Daily Archives: October 6, 2011

Banks, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Insurance, Insurance Services, Loans, Money, Mortgage, Personal Finance

Confused.com Find Bald Tyres Can Mean Insurance Claims Are Denied

Confused.com has revealed that drivers could see their motor insurance claims denied and face fines of up to £10,000, simply by failing to take proper care of their tyres.

One defective or bald tyre could see drivers hit with a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points or up to £5,000 and 6 points for two defective tyres.

In fact if all four tyres were defective, the maximum fine could be as much as£10,000 with a whopping 12 penalty points.

As Tyre Safety month kicks off, Confused.com’s new poll of drivers also reveals that many motorists don’t know how to keep their tyres roadworthy. The company interviewed 2,000 motorists and found that:
– 57% of drivers don’t know the correct tread depth for their tyres which is 1.6mm
– 58% don’t know the correct pressure of their tyres
– 18-24 year olds are least likely to know how to put air in their tyres
– 87.4% of people do not change their tyres for the winter weather

According to the poll, 58% of people do not know what the correct tyre pressure is for their vehicle with18-24 year olds being the key culprits. On top of this, 1.4% of people don’t even realise that their tyres need air.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com said: “Tyre maintenance may not sound like the most exciting topic on the planet but is important to basic road safety. If your tyres have too much air or too little this can wear the tread of tyres down quickly.”

“If a tyre has a tread of less than 1.6mm it is qualified as an illegal tyre. If the police stop someone with an illegal tyre they will be fined up to £2,500 for each illegal tyre. If someone is in a crash and their tyres are below the legal tread limit, a fine can be issued causing their insurance to be denied.”

“Tyres must be checked on a regular basis to ensure they are up to road safety standards. An easy way of checking tyre tread is the 20p check. Place a 20p coin into the main tread of the tyre and if the rim of the coin is covered by the tread this shows it is a legal road worthy tyre.”

Via EPR Network
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Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, IRA, Money, Personal Finance, Retirement

Standard Life Reveals Financial Commitments As Significant As Key Emotional Relationships

Financial commitments are as significant as key emotional relationships for people in the UK, according to research from Standard Life. It found that many would liken the majority of their regular financial commitments to the kind of relationship they have with their partner or spouse. Over three quarters (81%) of people paying into a pension view their relationship with their pension in this way and almost half (47%) of gym-goers liken their membership to a ‘husband or wife’ relationship too.

Standard Life’s full ‘Your Commitments, Your Future‘ report can be found at www.knowyourcommitments.co.uk and defines how financial and relationship commitments change during a lifetime. It also investigates the different attitudes people have to different kinds of commitments. It found that while most consider their regular financial commitments, such as paying bills or contributing to a pension, to be significant, on average people spend much more time thinking about their relationship commitments instead.

Other findings include:
– Over three quarters of men (77%) who pay a mortgage are most likely to liken the relationship to the same as with a spouse, rising to four out of five women (83%).
– Three in five men (59%) who have paid-for TV admit that they view their subscription as most like a ‘husband and wife’ relationship.
– While the longest relationship people in the UK have tends to be with a partner or spouse, their longest financial commitment is held for just two years less on average over their lifetime.
– The longest relationship for adults aged 18 to 24 is with a financial product, (two years and ten months, six months more than their longest relationship with a partner).
– Men and women who have a partner spend just 50 minutes a day thinking about their partner and just over half an hour (37 minutes) a day thinking about the financial commitments we listed.

John Lawson from Standard Life commented: “Our financial and relationship commitments change throughout our life and understanding how they are linked is essential when planning for the future. Our research found that although our financial commitments are significant, we devote less time and attention to them than our emotional relationships.

” We’ve identified three core commitment life stages, so people can see where they are in the financial and emotional commitment cycle. In that way, they are in a better place to plan their finances for the future and feel confident about what lies ahead.”

Psychologist Professor Janet Reibstein who worked with Standard Life on the report said: “An interesting aspect of this research is that people regard financial and emotional commitments as separate entities to be treated differently. Yet if people understand that financial and emotional commitments are linked, then they will be able to align their commitments with their aspirations.”

Via EPR Network
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