Category Archives: Financial Solutions

Financial Solutions

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

Confused.com Launches New Social Media Campaign

Confused.com is challenging the British public to show everyone what they can do in 5 seconds, coinciding with the launch of Confused.com QuickQuote.

This latest social media campaign forms part of Confused.com’s ongoing marketing strategy for QuickQuote, a new text message service which can return a motor car insurance quote in seconds. The campaign reinforces the importance of having a car insurance policy and how this can be achieved in seconds by using QuickQuote.

For the ‘5 Second Challenge’ Confused.com is asking people to upload videos of themselves to YouTube and show us what talent they can perform in just 5 seconds, with the winner receiving a prize of £500. The social media campaign demonstrates the concept of time and what can be achieved in 5 seconds, a creative twist on the fact that the new ground breaking Confused.com QuickQuote service allows customers
to get a car insurance quote in seconds.

The social media competition started at 9am, Wednesday 16 May and finishes 9am, Wednesday 23 May and will be supported through the use of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. To enter the competition, the British public simply have to upload their 5 second talent videos to YouTube by 9am, Wednesday 23 May 2012 and either email the URL to 5secondchallenge@confused.com or tweet @Confused.com with their URL and the hashtag #5secondchallenge to be entered. Some examples of talent at Confused.com can be found at http://bit.ly/confusedtalent

The videos will then be entered into Confused.com’s YouTube slam, which will be found at http://bit.ly/5secondchallenge from 12pm Wednesday 23 May.

The Confused.com YouTube slam will begin at 12pm, Wednesday 23 May and will finish 12pm, Monday 28 May 2012.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com, commented: “We are encouraging people to vote for their favourite video in our 5 second challenge on YouTube slam. To see the video of their choice rise up through the leader board, viewers simply need to vote for their favourites. We are hoping to find out what else the British public can do. By simply entering, someone could win £500 just by performing for 5 seconds. Who knows, fame could come early for someone.”

Via EPR Network
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Experian Reports Slough Overtakes London As Identity Fraud Capital Of UK

Experian has revealed that Slough has overtaken London to become the identity fraud capital of the UK.

The Berkshire town recorded 25 identity fraud attempts for every 10,000 households, with residents targeted at around four times the UK national average – seven households in every 10,000. Residents of London, Gravesend, Birmingham, Luton, Manchester and Leicester, were also targeted at twice the national average rate.

London as a whole experienced 22 attempts for every 10,000 households, although attempts were not spread evenly across the capital. Financial service providers detected 78 incidents for every 10,000 households in East Ham, as residents were targeted at more than 11 times the national rate. Woolwich and Stratford also experienced significant identity fraud activity, recording 46 and 43 identity fraud attempts respectively for every 10,000 households.

While the instances of fraud across all financial products remained at a constant level between 2010 and 2011, with six in every 10,000 applications were found to be fraudulent. The data shows that there was a surge in identity theft via current accounts and mortgages during this period, with rates doubling, from six to 14 in every 10,000 applications, and quadrupling, from one to four in every 10,000, respectively. Identity fraud attempts on credit cards fell from 17 to four in every 10,000 applications.

For the first time, young people renting small flats from local councils or housing associations represent the demographic most likely to be targeted by identity fraudsters. This group, known in Experian’s Mosaic classification as Upper Floor Living, saw its identity fraud risk score increase by 47 per cent to 256 in 2011. Its constituents are two and a half times more likely than the average UK resident to be targeted.

Previously, the wealthy Alpha Territory demographic – representing the wealthiest sections of society living in fashionable London neighbourhoods – were most likely to be targeted. The risk score for this group helved in 2011, from 301 in 2010 to 149, as fraudsters turned their attentions to younger and less affluent sections of society.

Nick Mothershaw, UK director of identity and fraud services at Experian, commented: “The increasing prominence of lower income demographics at the top of Experian’s identity fraud risk table, alongside declining risk scores for the wealthiest groups, represents a notable shift in fraudsters’ tactics.

“Identity fraudsters have traditionally focused the bulk of their attentions on the wealthiest sections of society living in prestigious London postcodes. Our research shows that the risk continues to spread, with the highest rates of identity fraud now to be found in the Thames Valley and London’s Olympic neighbourhoods.

“Financial services firms and other providers of credit recognise the financial and reputational risks associated with identity fraud, and have put in place increasingly sophisticated identity verification and anti-fraud measures to combat the threat. Individuals also have a role to play fighting the fraudsters and it is important that they take steps to protect their personal information.”

Via EPR Network
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SecureTrading provides Checkout on Demand with multi-channel payment solution to support SME retailers

Checkout on Demand, a provider of multi-channel retailing software has selected SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independentpayment processor to provide on-line payment processing for its latest retail solution. Checkout on Demand is an ‘off the shelf’ yet scalable eCommerce platform solution aimed at SME retailers which, coupled with SecureTrading’s fully PCI compliant payment gateway, provides enhanced customer experience and multi-channel functionality.

With smaller companies facing new challenges in the retail sector, Checkout on Demand and SecureTrading offer all the advantages of shared resources, including reduced costs and scalability. Both companies are hugely experienced in the retail services arena, and SecureTrading’s payment gateway, provides a cutting edge, flexible and scalable solution to drive retailers’ growth and expansion strategies.

All the software is provided remotely and supported by a dedicated team of experts, removing the need for costly hardware installation fees, or in-house IT support staff. And by implementing SecureTrading’s payment solution, retailers benefit from full PCI compliance and transaction security.

Irene Chadwick, Managing Director of Checkout on Demand says: “We chose SecureTrading for its combined strengths in payment software and the helpful attitude and support exhibited by their staff during the implementation process. We look forward to working with them in the future”

Tim Allitt, Head of Sales and Marketing at SecureTrading, comments: “Multi-channel retailing and flexibility will become increasingly important to ensure commercial success. SecureTrading’s payment gateway can be adapted to meet the full range of ecommerce solutions and integrates with Checkout on Demand’s scalable multi-channel products.”

Via EPR Network
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Barclaycard PayTag Turns Any Mobile Phone Into A New Way To Pay

Barclaycard has announced the launch of Barclaycard PayTag, a new way to pay with a mobile phone. Millions of Barclaycard customers will be offered the chance to make payments with any mobile phone by simply sticking a Barclaycard PayTag to the back of their handset.

Available at no cost, and exclusively to Barclaycard Visa cardholders, Barclaycard PayTag is an extension of a customer’s credit card account. At a third of the size of a normal card, the credit card stickers can be discreetly stuck to the back of any mobile phone. Once attached, it can be used to make payments of £15 and under, rising to £20 in June, by simply being held over a contactless payment terminal.

David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said: “We are offering the choice of mobile payments to millions of our customers at no additional cost to them. More than half of us say that the item we’re most lost without is our mobile phone*, so we’re giving people the option of using them to make easy, convenient, everyday payments without the need to upgrade their current handset.”

The announcement comes as Visa predicts that the number of contactless point-of-sale terminals in the UK will rise by 50% to 150,000 in 2012. Major retailers that offer, or are introducing, contactless include Waitrose, McDonalds, Boots, WH Smith and Tesco. By the end of 2012, London buses will also accept contactless payments, followed by the Tube and the rest of the transport network in the Capital in 2013.

Barclaycard PayTag is safe and secure, and comes with the same 100% fraud protection as any Barclaycard. An exclusive group of customers will be invited to receive their Barclaycard PayTag in the coming weeks, before they are offered to millions of Barclaycard customers later in the year.

David Chan, added: “Barclaycard is developing a wide range of initiatives which will ultimately enable everyone to enjoy the benefits of mobile payments. Barclaycard PayTag is another milestone on our journey to make paying easier, and sits alongside other easy ways to pay with your mobile such as those we offer in partnership with Orange.”

Barclaycard and Orange announced that credit or debit card holders from all UK banks would be able to load money onto Barclaycard’s mobile payments application, in the Quick Tap wallet. This will open up the opportunity for contactless payments to more Orange customers. Orange also confirmed that it would be making Quick Tap available on a range of Android smartphones, with the first to be announced in the coming weeks.

Research carried out on Barclaycard’s behalf predicts that £3 billion worth of purchases will be made with mobile phones in the UK in 2016**. Barclaycard PayTag provides customers with the choice of simple mobile phone payments now, without having to wait to upgrade, and at no additional cost.

Via EPR Network
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APT Calls For Risk To Be Brought Into The Front Office

In a provocative yet insightful paper to be delivered to delegates attending the SunGard Industry Seminar on London, May 2nd, it will be argued that one of the biggest challenges facing risk managers is not the complexity or volatility of global markets but the need to simply prove the value of their work to the front office. This is despite the increasing recognition of the importance of risk management and risk analysis for financial institutions.

The paper, entitled ‘Searching Alpha and Avoiding the Abyss: Bringing Risk into the Front Office & Forecasting the next Greece’ will be presented to delegates from all sectors of the investment industry at a seminar organised by SunGard APT, the leading provider of investment technology and solutions.

The paper’s authors, Ian Barnett, head of Front Office Analytics at HSBC, and Dr. Laurence Wormald, from SunGard, argue that the need to clearly demonstrate the value of risk management has never been stronger. As well as this, for its effectiveness to be truly realised, it must come out from the back or middle office and be placed centrally in the front office. They go on to outline ways in which risk could be‘brought in from the cold’ by producing actionable risk insights that could add significant value to the day-to-day work of traders and portfolio managers.

The SunGard Industry Seminar in London on May 2nd will be held at the Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel. Part of a series of global events and seminars entitled‘Capitalizing on Change through Transparency, Efficiency and Networks’ delegates will explore how they can best meet the challenges presented by a wave of new regulations, along with continued growth of emerging markets and the technological revolution, which are all rapidly transforming how the financial services industry operates.

SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. With four businesses, including APT, the company serves approximately 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries. The seminars will be held across the globe, giving practitioners the opportunity to capitalize on change wherever they are based. Similar events featuring high profile speakers and industry experts are already scheduled to be held over the next few months in Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Sao Paulo and Dubai.

Via EPR Network
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Lyon Equipment’s New Supply Chain Solution Will Eliminate Paper Job Cards And Move Document Management Online

Outdoor pursuits and training specialists Lyon Equipment is future-proofing its organisation with a new ERP solution from Access which will automate many manual processes, increase efficiency, and move document management online. The 40 user Access Supply Chain solution is part of a modernisation process Lyon is going through which includes a £3.5 million investment in a new building.

Access’ manufacturing and supply chain offering will revamp Lyon’s returns and manufacturing processes, and support the company as it continues to grow over the next ten years. Rick Cockayne, IT project manager at Lyon, said, “Our business is growing and Access Supply Chain offered us the flexibility to support our planned growth. We were also very impressed with the integrated document management system.”

With two arms to the business; distribution & wholesale, and training courses, as well as some manufacturing there are a lot of paper-based processes in place. “We’re going to be putting everything online from equipment specs and training details to sales invoices and purchase orders. Our manufacturing job cards are currently hand written, and not easily tracked. We’ll be using Access to generate job cards directly from sales orders and track them through to completion. We will therefore be able to easily report on them on a continual basis with no additional effort.” continued Rick.

The new solution will also allow Lyon to modernise its returns system, saving a lot of time and effort. “We currently have a separate returns data base which means there is additional work re-keying information into our current accounts software. With Access Supply Chain we’ll use workflow forms to create a tailored returns system to our design. This will mean we can easily process the return all the way through to credit or replacement all on the one system, removing the additional work and reducing the chances of keying in errors. This will greatly improve the efficiency and simplify the reporting of our returns processing.” said Rick.

“We liked the look and feel of Access Supply Chain from the start, and theflexibility of the product was also a huge plus point. It’s easy-to-use and has more in it than a lot of the other solutions we looked at. It also filled us with confidence to work with the UK author of the product who we felt were willing to look after our needs from the moment we engaged with them,” Rick concluded.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Revolutionises Car Insurance By Launching Quickquote Mobile Service

Confused.com the leading price comparison site is revolutionising the car-insurance price-comparison quote process by launching a new mobile phone service called QuickQuote.

This simple mobile quote service is available for UK based customers and cannot be found on any other price comparison site. Customers of Confused.com can get a motor car insurance quote and save money just by simply having a mobile phone.

Confused.com have worked with Process Flows a well-established SMS vendor to create the first mobile phone service that changes the way a car insurance quote can be returned. It’s the quickest way of getting a cheap quote when the renewal is due, or if people are just interested to see how much it would cost them to get insured on their dream car.

QuickQuote is an innovative way of allowing customers to get quick and easy car insurance quotes through their mobile phone. To use this simple service, the customer must have used Confused.com before. They simply text the number plate to 66800 and Confused.com will text back with the cheapest quote in seconds. Customers can get a quote for any car just by simply texting 66800 and it only costs £1 per text.

Once the quote is received via their mobile phone, the customer can also access it via their Confused.com account and will be shown the range of car insurance quotes which are available through Confused.com. Currently 130 insurers are available on their panel, offering the biggest car insurance comparison service in the UK.

The advantage of QuickQuote is that the customer’s details can be reused on subsequent occasions, saving customers the time and effort required to re-enter this information every single time they are looking to retrieve a quote on a vehicle.

Jeanette Fennell, Product Manager at business solution provider, ProcessFlows, developer behind the SMS technology driving the QuickQuote service said: “ProcessFlows was recommended to Confused.com. Our SMS technology is designed to meet the needs of large organisations who want to leverage the popularity of text to market and engage with an extensive audience in real-time. Confused.com continues to lead with innovative ideas that make shopping for car insurance quicker. I am sure this latest campaign will be very popular with consumers. Our technical director is already reviewing his car insurance after texting to QuickQuote.”

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com continues: “Confused.com revolutionised the search for car insurance 10 years ago through the launch of Confused.com. To follow on this success QuickQuote has been created to provide a quick and easy car insurance process which we have developed with Process Flows to help customers find cheaper car insurance and save them money. Conducting a car insurance quote can be a laborious task for motorists when it comes to buying or renewing their insurance. However with QuickQuote this will all change.

“With QuickQuote drivers can shop around and get the best quotes and hopefully save a hefty packet on the cost of car insurance in the process. For new car hunters it allows them to find out the kind of car insurance premiums that they could expect on a particular type of vehicle at any place or time; even on the vehicle forecourt, helping to make the big decision a little bit easier.”

Via EPR Network
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Company Creates Award-Winning Software

Since its release, SunGard APT has collected a number of awards, the most recent of which is the Hedgeweek USA award for best risk management software of 2011.

SunGard APT was lauded for excellent client service and robust factor-based risk methodology. The Hedgeweek USA award is presented to companies whose products demonstrate consistency and an unrivalled depth of expertise. It is decided by votes cast by Hedgeweek’s 20,000 industry subscribers.

Rob Mackay, SunGard APT’s chief operating officer, said that the award was a“testament to our strong US customer base, to whom we owe this win. Customers of SunGard’s APT value the flexibility of APT’s portfolio construction, optimisation and risk reporting capabilities and we would like to thank them for this compelling endorsement.”

Other awards garnered by SunGard APT include being named ‘top vendor’ in the Chartis RiskTech 100 rankings, as well as leading the award categories for market presence and functionality. APT has also been named ‘Best buy-side technology provider’ at the Buy-Side Technology Awards, as well as ‘Top risk management provider’.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That First-Time Drivers Prefer Smaller Cars

Confused.com has announced that, according to its recent survey, first-time buyers are becoming more savvy to the cost of cars; looking at the full cost of motoring rather than just the cost of buying a car.

Cars are one of the biggest expenses that people make in their life time, with 76% of respondents to the Confused.com survey stating this. However, people are having to compromise on the cars they drive. Big engines and car modifications no longer the new driver’s prerogative, due to the cost of insurance and overall rising cost of motoring.

According to Confused.com’s research, motor car insurance is viewed as a ‘huge expense’ by 66% of people. This is because the cost of an average comprehensive policy is £1,869 for women aged 17-20 compared with £3,635 for men.

Confused.com’s research showed almost 70% of people chose their first car with an engine size of 1.3 litres or less, with 15% of under 24s citing insurance cost as the main reason for choosing a care with a smaller engine.

To keep costs down, new drivers are opting for the Ford Fiesta, which was voted the most popular first car, followed by the Mini One, in the poll of 2,000 drivers (selected from a list of 52 different makes and models).

For a 17-year-old male to insure a Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3 litre engine, the insurance premium would cost on average £5,372.96. This compares with the cost for a first-time buyer purchasing a Volkswagen Golf GTI 2 litre engine, which would cost£12,144.75 for insurance cover. This is more than double the cost of insurance for a Ford Fiesta, the first-time buyers’ car of choice.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Car insurance is a huge purchase for young drivers. However, our research tells us that these drivers are adapting to pressures and opting for smaller, cheaper cars, in order to minimise their insurance premiums.

“Buying your first car is a really exciting purchase. For the first-time buyer, cost is an important factor with 50% saying that price affects their purchase, and 35% of first-time buyers paying £500 or less for their first car.”

To help young drivers, Confused.com advises them to first decide how much they can afford to pay for their first car; not just the sum to buy the car itself but also the running costs – insurance, MOT, vehicle excise duty, petrol, repairs and servicing. Confused.com encourages first-time car buyers to shop around on a price comparison site and add an experienced named driver onto their insurance.

Via EPR Network
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Experian Reveals Mortgage Fraud Increases For Fifth Successive Year

Experian Identity & Fraud has revealed that fraudulent applications for mortgages increased by eight per cent in 2011, marking the fifth consecutive year in which the rate of mortgage fraud has increased.

Around 34 in every 10,000 applications for mortgages were found to be fraudulent in 2011, compared to just 15 in every 10,000 in 2006.

The overall rate of fraud at the point of application across the UK’s financial services sector increased by four per cent in 2011 to just over 17 in every 10,000 applications. In addition to record mortgage fraud figures, this overall increase was also driven by growth in insurance and current account fraud.

More than 90 per cent of attempted mortgage fraud in 2011 was down to individuals misrepresenting their personal information on applications. Typically, these first party frauds involved falsifying employment status or financial information, and, most commonly, attempting to hide an adverse credit history.

Experian’s demographic insight revealed that Mosaic groups, the Terraced Melting Pot – young, poorly educated individuals living in small towns – and the Suburban Mindsets – predominantly middle aged, middle and skilled working class individuals – were both responsible for around 15 per cent of first party mortgage fraud cases in 2011. The young, well educated professionals of the Liberal Opinions were also prone to attempting first party mortgage fraud, being responsible for 13 per cent of cases.

Nick Mothershaw, UK&I director of Identity & Fraud at Experian said: “About 70 per cent of financial services application fraud in the UK fraud is down to first parties misrepresenting their circumstances, and the products such as mortgages and insurance that have seen fraud soar over the last year have a significant first party fraud element to them. This kind of fraud tends to originate from financially stressed segments of society.”

Looking at other financial products, Experian found that insurance fraud UK rates reached 11 in every 10,000 applications and claims in 2011, an increase of 23 per cent over the last year. 89 per cent of insurance fraud was first-party led with the Terraced Melting Pot, Suburban Mindsets and Liberal Opinions demographics responsible for the most instances. Combined they accounted for 43 per cent of cases.

Current account fraud increased to 36 frauds in every 10,000 applications in 2011, up from 23 in every 10,000 in 2010. 60 per cent of current account fraud in 2011 was committed by first-parties, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of which was down to the Terraced Melting Pot demographic. The remaining 40 per cent of current account fraud attempts were down to third-party identity fraudsters seeking to open accounts as a springboard to obtain other credit products or for money laundering purposes.

Not all financial products saw fraud rates increase in 2011. Credit card fraud continued to fall, from 19 in every 10,000 applications in 2010 to 12 in every 10,000 in 2011. Automotive finance providers have also seen fraud rates fall. 23 in every 10,000 applications were found to be fraudulent in 2011, down from 38 in every 10,000 during 2010. 85 per cent of these frauds were first party.

Experian’s Fraud Index utilises data from the National Hunter and Insurance Hunter fraud prevention systems, which Experian manages on behalf of its clients. These systems enable financial companies to analyse applications alongside previous ones and highlight inconsistencies which may be indicative of fraud.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals An Extra £4bn Is Being Spent On Life Insurance By Uk Men

Confused.com has revealed that men across the UK are paying far more for their life insurance than women. Currently, men are paying an average of 26% more per policy, per year than women. The average British male will incur additional life insurance costs of £1,366 over their lifetime which equates to a shocking national figure of £4bn being paid. To make matters worse, Confused.com revealed that 1 in 4 men admit they never shop around for anything better.

The research also revealed that many people spend longer considering the purchase of a holiday or a car than choosing life insurance, with 54% of men saying a new car is a more important. The top reason for not having life insurance is because people don’t feel they need it (28%), and more than 1 in 4 of the UK are put off by the cost. Over 1 in 5 of people haven’t purchased life insurance because they don’t understand what it’s for.

Despite recent research showing that the majority of people (55%) feel worse off than in 2007 it appears that they’re not taking adequate measures to cut their costs. Over 1 in 4 policy holders confess to buying the first policy they come across, with men more likely to buy the first policy than women. It appears that people are reluctant to help themselves, as 40% of people don’t take advantage of price comparison websites when looking for life insurance quotes.

With the March 2011 European Court of Justice ruling taking effect from 21 December 2012, insurers will no longer be able to charge different prices for men and women when it comes to insurance. It is unlikely that men who already have a fixed policy will see any reduction in price.

So, making the effort to find a new or better value policy will become more important than ever as these changes begin to take place, but the research reveals that this might not come naturally to men, 65% of whom have never changed their life insurance provider.

Across all aspects of their lifestyle men generally don’t like shopping around, with an overwhelming 78% of those surveyed admitting to buying clothes without trying them on first, compared to only 25% of women. At Christmas men constantly fail to get the best bargain, with 39% of women shopping for presents from January onwards, compared to nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of men who leave it until the week before, resulting in inevitable overspending.

Matthew Lloyd, head of Life Insurance at Confused.com said: “Life insurance doesn’t seem worth the effort to many men, however they could be saving money by shopping around. Life insurance is about allowing your family to maintain their lifestyle if you were no longer around, and shopping with a price comparison site means you can compare prices from major providers in one place allowing you to find a good deal. The difference between men and women’s premiums means it’s even more important for men to make sure they’re getting the best deal possible.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Launches Vote Match Tool

Confused.com has partnered up with Unlock Democracy, the people behind Vote Match, to help the public make those difficult voting decisions.

The London Mayoral Election will be taking place on 3 May 2012 and Confused.com, the leading car insurance price comparison site, has made it easier to work out who to vote for through the Vote match tool: www.confused.com/london-mayor.

Vote Match is a free online application that was launched in 2010 and has been voted the Online Innovation of 2011. The application asks people questions regarding their opinions, interests, and certain life choices. The application then collates all the answers that are given and matches them to an election candidate which seems to most suit their opinions. In this case the candidates for the London Mayoralty Election.

Confused.com is providing people with an impartial, online destination that concerned Brits can visit to make up their minds on voting issues using an unbiased, award-winning interactive application.

Peter Facey, Director of Unlock Democracy, said: “Unlock Democracy are delighted that Confused.com is sponsoring Vote Match as our two brands seem like the perfect match.

“We recognise that often it is not obvious to people which political candidate best represents their views. Vote Match is a fun and easy way for people to compare the candidates and their policies on the issues that matter most to them.

“Unlock Democracy hope Vote Match will help the majority of London’s 6 million electorate for whom the main decision in this election is not who to vote for, but whether to vote at all. Thanks to our partnership, voters need not be confused come polling day.”

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: “We are delighted to be working with Vote Match to make it easier for people to decide who they want to support in this important election. The new tool makes it easier for people to match their own opinions with that of the candidates. A more informed electorate can only benefit us all.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Launches Facebook App That Burgles Houses

Confused.com has launched a Facebook video app called ‘House of Horrors’ in order to raise awareness of the importance of home insurance, coinciding with the launch of Confused.com’s Nectar campaign, where customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points with every home, pet, van, bike and car insurance policy bought through Confused.com. Customers who buy life insurance will receive 3,000 Nectar points.

The app clearly shows why people need home insurance and customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points by simply buying this product through Confused.com.

The app, which was created by A Social Media Agency, forms part of the on-going digital content marketing strategy of Confused.com and reinforces the importance of having a home insurance policy in place to make sure your possessions are covered against theft.

Once plugged into the video app, Facebook users are presented with a video of a burglar breaking into a home which they quickly realise is in fact their house shown through a Google Maps image of their street that is displayed in the clip. This is made possible as users are required to enter their postcode at the beginning.

The video app takes information from users’ profiles, such as photos, and places this around the house in which the burglar appears to be, to make them feel as though it is their own.

In order to demonstrate the need for home insurance, the app includes eerie music and a threatening ‘burglar’ character that is seen to be handling photos of the app user around the house. A shot of the thief stealing a laptop that displays the users’ Facebook profile and one last shot of the character holding a photo frame containing an image of the user completes the video, with the message ‘cover your possessions at Confused.com’.

Speaking about the video app, Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said:
“We’re looking to spark conversation with this video app and make people understand the importance of having home insurance. With the current challenging financial times, people may stop insuring their possessions just to save a few pounds, but this is false economy.”

Sharon Flaherty, Head of Content at Confused.com continued: “The integration of information from users’ profiles, especially their photos, is bound to make people feel uneasy as though their home really has been broken into. However, this is a situation which is very much a reality given that the British Crime Survey reported a 5% rise in burglary in the 12 months to September 2011.”

Laura Edwards, Account Manager at A Social Media Agency, added: “We wanted to make the experience of users having their home broken into as real as possible. Building Google Maps into the start to show their street was a big part of this, immediately putting you on edge.”

Known for their success at combining PR, social media and digital marketing, Confused.com continue to launch original ideas, such as their first video-only newsletter sent earlier this month and the recent Happy Birthday Video App. Social media has become a focus for the company in 2012, with exciting plans to focus on growing their audience in coming months.

The ‘House of Horrors’ app can be found at https://www.facebook.com/confused

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index Reveals Women Feeling The Pinch

The latest Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index has revealed that, after several years of soaring price increases, car insurance prices have fallen. However, car insurance prices are still 61% higher than they were at the end of 2006.

Car insurance prices for women have fallen 3% year-on-year but in some UK regions women are experiencing hikes as high as 9.7%, showing a murky picture across the UK.

For men, the price of comprehensive car insurance has dropped by 1.8% year on year bringing an average policy to £869 at the end of March 2012.This compares with women who were paying £751 in the same period.

However, the Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price index also shows that some women have seen more significant rises than men in the 12 month period. These changes are taking place in Leeds and Sheffield, Inner London, Manchester & Merseyside as well as the West Midlands and mostly amongst the 21-30 age group.

In the Leeds/Sheffield area, the Confused.com/Towers Watson car insurance price index shows that the cost of a comprehensive policy for women aged 21-25 increased by 3.4% YoY in Q1 2012, totalling £1,437. This compares with a 2% rise for men of the same age and postcode who in Q1 2012 paid £2,199 for a comprehensive policy.

Women aged 21-25 living in Inner London also took a hit in premiums, experiencing car insurance price rises of 3.9% YoY in Q1 2012, whereas 21-25 year old males living in the same postcode saw a lesser 3.4 per cent hike.

In the Manchester/ Merseyside region, women aged 21-25 were grappling with price hikes of 4.7% as the price of a comprehensive policy rose to £1,820. By contrast, their male counterparts saw a 3.6% rise.

Interestingly, and also in the Manchester/ Merseyside area, those women aged 66-70 were hit with a huge 9.7% rise in their insurance premium, compared with a 5.7% rise for men.

Despite being hit with regional hikes, women are still paying less than men for car insurance because the cost of claims is less for women compared to that of men. The Confused.com/Towers Watson car insurance price index shows that for the first quarter of 2012, female drivers aged 17-20 were paying £1,766 LESS than men of the same age. The average cost of a fully comprehensive car insurance policy in the first quarter of 2012 for a female aged 17-20 is £1,869 compared with males of the same age who pay £3,635.

As well as some women in some regions feeling the effects of car insurance price rises, increases above the rate of inflation (3.4%)* were seen in Oldham, Uxbridge, Bradford and East London. With a price increase of 7.1%, Oldham replaces Bradford as the postcode with the fastest rising prices over the last 12 months.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com said: “Overall we’ve seen insurance prices come down marginally but, some women are seeing significant increases in their premium. The European Union gender equality law bans the use of gender as a factor in calculating the cost of an insurance policy and comes into effect on 21 December 2012. As a result, we expect women everywhere to see hikes to their car insurance costs.”

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Confused.com Reveals Men Pay More For Life Insurance

Confused.com has revealed that men across the UK are paying far more for their life insurance than women. Currently, men are paying an average of 26% more per policy, per year. To make matters worse, Confused.com reveals that a shocking 1 in 4 men never shop around for anything better.

Matthew Lloyd, Head of Life insurance at Confused.com, said: “Men complain that women take too long shopping, but men need to learn from women if they want to get the best deals – on life insurance, but also day to day items too.”

According to evolutionary psychology, men and women’s shopping behaviours are adapted from the traditional roles of men being hunters and women being gatherers. Men, the hunters, locate their item as quickly as possible, whereas women, the gatherers, spend time analysing the different items in order to get the best deal.

Men fail to get the best bargains especially at Christmas, with 39% of women shopping for presents from January onwards, compared to nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of men who leave it until the week before, inevitably overspending.

When clothes shopping, half of UK men (50%) take less than an hour to buy an outfit, whereas the majority of women (89%) actually take up to 5 hours. An overwhelming 78% of hunter men admit to buying clothes without trying them on first, compared to only 25% of women.

As a quarter of men (24%) default to their favourite shop, 48% of women shop around, before making their final (and best) purchase online or in a sale. This is because the single-minded hunter men don’t like going from shop to shop – 42% buy their groceries in one store, compared to nearly half (49%) of gatherer women who go to several shops, seeking out the best deal.

When it comes to shopping in the sales, men’s aversion to shopping means that they are already lagging behind women’s eye for a bargain, with 23% of men preferring to shop in the sales compared to 31% of women.

Whereas nearly 1 in 3 men don’t shop around for life insurance, there is one thing that they do shop around for: a car. Over 54% of men think that a car is the most important purchase to bargain hunt for, whereas the majority (32%) of women believe that it’s a holiday that matters most. This is because hunter men prefer bigger ‘catches’. Hundreds of years ago this would have been an antelope for dinner, these days it’s a car.

Matthew Lloyd, Head of Life Insurance at Confused.com continued: “Men are happy to spend the time shopping around for lifestyle purchases they perceive as important, such as a car or television, but comparing life insurance quotes doesn’t seem worth the effort for many. However, they could be saving money by doing so.”

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Confused.com Unveils New Promotion With The NSPCC

Expert price-comparison site, Confused.com, is donating £5 to the NSPCC for every credit card taken out through Confused.com in April 2012. Confused.com is throwing its support behind the charity this year as it celebrates the 25th anniversary of ChildLine, the free 24 hour confidential helpline for children and young people, which is a service provided by the NSPCC.

The promotion began on April 1st and will run until 30th April 2012.

Confused.com has been comparing leading credit cards since 2008 and currently displays 245 credits cards.

Confused.com offers the most competitive and market-leading cards from providers like Barclaycard Platinum which offers 0% interest on balances transfers for 22 months, Tesco which is interest free on purchases for 18 months & Capital One World that offers up to 5% cash back.

Confused.com also offers a ‘card matcher’ tool that helps customers identify their chance of getting a card before they apply, without leaving a footprint on their credit profile.

For every credit card taken out through Confused.com, the price comparison website will give £5 to the NSPCC.

The Confused.com promotion not only means that customers get competitive rates on credit cards, they also support a charity that can make a real difference to children, by fighting for their rights, providing support and making them safe.

ChildLine joined the NSPCC in 2006.ChildLine is the UK’s free, confidential helpline for children and young people in the UK. Trained volunteers are on hand to provide advice and support, by phone and online, 24 hours a day.

Svetlana Kirov, Head of Corporate Partnerships at the NSPCC said: “The NSPCC is delighted that Confused.com will be supporting us in celebrating ChildLine’s 25th anniversary. For 25 years, ChildLine has been a trusted friend that any child or young person in the UK can turn to when they need someone there for them. In the last 12 months alone, ChildLine counselled over 265,000 contacts from children who may have otherwise had no one to turn to for help. With your support, we can continue to provide this valuable service for future generations of children and young people.”

Nerys Lewis, Head of Credit Cards at Confused.com, said: “We are delighted to announce this new promotion with the NSPCC. By just donating £5 from every card taken out at Confused.com we are helping support the NSPCC’s vision, which is to end cruelty to children.

“For those customers in the market for a new credit card, by using our comparison site Confused.com, they are not only getting a good deal on their credit card but are also helping a charity who puts children at the heart of their cause.”

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Marston’s Inns Selects SecureTrading To Improve Online Booking Experience

Marston’s Inns, part of Marston’s Plc has selected SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independent payment processor, to manage its online customer accommodation booking, which will lead to a raft of business improvements.

Using SecureTrading’s payment services, Marston’s can manage its web operations in house and monitor reservations more closely, while the system enables customers to take advantage of promotions on a pre-booked basis.

Jemma Milton, Digital Manager at Marston’s Plc, said: “As well as offering full PCI-compliance, it was important for the payment gateway to keep customers on our website to underline our professional service and brand. Thanks to SecureTrading, we can now measure occupancy rates as a result of our stronger value driven offers.”

Marston’s had previously used third party websites to process payments but SecureTrading’s system integrates fully with the existing website, ensuring customers stay in contact with the brand throughout the secure payment transaction and take advantage of offers such as discounts on
meals. SecureTrading’s enhanced payment gateway enables Marston’s to react to customer ‘no-shows’ more promptly and operate efficiently.

Tim Allitt, Head of Sales and Marketing at SecureTrading, comments: “Marston’s has an impressive pedigree and we are delighted to provide its payment gateway. Our secure system enables Marston’s to get closer to its customers and analyse
reservation data.”

A recent trading statement reported that Marston’s had enjoyed a like-for-like sales increase in the 23 weeks to 10th March of 3.5%.

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Confused.com Reveal Competition Giving Thousands Of Nectar Points Away

Confused.com, the expert price-comparison site, is to extend its 1,000 Nectar points promotion to include home, pet, bike, van and life insurance as well as continuing to offer the promotion on car insurance.

This promotion will run from 1st April until 30th June and follows on from Confused.com and Nectar’s first partnership unveiling in December.

Confused.com will continue to give customers 1,000 Nectar points for every car insurance product they buy through the website, but the 1,000 points giveaway will also be extended to every home, pet, bike and van insurance product.

Customers who buy any life insurance product through Confused.com will receive 3,000 Nectar points, giving a little helping hand in these difficult times.

All Nectar points will be awarded within the first 90 days of purchase*. The Nectar points will go straight onto the customer’s card, so they can boost their Nectar balance by simply buying insurance. The Confused.com promotion not only gives customers competitive rates on all insurance needs, but gives customers something back for their purchase.

The Nectar promotion will be supported by a TV advertisement and radio advert, running from the 1st April.

The television advert will be shown on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C, Sky Multimedia and many more in prime time slots. The radio advert can be heard on Absolute, Kiss, Real Radio, Heart, Talk Sport Magic and many other stations.

Will Shuckburgh, Nectar Client Services Director commented: “Our savvy collectors have loved getting points for saving money with Confused.com. Extending this to even more products, at a time when we are tightening our purses, will be really well received.”

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: “After our initial launch with Nectar in December, we decided that we wanted to expand this promotion further by offering our customers the chance to get thousands of Nectar points by purchasing motor, home, life, bike and van insurance products, making it even easier for customers to get more for their money at Confused.com.

“As a company we understand how hard things are for many people and this promotion with Nectar is once again demonstrating Confused.com is the people’s choice for comparison sites and a company that cares for its customers.”

The Confused.com advert will be aired on 1st April. The new advert can be viewed at www.confused.com/cara from1st April 2012.

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Peacocks, Puppies And Pests Behind Unusual Insurance Claims

Admiral has released details of its most bizarre claims from the last two years revealing our furry and feathered friends are often the culprits.

The car insurance specialist revealed that for one unfortunate motorist, their pride and joy was destroyed by a nest of mice who took a liking to its stylish leather interior. Another motorist collided with a bollard after their front passenger pulled up the handbrake mistaking it for the puppy which had jumped down from their lap, and another drove into a telephone pole while trying to swat a fly inside their vehicle.

Peculiarly, peacocks seem to be particularly troublesome for many motorists and four out of the twelve most unusual animal claims involved the feathered poseurs attacking vehicles. These include a car clawed by a peacock after seeing its reflection in the paintwork and another damaged by a group of peacocks which had escaped from a neighbour’s garden.

Dave Halliday, Admiral managing director, said: “We asked our claims handlers to tell us about any unusual claims they had dealt with that really stood out for them and found that animals featured in the most memorable ones.

“Although amusing to read about now, any incident is distressing for those involved and our handlers are trained to be understanding and professional. However, it goes to show car insurance is not always as dull as you may think.”

Other unusual claims include a car damaged at a village fete when a miniature pony broke loose and climbed over the bonnet, a driver distracted by a camel and an elephant tethered at the side of the road who collided with a bollard and a man who leaned over to stroke his dog when driving and crashed his car.

Another motorist caused a multi-car shunt after being startled by a spider dangling from the rear view mirror and a car was damaged by rats which entered the engine compartment and chewed through internal parts. Dave Halliday continued: “From territorial peacocks, creepy crawlies and cute puppies, it seems it’s not just other road users motorists should be aware of. These unusual incidents illustrate how important it is to remain focused on the road ahead at all times and not to get distracted by animals whether they’re inside or outside your vehicle.

“Whilst it’s more difficult to protect your car exterior from a frantic peacock, if you are transporting pets, make sure they are safely secured so as not to cause any distraction.”

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