The trend continues as Insurance giant, Aviva plans to axe over 1,000 jobs following improvements in operational efficiency.

Another nice thank you from an employer for the workers that helped them achieve what was probably thought not possible, and considered it more aspirational than achievable, when the improvement strategy was announced.

Union officials advise that they have been told that offices in York and Norwich will be worst hit by the cuts, but other sites across the country will not be exempt for cuts in their workforce.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of RSA’s recent announcement to cut 1,200 employees in an effort to help shave £70m off of their operating costs.

This constant hammering of financial and insurance industry workers must be leaving everyone employed in those industries on edge.

Mark Hodges, chief executive at Norwich Union Life, said: “Our strategy over the last three years has seen us transform and simplify our business, leaving us well placed to face the challenges ahead.
Most of the job cuts are said to be in the areas of “business change” and IT and not related to the current economic downturn.

There is no clue as yet how this will affect actual insurance premiums. Hopefully, some good will come out of this and Aviva will bring premiums down.

Recent research commissioned by comparethemarket.com has revealed that the female fraternity are more likely to use the internet or shop around when their car insurance comes up for renewal.

Why?

Well, its because they are very keen on looking to make savings in such areas as their car insurance to free up money for other things.

Its young female drivers using the comparison websites to shop around for the best deals that are the reason for such sites growing at such phenomenal rates. It is forecast that comparison websites will double in size before the end of 2010.

With marketing activity by these sites probably at its highest for years, its no wonder people are checking them out and recognising the benefits comparison websites can offer.

The research also revealed that 80% of people looking for car insurance search the internet for quotes and compare an average of four quotes before deciding whether to switch or stick.

Another surprising finding from the reaearch was that even though many people are very much aware that they can save lots of money by switching insurers, 56 per cent of people still don’t.

With the possibility of being able to realise savings of £00’s per annum against renewal fees, it’s a little surprising really!

RSA may have only rebranded quite recently, in April 2008 to be precise, but this has not bought them immunity from the current economic downturn happening around the  the globe, and not only in the UK, by storm.

Insurer, RSA is to cut up to 1,200 jobs in it’s UK offices during the next 15 months in an effort to shave £70m a year off it’s operational costs.

14% of their 8,700-strong workforce will find themselves out of a job as part of a strategy to save the £70m a year. This means that by the middle of 2010, RSA will have reduced its workforce headcount during the past 7 years by some 43%.

The disaappointing announcement comes in spite of RSA’s strong performance in  2008 with net written premiums up by some £6.5bn against 2007 (+11%).

Adrian Brown, UK chief executive of RSA, said:

“We have already reduced our management population by about 15%. One of the reasons why RSA has continued to produce strong results is that we’ve taken action early on rate and expenses and this is a continuation of that action.”

Personal lines premiums which includes products such as Home and Car Insurance were up 2% to £1.1bn. Premiums in their commercial lines portfolio were in line with last year at £1.6bn.

Car insurer LV= has revealed that following recent research, almost one in five drivers has either purchased a more economical vehicle or sold their second or third family car since the onset of this global credit crunch.

Whilst more than half, (61%) changed their vehicle to save on fuel, surprisingly, nearly a third (29%) said they changed their vehicle to save money on their insurance premium.

It appears therefore that more are concerned with surviving the current economic downturn than saving the planet, as their research suggests roughly one in eight (15%) made the change for environmental reasons supporting greener driving initiatives, which must surely be of concern to the Government.

Two thirds said they couldn’t afford to buy a brand new car and nearly half (43%) of people taking part in the research that are looking to replace their car in the next 12 months indicated that they intend to buy a second-hand vehicle.

The seocnd hand car market therefore looks set to prosper for the time being, and for those who prefer the larger vehicles, you may be able to find a real bargain.

Remember however that you will be paying premium road fund licence rates and higher car insurance premiums, but if you really are a fan of the big motor, it is worth it.

And get up to 20% online discount.

That’s what is on offer from Kwik-Fit Insurance.

December 2008 saw Kwik Fit Insurance report its best performance for that month in a decade and was very pleased that their strategy seems to suit the current economic conditions.

Having written almost 18,000 new policies, sales of new motor insurance policies in December was 12.5% more than the same period in 2007.

The Free MOT offer is worth £44.95 and available to any customer buying a new private car insurance policy. It can be redeemed at any of their UK Kwik Fit MOT Centres.

Although the MOT offer is not valid in Northern Ireland and there are of course cancellation and deferral terms and conditions applicable, such an offer will prove attractive, particularly given it is usually an insurance policy condition that insured vehicles are kept in a roadworthy condition when being driven and it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to drive a car on public roads without a valid MOT.

The named Kwik Fit Insurance Policyholder will be entitled to one Free MOT test at a Kwik-Fit MOT centre for the vehicle insured they insure.

The offer is valid for one year from the date the car insurance policy commences.

It is important to note that only one MOT test is free and any repairs or servicing in connection with the MOT must be paid for.

If you have been involved in an accident and sustained losses, it is important to comply with the insurer you are claiming from to assure the smooth processing of your claim.

You will greatly increase your chances of successfully claiming if you take the following steps immediately following the accident:

• Ensure you contact the police in the event you or any other person involved in the accident has sustained an injury. If you are unable to make the call, get someone else to do it.

• If you are the driver or insurer of the vehicle, report any injury resulting from the road traffic accident to your insurance company.

• If you are a passenger in a vehicle and are injured in a road traffic accident, get confirmation in writing from the insured driver that the insurer of the vehicle has been informed.

• If you were driving a company vehicle, ensure notify your employer.

• Make every effort to record all expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

• If you are self-employed, keep evidence of any income that is lost as a result.

• Ensure you report any injury (even if it seems trivial to your doctor because the full extent of the injury may not be immediately apparent.

• If you subsequently go to court to get compensation for the injury, the initial medical report will provide evidence to support your claim.

• Gather evidence about both the accident and your injuries. Take photos if possible.

• If the driver is not insured, or you are a victim of a hit-and-run accident you still may be able to obtain compensation from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.

Following their acquisition of the Equity shop network of IAG (Insurance Australia Group Ltd), Swinton now have the largest high street presence of all insurers across the UK.

Not sitting back and waiting for business to come to them however, they are proactively continuing to push for more business and is currently offering several cash back offers on car insurance through various sales network operators.

Swinton customers purchasing car insurance direct, on-line, can secure £40 cashback by quoting the voucher code “PMSWDI508.”
 
This promotion offers good enough reason for customers to consider Swinton for their car insurance needs and with more than 3 million home and car insurance customers supported through more than 500 offices following the acquisition of the Equity Shop Network, a much valued face to face customer service is assured.

However, Swinton customers obtaining a quote and purchasing their car insurance policy through comparethemarket.com will benefit from an even bigger cashback offer.

As long as your car insurance policy is taken out through comparethemarket.com between 06/03/2009 and 06/06/2009 and is still in force 90 days after the start date of your policy, you can claim £70 cashback. Terms and coditions that apply and a quote can be obtained by clicking here.

Simply complete the cash back form you will be sent by email following the purchase of your policy, and return it within 30 days to:-

Swinton Motor Cash Back Offer
Marketing Department
Swinton House
6 Great Marlborough St
Manchester
M1 5SW

Simply then sit back and wait for your £70 cheque.

A big challenge for young drivers is purchasing car insurance without having to rob the “bank of mum and dad” to pay for it.

Men and women aged 17 to 25 face an almost insurmountable struggle to obtain cover for numerous  reasons.

Many insurance companies do not even want to provide quotes to people in this age group, no matter what type of car, and those that do, do not really want to, so they quote a rate so high that many young drivers will find themselves paying more for insurance each year than the value of the vehicle.

Statistics however support insurers decisions as a teenage driver is up to 3x more likely to be fatally injured in a traffic accident than someone in the 25-64 age range.

While such statistics cannot be argued against, insurers branding all young drivers with the same brush does nothing to encourage such drivers to insure their vehicles leading to more and more taking a chance and driving around without the necessary legal minimum requirements.

It would be good to see some intervention or sensible thinking applied by insurers and the Government to address what is tantamount to unfair victimiisation of the young.

After all, young drivers involved in accidents and found to be at fault that do not carry the mandatory insurance requirements will often result in claims through the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).

And who is legally obliged to contribute to MIB? – the insurance companies of course!

In today’s environment, the car is becoming more of a “must have” rather than a “luxury” and following an accident, it is reassuring to know that your insurance provider offers a replacement vehicle.

One of the UK’s prinicipal providers of replacement cars in such events is  Helphire Group plc.

Helphire is one of the UK’s leading providers of motor accident management services including vehicle replacement and repair management, full claims handling assistance, uninsured loss recovery and personal injury management.

Insurers are now watching Helphire very closely following recently posted £59.3 million pre-tax losses for the second half of 2008. This was not good news considering they posted a pre-tax profit of £19.4 million for the same period in 2007, showing yet again how the economy is affecting everyone at the moment.

Most of their replacement vehicle services are provided on credit to motorists who were involved in non-fault accidents and whilst Helphire are obviously planning to restructure their banking arrangements and look to raise more operating capital through a share issue, insurers have been warned that the Bath based company is going to start pursuing recovery of their costs more vigorously from insurers by increasing their litigation activities.

Helphire also work closely with insurers to provide those all too valuable replacement vehicles which many insurance companies now offer their comprehensive car insurance policyholders.

Helphire operate through a network of six call centre sites and 30 branch locations. ir recent announcement firm closely.

 
Last month Helphire revealed plans to axe 130 of its 1,100 jobs

LV= continues to extend it’s influence in the car insurance market by being added to the AA’s car insurance panel. This closely follows their addition to BGL Group car insurance panels, appearing on their Budget, Dial Direct and QuoteMart panels mentioned recently.

AA insurance currently offers quotes from a panel of more than 20 insurers and is one of the strongest motoring brands within the UK.

LV= expect their ABC private car product is will fit well with the AA’s customer base and target market.

Simon Douglas, director of AA car insurance, said;

“At a time when the car insurance market is becoming more competitive it is important to offer the best possible value for money to motorists who are shopping around for their cover, so we welcome the addition of ABC car insurance to our panel.”

“The team at ABC shares the AA’s view that value for money isn’t just about price: it’s about service, policy benefits and above all, treating customers fairly. The AA is also one of the UK’s most trusted brands and we are confident that ABC will help us to uphold the standards that our customers have come to expect.”

“The addition of ABC also means that we now have all the major insurers represented on our panel.”