• Cheap caravan insurance made easy for UK holidaymakers

    With the credit crunch biting hard, more and more people are opting to holiday in a caravan or motor home. Hot on the heels of a Daily Telegraph article which listed camping and caravan holidays among the Top Ten Tourism destinations for last year*, in 2009 it is estimated that around 14 million Brits will be taking caravan or motor home holidays, up by around 2 million on 2008**.

    And while this is a great way to save money and get a low cost holiday, people may not be aware that they may be also to make even further savings on the cost of their holiday – by finding cheap caravan and motor home insurance.

    So says George McGonigal Director from CaravanQuoter.co.uk, the specialist caravan and motorhome insurance website. He explains: “While caravanning is a fun and much cheaper alternative to an overseas holiday, it doesn’t mean caravan or motorhome owners cannot save even more money by shopping around for their insurance.

    “Many motorhome and caravan owners are not aware that there are specialist insurers who can provide a low cost insurance solution for those holidaying on a home-from-home basis. We have a wide range of specialist caravan insurance product providers for caravans, motorhomes, trailer tents and even static caravans which can often offer savings when compared to those who don’t specialise in the leisure insurance niche”.

    Visitors to CaravanQuoter can not only get free caravan insurance quotes from a number of providers, but can also take advantage of the useful information available to UK caravan owners and motorhome enthusiasts, particularly relating to insurance.

    Visit www.caravanquoter.co.uk for more information or a free caravan insurance quote.
    Ends
    * http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/3725425/Ten-top-travel-and-tourism-events-of-2008.html
    ** The National Caravan Council (NCC) 16.02.09

    About CaravanQuoter.co.uk:

    At CaravanQuoter.co.uk we are passionate about bringing you an ever widening choice of static and touring caravan insurance , trailer tent, motorhome insurance and park home insurance companies that quote for UK residents.

    Address & Contact Person

    Caravanquoter.co.uk

    NISEM Limited

    17 Cairndore Walk

    Newtownards

    County Down

    BT23 8PE

    UK

    George McGonigal

    0790 555 6173

    mail@caravanquoter.co.uk

    http://www.caravanquoter.co.uk

  • New Insurance 4 Everyone website Launched

    Consumers with a conscience can now support any worthy cause when buying insurance cover with the arrival of ‘Socially Responsible Insurance’.

     

    Devised by www.insurance4everyone.co.uk, this innovative concept means the brand commits funds from every single insurance product sold, including renewals, to helping your favourite charity. However unlike similar corporate commitments, they ask the customer to choose the cause, making it a unique offer.

     

    James York Director of Marketing for insurance4everyone says: “We’re excited that our shoppers have an appealing way to get insurance cover whilst they shape our commitment to charity. In a competitive market we are pleased to stand out from the crowd, the ‘David’ battling ‘Goliath’, we deliver fantastic product value coupled with unrivalled brand responsibility.”

     

    Their charity commitment arrives at a time when many corporations are reducing their investments to good causes and recession looms large for all. The brand believes the socially responsible insurance concept fills a void in a traditionally conservative market that often pushes shoppers to compare on price alone, when the picture can be much bigger.

     

    Policy production and insurer selection is to be administered by experienced insurance innovator Berkeley Alexander.

     

    General Manager for the administrator, Geoff Hall said: “Insurance is more automated now than ever and we see a danger in that. We want to engage with our shoppers and see this commitment, without compromising our competitive pricing and efficient service, as the first step of our socially responsible insurance plan.”

     

    Lindsey Cape, Corporate Partnership Fundraiser for Sparks – The Children’s Medical Research Charity added: “This is an innovative and sustainable corporate commitment; it is a fantastic way to generate extra money for charities.”

    About Insurance4everyone

     

    Insurance4everyone offer great value home insurance and identity theft insurance with an ethical twist, buy online to get your home insurance online discount.

     

    Address & Contact Person

     

    The Wonderful Web Ltd
    Unit 2A03, South Bank Technopark
    90 London Road 
    London
    SE1 6LN 
    Sian Thomas 
    020 7960 5100
    press@thewonderfulweb.co.uk

    http://www.insurance4everyone.co.uk/content/products/home

  • Internet Explorer Protected mode and Vista Support

    Internet Explorer Toolbar Development

    Some of the key Purposes of toolbar usages are as follows:

    • For easy navigation of websites.
    • For easy navigation of search keywords.
    • For keeping the bookmarks of the websites.
    • For creation of toolbar buttons by dragging and dropping the URLs
    • For Blocking the Popup
    • For giving notifications to users for IE Events
    • For capturing the contents of webpage
    • For getting the content of RSS Feeds.

    What is Internet Explorer Protected in VISTA?
    Internet Explorer's Protected Mode is a new feature in Microsoft Vista Operating System, and is one of the pieces of User Account Control (UAC). Protected mode is designed to protect the computer by restricting the parts of the system that code running in the IE process can affect. If a malicious web page exploits a code-injection bug in IE or an IE plug-in, that code will not be able to do damage to the system.

    Vista introduces a new attribute on securable objects called the mandatory integrity level. There are four levels:

    • System: Used by OS components, should not be used by applications.
    • High: Processes that are running elevated with full admin rights.
    • Medium: Processes launched in the normal fashion.
    • Low: Used by IE and Windows Mail to provide protected mode.

    The information that Windows keeps about a process includes which integrity level it was launched with. This level can never change once the process is started, it can only be set at the time the process is created. A process's integrity level has three main effects:

    1. Any securable objects that the process creates get that same integrity level.
    2. The process cannot access a resource whose integrity level is higher than the process's own level.
    3. The process cannot send window messages to a process that has a higher integrity level.

    To determine if our extension is running in a protected mode IE process, we use IEIsProtectedModeProcess which will return the BOOL Parameter whether protected or not.

    How to develop a toolbar for and VISTA support?
    Most of the plug-ins need Registry and/or File system access for reading and/or writing operations, these operations can be done without problem when Internet Explorer Protected mode is Disable.

    When protected mode is enabled, an extension can only write to a few directories under the user's profile. There are special low-integrity directories under the TEMP, Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, and Favorites directories that are writable. Internet explorer also has some compatibility shims, which virtualizes other commonly-used directories. I haven't seen a full list of those "common directories Write operations to those directories will be redirected to a subdirectory of Temporary Internet Files. If an extension tries to write to a sensitive location, like the Windows directory, the operation will fail.

    Developers need to use VISTA SDK for getting the File system Writable Location for downloading any files OR for doing any File system operations.

    VISTA SDK can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=ff6467e6-5bba-4bf5-b562-9199be864d29&displaylang=en

    How to Enable / Disable Internet explorer Protected Mode?
    From control panel open your Windows Login User account settings from those settings…
    Click on Turn User Account Control on or off

    From that Screen make sure Use User Account Control (UAC) to help Protect your computer option is Un-Checked for Disabling Internet Explorer Protected mode (Once settings is changed you must need to Restart your PC).

    Toolbar Development
    Internet Explorer Toolbar Development
    Custom IE Toolbar Development
    Firefox Toolbar Development
    Toolbar Development india

    Refer: Internet Explorer Protected mode

  • The T-mobile G1 - Google Android now available at Mobiles.co.uk

    T-mobile has announced the launch of the world’s first android based mobile in partnership with search engine giant, Google. The T-mobile G1 offers a slide open QWERTY keyboard, full touch screen capabilities and access to custom built applications within the new Android market.

     

    The G1 is only available on T-mobile, offering a mobile internet experience incorporating the famous Google applications such as Google maps, YouTube and Google mail.

     

    The Android Market - the Google G1 offers access to an extensive network of unique Android applications. Users can benefit from new services and software built by creative developers to improve and personalise their lifestyle such as Google maps.

     

    With the T-mobile G1’s Qwerty keyboard typing emails and text messages is a laptop-like experience and you can browse on the internet with the trackball. Communicate with ease through Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger or just normal email whilst web browsing at the same time.

     

    The T-mobile G1 is available free at only £40 a month on a pay monthly contract at Mobiles.co.uk.

     

    Mobiles.co.uk has been trading on the Internet since 1995, was the first mobile phone web site in the UK and won Online Retailer of the Year 2007 and Best Online Retailer 2007 and 2008 at the annual mobile phone industry awards. Mobiles.co.uk employs more than 30 staff based at its offices and warehouse in Watford, Hertfordshire and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC.

     

    Company Details

    Mobiles.co.uk has been trading on the Internet since 1995 and was the first mobile phones web site in the UK making available the T-mobile G1.

  • eMuscle Looks to Carve a New Niche in the Interactive Online Community

    Over the past five years North America has witnessed a huge boom in online interactive websites. These days it is difficult to find someone who is not apart of, or is at least familiar with, such sites as facebook.com and myspace.com. According to eMuscle founder Thomas Wick, the interactive online communities have, in the past, primarily been used for simple enjoyment and ancillary purposes. It is time an interactive online website came along that helped the individual person improve their lifestyle.

    eMuscle (www.emuscle.com) is an online training website, which harnesses the wisdom of the crowd, and pioneers a new way for people to build better bodies. The online community, designed for anyone who is trying to improve their life, allows users to share diets, workouts, thoughts, opinions, videos, pictures and more; creating a unique training experience. By aggregating the knowledge and insights of its members, eMuscle.com can better help individual members, groups or teams reach their goals. This new and improved approach is integrated with innovative tracking tools, videos, and insights from experts that make training easier. It’s great for athletes, trainers and nutritionists because it provides the means to make additional money and a means to additionally self-promote.

    Unlike many of the current muscle and bodybuilding sites that are available, eMuscle.com will provide a practical fitness and health website for the practical person. Contrary to what some sites may believe, a petite middle aged women is going to have a hard time relating to a young male bodybuilder. eMuscle.com encourages trainers, athletes, and the average person to express, interact, and learn about health fitness at their own pace and in their own interest categories. By allowing the average user to interact with others with the same common health and fitness interests, a unique one-of-a-kind social network will be created that anyone can be a part of.

    Similar to the way Facebook.com and Myspace.com have revolutionized the way people from domestic and foreign networks can interact, eMuscle.com will provide very similar networks through high schools, colleges, teams, areas, and gyms. A social revolution was started with the development of online social networks; eMuscle.com has simply taken the ideas and successes of such websites and tailored the content to the health and fitness industry.

    eMuscle.com, Interactive Online Health and Fitness Community, 586.992.3850

    ###

    If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Thomas Wick, please call Michael Knill at 586.992.3850 ext 118 or email Michael at michael.knill@emuscle.com

    About Company

    Emuscle offers free diet plans, workout routines, and fitness training programs. Emuscle lets you train together or at your own pace. Lose weight, build muscle or train together with Emuscle.

    Address & Contact Person

    Company Name: eMuscle

    Contact: Michael Knill

    6060 collection drive

    Shelby Township

    MI

    48316

    US

    Phone: 586.992.3850 ext 118

    Email: michael.knill@emuscle.com

    http://www.emuscle.com/

  • Two-pronged attack makes protection essential

    For the first time in over 15 years, UK consumers are being forced to deal with both falling house prices and widespread job losses and the latest jump in repossessions shows just how difficult many are finding it to maintain their status quo.

    According to Sara-Ann Burgess, director at payment protection insurance specialist Burgesses, it is not since the early nineties that a faltering labor market has combined with a plummeting housing market to create an impossible situation for many borrowers.

    “Since negotiating the problems of the early nineties, there have always been either good employment prospects or rising house prices to help borrowers deal with any problems they faced. Now both crutches been taken away a huge amount of ordinary people are going to struggle.”

    Should redundancy force borrowers to sell up, falling house prices may leave them in a position of negative equity, giving them nowhere to turn. Equally those who have been used to withdrawing equity from their property and taking advantage of low interest rates are finding there is no more capital left to squeeze out of their property.

    Burgess commented: “The latest figures from the FSA show that repossessions in quarter two of this year were up by 71% on the previous year. People simply have nowhere to go if they get into trouble now that house prices are falling and a growing number of people are being made redundant.”

    Burgess urged borrowers to reassess their need for protection insurance in the light of the deteriorating environment.

    “I think people now realize they are not as secure as they were in the past but are perhaps wary of what the protection market can offer them. Seeking out independent providers such as British Insurance will help them get low cost, high quality cover that puts a safety net in place for their family.”

    In a changing environment, Burgess said it was important borrowers were also prepared to change their own approach to their finances and tailor it to best serve the long terms needs of both themselves and their families.

    About Burgesses

    Burgesses is a trusted and respected name in Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and has established its credentials over many years. The firm is headed up by Sara-Ann Burgess, who has made it her mission to push for fairness, value and efficiency in the Mortgage Payment Protection insurance market.

  • Old fashioned values will help brokers protect clients

    Mortgage brokers have been urged to return to old-fashioned broking values in a bid to protect clients, by Sara-Ann Burgess, a high profile payment protection insurance (PPI) campaigner.

    The last year has seen mortgage volumes and values collapse in spectacular style and brokers can no longer expect business to walk through their door.

    For those brokers that want to remain in the market in the long term and continue to provide a valuable and effective service to clients, Burgess says it will be necessary for many firms to re-evaluate the way they operate and the level of contact they have with clients.

    “Many mortgage brokers had got used to business flooding through their door and in the face of such demand, keeping in contact with clients and offering them additional services was not the priority.”

    However now the stream of new business is so weak, Burgess said those brokers that were able to mine their existing database of clients and help them adapt to the changing financial environment would be best placed to see out the downturn.

    “Unemployment is on the rise and many borrowers who had not considered PPI necessary may well feel differently about putting protection in place. Brokers should be contacting all of the clients they have worked with in recent years and offering them a review of their situation and help with putting protection in place,” said Burgess.

    Even for clients that have PPI in place, Burgess said it was likely that many could be paying less for their policy or could secure more flexible and effective cover by changing provider.

    Independent Intermediaries like British Insurance have shown the huge difference in price between the cheapest and most expensive policies in the market, but still too many consumers are paying over the odds.

    “There is a great opportunity,” claimed Burgess, “For brokers to get in touch with clients, reassess their protection needs and perhaps pick up some remortgage business as well.”

    About Burgesses

    Burgesses is a trusted and respected name in Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and has established its credentials over many years. The firm is headed up by Sara-Ann Burgess, who has made it her mission to push for fairness, value and efficiency in the Mortgage Payment Protection insurance market.

  • GMI Launches Skinnable Advanced Tab Based Toolbar

    Pulling your hair trying to recollect the cool site that you saw?
    Struggling with managing favourite URLs?

    LOOK NO FURTHER. TOTAL TOOLBAR IS HERE TO FREE YOU FROM ALL THESE HASSLES.

    A product of Grey Matter India (GMI), a Mumbai based offshore software development firm best known for its expertise in developing Toolbars and Social Network Portals, TOTAL TOOLBAR provides a range of innovative utilities that makes it a must-have application for a wide variety of users.

    Total-Toolbar is one of its kinds according to GMI’s CEO Chintan Shah. “Given the critical need for collaborating information and customizing the way one needs to manage it, such applications will find real-time acceptance amongst a wide gamut of users.” says Chintan. “Our decade long presence in the internet space has enabled us deliver tools and utilities targeted towards enriching the web experience for all netizens.”

    TOTAL TOOLBAR boasts of advanced features like customizable skins, content grouping using Tabs, customizable buttons, seamless drag drop features, user-generated plugins, realtime alerts and developer centric SDK support. Based on a highly flexible architecture empowering both, the general users and the developer community, TOTAL TOOLBAR provides easy customization of this versatile application. Featuring imaginative dropdown menus, scrolling windows, animated buttons, search text boxes and radio controls, Total toolbar is compatible for all IE versions including the latest IE 7 and supports the latest VISTA OS as well.

    You can access and simply download the tool bar at:
    http://www.greymatterindia.com/TotalToolbar/TotalToolbar.zip
    Demo includes plugins for you tube (latest videos), eBay (user centric product information) and yahoo jobs (job listing based on preferences and location).

    About Company

    GMI is India’s leading independent solution providers in system based software development, Toolbar, Toolbar Development and expertise in Browser Helper Objects development.

  • Highly-anticipated Xperia X1 Smartphone from Sony Ericsson now available for pre-order at Mobiles.co.uk

    Arc slider design, 3 inch Wide VGA display and first-rate metal body is what sets this mobile phone out from all the other Smartphones. Its sophisticated and distinctive design is why the Xperia X1 has been described as the phone that “redefines premiumness”.

     

    With Windows Mobile inside running the show, you know you are in safe hands. You can enjoy your favourite entertainment and work features efficiently on the move whilst turbo 3G provides all the speed you could possibly want and need.


    The Xperia X1 also lets you interact via numerous intuitive ways. Touch, full wide-pitched QWERTY keyboard which is revealed upon sliding the screen upwards, 4-way key and optical joystick allowing you to switch seamlessly between standard features and office based applications.


    Pretty much every connectivity option and feature is included in the Xperia X1: HSDPA for super fast browsing and downloading/uploading, Wi-Fi for a fast Internet connection in wireless hotspots, Push email whereby your emails are sent directly to your phone as soon as they arrive, GPS, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and finally a little extra incentive with RSS feeds which you can use to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you.


    The Xperia features a miniUSB port and a 3.5mm audio jack, a 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, dedicated menus and direct interaction with in-phone imaging and messaging features; video and a secondary video calling camera, support for MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player and expandable memory via a microSD (TransFlash) slot PLUS handwriting recognition capabilities which help the Xperia X1 to pack one serious punch.


    “Touch screen devices are really taking off this year, so it’s good to see Sony Ericsson’s long line of Touchscreen Smartphone’s continue to push the limits of what you can do with your mobile phone. The combination of a full keyboard, Windows Mobile and Sony Ericsson’s unique Panel system is sure to make this the Smartphone to beat.” Ben Godber, marketing manager at Mobiles.co.uk.


    The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is now currently available on pre-order at Mobiles.co.uk with an expected delivery date of 27th October.


    Mobiles.co.uk has been trading on the Internet since 1995, was the first mobile phone web site in the UK and won Online Retailer of the Year 2007 and Best Online Retailer 2007 and 2008 at the annual mobile phone industry awards. Mobiles.co.uk employs more than forty staff based at its offices in Watford, Hertfordshire, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC.


    Mobiles.co.uk

    6 Greenhill Cr, Watford Business Park, Watford

    Hertfordshire, England

    WD18 8RF

    Ben Godber

    01923 656651

    http://www.mobiles.co.uk

    Company Details

    Mobiles.co.uk has been trading on the Internet since 1995 and was the first mobile phones web site in the UK offering the Sony Ericsson X1 for pre-order.

  • Website design and SEO company recognised for their outstanding online solutions with prestigious Award

    Specialist website design and SEO company Areoff have been recognised for their dedication and expertise by snapping up the Award for Outstanding Online Solutions in the 2008 Global Business Excellence Awards.

    Areoff - which was founded by Director, Andrew Areoff in 1999 - specialises in effective website design and SEO services for insurance and financial clients, helping businesses get more visitors to their websites; achieve greater sales; and, make increased profit.

    The Global Business Excellence Awards aim to identify and reward business excellence across all sectors, both private and public, celebrating those companies that are working smarter than their competitors to create a business edge.

    Commenting on his Award Andrew said: “We strive to provide an excellent quality of work and first class service and are proud that our efforts have recognised with such a prestigious Award.

    “At Areoff we are continuing to build on our achievement by working with insurance and financial clients with passion and expertise. We are always looking to employ our skills with professional firms within the insurance and financial industries, and help them be more effective online.”

    Simon Burgess from British Insurance said that he was thrilled that Areoff had won the Award, adding that “it is testament to their expertise and dedication that our online sales increased by 40% within one month”.

    For more information, please visit: www.areoff.com or call Andrew Areoff on: 01702 460046.

    Areoff Limited is an award-winning website design and SEO company that has worked since 1999 to provide outstanding online solutions for our clients in the insurance and financial industries.

  • The Co-operative Bank launches new tailored current accounts

    The new Privilege and Privilege Premier current accounts provide a wide range of standard benefits that can save customers over £700 annually. In addition, they allow customers to add one of the following three optional bundles to their benefits package:

    • Option 1: Gadget Insurance cover for MP3, cameras, laptops, camcorders, SatNav and portable DVD players and games consoles etc. worth up to £179.98.

    • Option 2: Safeguard Cover against ID theft and resolution package, including key recovery service and handbag & contents insurance.

    • Option 3: Traveller Four free airport lounge passes per year, Airport Angel annual membership and a passport and luggage recovery service worth up to £129.50.

    Dick Park house, Managing Director, Retail, at The Co-operative Bank said: “Until now, packaged accounts have been one-size-fits-all for customers. However, our new offering moves current accounts onto a new level by allowing consumers to tailor benefits to their lifestyle.

    “Customers can also make significant financial savings from the comprehensive range of benefits that come with both the Privilege and Privilege Premier current accounts.”

    Standard benefits on Privilege and Privilege Premier current accounts include comprehensive worldwide family travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and enhanced banking features. Motor breakdown cover with European assistance is also available on the Privilege Premier current account.

    Linked savings accounts are automatically opened for customers that guarantee to track the Bank of England Base Rate. The Privilege Premier Savings account will stay 0.1 per cent below base rate, while the Privilege Savings account will pay credit interest of 0.3 per cent below base rate. Other banking features include interest and fee free overdrafts of £300 for Privilege Premier current account holders and £200 for Privilege account customers.

    There is also 20 per cent discount on Home Insurance from The Co-operative Insurance, a free Legal Advice Helpline and a Smart save discount card that entitles customers to discounts on items such as holidays, leisure attractions and car hire.

    The Privilege current account costs £8.50 per month, while Privilege Premier current account is available for £12 per month.

    Commenting on the launch Andrew Hagger, leading online financial comparison site Moneynet.co.uk, said: “These new packaged accounts from The Co-operative Bank offer good value for money providing the associated benefits are utilised.

    “Having the flexibility to choose an additional bolt-on benefits package relevant to their lifestyle will ensure customers can make the most of this innovative pick ‘n’ mix approach.”

    Dick Parkhouse added: “Being a customer of The Co-operative Bank also means getting service of the highest quality. We are consistently ranked best on the high street for customer service in independent surveys such as which? Magazine and BBC Watchdog.”

    The Co-operative Bank remains the only high street bank with a clear Ethical Policy that gives customers a say in how their money is used. It remains committed to its UK based call centres and offers 24 hour banking via online and telephone banking.

    Anyone interested in opening a Privilege or Privilege Premier current account or getting a credit card should visit a Co-operative Bank branch, call 0800 247 365 or go online to: www.co-operativebank.co.uk/privilege, www.co-operativebank.co.uk/premier, www.smile.co.uk/smilemore.

    About Company

    The Co-operative Insurance provides car insurance, home insurance, life insurance and building insurance.

  • The Co-operative Financial Services launches

    The Co-operative Financial Services has launched its very own blog at http://blog.goodwithmoney.co.uk/ . The site has been designed to provide a platform on which to highlight examples of where The Co-operative Financial Services has demonstrated clear ‘ethics in action’ and to provide the public with a chance to post their comment and views on the corporate and socially responsible activity which the organization is involved in.

    The first subject to be featured on the site will be The Co-operative Bank’s support for Microfinance*. The Co-operative Bank has created a special £25m fund in order to support the development of small businesses in new and developing countries as well as some of the world’s poorest countries. The Bank has already provided support in 25 countries worldwide including Nicaragua, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Ecuador, Kenya and Bosnia.

    In May of 2008 The Co-operative Bank sent two members of staff to see at first hand the real impact microfinance has had on peoples’ lives by visiting some of the projects it had recently supported in Bosnia.

    The visit was of particular significance to one member of staff Belma Gracankic (25), who is herself a Bosnian refugee having come to the UK in 1993 along with her family to escape the war in Sarajevo.

    Belma, along with her colleague Sangeeta, recorded a video diary of the visit in which she talks to some of the people in Bosnia who as a result of the microfinance funding have managed to rebuild their lives following the war. Belma also, for the first time since leaving Bosnia, returns to the village (Derventa) where she grew up and talks openly about the hardship she and her family had to go through during the war and describes to what the lengths they had to go to in order to escape the war**.

    The ‘goodwithmoney’ blog will host a series of video clips, archive footage, interviews and photographs both via the site, vimeo, flicker and you tube where over the coming weeks those logging on can follow their trip step by step and post their views/comments.

    Belma Gracankic, Relationship Manager at the Co-operative Bank, commented, “I take great pride in working for a bank that take its ethical credentials so seriously. I was delighted to return to Bosnia and to see some of my fellow Bosnian’s rebuilding their lives through the help and support of The Co-operative Bank. It was also especially rewarding to re-visit the places I grew up and so see how they are being rebuilt and regenerated. I hope the blog will provide everyone visiting the site a real insight into what life is now like in Bosnia and how it has changed since the siege of Sarajevo.

    Sara-Ann concludes: “Over the last week we’ve seen people in despair, wondering how to pay their bills, feed their children and keep a roof over their head when there are no wages coming in. Whilst the redundancy could not have been avoided, the financial hardship that will inevitably follow can.”

    About Company

    The Co-operative Insurance provides car insurance, home insurance, life insurance and building insurance.

  • Ignorance isn

    Recent research from price comparison site moneysupermarket reveals that only one in seven Brits consider Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) as crucial and almost a quarter do not know what it is.  “This is extremely concerning,” says PPI lobbyist Sara-Ann Burgess from Burgesses, “PPI is a financial lifeline and could make the difference between keeping and losing your home if you’re made redundant.”

    Payment Protection Insurance provides a monthly income, to either pay bills or the mortgage, if the policyholder is unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment.  Policies generally pay out for up to a year and some providers give back to day one benefits, health and employment support services and Legal Expenses cover.

    Premiums are costed out per £100 of monthly cover, so purchasers looking for income protection work out their monthly outgoings and calculate how much they need from their policy to meet their financial commitments.  Similarly, mortgage protection covers the monthly mortgage repayments and loan protection meets the monthly cost of any loan commitments.

    Policies are now available to everyone as independent PPI provider, British Insurance, recently added products for people in shared ownership schemes and rented accommodation to its range.

    Research also shows that 10% of respondents would buy PPI if they felt their job was under threat and people in the finance and business sectors are more likely to have policies, closely followed by those in construction and manufacturing.

    Sara-Ann comments: “Don’t wait until your job is under threat to buy a policy – you may be excluded from making a claim if the insurer finds you were under the threat of redundancy at the time of purchase.

    ”Shop around as High Street providers do not always offer the best deals re; the cover they offer or prices they charge.  Prices for unemployment cover with Independents start at £3.40 per £100 for Income and Loan Protection, and £1.60 per £100 for Mortgage.”

    She concludes: “People need to be more aware of the benefits of PPI – those who are unaware of the financial protection it provides could be putting themselves and their families at risk.  In this case, ignorance isn’t bliss.”

    About Burgesses

    Burgesses is a trusted and respected name in Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and has established its credentials over many years. The firm is headed up by Sara-Ann Burgess, who has made it her mission to push for fairness, value and efficiency in the Mortgage Payment Protection insurance market.

  • Burgesses welcome crackdown on single premium PPI

    The news that the regulator is set to crackdown on the payment protection insurance (PPI) market is good news for the sector, for the wider financial services industry and most of all, the consumer.

    So says Sara-Ann Burgess managing director of protection insurance specialist Burgesses.

    “Worldwide crisis in the credit markets and its knock on effect for banking and other financial services has brought it home to many people just how many people in the financial services industry have been treating their customers with contempt.

    “Nowhere is this better exemplified that in the PPI market where poor performing products that generate massive commission fees have been pushed to unsuspecting customers.”

    Investigations into the PPI market have been ongoing for some time. However, the FSA declared this week it is to escalate intervention following poor findings from its thematic review. It highlighted the sale of single premium PPI sold alongside unsecured personal loans as being of particular concern and advised stopping the practice all together.

    Loan protection policies sold by high street providers are up to 12 times more expensive than other more keenly and appropriately priced covers in the market.

    “We have been arguing for some time that this product is unsuitable in nearly every scenario and should be scrapped. It is unsurprising that the FSA has now come round to our way of thinking, it is just disappointing that it has taken so long and left customers open to further exploitation by unscrupulous lenders,” Burgess added.

    The regulator is also to consider what action to take to deal with ongoing non-compliant sales practices and consider actions to identify and remedy non-compliant past sales, using a range of regulatory powers at its disposal.

    Burgess said: “While stricter requirements in selling payment protection insurance would focus attention on the responsibilities that brokers hold to their clients, they must be introduced alongside a tighter line from the FSA over the frightening divergence in price that exists between the cheapest and most expensive products in the market.

    “The FSA could regulate the products sold, take a much harder line on those found wanting, or stop credit providers selling only their own protection insurance. This would introduce greater competition and ensure a better deal for the customer.”

    About Burgesses

    Burgesses is a trusted and respected name in Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and has established its credentials over many years. The firm is headed up by Sara-Ann Burgess, who has made it her mission to push for fairness, value and efficiency in the Mortgage Payment Protection insurance market.

  • Consumers must take responsibility for their own financial health says Burgesses

    Consumers must proactively seek to protect themselves in the face of a rising tide of unemployment and take responsibility for their own long-term financial health, says payment protection insurance specialist, Burgesses.

    The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has significantly revised its economic outlook and in its most recent forecast, released today (15.09.08), believes the UK is now entering a recession that will put hundreds of thousands of people out of work.

    The CBI believes unemployment will rise over the course of the coming months, breaking the 2 million barrier in 2009. This is a very much bleaker outlook than the CBI gave earlier in the year when it said the UK would avoid recession and is a clear indication of just how bad things are likely to get.

    Given the deteriorating economic situation, Sara-Ann Burgess, director at Burgesses, said it was up to each and every individual to take responsibility for their own financial situation and make sure it was sustainable in the changing environment.

    While UK consumers have been quick to take on debt, not all had been so quick to make sure they could pay it back and in a faltering economy, such provisions will prove essential, according to Burgess.

    She said: “Hundreds of thousands of people are going to lose their jobs over the coming months and this is going to make it very difficult for many of them to meet their financial commitments. Finding new jobs is not going to be as easy as it has been in recent years and for those that do not have savings to meet the mortgage or pay their monthly credit card bills, getting insurance in place now will help them avoid financial disaster if they are made redundant.”

    Despite changes to the Income Support for Mortgage Interest benefit, which will come into force next year, the vast majority of consumers will receive no help with their mortgage should they be unable to pay due to redundancy.

    Burgess said it was time for consumers to take responsibility for their own future financial health and urged them to see what the protection market had to offer.

    “There is robust, low cost protection insurance available in the market despite some of the bad press the protection industry has received. Those who would be unable to pay their mortgage if they were made redundant should investigate their options. This economic storm is going to get worse before it gets better and consumers must protect themselves.”

    About Burgesses

    Burgesses is a trusted and respected name in Payment Protection insurance (PPI) and has established its credentials over many years. The firm is headed up by Sara-Ann Burgess, who has made it her mission to push for fairness, value and efficiency in the Mortgage Payment Protection insurance market.

RSS Feed
RSS 1.0
Posts
Comments
RSS 2.0
Posts
Comments
Atom
Posts
Comments
This blog's co-authors (0)

There are no co-authors yet.

Become a co-author
Email subscription

You can receive the posts of this blog by email.

Friends (0)

The friend list is empty.

To top link

Footer:

The content of this website belongs to a private person, blog.co.uk is not responsible for the content of this website.