Daily Archives: June 29, 2009

Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Insurance, Insurance Services

LV= Reveals UK Adults Set To Spend £178 Million Less On Weddings This Year

Research by home and travel insurer LV= reveals that cash strapped wedding guests are planning to reduce their spending on weddings this year, adding up to a total of £178 million less than before the recession kicked in. On average, men plan to spend £62 on wedding gifts compared to women, who plan to spend £40.

LV= research reveals that 11.1 million (23%) UK adults will attend a wedding this year. However, the impact of the economic climate has resulted in 2.7 million (25%) of those attending saying they cannot afford to spend as much going to the wedding and buying gifts as they would have otherwise. A further 24% said the bride and groom are not expecting them to spend as much because of the recession, with the average reduction in spend per person being £37.

Of the Brits set to attend weddings this year, 61% said that the recession has affected their attitude towards going. Nearly a third (31%) said they would be less willing to attend a wedding abroad this year if asked while 19% would be less willing to travel long distances in the UK due to the cost implications. A further 19% said they would avoid attending a wedding unless they were close to the people involved.

The research also reveals that the trend for weddings abroad is becoming increasingly popular. 2.8 million adults have attended a wedding abroad over the last 18 months and 1.4 million plan to do so over the remainder of this year. One of the most common reasons cited for attending weddings abroad is that the bride and groom are trying to keep costs down in the current recession.

John O’Roarke, Managing Director of LV= home and travel insurance, commented: “Weddings are clearly an expensive affair, but not just for the bride and groom. Despite the recession this research shows that the average couple will spend over £300 per wedding they attend. People planning on attending or holding their own wedding, both in the UK or overseas, should have travel insurance in place so that if they do have to change their plans at the last minute they won’t be out of pocket.

“In addition, much of this spend will be on wedding gifts so anyone planning their own wedding should check their home insurance policy to ensure it includes an automatic increase in home contents insurance to cover wedding gifts. The LV= home contents insurance policy automatically increases the sum insured by 10%.

“Finally, gifts such as cash will not be covered on most home insurance policies, so the bride and groom should make arrangements for any large amount of cash to be deposited somewhere safe rather than left in the house whilst they are on honeymoon.”

  • Opinium Research carried out a survey of 2,141 people between 16 and 20 Jane 2009. All population figures based on ONS statistics: 48,315,000 UK adults.

About LV=
LV= offers home, car, pet, travel and home insurance direct to consumers online and from its offices in Bournemouth, Croydon and Bristol.

LV= employs more than 3,800 people, serves more than 3.5 million customers and members, and manages around £7bn on their behalf. We are also the UK’s largest friendly society (Association of Friendly Societies Yearbook 2006/2007, total net assets) and a leading mutual financial services provider.

LVFS is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and entered on the Financial Services Authority Register No. 110035. LVFS is a member of the ABI, AMI, AFS and ILAG. Registered address: County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF.

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Checks, Financial, Money, Personal Finance

Styles Checks Released The New “Grease” Product Suite

With hundreds of assorted designs for every collector, Styles Checks continues to expand and incorporate more designs to appeal to the many tastes of its consumers. With the addition of the new “Grease” design, Styles Checks gets a sassy addition to its current collection of check designs.

In June, 2009, Styles Checks released the new “Grease” product suite through its website, www.styleschecks.com. The personal checks offer four rotating scenes that feature some of the Pink Ladies individually and then one of them as a group. Against backgrounds of pink and yellow, each rotation features a quote typical of the Pink Ladies. “Eat your heart out” appears with Rizzo, “Beauty school drop-out” is written below a pink-haired Frenchie, “Too pure to be pink” is portrayed with Sandy, and the group shot features the words, “Love us or hate us.” The personal contact cards also feature the group picture of the Pink Ladies while the self-adhesive address labels feature six rotating scenes of the above quotes plus the Pink Ladies and Grease logos. Finally, the checkbook cover is black with pink accents that include the Grease car logo.

The addition of the new “Grease” design allows Styles Checks to appeal to the preferences and collections of even more customers. Styles Checks offers designs for checks and banking accessories that speak to the interests of every collector, hobbyist, or enthusiast.

About Styles Checks:
Whatever interest, hobby, or collection you may have, Styles Checks is sure to have something for you. Including checks that feature our favorite personalities, colorful designs, and famous brands, Styles Checks is certain to have something you can fall in love with! Visit our site to make your daily banking routine a little more interesting!

TM & © 2009 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

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Debts, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Money, Personal Finance

IVAs: Help Avoiding Repossession

Responding to the latest figures from the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders), debt management company Gregory Pennington has stressed the role which debt solutions addressing unsecured debt can play in helping people avoid repossession.

gregorypennington

Released on May 15th, the CML’s figures show that 12,800 repossessions were carried out by first-charge mortgage lenders in the first quarter of 2009. “Compared with many predictions, these figures are relatively low,” said a spokesperson for Gregory Pennington. “Indeed, the CML itself has used the word ‘pessimistic’ in reference to its own estimate of 75,000 repossessions throughout 2009, and has recently revised this figure downwards to 65,000.

“It’s good to see lenders and borrowers working together to keep the figure as low as possible, but it’s important not to become complacent. There were still around 23% more repossessions in Q1 2009 than in the previous quarter – and 50% more than we saw in Q1 last year.

“Looking ahead, the repossession figures for the rest of 2009 are by no means set in stone. They depend not just on the state of the economy and the forbearance shown by secured lenders, but on the attitude of borrowers and unsecured lenders alike.

“In this recession, many people are suffering multiple ‘shocks’ at the same time. With 2.2 million unemployed and many others dealing with reduced wages, homeowners are also facing the issue of falling equity. While there’s no direct link between low (or negative) equity and repossession, this is limiting many homeowners’ ability to access ways of dealing with their debt – from debt consolidation loans and remortgaging to downsizing to a smaller property.

“It all underlines the importance of finding a solution that addresses a borrower’s priority and non-priority commitments at the same time. A founder member of DEMSA (the Debt Managers Standards Association), Gregory Pennington has 15 years’ experience of dealing with lenders of all kinds.

“Secured and unsecured lenders alike clearly have a thorough understanding of the problems consumers face today. They understand the link between secured and unsecured debt problems.

“Secured lenders know that many of today’s borrowers are facing complex financial problems, trying to deal with unsecured debts as well as secured.

“Unsecured lenders, in general, appreciate that a homeowner’s secured debts must take priority – and that repossession is unlikely to improve the borrower’s chances of repaying their unsecured debt.

“This is one reason unsecured lenders will often agree to the terms of an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement).”

A solution that’s designed to address the concerns of everyone involved, an IVA can help unsecured lenders recover as much of their money as realistically possible, and can help borrowers avoid the need to focus on their mortgage / rent at the expense of their unsecured debts. Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) achieve this by calculating how much the individual can realistically afford to repay per month after they’ve taken their mortgage / rent payments and other essential expenses into account.

“Even so, we always emphasise that entering an IVA is a serious step, and is by no means suitable for everyone facing debt problems. Depending on their situation, different homeowners may be better advised to consider alternative solutions to their debt problems.”

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