UK Insurance News

Ecclesiastical, the niche insurer of churches and specialist buildings such as schools in the UK, have reported that in the first five months of 2010 they have received 722 claims for metal theft, costing the insurer £1.6million in pay outs.

This has led the insurer to predict that 2010 will be the second worst on record for Ecclesiastical who saw an increase of metal theft in 2008 when a record 1,382 claims were made in the same five month period of that year.

That spate of theft blamed primarily on the financial crisis at the time, cost the company £4.2million and led to warnings that premiums would increase unless increased security in insured buildings could be proven.

Whether that advice was heeded by Ecclesiastical’s clients is not clear, but once again as the crime increases the same message applies.

The worrying statistics are say Ecclesiastical linked to the scrap value prevailing at the time of theft, the higher the current value for scrap, the more robberies take place.

It is not just the traditional theft of lead from Church roofs that is involved with 20% of claims now involving schools and heritage properties.

For us mere armchair spectators sat at home watching the World Cup from South Africa, it is difficult to even think about the consequences of the what might happen if the World Cup had to be cancelled.

From TV screens going blank during the game, to volcanic ash disrupting travel, terrorist attacks and freak weather conditions, the risk profession plays a key role when it comes to big tournaments, even though they have provided over £6 billion worth of coverage for the month-long event.

Munich Re estimates the broadcasting rights earned FIFA 2.2 billion Euros for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. If the event is cancelled, FIFA faces substantial claims by companies who have licensed the media coverage.

Swiss Re Group estimate the cancellation of the event is one of the biggest risks insured, and the Olympics and the World Cup are two of the largest events insured for event cancellation coverage. FIFA alone has purchased $650 million in insurance for total cancellation of the World Cup 2010.

Other risks associated with the World Cup are household damage, increased thefts, player injury and even trauma suffered by fans whose teams have underperformed in the games. Surely something that England fans will not have to endure!

This interesting video gives some background to the huge risks and financial costs that must be considered when taking on the responsibility of staging a global event such as the World Cup 2010.

Research from Insurance provider LV= has come up with the startling statistic that a third of all mugging victims in the UK fall into the age group of 11 to 16 year olds.

This group are easy prey for thieves says the study, because 92% of the victims carry a mobile phone while out with friends, 74% carry cash and 42% carry an iPod around with them.

The clothes and gadgets carried by the average young teen on Britain’s streets are worth £246 says the report, singling them out as targets for thieves, while 21% of 5-8 year olds carry a mobile phone and 17% carry cash when they’re out and about with friends.

While parents are anxious to keep their offspring safe by allowing them to carry a mobile phone, they may inadevertently be responsible for increasing the risk of theft and mugging.

Furthermore, by focusing their concerns on outside threats such as stranger danger, parents could be blinkered with regard to their children’s safety knowledge in and around the home.

The LV= Streetwise research shows that 38% of 5-15 year olds would not know how to leave the house safely in the event of a fire, and 15% don’t feel they are able to cross the road safely.

Mike Rogers, LV= group chief executive, said:

“Helping to steer your children safely through the world around them is one of the biggest challenges for parents today. While most parents will warn their children to be careful when carrying around cash and expensive gadgets, they may not pay the same attention to the safety risks in and around the home.
Our purpose as an insurer is to protect people’s lives and possessions, so naturally we also feel strongly about helping to educate families about safety and risk prevention. As a founder member of the LV= Streetwise charity we have a long-term commitment to child safety, and the message is going nationwide this summer as our safety bus roadshow visits summer fairs across the UK, to educate youngsters about safety.”

The LV=Streetwise Safety Bus Roadshow is currently touring the UK helping to educate children about safety in the home, on the streets and at railway crossings.

Along with the launch of their ‘We Deliver Service’ car hire launch, Europcar have revealed recent research that suggests that parked cars clogging up residential streets in UK cities could be costing motorists a combined £65 billion each year.

The research says that car ownership for the time-poor city dwellers costs them £3.50 for every mile they cover – excluding fuel.

On average a city car owner only spends 4 hours, 40 minutes at the wheel each week – meaning that their car remains parked for 97% of the time.

With the depreciation of their car, and the cumulative with costs for maintenance, insurance, fines and parking totalling £5,328.96 a year, it’s no wonder that nearly half (48%) would sell their car if there was a convenient alternative to ownership.

As UK cities have become less vehicle friendly over recent years, an incredible two thirds of car owners opt to travel by public transport, cycle or walk short distances rather than face congestion charges and parking stress.

The survey also reveals that owning a car is a stressful business, with over half saying that expense is the biggest stress of all, and 44%  revealing that their vehicle has been damaged or vandalised while parked on the road for any length of time.

With the launch of Europcar’s ‘WeDeliver Service’, the car hire business aims to be the perfect stress busting solution for the city dweller. The new service includes free delivery within 15 miles of an address and offers a rather speedy one hour delivery window even in Britain’s busiest city, London. To make things even easier customers can now have their car delivered to a home, business or even hotel address making car rental queues a thing of the past.

While most of us are at times guilty of purchasing the cheapest travel insurance that we can find, recent problems affecting travellers may have changed the way we think.

The Icelandic volcanic ash and the consequences of strike action by British Airways staff can make for a very unpleasant experience, even more so if travelling with inadequate travel insurance cover.

Below are ten things that you should consider when buying travel insurance:

1.       No cover for pre-existing medical conditions – Some cheaper policies provide no cover if the individual (or anyone who has an effect on their travel plans) has a pre-existing medical condition which results in a claim, for example, cancellation or medical expenses due to a recurrence of a heart condition.

2. Policies with very specific exclusions – Some insurers, in an attempt to get premiums to the absolute lowest level, use a strategy of harsh exclusions which inevitably trap people at the claims stage.  Examples include very strict interpretation of unattended personal effects, valuables and money as well as a requirement to get a written police report, even though these are often difficult to get in many countries.

3. Selling policies with low levels of cover – Budget covers often have very low limits for elements such as baggage, money and delay – indeed some do not even cover these sections.

4. Selling policies with very high excesses – The higher the policy excess the lower the premium can be. This is not always obvious with travel insurance until a medical claim is made and the customer finds most, if not all, of their claim falls within the excess. There are now policies on the market with medical excesses as high as £400.

5. Confusing exclusions – For example, an exclusion which applies to a “set of circumstances that could be reasonably expected to give rise to a claim”. In this instance, ‘reasonable’ is vaguely defined and open to interpretation from the insurance company who ultimately process the claim.

6. Deductions for wear and tear on baggage claims – Household insurance typically provides ‘new for old’ cover. Many travel insurance policies do not, which means the claim will be reduced depending on the age of the lost, stolen or damaged item.

7. Excesses per person per section rather than per event – This means that an event such as a mugging could result in a large number of different excesses being deducted.  For example: medical costs of £450 with a £75 medical excess, damage to clothing and loss of personal effects amounting to £250 with a £50 excess, loss of money equivalent to £120 with a £50 excess, resulting in total excesses for the claim of £175 rather than £75 on an ‘event’ basis.

8. Missed connections – If an individual is delayed getting to the airport and as a consequence misses their connection, many policies will not cover the additional costs that result, such as additional ticket costs or even an unplanned overnight stay.

9. Breaking down on the way to the airport – It is often assumed that travel insurance provides cover for additional costs if the policy holder misses their flight due to their car breaking down on the way to the airport. However, some cheaper policies will only cover the breakdown of ‘public transport’, and not private vehicles.

10.   Close relatives –The definition of ‘close’ is fairly ill-defined, so while you may think that all of your relatives are ‘close,’ if you study the definitions you may find that many policies limit these. So your favourite uncle becoming ill just before you go on holiday may result in a declined claim for cancellation.

For your own peace of mind, don’t be one of the many travellers who find themselves having to sleep on the floor of a foreign airport overnight because they did not pay for the best cover. All good travel insurance companies will offer comprehensive cover, including travel insurance specialists P J Hayman who provided this check list.