P Jenkins Insurance News

Old Age Pension

peter@pjenkins-insurance.co.uk (Peter Jenkins) — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:23:28 GMT

Have We Been Conned?

The UK government recently increased the age for claiming old age pension. This was on the basis of people living longer and, perhaps at face value, not unreasonable. But was it a trick to save the government money?

Figures published recently have shown life expectancy has actually started to decline. The increase in life expectancy was probably a 'blip' from the war generation and the immediate generation thereafter. People ate less, not by choice, but due to rationing. Walking was common and there was a complete absence of computer and video games. Children played out and exercised naturally. The Clean Air Act was passed.

Today the situation is very different. Food has been plentiful for decades and computers and video games have been around since the mid 1980s. Vehicles pollute our towns and cities. No 'great smog' of yesteryear but the pollution is there, invisible.

Customer Review

peter@pjenkins-insurance.co.uk (Peter Jenkins) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 15:58:10 GMT

Taking The Hassle Away From Insurance Claims

Hi Peter,

Just a quick thank you for all your help with our Tiguan Windscreen and I would like you to use the testimonial below to advertise to your future clients.

When Christina called me about her smashed windscreen which happened on the motorway. She was pretty shaken by it. As well as that she had just turned up to a family event which was out of town. Having you to ring made it possible to deal with the emergency at hand quick and easily. You told me exactly what to do, who to contact and had put contingencies in place for in case of this event. Meaning Christina was put at ease right away meaning she could enjoy her day as well.

Even though I could have maybe found insurance slightly cheaper on a comparison site I would have had to deal with any issues myself and it would have caused incredible stress. I’m so glad I didn’t, and definitely will use you to take care of all my insurance matters in the future.

Thank you again.

Kind regards,

It's Enough To Make You Sick

peter@pjenkins-insurance.co.uk (Peter Jenkins) — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 16:04:18 GMT

Massive Rise in Fraudulent Travel Claims

A "dramatic rise" in fraudulent insurance travel sickness claims, particularly in Spain, is costing British insurers hundreds of millions of pounds, it has emerged. "Persuasive" claims management firms may be to blame and it has been reported employees of some claims management firms are being paid to go on holiday and encourage people to claim.

The vast majority of claims are gastric illnesses which are blamed on the hotel for negligence in preparing their food.

Most citizens in the UK would not think of committing insurance fraud, but evidence is growing that lawyers and claims management companies are preying on holiday-makers in Spain.

Stories are emerging of some Spanish hotels refusing to accept British customers, although these stories cannot be substantiated at the time of writing. Spanish hotel staff are receiving training in evidence gathering and protection and record keeping. Completing a long form at the end of the holiday confirming you have not been ill may also be required.

The Association of British Insurers has confirmed people discovered committing insurance fraud will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, with jail a possibility. GOOD. Now I can get on and enjoy my holiday.

UPDATE: October 2017. A couple have been jailed for making false food poisoning claims for holidays taken in Majorca in 2015 and 2016. The couple admitted four counts of fraud and were sentenced to nine and fifteen months respectively. Their social media posts boasted of 'sun, laughter and fun'. The prosecution was brought by Thomas Cook.

It's a car Jim, but not as we know it

peter@pjenkins-insurance.co.uk (Peter Jenkins) — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 14:49:43 GMT

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Over the coming decades cars, as we know them, will evolve into semi-automated vehicles. We are already seeing advances in this area that offer safety and convenience such as stop/go traffic, intelligent cruise control and self-parking. In the longer term, carmakers and technology companies see the potential to replace human drivers with fully autonomous vehicles.

Who is responsible for an accident may well become what was responsible for the accident. Accidents are likely to involve a mix of human error and failure of a product or piece of software.

Motor insurance is likely to undergo a transformation over the coming years with some predicting a large reduction in accidents resulting in much lower insurance premiums. We shall wait and see.

My computer has crashed will take on an entirely different meaning.

The Insureminator

peter@pjenkins-insurance.co.uk (Peter Jenkins) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:44:17 GMT

Arnie Arrives in the Insurance World

Rumours are circulating a Far East life insurer is about to replace 34 staff with artificial intelligence machines. The machines will be able to calculate payouts and have access to medical records and data to correctly calculate payments.

Other insurance companies are also looking into replacing staff with artificial intelligence machines.

We wonder whether callers put on hold will be told "I'll Be Back".

Noah, build me an ark

anton@hiltonwebdesign.com (Anton Hilton) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 18:14:05 GMT

Must know about flood insurance

Many people must be concerned about the recent flooding and the availability of flood insurance in the future. Having flood cover is normally a requirement of any mortgage lender, so being unable to obtain insurance cover will affect the value of the property.

What is Flood Re?

Flood Re is due to become operational in April, 2016. It is a non-profit reinsurance fund, owned and managed by the insurance industry, and established to ensure those domestic properties in the UK at the highest risk of flooding can receive affordable cover and manageable excess for the flood element of their household property insurance.

It is estimated that around 350,000.00 properties will placed with Flood Re, representing the 1-2% of properties at the highest risk of flooding in the UK. The premium will be based on the council taxing banding of the property.

How is Flood Re funded?

In two ways. First, the flood element of the premium will be passed to Flood Re in respect of those properties placed in the fund. Second, a general levy on the insurance industry. The general levy will be payable on all domestic home insurance policies by the policyholder.

How to claim

Policyholders will claim from their insurance company in the normal way and Flood Re will reimburse the insurer behind the scenes.

More affordable premiums?

Flood Re should make obtaining insurance for domestic properties affected by flooding more affordable. This is due to insurance companies being able to pass the flooding risk to Flood Re and policyholders being able to shop around in a more competitive market that may previously have been closed to them.

Businesses are not included in Flood Re. At the time of writing, discussions are taking place as to whether small to medium sized businesses can be included.

Flood Re is only a part solution. Better flood defences and land management are critical factors. Discussions are also taking place regarding making properties more flood resilient, perhaps by using different building materials.

Peter Jenkins

It’s to your credit.....or is it?

anton@hiltonwebdesign.com (Anton Hilton) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 18:09:24 GMT

Beware of credit card payments

What is a credit card payment? It is not, as some may think, a guarantee of payment.

A credit card payment only confirms the card is not reported as lost or stolen and there are sufficient funds available at the time the transaction is made.

Customer Not Present.

A number of credit card companies offer verification checks when payment is made over the Internet. Retailers selling on line do, therefore, have some protection when selling on line. But what about over the telephone?

A retailer taking payment over the telephone is at risk of a charge back if the credit card is used fraudulently. It can take anything up to five weeks for the charge back to appear and the retailer’s goods will have long disappeared along with the person making the transaction. A retailer can be left seriously out of pocket with little hope of recovering their goods or money.

‘Bill to’. ‘Ship to’.

Retailers need to exercise great caution if the billing address is different from the shipping address. Whist many of these transactions are perfectly legitimate, it is a high risk category for fraud.

What can a retailer do to protect themselves?

Call the card issuing merchant and request they make a courtesy call to their customer to authorise payment.
Ask for a contact telephone number for both addresses.
A large number of fraudulent transactions involve the fraudster having the card numbers and not the actual card itself. Ask for a scanned e-mail of both sides of the card for verification.

If in doubt, refuse the sale. It is better to lose the sale than give your goods away for free.

Peter Jenkins

Self-drive cars by 2020?

anton@hiltonwebdesign.com (Anton Hilton) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:45:56 GMT

SELF-DRIVE: SCIENCE FICTION TO BECOME SCIENCE FACT

The technology giant Google has revealed automated vehicles could be on the road by 2020.

Is a crash-free era on the horizon? Not so according to a recent report from Lloyd’s Underwriters. “While severe accidents are caused by human error, it is rare that drivers do something blatantly in contravention of road safety, such as driving the wrong way down a motorway,” the report said.

“A computer miscalculation or a faulty reading from a sensor could lead a car to do something that a human driver would instinctively realise is inappropriate.”

Who’s to blame?

The question of who is liable after an automated crash is complicated. It could involve the people in the vehicle, the car manufacturers, the providers of the automation technology and any companies involved in transmitting data. In the UK, the human inside the automated vehicle is likely to be liable for the actions of that vehicle.

Cyber Attacks

A cyber attack is another area to consider. Could automated vehicles become a potential lethal weapon? The FBI certainly thinks so. At least there is time to prepare. 2020 is seen as an optimistic estimate. Automated vehicles are at least 15-20 years away.

1.21 GIGGAWATTS!!!

43% of small businesses are underinsured

anton@hiltonwebdesign.com (Anton Hilton) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:45:56 GMT

RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS? ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE ADEQUATE INSURANCE?

A recent study has revealed 43% of small businesses do not have adequate storm cover.

With another wet winter predicted, it is important small businesses review their existing insurance arrangements and there is no better way of doing this than contacting an insurance broker.

WHAT IS “UNDERINSURANCE”?

Example of how underinsurance can affect an insurance claim:

£100,000.00 is the rebuild cost of the property. The property is only insured for £50,000.00 (50%). A claim happens valued at £10,000.00. How much will you receive?

£10,000.00 because this is still within what the property is insured for
Nothing
£5,000.00

The answers is: C. Because the property is only insured for 50% of its value, the insurance company will only pay 50% of the claim. The insurance jargon for this is the “application of average”.

In extreme cases, underinsurance may void the policy and leave you with nothing.

Extremely high levels of underinsurance exist in the small business sector, with underinsurance for business interruption being the most prevalent. Business interruption is fundamental to the protection of a small business and is often overlooked or not properly understood when buying on line.

THE ANSWER

Contact P Jenkins and Co for a free and independent review of your small business insurance requirements. You might even save some money!