Depending on where you look, there is a different slant:
Quote:
4 September 2007
Admiral Reports Record Interim Profits & Strong Turnover Growth
Admiral Group plc (“Admiral” or “the Group”) today announces a strong interim result with a profit before tax of £86.3 million for the six months to 30 June 2007, an increase of 26% over the same period in 2006. Group turnover, comprising total premiums written, gross other income and investment income, rose 16% to £417.8 million.
2007 Interim Results Highlights
Profit before tax up 26% at £86.3 million (H1 2006: £68.7 million)
Total interim dividend of 20.6p, up 70% (H1 2006: 12.1p)
Group turnover up 16% at £417.8 million (H1 2006: £359.2 million)
Vehicle count up 16% to 1.4 million (H1 2006: 1.2 million)
Profit from ancillary products and services up 15% to £37.7m (H1 2006: £32.9 million)
Confused.com made a profit of £19.7 million (H2 2006: £14.3 million)
Employee Share Scheme – approximately £3m worth of free shares will be shared amongst 2,000 staff based on the H1 2007 result
Quote:
March 31, 2008
Co-op general insurance records 50% rise in profit
by Gill Montia
Story link: Co-op general insurance records 50% rise in profit
Co-operative Insurance’s general insurance division will be reporting 2007 profit in excess of £500 million this week, a 50% rise on 2006.
The impressive increase comes even after the insurer settled flood claims to the value of £36 million and marks the completion of a successful modernisation of the general business, prior to which it appears to have belonged more in an episode of Life on Mars than in the modern insurance sector.
According to David Neave, director of general insurance for Co-operative Financial Services: “The rating system was desperately out of date. The claims operation was run out of 18 offices; it wasn’t based on anything much more sophisticated than manila envelopes.”
Mr Neave joined the business in 2005 from Royal & Sun Alliance, since when he has been eradication inefficiencies and changing a system of tied financial advisers and agents.
The Co-op now sells its policies through business partners and via the telephone and Internet, whilst maintaining a small direct salesforce.
In recent years, the group has gained a reputation for its ethical stance and continues to develop products that reward eco-conscious customers.
In 2006, it launched a motor-insurance policy that offset 20% of a car’s carbon-dioxide emissions and there are plans to extend this to all Co-op motor policies.
Quote:
Beware insurer tricks on car write-offs
James Coney, Daily Mail
20 February 2008
Reader comments (7) | Chat | Deals
Drivers are furious that insurers are slashing thousands of pounds from payments for written-off cars.
The insurance industry has clear guidelines for dealing with write-offs but your stories have convinced us these are being abused. Money Mail has pledged to tackle the Dirty Dozen tricks used to extract cash from your pocket. And this insurance scam is driving you round the bend, as James Coney reveals.
When your car is written off, the pain of any injuries can be compounded by the dirty tricks of insurers.
The rules for dealing with written-off cars are clear. Industry body the Association Of British Insurers says car insurance companies must offer you a proper payout for the value of your car.
This means you must be offered a sum that will allow you to buy a similar car in a similar condition in your local area. All the insurer should deduct is the excess you agreed to when taking the policy.
The problem is that car prices are negotiable, and it is rare for the driver and insurer to agree on what a car is worth.
Insurers play on this. They know you are likely to need a new car quickly so pile on the pressure to get you to accept a payment.
They have a series of tricks at their disposal to get their way:
TRICK 1: THE CRAFTY OFFER
The insurance company offers a payout that is close enough to the actual value of your car to be realistic, but low enough to save it a few hundred pounds.
Frequently this will be a trade price. This breaks ABI guidelines because it is not a price a normal person could realistically expect to pay.
Sometimes the settlement will be based on a general valuation of your type of car that gives no consideration to your region or the season.
In some parts of the country certain vehicles will cost more. For instance, Land Rovers may be in higher demand in rural areas, so the cost is likely to be higher.
Some cars have seasonal price variations.
Soft-top cars get more expensive in spring and summer, so you should not accept a valuation based on what it would be worth in February.
TRICK 2: THE CHEQUE
Frequently the insurer will phone telling you the car is a writeoff.
Then a cheque with their estimated value will arrive in the post.
This is normally accompanied by a letter saying that by cashing the cheque you are agreeing to the settlement and cannot challenge it.
Insurers hope that by avoiding any discussion drivers will think the settlement cannot be negotiated.
This has caught out a number of Money Mail readers, who believe they have been left with no recourse to complain having cashed the cheque without realising the consequences. Unfortunately this is grey area. The Financial Ombudsman Service expects insurers to be up front about the implications of cashing a cheque.
But beware — drivers who do cash in a payment are usually seen as accepting the settlement.
TRICK 3: COURTESY CAR
Most insurance companies will offer a courtesy car when yours is written off, usually for a fixed period such as a fortnight. Don't be fooled into thinking you will be able to have a courtesy car until your dispute is settled.
Normally four days after your settlement cheque arrives you will be expected to hand it back whether you accept the payment or not.
This pressures drivers into accepting the payout because they need transport.
TRICK 4: THE CONDITION REPORT
The condition of a car can be a stumbling block. Readers have told how insurers have refused to believe a car is in good nick, or claim it was more damaged than it actually was.
The Financial Ombudsman says if an insurer tries to deviate from the value shown in a car price guide then in any dispute it would ask for specific evidence as to why they felt this was appropriate A spokesman said: 'It is expected that cars driven for a number of years will show signs of wear and tear. We would not expect to make deductions for minor imperfections that have been as a result of wear and tear.' Be wary of engineers appointed or employed by the insurance companies.
The Ombudsman has seen examples where engineers employed by insurers have put a car into a lower insurance category for relatively minor marks or dents to a vehicle.
However, you need to be realistic.
Cars can devalue quickly. Your expectations must be based on the current retail value, not on what you paid for the vehicle.
Some drivers get quite attached to their cars, but this 'love' doesn't mean you should get more money.
Likewise, your own improvements do not necessarily add value. In fact, some modifications can decrease it — 'go faster' stripes on a family saloon, for instance.
TRICK 5: MAKING YOU PAY
Normally, if you complain enough, the insurance company will offer a slightly increased settlement. But this can be way off the amount you still expect.
It is then that the insurer offers the help of an independent assessor.
You will be told that, for a small non-refundable fee, you can employ an assessor to value your car. The problem is that most insurers know drivers will be so fed up with the situation by now that they relent. Many also don't want the added cost.
The assessor's verdict also comes with a clause. If they find the valuation to be below yours, you will only get the original settlement offer, and not any further increased offers.
Money Mail readers are sceptical about the independence of these assessors.
And with this as fairly common behaviour from insurance companies, are drivers looking at them rather than the legalities of insurance?
Again not condoning the practice but if drivers see insurance companies ramping up premiums year after year when they have no points or claims, yet the policies are providing less and less cover and the insurers are offering a worse service, I can see why some drivers chose to drive uninsured. There is a perception regarding insurance and insurance companies that they are less than honest or 'fair' in the way they treat policy holders.
If I, as a consumer am treated badly or less than honestly I will not buy that product or from that company, I can see that some drivers are reacting similarly to insurance companies, especially if they have been claim free for years then had an accident to find the insurers acting against them, If he doesn't mind Lum has posted about his problems with insurers, whilst Lum is a law abiding driver and continues to pay his insurance, how many drivers are saying not bloody likely and dropping off?
It's something that I'd be very interested to know, as it seems that there are more drivers who fall into the ' normally law abiding' group that are being caught uninsured. Why is this? Understanding the reasoning behind a driver's decision to be uninsured could go a long way to finding a solution that has the right effect.
_________________
Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.
Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.
http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Members
