The Engage Mutual Insurance company has released a report that says men whine more than woman when it comes to aches and pains.

This may be no surprise to most women in the UK, but it appears to have shocked this mutual insurance company into publishing the results of their new research.

One of the staggering conclusions reached by the mutual insurance company conducting the research is that although women like to complain about minor problems on a daily basis, men actually feel more sorry for themselves when they become ill. Ground shattering results.

The mutual insurance company questioned around 3,000 poor souls and discovered that over 50% of all the men exaggerate the symptoms of their illness. They may get ill less than women (five times compared to females seven times), but once they are ill, they tend to become music hall actors and ham the whole experience up. Thus flu becomes a cold, a headache become a migraine and a stomach ache becomes death (only joking on the last point).

What’s more, the mutual insurance company says that nearly 60% of men seek attention when ill, whilst a whopping 65% constantly groan and moan. But even though the histrionics are loud, most men (some 76%), prefer to go to work and moan at their colleagues, rather than seek a cure at home.

A spokesman at the Engage Mutual Insurance company said:
“Men have had a bad press concerning their tendencies towards ‘man flu’, but our findings support the belief that men do moan more and are more likely to exaggerate their symptoms. They may have fewer bouts of genuine sickness a year, five compared to the seven suffered by women, but when ill, their attention seeking behaviour makes sure their partner knows about it.

“But even though men look for maximum sympathy, they tend to struggle on, being less likely to take time off work for an illness. Minor ailments aside, it is important for men to recognise and act on any genuine health concerns. Whether taking professional advice, or seeking suitable remedies and treatments to aid recovery, it is important to address any issues in order to maintain good levels of health.

“Women score higher than men on being prepared to dole out the sympathy for an attention seeking partner, regardless of whether they believe they are genuinely ill, or not. But when it comes to doing the little things that make a partner more comfortable when they are ill, men and women seem to be more evenly matched.”

So there you are then. It’s official, according to this mutual insurance company, men are the biggest moaners. And just wait until they get their new insurance premiums, then you’ll hear them really scream.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Gongs handed out by the 2010 Moneywise Customer Service Awards included two for M&S Money which was named not only the ‘most trusted motor insurance provider’, but also the ‘best travel insurance provider for service.’

The awards for most trusted motor insurance provider and the best travel insurance provider for service were handed out in front of nearly 300 guests at a gala dinner held in the City of London.

And the awards for most trusted motor insurance provider and the best travel insurance provider for service come from, claim the organisers, the biggest customer service survey of its type held in the UK. The figures were compiled by the Moneywise magazine and their website, Moneywise.co.uk following around 10,000 responses. These were then given to CoreData research for analysis who were used to identify those companies which, according the UK public, offer not only the best service, but also those who are the most trusted.

Apart from the main awards, M&S also walked off with two highly commended, one in the ‘most trusted travel insurance provider’ and the other, ‘best motor insurance provider for service’ categories.

On opening the gold envelopes and barely holding back the tears, a triumphant M&S Money Chief Executive said about the awards, including most trusted motor insurance provider:
“All our insurance policies are designed with the M&S customer in mind, and we are delighted that M&S Car and Travel Insurance have been recognised at the Moneywise awards.”

It also gave M&S a chance to remind people about their polices, including their role as most trusted motor insurance provider. They pointed out that their M&S Premier Car Insurance protects not just their car, but the policy holder. What’s more, it also includes RAC breakdown cover, a hire car for up to 14 days and motor legal protection.

So, when it comes to looking for the most trusted motor insurance provider, and indeed, the best travel insurance provider for service, then have a look at M&S. It’s not only good underwear they sell, but also good insurance apparently.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The modern phenomenon of drive-texting is on the increase says a leading insurance company.

Drive-texting is when a driver at the wheel of their moving vehicle uses their mobile phone to send texts; a practice regarded by safety experts as very dangerous and one that is strictly prohibited by law, and one also causing insurance companies some concern.

And in a recent survey conducted by one of the world’s largest insurance companies, the Prudential discovered that drive-texting is on the increase. What’s more, drivers who break the law in such a way, are 23 times as likely to be involved in an accident than those that don’t indulge in drive-texting.

But what worries the experts most of all, is that when it comes to drive-texting, it doesn’t really matter if the person involved in the accident was using a handheld phone, or one with a hands-free kit. The survey statistics didn’t really see a distinction, meaning that hands-free kits are not the answer everyone thinks they are.

The guilty party behind the drive-texting accidents is incidents of divided attention and mental distractions. Which puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the act of operating a phone which causes the distractions; it’s not a question of by what means the phone is used.

The drive-texting report, conducted by Prudential Insurance, says:
“When sending a text message, motorists travelling at 55mph could cover the length of an entire football pitch in the space of a few seconds. Combined with not looking at the road while texting, this is a lot more dangerous than making a phone call while behind the wheel.”

The Prudential Insurance is quick to remind people that those that get caught drive-texting will be liable, as a minimum, to a £60 fine and three points on their licence. Should the case be serious enough to go before a court, then this could rise to a fine £2,000 and a ban from driving.

When he was road safety minister under the previous Labour government, Paul Clark said of drive-texting:
“Tough penalties and hard-hitting campaigns have got the message through to the majority of drivers. But some are still needlessly risking their own lives and putting others in danger for the sake of a text or a call. Our message is simple: don’t use your mobile when driving.”

He may no longer be in power, but its likely the same sentiments about drive-texting will be expressed by the new Government.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Pressure on car insurance premiums is unrelenting and one top motoring organisation has recently weighed in with the idea that older motorists need an urgent review.

The costs of car insurance does decrease with age for most people, but this new report from the RAC does raise the worrying spectre of an increasing number of older motorists using the roads.

But far from being antagonistic to such courses, the 2010 RAC Report on Motoring discovered that some 85% of questioned motorists aged 70 or over were in support of refresher driving courses. What’s more, some 70% of all motorists said they were in favour of compulsory medical checks at the age of 70 and over.

The RAC point out that over the next 20 years, the number of older drivers is set to double, to over six million.

And the RAC has won the backing of one venerable driver, Sir Stirling Moss, OBE. When talking about driving at an older age, he said:
“As an 80 year old driver, I can clearly relate to the topic of elderly motorists and I support the idea of tests for the older generation. So many things have changed since we first started driving: road layouts have been altered and the density of traffic has risen enormously, especially in the cities.

“The statistics show that although as a group we are less likely to be involved in an accident, we are more likely to be the cause of an accident, whether we are caught up in it or not – a sign that our reaction times are not what they once used to be. We do not need to give this generation a full driving test again, however, perhaps just a simple competence test every three to five years from the age of 70, to make sure we are still capable.”

The report went on to show that around 80% of people over 70 have been driving for well over 30 years, whilst some 45% have clocked up 50 years of driving experience. But of those two groupings, virtually all of them (nearly 90%), have no assessment, or other driver training, since passing their original test.

And of the 85% who thought that some form of refresher driver training was a good idea, with the most popular supplements to what’s included in the standard driving test being:

• winter weather driving (53%);
• night driving (45%);
• how to park properly (44%);
• how to drive on motorways and dual-carriageways (43%);
• how to cope with junctions (40%);
• learning about the car itself (33%).

David Bizley of the RAC said:

“The Government must consider the impact on motoring of our ageing population as part of its wider strategy for dealing with the retirement of the baby boomers. Motorists of all ages clearly believe in the value of refresher courses to improve old skills and learn new ones.
“Reviewing this now will save considerable pain in the future and continue the journey towards safer roads for everyone.

“Older motorists have the challenge of personal mobility and independence and RAC would welcome Government initiatives to help them to continue to drive safely. We need to take an evidence-based approach as to what checks should happen and at what age. Older motorists are resistant to any compulsory checks understandably, but they are also much fitter and healthier now than ever before – 70 could well be the new 60 for motorists’ health.”

So this can only be good news for all those people out there worried about car insurance costs.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Insurance giant Aviva has congratulated the financial advisors who have played a key part in ensuring families have at least some form of protection, by getting them to sign-up to the company’s free life cover for new parents initiative.

The Aviva free life cover was first launched in July 2009 and has since then provided over £50 million in free cover to new parents, some 30% of which have come via financial advisors.

Aviva explained the facts behind their free life cover, highlighting the fact that every year in the UK, 700,000 babies are born and some 36,000 people die leaving financial dependents. What’s more, of the UK’s five million families, 56% of them do not have adequate protection.

The Aviva free life cover scheme provides £10,000 free life cover per parent, per child, for a period of one year, from birth to first birthday.

Head of Protection at Aviva, Louise Colley, said of their free life cover: “It’s fantastic that 29% of registrations for our free cover came through Financial Advisers. We know that this is proving to be a real foot in the door for advisers, and recognise the importance of this as a conversation starter. All new parents want to know that their children will be provided for should the worst happen, and registering for a years’ worth of free cover with Aviva makes it really simple for them.

“We really want to encourage advisers to use this as an opportunity to stimulate the market to reduce the protection gap, even if this does not long term result in a sale for Aviva. We all recognise the huge scale of the protection gap and hope new parents cover provides advisers with a new reason to have the conversation about protection and be able to approach the delicate subject of supporting customer’s families should the worst happen.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

There’s a new motor insurer in town and its unique selling point is that it charges its customers only by the number of miles they clock-up and the way they drive.

The new motor insurer is called insurethebox and it’s being launched via the web comparison site moneysupermarket.com.

And the new motor insurer insurethebox is targeting young, recently qualified drivers because it believes that the way it’s structured will incentivise good drivers.

What’s more, the new motor insurer believes it offers the cheapest premiums to around a fifth of the motorists in its targeted sectors. This equates to savings of around £200 a year for many young drivers. These figures were calculated after the team at insurethebox analysed tens of thousands of quotes on the web comparison site moneysupermarket.com.

The heart of the new motor insurer’s package is its technology which effectively acts as a ‘spy-in-the-car.’ Known as a ‘Clearbox’, it is a small device which is fitted by insurethebox at the company’s cost at a location of the motorist’s choice. The Clearbox monitors the location of the car and how it’s being driven on a real-time basis. This information is shared by insurethebox with the driver via the company’s website. They can then see how well they are driving when compared to their peer group.

The new motor insurer concept is built around a driver paying for a fixed number of miles. This is typically 6,000 miles and once this ceiling is reached, they can buy additional miles by credit card, or via their bank accounts. They are reminded that they have reached their allocation of miles by email messages.

Although if the driver is handling his, or her car, correctly, and is judged to be driving well, then a bonus of up to 100 free miles will be awarded.

Head of Car Insurance at moneysupermarket.com, Steve Sweeney, said: “The benefits of insurethebox are clear and I believe this insurer could really help keep motoring costs down and successfully promote safer driving.

“insurethebox is one of the most innovative car insurance propositions we have seen for a long time. The industry has been crying out for a new concept that really works and while ‘ClearBox’ technology certainly isn’t new, insurethebox is more sophisticated in its design, making it a more sustainable scheme.

“It caters for low-mileage drivers by only charging them for the miles they drive, which is a great way to keep costs down. Similarly, it will suit younger drivers who struggle to find competitive insurance quotes. For parents, who often pay for their children’s car insurance, insurethebox will also relieve their concerns as they will be able to keep an eye on where their children are driving and how safely too.”

The ClearBox has another key role as well, one which will be fully utilised by the new motor insurer. The box alerts the service centre when the vehicle has experienced a g-force greater than 2.5. As soon as they get the alert, the service centre contacts the driver and helps organise help if needed, including the call-out of emergency services.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Nearly half of all parents are illegally fronting car insurance policies for their children, even though they know it to be illegal.

Figures from The Co-Operative Insurance show that 41% of parents are illegally fronting car insurance on a regular basis.

Fronting car insurance is when a driver within a higher risk category – most often a younger driver – is added to a car insurance policy as an added driver, even though they might own the vehicle, or in fact be the main driver.

And as regards fronting car insurance, The Co-Operative Insurance goes onto reveal that 61% of parents who are currently ‘fronting’, would happily do so again in the future.

What’s more, 57% parents know that fronting car insurance is illegal.

But when parents know that fronting car insurance can save them nearly £200 in premiums, the incentive is there to continue.

And the research also found out that 33% of parents know roughly two others who are fronting car insurance policies, or have done so in the past.

The conclusion of the research questions whether parents taking such actions really understand the consequences of fronting car insurance policies. Should they be discovered, the claim might be refused, the policy cancelled, or even a prosecution for fraud might be brought by the insurance company.

Chief Operating Officer at The Co-operative Financial Services, Tim Franklin, said:
“The view that motor insurance fronting is harmless and doesn’t hurt anyone could not be further from the truth. Parents who believe they are helping their children to save money by fronting are not only risking prosecution, but harming their chances of obtaining insurance in the future.

“We recognise that the current economic situation may be acting as a catalyst for motor insurance fronting and we are continuing our work to ensure younger drivers have access to competitive and fairly priced motor insurance. Through our partnership with the Road Safety Charity, Brake, we continue to educate young drivers about the importance of responsible driving through our interactive 2Young2Die website and resource materials.

“There are equally a number of things which young drivers can do to help reduce their premiums such as researching the insurance banding of vehicles before buying and ensuring that immobilisers and alarms are fitted. The quicker younger drivers start earning no claims discount by being the main driver, the more affordable this makes insurance for them in the long-run.”

The message is clear, think before you consider fronting car insurance policies.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

A new study from Aviva Insurance has discovered that some 57% of general practitioner doctors are claiming that they have less time to see their patients than five years ago.

Worryingly, the Aviva Insurance study revealed that 50% of GPs said that this lack of time affected their ability to do their job and what’s worse, that 43% actually believed it affected their ability to diagnose.

Practising GP and chief medical officer at Aviva Insurance, Dr Hugh Laing, said:
“At Aviva we are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our customers and we recognise the important role that GPs have in delivering this. To enable us to do this it is vital that we understand the concerns which affect both consumers and the healthcare industry in general.

“Our research shows that GPs are over stretched and this can affect the quality of support they are able to offer their patients. Web based technology has revolutionised the way we all work and fast access to high quality information can be an invaluable support for patients and professionals, but ultimately there is no substitute for a thorough assessment by a qualified GP, and from our research this is clearly not happening in many cases. As such we urge the new coalition Government to support and work with GPs to ensure delivery of the right care for patients.

“Aviva Insurance believes that people should have the peace of mind that they can talk to a GP for as long as they need at any time of the day or night.”

The Aviva Insurance study went into some detail regarding the time GPs spend with their patients, saying that most are likely to spend up to 20 minutes with each patient, whereas in reality, only ten minutes is possible. And the GPs’ patients seem to be agreeing, with another Aviva Insurance research report discovering that nearly 65% of people thought that NHS appointments were always rushed and that feeling is spreading to the doctor’s surgeries.

Another interesting fact that the Aviva Insurance study brought to the surface was the fact that of the doctors questioned, the vast majority (around 96%) use the internet on a daily basis when working and that online resources were a valuable diagnostic tool.
 
Lets hope that the Aviva Insurance report doesn’t reveal at a later date that internet usage is not about diagnosis, but checking that day’s horse racing form.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The insurance industry took a £650 million hit in December last year as the coldest winter in 30 years took its toll on the British people.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that the industry had had to deal with around 335,000 claims in December 2009 alone, amounting to some £650 million being paid out.

Damages were spread across homes, businesses and vehicles as the prolonged bursts of snow and ice wreaked havoc on a country no longer used to such bouts of dismal conditions.

Most of the money went to insured motorists. They were awarded some £395 million as many claimed for accidents involving slippery conditions as the snow and ice made driving treacherous. The amount of claims numbered 268,400.

There were a lesser number of property damage claims – around 66,000 – but there was still a substantial £255 million paid out to homeowners and business customers. This was in fact double the number of claims that the insurers would usually see in December. Of the 66,000, most (a touch over 62,000) were claims that involved damage to houses and the cost of these repairs (many involving snow on roofs) were put at £194 million.

The ABI also highlighted the cost of the flooding in Cumbria which amounted to some £200 million.

Nick Starling, the Director of General Insurance and Health of the ABI, said:
“Insurers will always respond quickly to the large number of claims that often result from bad weather. From dealing with snow damaged roofs, burst pipes, to repairing or replacing vehicles damaged by treacherous driving conditions, insurers helped their customers get through the snow and the freezing temperatures. Insurers have paid out nearly £1 billion to customers following bad weather this winter, as the heavy snow came weeks after the flooding in Cumbria, which led to insurers paying out £200 million in flood claims.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Let’s be honest, at the moment, if you’re in the market for anything, especially products from the financial services and insurance sectors, then you’ve never had it so good.

Mainly because the power has returned to the consumer. Not only are there are a large number of companies out there trying to sell you goods and services, but never before has so much comparison between companies and their products taken place.

Companies can no longer hide. Their price, as well as a description of exactly what they offer, can instantly be compared with a load of other companies. What’s more, there are often comments on what other people thought of them.

This gives people a tremendous power; one that has not been exercised before. It’s as though the internet offers you a complete market in which you can browse from product to product, taking in almost everything on offer, then hear what others have to say and then, choosing the best for you.

What the internet has done, and more particularly comparison sites, is give you everything at your fingertips to make a very informed decision. You no longer have the excuse to make a mistake, to say that there wasn’t time to find the best deal. And it can almost be a fun task to find the product that suits you, at a price that suits you, then show you what you are saving. How cool is that?

And the key with comparison sites is to build your profile properly. The more accurately you describe yourself and what you need in the way of insurance, the better the comparison site will be able to provide you with the best deal. But one word of caution, don’t always just plumb for the lowest. Okay, that’s what you’re after, to pay the least amount given your personal circumstances, but bear in mind that the companies offering their products are not daft.

Let’s take car insurance for example. There are hundreds of companies that offer car insurance and they know full well that people will be comparing their prices alongside most of the competition. So you can quickly work out which companies are keen on particular sectors within the car insurance market. For example, some car insurance companies work hard at attracting the older driver and will therefore be very competitive at certain age brackets. They will then almost bid themselves out of the twenty something market by quoting uncompetitively high prices. You can soon spot the trends.

What’s more, you might get a quote ten pounds cheaper, but fail to realise that the higher quote might contain a few more incentives, such as free breakdown cover, a replacement car, or some other deal which could actually save you a lot more money than the ten pounds you might save on the original quote.

With car insurance comparison tools, it’s best to be canny.

A good car insurance comparison site needs to allow you to compare car insurance across a number of areas, including for example online car insurance, budget car insurance, new car insurance and young driver car insurance.

It has to be simple and quick, with a registration process and a questionnaire about your personal profile that insurers need to build their quotes (including age, address, car type, and business/social use).

It should be able to quote from at least 50 separate insurers and not only give you a price, but show you how much you can save on your current quote.

In short, a good car insurance comparison site is not only good fun to use, but can save you a lot of money in the bargain for a policy that closely matches your particular needs.

Guest Article by Neil Camp