Latest Insurance News

Name and Shame Rogue Insurers Who Fail to Pay Up ; Watchdog Forces Companies to Fork Out 400,000 for Refusing Valid

By SANDRA MURPHY THE FINANCIAL watchdog has forced insurance companies to make payouts of nearly 400,000 over their refusal to handle perfectly valid customer claims. Ombudsman Joe Meade was scathing in his criticism of the firms' conduct, saying that one insurer's behaviour was 'totally incorrect and highly insensitive'. Another firm was ordered to pay up to 165,000 in life insurance it had withheld, as it disputed whether the person covered had died of a heart attack, while a third wa...

High-Risk Drivers Get a Break: Fewer Accidents and Milder Injuries Mean Their Insurance Rates Can Drop 4.6%

By David Ranii, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Jul. 6--Automobile liability insurance rates for high-risk drivers are scheduled to drop an average of 4.6 percent beginning this fall. The cut affects about 7 percent of the cars insured in North Carolina, said Ray Evans, general manager of the N.C. Reinsurance Facility, which administers insurance coverage for high-risk drivers. Evans estimated that high-risk drivers currently pay an average of about $455 a year for the least expensiv...

Zurich Completes Purchase of Bristol West Holdings

Switzerland-based Zurich Financial Services Group has confirmed that its Farmers Group subsidiary has finalized the 100% acquisition of US non-standard auto insurer Bristol West Holdings, after receiving all the necessary regulatory approvals. The transaction, which represents an equity value of $713.5 million, will result in the delisting of Bristol West Holdings from the New York Stock Exchange. Following the completion of the transaction, Farmers Group (FGI) has immediately sold the un...

Goody Driving Ban

By AIDAN McGURRAN JADE Goody was banned from driving for six months yesterday after claiming she didn't know she had to apply for a full licence. The shamed reality TV contestant, right, passed her test three years ago then never sent off the paperwork. Goody, 26, heavily criticised for alleged racism in Big Brother, also blundered by cancelling her car insurance. She believed the policy was covering just her home. She admitted driving her BMW with no licence or insurance. Goody sai...

Premiums Burden

The cost of insuring a car has reached record levels, with premiums more than doubling during the past 13 years, figures show. Average car insurance premiums rose by 2.5 per cent during the three months to the end of June, increasing the average cost of annual comprehensive cover to pounds 822, according to the AA. It said this was more than double the pounds 408 cover cost when it first launched its insurance premium index in July 1994. (c) 2007 South Wales Echo. Provided by ProQuest Inf...

Broker Snaps

By NO BYLINE Lloyds TSB 560p +6.5p Broker says BUY LLOYDS TSB closed higher as Citigroup lifted shares in the bank to "buy" from "hold" and upped its price target to 650p from 600p. The broker said modest asset growth, tight cost control and more focus on liability-driven business should deliver double digit earnings growth out to 2010. It also liked the fact that Lloyds had not been caught up in time consuming M&A activity or pursued an aggressive growth strategy in an environment of...

Car Insurance Hits Record [Pound]822 ; Business News IN BRIEF

Car insurance premiums have reached an all-time high, figures published last night revealed. Comprehensive premiums have risen almost 8 per cent in the past year, according to the AA's insurance premium index. They went up 2.5 per cent in the second quarter of this year to an average of [pound]822 - more than twice that in July 1994, when the AA index was first published. (c) 2007 Independent, The; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Farmers Insurance Agreed to Pay $750,000 to the State... [Derived Headline]

By JONATHAN RIVOLI Farmers Insurance agreed to pay $750,000 to the state of North Dakota to settle claims of unfair auto insurance settlement practices, the state insurance department reported Thursday. Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman said the fine is a result of unfair and arbitrary benchmarks that rewarded Farmers employees for limiting the amount paid in claims. The incentives created a bias against policyholders when settling claims because Farmers employees got rewards for paying ...

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga., Tim Chitwood Column: Gecko's Accent Irks Chap

By Tim Chitwood, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga. Jul. 2--So easy a caveman can do it, it's Monday Mail. Off the phone. Jerry Luquire called about a May 28 Monday Mail in which he was quoted, and he said the next time he's quoted in this column, he would like his comments to appear above the fold of the newspaper. I would do that now, but I accidentally deleted his voice-mail message. Off the phone again. Veterinarian Hank Hall called to offer congratulations on our Georgia Press...

Car Cover Alert ; PERSONAL FINANCE INSURANCE

More than 17 million Britons may be "driving in the dark" because they don't know if their car insurance will cover them abroad, says the price comparison site uSwitch.com In fact, many providers offer only third party cover south of Calais, which protects only the damage caused to another vehicle and its driver - the minimum they are required to offer by EU law. Says Aron Thompson: "This is a major issue for holidaymakers as they can end up facing an unpaid claim if they drive their car ab...