchase LoveMoney.com.
In many ways Beat That Quote fit the acquisition profile perfectly for Google. They are a ‘two click’ property (a website which has short, quick user journey) and Google have often shown a taste for these in the past.  Also the business model of aggregators is proven to be successful as long as you have traffic and Google have more traffic than you can shake a big, digital stick at.

Tradesmans Insurance – What does it cover?

A Guide to Tradesmans Insurance Online
It’s the oldest online commercial insurance and the widest sold type of business insurance in the UK, but what exactly is Tradesmans Insurance?

If you own or manage a small business, you will require at least some type of liability insurance to protect your company against the various risks and possible claims, that your business will face.
Small businesses and tradesmen are required by law to have employers liability insurance at the very least in order to carry on business. Employer’s liability cover  protects the workforce and allows the business to pay any claims against it which may be brought by a worker who was injured carying out his or her duties.
Public liability insurance is essential if you work with members of the public who may pursue claims against you and motor insurance or van insurance is also likely to be a necessity.
If the business has plant or machinery which must have a periodical statutory inspection, it will be usual to arrange for this to be done by a specialist engineering insurer under the terms of an engineering inspection contract, with or without insurance.
Tradesman’s insurance is more often than not sold online as a small business insurance package policy. A package will include all elements of cover required by a small business or self employed trader such as basic employers liability and public liability covers and theft of tools. Trademans insurance quotation systems allow you to vary the levels of indemnity required for liability insurance in a typical range of between £1 million and £10 million. The higher the levels of indemnity required the higher the premium. Tools cover is usually rated on a replacement new for old, sum insured basis, where you define the value of your tools.

A Brief History of Insurance: Part 2 Early Marine Insurance

A brief history of Insurance:
Part Two: Rhodian General Average and Athenan Maritime Loans:
OK, so in the first article in this series we discovered that whilst those amazing Chinese chaps were out inventing everything and anything, they put together the worlds first ever risk management systems. We also discovered that it was a thousand years or so later that a rather brilliant Babylonian, a first dynasty king called Hammurabi came up with something that many scholars consider to be the first recorded form of monetised insurance.
This system was in fact set to become incredibly wide spread largely down to the Babylonian’s sphere of influence within the young, growing markets of commerce within early history.  The practice of paying what we would now consider an insurance premium, to cover the cost of a merchant’s cargo should it be lossed due to theft or accident on the high seas, had become common place across the mediteranean in its many fledgling cultures.
As the cultures of the meditaranean developed and in particular that of Ancient Greece, so we see further complexities within insurance as a financial product within these cultures and also their growing importance within the daily lives of members of these societies.

A Brief History of Insurance: Part 1 The Ancient World

Insurance Blog  likes to educate our readers so today for those of you studying for your ACII Insurance Blogger Kris Oldland discusses the development and history of  Insurance.

Part One: Insurance in the ancient world:

Insurance is everywhere and attached to everything we do. In the western world practically each and everyone of us is involved with a number of seperate insurance policies everyday and everywhere we go. Whether it be in our cars, in our homes or in our jobs we will no doubt be insured somehow at any given moment. But where did this concept originate and how has it developed over the years to the modern sophisticated system that it is today?
Well, the history of insurance steps back a lot further back than many of us would ever imagine. In fact,  throughout history wherever there has been any form of commerce and an economy in place, insurance of some description soon followed.

New Online Crime Maps launched in UK

Did you know there was a burglary last week in your road?
Ever wondered why you home insurance premiums are so high?
Well from now on you can find out whats been happening in your area with a new online crime mapping service from the UK Police.
The maps based on Google Earth and using a streetview pointer  allow you to zoom down to see crimes commited in each street.

What surprised Insurance blog was that for every postcode we entered, the biggest crime was anti-social behaviour!

UK Unemployment hits record heights

The UK Government have just released the latest economic indicators from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and it makes grim reading. doom and gloom awaits us all if the trends continue……
If you haven’t taken out unemployment insurance yet, there may still be a little time, although given latest figures you will have to move as fast as the postman with the redundancy notices, as UK Unemployment hit record heights.
Here’s the facts of the state of Britains Economy
The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to November 2010 was 70.4 per cent, down 0.3 on the quarter.
The number of people in employment aged 16 and over fell by 69,000 on the quarter to reach 29.09 million.
The last time there were larger quarterly falls in the employment level and rate was in the three months to August 2009.

Travel Insurance will not cover Riots, War, Civil Commotion & Coup D’Etats

Insurance Blogger has just got back from holiday on the Balearic Island of Majorca for a bit of winter sun. I managed to get one of those last minute cheap flights for under a tenner!  So I don’t mind blatantly promoting that type of offer. That’s cheaper than the travel insurance and the airport transfer costs!
While I was out in Majorca I couldn’t but notice what was going on in Tunisia, a popular haunt of mine since the days of the dictator Habib Bourguiba in the 1970′s!
Looking at all those tourists stranded at Tunis Airport got me thinking - ‘None of them are covered!‘
They probably all have travel insurance but how many can actually claim?
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) draws up an extensive list of countries that have seen recent war or riot or civil commotion or is currently at war. Subsequently they advise these areas should not be travelled to.
As this is advised by Government most Travel Insurance policies will not cover you if you visit these countries.
Check that the country you are travelling to does not appear on either list, as they are likely to be excluded from travel insurance policies.
Here is the current Government advice for travelling to Tunisia for example:

Lloyds prepares for Solar Meltdown!

“Ground Control to Major Tom!”
“Check your policy wording and put your spacesuit on!”
Insurance Business have finally moved into the 21st Century with some truly space age of aquarius exposures to risk to deal with over the next year, according to a new report from Lloyds of London.
These new age risks include Space weather, cyber risk and critical infrastructure attacks that are predicted to cause big problems for consumers, businesses and their insurance companies in 2011.
The Lloyd’s 360 Risk Insight report states that ‘The phenomenon of space weather is one of the most difficult to quantify and yet potentially serious sources of loss and disruption for business.’
“Space weather and its impact on Earth: Implications for business”, says that businesses should be looking at ways to assess and mitigate space weather risks this year because the 11-year solar cycle is expected to peak in 2012/13.”
Turbulent space weather created by solar phenomena such as coronal mass ejections, solar flares, solar wind, solar radiation and magnetic storms could have wide ranging impacts around the globe in climatic responses, many scientists believe.
These phenomena are also predicted to affect aircraft communications, air traffic control and navigational systems which could malfunction or might stop working, satellite and GPS systems could also malfunction, and surprisingly. power grids could collapse.

New Year Recession Fears

Insurance blog thought the silly season was in the Summer, but from the noises coming out of Whitehall and what remains of Fleet St. recently, it looks like it’s begun early!
If all the Economic pundits are to be believed, you would think that the economy was rosy! No chance of a the dreaded double dip recession now ……..
Hmm, what about the 600,000 job losses in the public sector that still have to be made this spring and will have to be paid for out of a shrinking GDP, rising wage demands from the private sector, fuels costs going through the roof and VAT at it’s highest ever 20%!
However you look at the current situation the immediate future does not look too bright!
Amongst all the coalition division and noise about quangos, cuts, student fees, interest rates and inflation, the UK Government has this week raised Insurance premium tax to 6%. With the cost of Insurance already at record highs as companies try to build up lost claims reserves, maybe they thought we’d not notice more indirect taxation!
The future doesn’t look too orange for Corporal Clegg and his Liberal lackies either who are currently enjoying their lowest popularity level for 30 years.

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.