UK Insurance News

One of the UK’s leading motor insurers are to set up an Anti Fraud Team that plans to reduce premiums being paid by honest customers by weeding out customers who are likely to make fraudulent claims.

Hastings Direct and sister brands, Renew, Insure and Likewise are investing in state of the art technology that will help them to seek out and reject the customers who are likely to make a fraudulent claims at point of sale.

Fraudulent claims are said to cost the motor insurance industry £1.9 billion each year and cost the innocent motorist an extra £100 per year on their insurance premium.

A pilot scheme that was set up a couple of months ago by the group, revealed that 15% of potential clients had given incorrect driving licence details, such as using old licences to get around speeding convictions and the like.

Chief executive of Hastings Direct,  Edward Fitzmaurice, says:

“We feel strongly about the fact that honest drivers, who have built up their no-claims bonuses, should not be forced to ‘bail out’ those who are intent on trying to defraud the system.”

The recession is being blamed for an alarming increase in the number of arson attacks in the UK, causing a record level of insurance payouts for fire damage during the first half of this year.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) say that £639 million was paid out over the course of the first six months of 2009, a staggering £3.6 million each day for damage caused by fires.

The plague continues to grow and looks set to exceed the twelve month record set in 2008 when insurers recorded £1.3 billion losses to fire damage in the UK.

The ABI claim in their report ‘Tackling Fire: A Call For Action’ that arson accounts for over half of all commercial fires and tends to increase in times of recession. They say that socially deprived areas and schools are particularly vulnerable, with twenty schools a week currently suffering from some form of arson attack.

The report suggests that while the number of fires reported are falling the increase in large scale fires is increasingly putting lives at risk as well as the incredible financial burden on owners and insurance companies in these difficult times.

Letting insurance specialist HomeLet have launched a brand new product aimed specifically at the UK letting industry, called Landlord’s Insurance +.

The new product developed by HomeLet is launched this month and includes buildings and contents insurance and offers an unparalleled level of cover including Emergency Assistance and up to £500,000 of buildings cover as standard.

Key areas of cover include loss of rent or re-letting costs following a claim, enabling the landlord to recover rent for up to two years (up to £50,000) if something serious happens and the tenant is forced to move out.

HomeLet Managing Director John Boyle said;

“Landlords, particularly in today’s economy when unemployment and crime are both on the increase, are exposed to more risks than ever before. There’s a real need for a specialist insurance policy that covers landlords against the potential risk that they face. HomeLet’s Landlord’s Insurance+ is our most comprehensive and competitively priced landlord’s product to date.

It’s unlike anything else currently available on the market. One of the many benefits for example is automatic cover for kitchen fixtures and fittings and bathroom sanitaryware in leasehold properties within the contents section of cover.

When it comes to taking risk out of property rental, HomeLet is the specialist. We’ve been in the industry since the birth of buy-to-let, which means we have more experience than anyone else. We’ve used our specialist knowledge of the residential lettings industry to develop some of the most comprehensive and cost-effective products on the market today which is why we’re number one.”

According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, British Gas has ambitious plans to enter into the UK insurance market and become a leading player within a two to three year time scale.

British Gas, which is owned by Centrica, has won approval from the Financial Services Authority to underwrite its own household and warranty products and the company is currently looking to recruit an underwriting director to operate from their offices in Staines.

The utilities company has a customer base of 4.5 million and the new charge will be responsible for converting a ‘high percentage’ of existing British Gas clients to new insurance products.

The new director will also be commissioned by British Gas Insurance Ltd, to create a top ten UK insurance provider within the two to three year time span.

Home Insurance specialist LV= say that the UK public will spend an estimated £132 million online this year, buying ‘black market’ goods for Christmas, through auction sites and bargain hunting.

Their research says that 35% of the public will turn to online auction sites and market places to hunt for bargain Christmas gifts and 40% will be happy to turn a blind eye to potentially stolen goods if the price is right.

Experts warn online shoppers to check out the background of independent sellers online, with one in twelve shoppers previously falling victim to criminals selling stolen or fake goods.

LV= also warn shoppers to be on their guard, saying that anything stolen or counterfeit will not be covered by a home insurance policy so shoppers buying these goods could find themselves or their family out of pocket. Furthermore, buying from these sellers encourages further criminal activity such as burglary and theft.

LV= offers the following advice to avoid ‘black market’ goods:

• Carefully check the description and photographs of the item online and compare with other examples for sale.
• Check if the price is similar to other sellers, and if it is much lower be suspicious.
• When buying a designer item, such as a watch or bag, check that you are getting all the extras such as the box and certificate of authenticity.
• If you are buying a designer watch, check that the number engraved on the watch itself matches the number on the certificate of authenticity.
• If buying expensive items, avoid private sellers and buy from registered UK businesses. These are by law required to provide an address and phone number.
• When dealing with private sellers, ask for a name and check they have working contact details before you part with any money and always check their online ‘feedback’.
• Avoid any seller who asks for payment only by cash or by moneygram type services.
• Check if there’s a refund and returns policy – all legitimate UK businesses have to offer refunds and returns.
• If you’re dealing with an independent private seller, ask about their refund policy and get this in writing so you are less vulnerable in the event of the item being damaged, stolen or counterfeit.
• Use online reviews and reputation sites to check out sellers.
• Pay by credit card or take advantage of protection schemes provided by online payment suppliers. You will then be protected if the goods do not arrive or turn out to be fakes.
• One of the biggest risks of ending up with stolen or counterfeit goods is when purchasing from abroad. Be particularly cautious when buying from China, Nigeria and Romania.