The research was carried out by British Insurance and showed that around 59 percent or seventeen million workers were worried about the security of their jobs. This reflects an increase of around 7 percent compared to last year. However, fewer workers now have any protection in place to ensure their financial security in the event that they do lose their jobs, with 20 percent of workers having insurance cover last year but only 14 percent having cover this year.

For the other 86 percent of respondents other measures are being considered in case of job losses, such as using any savings, getting into debt to make ends meet, borrowing off friends and family, or hoping for a lottery win – the latter of which is the most worrying of them all.

An official from British Insurance said: “Although we’re told the UK is coming out of a recession, this confidence is clearly not shared by the majority of workers. And with economists predicting that the economy will stagnate over 2012 or suffer a deep recession if the eurozone situation deteriorates, it’s advisable to have a plan to replace any future lost income without dipping into savings or falling into debt.”

Many hoping to sort out finances with lottery win is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

To be sure, landlord insurance is a vitally necessary purchase for owners of buy to let property. This is because landlords face many challenges and problems that they are not otherwise protected against, and which are specific to buy to let scenarios. For example, certain expenses such as the costs of taking a tenant to court over refusal to pay rent. Additionally, landlord insurance also tends to provide the same basic protection as home owner’s insurance, such as coverage in the event of damages to the property due to natural disasters. Of course, not all landlord rent packages are created equally, so it is important to understand exactly what is covered by a given policy and what is not.

For example, one might purchase either buildings insurance or contents insurance. This decision should be based upon whether or not the landlord intends to rent the property as furnished or unfurnished. Buildings insurance provides protection for the actual structure of the building, but for none of the belongings therein. Contents insurance, however, provides protection for those belongings owned by the landlord. When in doubt about what type of insurance to purchase, it is best to consult with qualified and experienced insurance brokers before making a decision.

Landlords should also consider purchasing liability insurance. This insures that no legal claims can be made against the property owner in the event that the tenant or his or her guests injure themselves while on the property. In some cases, additional insurance may also be needed to protect against “malicious damages”, as basic policies that protect against damages from natural disasters may not offer the same protections for damages resulting from an angry tenant who decides to smash window.

For those owners wanting the ultimate protection, some types of landlord insurance can provide protection for a landlord’s rental income, such that a landlord will still receive his or her rent payments even if a tenant refuses to pay, or the property goes without being rented for some time. This is a good way to ensure that the return on investment is maximized, regardless of fluctuating renter’s interest.

In the end, it is critical that landlords seek out and purchase landlord insurance to protect their investments. However, wise landlords will realize that different policies offer different protection, and will therefore research the options thoroughly before making any decisions.

A Guide to Insurance for Buy-to-Let Landlords is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

However, vehicle insurance firms have been accused of having double standards because of their claims that the cost of cover is rising because of claims that are being made through personal injury no win no fee lawyers, of which many have emerged over recent years. This is because insurance companies actually sell the details of potential clients to these firms or encourage clients to make a claim through these lawyers.

 The reason behind this is because the accident firms pay referral fees to the insurance firms, sometimes for a couple of hundred pounds or more. It is thought that around 40 percent of these firms pay referral fees to have the details of potential clients from insurance companies. One official said that in many cases innocent policyholders were being told by their own insurance providers to make a claim in this way, as the insurer will then get the referral fee.

One industry official said: ‘Consumers are largely unaware of how much money moves around the insurance industry in this way when they make a claim. They deserve to see where their money is going. If insurance companies cannot agree a method by which to improve transparency around referral fees, then the Government should step in, with legislation if necessary.’

Car insurance firms accused of double standards is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

Car insurance firms charge more for men than for women because statistically men are higher risk customers and therefore more likely to make a claim on their cover. However, the European Court of Justice has branded this as potential discrimination and is looking at deciding whether to ban the practice so that prices are not based on the gender of the applicant.

At present women can get far cheaper car insurance than men because of these statistics. However, if the practice is banned there are fears that the cost of cover for women – especially younger female drivers – could rocket, going up by as much as 25 or 50 percent eventually. Younger male drivers, on the other hand, could see their insurance premiums come down by around 10 percent.

It is claimed that there is a particularly large gap between the amounts that men and women are charged on insurance cover amongst those that have only recently passed their tests.

The Association of British Insurers has said that the pricing from insurance firms is based on their situations as well as stats. An official from the agency said: “The facts show young male drivers are most at risk of accidents on the road, so young women currently pay a lower premium for their car insurance.”

One insurance broker said: “It’s entirely certain that women’s premiums will go up. I don’t think there’s any chance whatsoever that men’s premiums will come down.”

EU rules could see car insurance rocket for women is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

According to figures nearly 50 percent of drivers tend to leave the engine running when they nip back indoors to fetch something or check on something. However, what most of them do not know is that they could end up with invalid insurance cover if the vehicle gets stolen. The number of vehicles that get stolen each year from outside of homes comes to over £12.5 million in value. This happens because of people leaving their keys in the ignition and leaving the vehicle unattended as they nip off to get something.

However, this is effectively like handing the keys to thieves on a plate – it means that they don’t need to break in, they don’t have to hotwire the vehicle, and because the engine was already running most people won’t bat an eyelid if they see the car being driven off.

The survey showed that nearly 50 percent of us leave the car running in this way outside the home, often to warn the vehicle up whilst we get on with our business.

One insurance official said: “Leaving a car with keys in the ignition provides a perfect opportunity for thieves and we, as motorists, are especially likely to do this at this time of year. People have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude and think it’s fine to nip into the house. In reality theft can, and does, happen.”

Insurance policyholders should be wary of leaving engines running is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

The cost of petrol has been soaring over recent months, and this has severely impacted on consumer finances. It is now thought that the AA will reveal that the price of car insurance has increased by an average of £215, reflecting an average increase of 34 percent. Industry officials expect the AA to announce over the coming week that drivers will be paying an average of £845 for their annual insurance policy compared to £630 last year. This will mark the biggest jump in over sixteen years.

It is thought that the soaring cost of insurance cover has stemmed from a sharp increase in the level of fraudulent car insurance claims. In fact, it was suggested that nearly 50 percent of the cost of the average car insurance policy now goes towards the cost of covering fraudulent claims, whiplash claims, taxes, and legal fees. This is partly due to the flood of personal injury claim firms that have been offering their services on a no win, no fee basis. In fact, the motor insurance sector is now calling for regulations and checks relating to such claims to be tightened up.

An official from the AA said: “A proliferation of personal injury claim lawyers has led to the number of injury claims across the board sharply increasing, while fraud has eaten into insurers’ costs.”

Sharp rise in insurance premiums adds misery for drivers is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

Officials have urged consumers to think about what they have in their homes, and to then make sure that they get their belongings covered adequately. Many people insure the obvious things in their home but forget about more obscure but very high value things, such as the contents of their wardrobes, which could be destroyed in the event of something like a fire. It is claimed that the value of the contents of the average working person’s wardrobe is around £10,000.

There are also many people that will have received new things for Christmas, such as gadgets, jewellery, computers, and other high value goods, but will not have updated their cover accordingly. A burglary, fire, or loss of these items could mean that the consumer then loses the items and has no financial means with which to replace them. Other things that are often overlooked include carpets, curtains, and costly kitchenware, which can also add up to a tidy amount.

One official said: “The average working person’s wardrobe contents are worth £10,000. We need to start recognising that the total value of home contents insurance should cover not only the obvious audio equipment and expensive jewellery, but also the contents of our wardrobes, our children’s toys and home furnishings like carpets, curtains and valuable artwork.”

Another added: “Unfortunately, it is far too easy to turn a blind eye to the true value of your home’s contents and grossly underestimate the level at which your insurance should be set – thereby putting your belongings at risk.”

Many households fail to take adequate insurance cover is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

With the excitement of receiving the gift it can be all too easy to forget that it needs to be covered against problems such as these, and many people have been going about their business sporting their new gadget with no protection at all in place. Consumers that do not have cover need to act fast to get their gadgets protected, as otherwise they could end up without their gift and with no means of getting a replacement.

Whilst it is often possible to get insurance cover from place where the gadget was purchased, this is not always the best deal, so in order to get the most value for money and the most affordable cover you should consider shopping around for cover. You can compare insurance cover and details of the cover quickly and easily online, which means that you can get adequate protection without having to pay a fortune.

These types of gadgets are very expensive to replace, and therefore it is not worth considering going without cover and just hoping for the best. Finding a low cost insurance deal means that you can enjoy the peace of mind that if something does happen to your gadget you can make a claim and get it replace quickly and without any financial losses to yourself.

Consumers should insure their high tech gifts is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

Officials from the AA have now said that it is likely that over the coming weeks the number of vehicle breakdown callout will continue to rise because of the many problems that are being experienced by drivers that are finding themselves getting into scrapes and accidents because of the weather and the condition of the roads.

Already this winter has seen an increase of 10 percent on the number of callouts made by customers that have these breakdown packages. Around one fifth of these have been put down to the ice and snow that has been seen over recent weeks. However, in Scotland in over half of those that had to call out their breakdown service did so because of the weather conditions, and in Wales the figure stood at around 37 percent.

In the areas where the weather conditions are even more severe the number of people calling out their breakdown service has shot up, and some people are having to call out their breakdown cover service on more than one occasion. This will cause problems for those that have breakdown cover with a limited number of callouts in any given period, which is sometimes the case with cover taken out with vehicle insurance companies.

Rising car breakdown callouts seen due to bad weather is a post from: The Thrifty Scot

The new course is the Drive iQ PRO course, and this is designed to help new drivers to gain greater confidence behind the wheel and help them to hone their driving skills. This in turn helps to make them into safer drivers, which means that they are less of a risk to insurance companies. Whilst most younger, newer drivers are seen as high risk due to statistics relating to accidents those that have passed the course will be seen as a much lower risk, and this will be reflected in the price of the cover.

The cost of enrolling on the course in £150, and the course is available through nationwide branches of the AA as well as through some independent driving instructors. Many believe that it is well worth younger drivers taking the course because of the big difference that it can make to their insurance premiums, with the cost of the course being easily recouped through the savings made on the cover.

Exclusive insurance packages will be made available for those that take part in the course, and these will be held for six months, which is the period over which the course lasts. Exclusive insurance deals are also on offer on provisional car insurance for those that sign up to the course.

Younger drivers have the chance to reduce their insurance costs is a post from: The Thrifty Scot