Online Insurance Guidelines

Bank customers who claim on insurance provided within packaged current accounts could end up losing their no-claims bonus on other policies.

Most paid-for bank accounts now offer consumers some form of home, travel or motor insurance as an add-on in return for the monthly fee charged for the account.

But for many customers, this insurance is useless. Often consumers have already taken out alternative, and more suitable, policies. This means they are needlessly doubling up their insurance, paying twice for inferior cover.

Not only are consumers paying for insurance they already have, but they could adversely impact both policies if they make a claim on one.

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While terrorist acts almost always occur without warning, and often in unpredictable patterns, you will never be able to protect yourself completely. However, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk. Make sure you have good quality international travel insurance to help you with expenses in the unlikely event of a terrorist act, and trip cancellation insurance in case your vacation is cancelled due to terrorist acts taking place before you arrive.

Pay attention to travel warnings and don’t travel to areas where there is a high risk of terrorism or kidnappings. Don’t take stopovers in airports of high-risk regions or countries.

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Earlier this month, comScore, Inc. released its 2011 Online Auto Insurance Report, the results of which pointed to the stabilization of online auto insurance activity by consumers in 2010 after the big growth that was seen in the sector in 2009.

From 2008 to 2009, there was tremendous growth in consumer auto insurance activity online, as consumers submitted 21 percent more auto insurance quotes online and purchased 22 percent more policies year-over-year in that span.

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Travel insurance companies can choose to exclude travel suppliers and destinations from coverage.  The following are travel supplier restrictions from Travelex as of May 18, 2011.

Please refer to this page for information about suppliers for which Travelex Insurance Services has restricted or eliminated coverage on the following protection plans: Travel Plus, TraveLite, Annual Multi-Trip, Flight Plus, and group programs underwritten by Old Republic Insurance Company.

Suppliers Not Covered by New Enrollments

Travelex Insurance Services and their underwriters have made a business decision to no longer accept enrollments and confirm coverage for travel with the following suppliers:

Supplier     Effective Date
Adventure Link Tours – Canada   July 10, 2009
Aero Canadian Tours & Travel Inc   January 10, 2008
Aero Continente   June 09, 2004
Aerocalifornia   April 04, 2006
Air Comet   December 22, 2009
Air Midwest   January 15, 2008
Air Tanzania   December 13, 2005
Albania   August 06, 2010
Aloha Airlines   March 20, 2008
Ambiance Vacations   June 27, 2002
Belarus   August 06, 2010
Bellview Airlines   December 13, 2005
Bosnia and Herzegovina   August 06, 2010
Burma   August 06, 2010
Buynetfares.com   April 03, 2007
By Land and By Sea   May 28, 2007
Carib Aviation   September 22, 2008
Caribbean Star Airlines   January 09, 2007
Caribbean Sun Airlines   January 09, 2007
Chanchangi Airlines   December 13, 2005
Christian Pilgrim Tours   October 13, 2006
Congo   August 06, 2010
Congo, The Democratic Republic of The   August 06, 2010
Conquest Vacations Inc   April 15, 2009
Cote d’Ivoire   August 06, 2010
Dialysis at Sea Cruises   December 01, 2005
EAS Airline   January 18, 2006
Elegant Cruises & Tours Inc – Port Washington, NY   July 16, 2009
Endless Adventures – Utah   April 22, 2009
EOS Airlines   April 26, 2008
Etm Travel Group   October 17, 2005
Exotique Expeditions (Ontario, Canada)   August 04, 2006
Fantasy Holidays (Jericho, NY)   November 07, 2005
Festival of Asia, California   November 22, 2005
First Class Travel, NY   July 15, 2004
First European Cruises   January 27, 2004
Fitzgerald Cruises & Tours   October 09, 2003
Flight Options Limited   August 17, 2010
Ghana Airways   July 29, 2004
Grand Luxe Rail Journeys    August 27, 2008
Great American River Journeys   December 22, 2005
Happy Vacations   April 20, 2009
Hobbit Travel   December 22, 2009
I.T. Travel Inc, Terre Haute IN   October 01, 2009
Iran, Islamic Republic of   August 06, 2010

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The personal finance section of FT.com was ‘highly commended’ as ‘Website of the Year’ at the Headline Money Awards for its coverage of consumer finance stories.

The judges said the FT’s website is a very well-judged online offering which continues to improve year-on-year.’,

Another said: “It’s a superior online offering to several of its rivals in this sphere and the add-on features such as its podcasts make it into a really strong proposition overall.”

FT.com/money was selected from a shortlist of national newspaper websites that included www.guardian.co.uk/money and www.telegraph.co.uk/personal finance

Josephine Cumbo, now FT Money’s pension writer was named ‘Protection Writer of the Year’ for her work on insurance throughout the year. Judges commended her fo

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In this Internet age, it seems almost impossible that we should need to pick up “snail mail” when we are traveling abroad. But lost documents, credit cards and bank cards all need to be sent by mail. Make sure you have fully comprehensive international insurance before you travel. International travel insurance will help you cover the cost of a lost passport, or enable you to claim back money stolen in a robbery.

If you are travelling for a long period of time you may also want to receive your usual mail abroad. And those that miss the comforts of home can receive a package of familiar things when they’re traveling abroad. Where

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Now that UK banks have agreed to set aside billions of pounds to pay back customers who were missold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), consumer groups say reclaiming money should be easier. Here are the key points to note when claiming:

● Is there any limit on compensation?

No, but claims made via the Financial Ombudsman can only be enforced up to £100,000.

● How far back can I go with my complaint?

The rule of thumb is that providers will look into policies sold up to six years ago, or policies sold up to 10 years ago to customers who were only made aware of the problem three years ago.

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