If you are the mortgage owner, also sometimes referred to as the freeholder since you now own the land and building, it is your job to make sure that you have proper building insurance built into your loan.

Choosing the correct type of building insurance for your home can be difficult since the market is so wide and there will be many insurance providers fighting for your contract.  However, there are also policy experts out there on the market that can help guide you through the process of designing the right home insurance cover for your mortgage.

Policy expert knows the industry inside and out and can match you to a company that can provide you with the coverage that you need at a price that you can afford.  Given the fact that the insurance market is currently very competitive, you will find that you have many options when it comes to home insurance.

It is important to understand however that purchasing building insurance is usually not a choice, because your property is the manner in which the lender secures their loan.  With this in mind, they will require that you protect the property so that their loan is guaranteed even in the case of disaster.  Building insurance or property insurance depending on how your lender refers to the popular home insurance cover, usually covers your home from damage it may suffer from heavy storms, fire, or subsidence.

Many times the lender that you secure your loan with will offer to match you up with a building insurance agent or sell you their own; however in most cases you can secure a better price on building insurance if you purchase it elsewhere.

This is where having policy expert to help you search for your own budget friendly policy can come in handy.  Keep in mind though that since your lender likely has a close relationship with the mortgage lender insurance provider they suggest, in the case of a tragedy they may be more amicable to work with if you need to fill out a claim.

In addition, if you plan to lease out your property at any time you need to keep in mind that this will affect the premium of your home insurance.  Depending on the contract that you sign and the terms of the agreement if you temporarily hire out your home your contract may become void putting you in breach of contract with your lender and with your insurance provider.  Thus, if this is something that may come into play in the future it is wise to inform your policy expert from the start.

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PROMOTIONAL offers in the credit card market are on the rise, but so too are interest rates, according to new research by Moneysupermarket.com

Consumers are benefiting from renewed competition in the marketplace, as the lengths of interest-free periods offered by providers hit record highs.

The downside for consumers, however, is that rates are also continuing to rise – with the average being 17.32 per cent.

The average interest-free period across the top best buy credit cards for balance transfers hit a high of 15.4 months, nearly three months longer than in 2007.

For consumers looking to use a card for purchases, the average period for zero per cent purchase credit cards has now risen to an average of 12.2 months.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at Moneysupermarket.com said: “An interest-free balance transfer card or purchase card can be a great option for consumers with existing debt who need flexibility, or for those who have a big purchase coming up and need some extra time to pay it off.”

He says that the research show there is a renewed competition in the market, with providers looking to offer the best deal.

It’s not all good news for consumers though, as Kevin explains: “There is a sting in the tail. While interest free periods may be getting longer, the rates of interest being charged once they end are also increasing.

“The average annual percentage rate hit 17.32 per cent in July, up from 17.9 per cent in May.”

He added: “This makes it even more important to ensure you pay your balance off before the interest-free period ends.”

Things to look for

If you are looking to get a credit card, don’t be blinded by the promotional offers. Here are some things to look out for:

Low, fixed rate. A low, fixed rate will mean you are guaranteed a specific interest payment each month, and – depending on what you use the card for, you will be able to work out what the charges will be. Often, however, you will pay an annual fee for the privilege.

Introductory offers. Some cards carry attractive introductory rates that can quickly increase during the first six months. These cards might be best for consumers who need a credit card for an expensive one-off purchase that they are sure they will be able to pay off fairly soon.

This article was written by Mark Hooson, who writes for the financial team at Moneysupermarket.com about consumer news and issues.

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Over 37% of those travelling are worried that their cards may not be secure overseas according to a survey, with about seven out of ten travellers planning to travel with wallets full of cash in order to avoid falling victim to fraudsters.

Tens of thousands of Britons are expected to soon head to South Africa during the World Cup which will begin on June 11^th.

The YouGov poll was commissioned by ACI Worldwide the electronic payment company, spokesman for the organisation David Divitt warned that large amounts of banknotes can bring trouble to those who carry them.

Divitt added that there are large risks involved in carrying around large sums of cash, and due to the fact that two thirds of customers using their cards usually do so is especially concerning.  He said that they advise people to use their cards sensibly.

Other results from the survey also showed that most people are concerned about lost luggage and flight delays.  Other high ranking concerns include getting arrested and food poisoning.

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners representative Jim Oakes stated that fake card scams were one of the largest types of fraud that affected South Africa during 2009.

Oakes also said that there is still a large amount of people who do not take the proper precautions to protect themselves.

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Insurance fraud has soared to an estimated £1.9billion a year in the UK, causing a knock-on effect in the form of rises in insurance premiums. This year alone the average car insurance premium jumped to above £1,000 for the first time in Great Britain, which is a 19% increase on what the average motorist was paying a year ago to insure their cars. The rise in premiums is costing the average household £44 a year in higher premiums.

Latest research suggests that it is the genuine insurance customers that are suffering from the sharply rising premiums because of the quantity of fraudulent claims being made. Part of the problem has been an accusation of the increasing amount of personal injury lawyers that could be encouraging claimants to exaggerate or lie about the extent of their injuries.

A survey carried out among lawyers has indicated that 57% had noticed an increase in the number of exaggerated claims or invented injuries from claimants in a bid to make money from their insurance companies in the past 10 years.

Law firms specialising in the investigation and handling of suspected fraudulent personal injury claims have commented that the research supports the experience within their fraud units. They worry that some types of insurance fraud are now reaching epidemic proportions. They believe it to be an ‘indirect tax on the public, levied by dishonest people’ which is unacceptable and needs to be addressed.

AA research has highlighted that despite Britain having a lower accident rate than most of Europe, it had the highest rate of people making personal injury claims. Whiplash injuries in particular are being exaggerated in order to receive as much money as possible from the insurance company. The AA has calculated that £66 of every customer’s annual premium is made up of funding personal injury claims.

Action is underway to prevent fraudsters and protect genuine insurance claims. Nick Starling, the Association of British Insurers director of general insurance and health, said: “There is no hiding place for insurance cheats. Honest customers should not have to pay for the fraudsters. Closer scrutiny of proposal forms and claims, as well the exchange of information through industry-wide databases, is tightening the net on the cheats.”

However, further research carried out by the ABI revealed that 16% of people would not rule out making an exaggerated insurance claim.
“The rise in fraudulent claims in the UK is shocking” commented Paul Breen of specialist injury solicitors Serious Law. ”Honesty is the only policy when making a claim. Lying will only put your cover in jeopardy, and affects the people out there who genuinely need to make a claim, particularly those who have received serious injuries. They rely on their claims going through quickly and effectively. Fraudulent claims only serve to delay the process by clogging up the courts. It is a situation that we need to get to grips with as quickly as possible if genuine victims are to get the treatment and the compensation they really deserve,” he concludes.

Source: Serious Law,  http://www.seriousinjurylaw.co.uk

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Halifax and Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB apparently offered the poorest customer service despite the massive £21 billion that they received in a handout from the banking public, who currently lay claim to over 40% of these banks shares.

All of these banks are part of the Lloyds banking group which all yesterday announced that it had returned to profit. It is not unreasonable to assume that at least part of this profit came from failing to provide the public with the service they deserve.

The country’s largest bank is managed to cut its bad debts and is looking forward to a good year end profit. The worst offender named by consumer magazine Which? for its poor customer service was the other government funded bank, Northern Rock, the only difference between this bank and the other four bad performers is the fact that it is 100% owned by public funds.

Coinciding with this condemnation of poor quality banking facilities is action from the FSA, Financial Services Authority who assert that they are about to make decisive moves against the banks in relation to what they call “unacceptable standards” in their dealings with public complaints.

According to the FSA the award for the one of the worst offenders in terms of customer satisfaction is the Bank of Scotland which managed to score a massive 41% in customer disappointment. For this score is incredibly overshadow by First Direct who manage to satisfy a mere 9% of their clients leaving an incredible 91% unhappy with the service they receive from the bank.

All the banks combined could only manage a meagre 61% in the customer satisfaction figures.

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Last year the Government threatened credit companies with regulation after it discovered that many store and credit card issuers were using minimum repayments from customers in order to pay low interest debts before high interest loans in order stack up more debt for customers.

In response, the industry and Government have decided to establish five new ‘rights’ that all card borrowers are allowed to exercise.

According to the new rules, lenders cannot raise the interest charges on customers with existing loans until the consumers have had an allotted amount of time to reject them.  Along the same line, customers are also now allowed to refuse credit limits if they like.

Another right includes the agreement that issuers will use all repayments month to month to pay off the highest debts first and for customers that open new accounts the first minimum payment will be placed towards fees and charges, interest, and one percent of the principal balance.

Card companies now will also agree to work with consumer groups in order to offer customers an annual statement that will let them compare the charges between different lenders.

The new rules will be in place by the end of 2010 on a voluntary basis but if credit companies do not start working under the new guidelines the Government has pledged to put enforce the codes with formal regulation.

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Lean economic times tend to make financial institutions unwilling to pay settlements in a dispute, and this refusal just makes for more complaints from consumers.  The FOS can demand reimbursement from lenders for loss of funds or poor service, and while finance companies are less likely to be open-handed, consumers are more likely to have a grievance; thus the increased business for FOS.

While in general a little over half of the complaints are arbitrated in favour of the consumer, some companies seem to lose just about every case.  Ocean Finance is a well-known company that was found liable in every complaint brought to FOS in the last fiscal period.  In the case of Welcome Financial Services, 92% of complaints were found in favour of the consumer.  Both companies declined to comment.

MBNA was found liable in 85% of registered complaints; Loans.co.uk, a subsidiary, is no longer trading.  MBNA’s spokesman said, basically, that their level of complaints is no worse than their competitors’ and that the percentage of complaints is very small compared to number of customers.

In the big bank category, Barclays had the worst showing at about 65% of complaints resolved for the consumer, but according to a spokesman they are working with FOS to identify the causes and reduce the number of dissatisfied customers.

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Consumer group Which? has now joined the experts in demanding an investigation into the supposed flaw to protect millions of consumers from facing fraud and identity theft.

Senior researcher at Which? Money, Cathy Neal, stated that they want banks to study these flaws because there are enough examples in which a bank claims that a pin number was used to complete a purchase but the customer has claimed that they did not use it.

Neal continued to say that banks say that if the chip and pin system is used then a customer must have used their pin, but according to the Cambridge experts this is not always the case.  She stated that this shows that the system may not be flawed completely, but at some level it is not foolproof.

In a recent survey completed by Which? about 13% of people have had money taken from a credit card and another 14% stated that money has been taken straight from their bank account.

Out of those people, about half did not get reimbursed from the bank although they were insistent that the withdrawal was disputed.

Computer expert Professor Ross Anderson claimed that there is a way to get around security systems that use chip and pin in order to use a card, which makes the system no longer trustworthy on the whole.

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The new Flexi Cash ISA requires a minimum deposit of £100 to be made, either paid in one lump sum or £25 by monthly direct debit, up to the Cash ISA allowance of £3,600 or £5,100 per tax year. Transfers from other ISA providers are also allowed under the Flexi Cash ISA.

Flexi Cash ISA is one of the options customers can use within the M&S Cash ISA account to divide their taxfree savings allowance between variable and fixed rates. From April 2010, the new limit for Cash ISA savings will be £5,100 per tax year for everyone aged 16 and over. This new limit will already exist for those aged 50 and over from early April 2010.

As an example, with the M&S Cash ISA, a customer would be able to save £2,550 in the variable Flexi Cash ISA option, and the remaining £2,550 in one of the fixed rate savings options available.

Colin Kersley, Chief Executive of M&S Money, commented: “Our research shows that more people than last year are looking for a savings provider they can trust. At M&S Money we have been providing a safe home for customers’ savings for many years, and the company itself is 25 years old this year.

“We are also part of HSBC, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations, and are continuing to develop our savings range. Cash savings are protected under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the first £50,000 of our customers’ savings are 100% guaranteed.”

M&S Money (the trading name of Marks & Spencer Financial Services) was founded in 1985 as the financial services division of Marks and Spencer Group plc, making 2010 the company’s 25th anniversary.  In November 2004, Marks & Spencer sold M&S Money to HSBC. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London.

Website: money.marksandspencer.com

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