Posts filed under 'Finances'
Swiftcover are proud to be named as the UK’s ‘Best Online Motor Insurance Provider’ by the readers of Your Money magazine. The car insurance provider were shortlisted for the prestigious award based on price and service with the final decision made by a panel of mystery shoppers from Your Money magazine.
And it’s not just Your Money magazine who have recognised swiftcover.com as one of the UK’s leading car insurance companies. Personal finance website Moneywise awarded swiftcover.com the title of ‘Most Trusted Motor Insurance Provider’. This was after the online car insurance company won a poll from over 10 000 readers who rated financial services providers on a number of factors including whether they would recommend Swiftcover to other people.
Tina Shortle, marketing director at swiftcover.com, said, “We are delighted to have won these two important awards because they are honours voted for by our customers. It shows that not only does swiftcover.com provide the UK’s cheapest motor insurance, we also give drivers an excellent level of service and the trust and confidence they demand from a motor insurer.”
Swiftcover has had a fantastic year so far as these accolades are not the first proudly placed under their belts in 2009.
August 13th, 2009
An Electric Car you can Plug in at Home - Nissan reach an era of Green Motoring
Nissan have unveiled the world’s first affordable electric family car. It’s called the ‘Leaf’ hatchback and averages a top speed of 100mph after it is charged from a plug socket at home - now that’s a powerful green machine. The five-seater is powered by a lithium-ion battery and could soon be sitting in thousands of garages around Britain very soon.
The zero emission vehicle will be sold first in the U.S, Japan and then Europe towards the end of 2010 and Nissan bosses have stated the car’s batteries could be made at the Sunderland plant - creating hundreds of jobs and giving the car industry a boost during the recession. The Leaf’s batteries can be fully charged overnight or reach 80% full in half an hour and they appear to fit neatly in place of your petrol cap.
The hatchback’s price could start at around £13,000. The best part however, is that owners will not have to pay road tax because the Leaf has no emissions. So, could you turn over a new leaf? Speaking of ways to keep your costs down, get cheaper car insurance online and check out Swiftcover.com for a UK car insurance quote in under 60 seconds.
August 7th, 2009
I don’t know about you but I find it really hard to understand exactly what is going on in our economy.
Today we are reading reports that mortgage lending in March rose by 16 per cent and that we are finally seeing movement in the housing market. Lending in March 2009 was still 52 per cent lower than in March 2008 but at least it is moving in the right direction. The numbers of homes changing hands in March also jumped by 40 per cent and property website Rightmove confirmed that they have seen house prices rise in the past three months.
So on the one hand things are starting to show signs of improving. Then along comes Alastair Darling with his 2009 Budget. He announced today that
the UK will have to borrow a record £175 billion with our economy this year expected to be the worst since the second world war.
Key points from the budget include:
* Alcohol taxes up 2% from midnight
* Tax on tobacco up 2% from 6pm
* Fuel duty to rise by 2p per litre from September
* Introduction of a car scrappage scheme
* A rise in income tax for those earning over £150,000
* A reduction in tax relief on pensions for people on more than £150,000 a year
And the outlook for the Economy
* Forecast to shrink by 3.5% in 2009
* Growth expected to pick up in 2010, expanding to 1.25%
* Economy to grow by 3.5% annually from 2011
* Public borrowing to increase to £175 billion
* Consumer price inflation to fall to 1% by the end of the year.
* Retail price index to go to -3% by September.
The International Monetary Fund thinks that Alastair Darling is being rather optomistic with his growth expectations in 2010. They predict that the economy will shrink by 4.1% this year and continue to contract by 0.4% in 2010.
Time will tell but at the moment I wouldn’t certainly err on the side of caution.
April 22nd, 2009
Demanding workloads and longer commutes are eating away at our free time more than ever before, leaving the average Briton tired and stressed, and cutting the time they spend with their families, according to research by swiftcover.com, the UK’s only fully online car insurer.
swiftcover.com’s ‘Get a Life’ survey found that 46% of people say they have a lot less free time than they did three years ago, with almost half of those surveyed (49%) saying that their working day now stretches to between 9 and 11 hours including commuting time.
It isn’t just the employed that work long hours. According to an article in The Telegraph a mother’s working day is 15 hours long!
As a result people are trying to be more efficient with their time by carrying out some mundane chores on the internet. More people are doing their weekly food shopping, present buying and sale shopping online. According to an article on The BBC, books are sold on the internet more than any other product.
With the increased lack of time and the current credit crunch, now is a great time to get online and save some money. If you are currently looking for car insurance visit swiftcover.com, they are consistently voted as a cheap car insurer.
March 5th, 2009
Today the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.5% taking them to a historic low of just 1%.
Customers fortunate enough to have taken out a tracker mortgage will now be paying even less from next month. The Times reports that 1,500 people who took out a tracker mortgage pegged at 1.01 points below the base rate with Cheltenham & Gloucester will be paying no interest at all.
However, some consumer groups and trade bodies complained that a rate cut will do very little to help the majority of borrowers and penalise savers. An article in The Telegraph estimates that there are some 23 millions savers (some duplication were people hold accounts with more than one society) and only 2.9 million mortgage customers. So the cut will not be welcome by everyone. Especially those people who don’t have an alternative mortgage and who have savings.
Let’s hope that the banks actually pass this saving on to new borrowers. Especially in light of house prices unexpectedly rising in January by 1.9%. If people can afford to borrow again then it may encourage people to join the housing ladder.
February 5th, 2009
With the state of our economy seemingly getting worse every day, cost cutting is high on everyone’s agenda.
The news is full of doom and gloom with more companies laying off staff, repossessions on the up and costs like childcare on the increase. The BBC is today reporting that the global recession could result in 51 million people losing their jobs.
Looking at ways of reducing our spend has never seemed more appropriate. Shopping around is always a good tactic and the best way to compare prices quickly is by shopping online. There are many comparison sites for grocery shopping, household goods, electricals and insurance. For great car insurance and to save time and money, you should visit 100% online insurance company swiftcover.com. They are the only insurance company without call centres so have lower overheads than other insurance companies and are able to give lower premiums.
If you are thinking of cutting out your car insurance cost completely you may want to think again. Uninsured drivers could end up out of pocket if they have an accident whilst uninsured. They could be faced with court fines and having to pay for their own vehicle to be fixed. Also having a conviction for driving without insurance will make it more difficult to find car insurance as many companies will not insure you.
By all means cut back on expenses but be sensible that you aren’t cutting expenses that may cost you more in the long run.
January 28th, 2009
As the financial crisis worsens the Government announced today a £50 billion bail out of the banking system, funded by us taxpayers. Apparently taxpayers have the potential to ‘earn a proper return’, whatever that may mean. There are also Government stipulations that banks must cap executive pay and shareholder dividends and commit to supporting lending to homebuyers and small business, as reported in The Independent today.
The Bank of England has also made the decision to cut interest rates from 5% to 4.5%. Some mortgage lenders were quick to pass this cut on to their customers through their variable rates.
Hopefully these changes will have the desired effect on the economy but we all need to continue to be stringent with our spending.
Remember, now is the best time to reevaluate your finances. Take more notice of what you are spending your money on, look for offers when you are shopping, don’t use your car for short journeys and make sure that you aren’t paying over the odds on your car insurance.
I read an article in The Independent that advises young drivers not to cut corners when purchasing car insurance. Due to the large premiums that new inexperienced drivers have to pay, they are often put on their parents car insurance policy as a named driver. However, what appears to be quite commonplace now is that young drivers are continuing to do this even through they in fact are the main driver. Especially when using a car at University. What many people don’t realise is that this is technically fraud and if the young driver was to have an accident their car insurance policy could be invalid.
Many insurance companies offer some good rates for young drivers. 100% online insurance company believe that it is unfair for all drivers to pay over the odds on their car insurance simply because of their age. They were also voted cheapest car insurance provider in 2008 by moneysupermarket.com, so visit their website and get a car insurance quote. By having your own car insurance you also build up your no claims discount which will mean that your insurance premium will come down if you don’t have an accident. So cutting corners is not always the best option.
October 8th, 2008
It is a very worrying time for us at the moment as we are all concerned about the economy and whether we are going to go into a recession.
It is all about counting the pennies and watching the pounds. 100% online car insurance company swiftcover.com have published their 10 top tips on reducing your car insurance premium. They are:
1. Drive a smaller car
2. Choose an older car
3. Add your partner
4. Consider a larger excess
5. Don’t pay for unnecessary policy features
6. Buy online
7. Have an alarm fitted
8. Park off-road if you can
9. Look again at ‘green’ cars
10. Shop around
The tips can be found on the ‘Swift Relief’ site which is a site listing businesses which provide a quick and enjoyable customer experience. If you know of a service that fits this bill, visit the site and recommend them. They may get selected to win a Swift Award.
As well as your car insurance, there are only areas that you can reduce your expenditure. GMTV have listed their top tips on reducing your electricity bills, The BBC have an article on saving money as your family grows and Moneysavingexpert.com has some fantastic tips.
October 2nd, 2008
At the moment there are articles every day on how to ride the credit crunch and some of the tips are really good. If we take just some of them on board, not only would we ride the credit crunch, but we could change our way of thinking and have a healthier bank balance and mind frame going forward.
An article on The Times website lists 50 ways in which you can save money. Some are a little unrealistic like making your own make up and beauty treatments, but some are quite practical. For example, if you have a spare room then you may think about getting a lodger, cutting back on non-essentials and putting your spare change in a piggy bank. They say that if you look after the pennies then the pounds look after themselves.
You could also learn more about your car so that you can check your own tyre pressure, check your oil and change light bulbs. You could even go as far as learning more about the engine of the car so that you don’t have to visit garages when the spark plugs need to be changed. You can also be more efficient with your driving helping you to reduce running costs of your car. A report in The Telegraph today states that more and more people are choosing to leave their cars at home, and those that are driving are slowing down to reduce fuel consumption.
Don’t forget to also shop around for all your insurance products from your car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance though to your pet insurance.
It’s amazing how much you can save by shopping around. If you are a woman, don’t be fooled by women-only insurance companies that claim that they can give you a better price. Research has shown that you could be paying over the odds.
August 27th, 2008
The BBC have reported this week that the average food bill has now increased by £15 a month for a family of four. Coming from a family of four I can completely agree with these statistics.
According to the report, a basket full of staple items costs 15% more now then it did 12 months ago, staple items would include bread, milk and tea bags. The increase in costs has not be put down to the rising food prices internationally. The price of wheat as an example has risen sharply in 2008 which has pushed up the price of wheat based products like bread. Corn prices have surged due to bad weather and flooding in the US and now farmers are having to pay more to feed their livestock which is compounding on the price of meat and dairy products.
A report by ASDA shows that although people are receiving reasonable pay rises they actually have less money each week to spend due to the increasing cost of bills. It is also evident that people are feeling the pinch as less people are paying their credit cards off in full each month. One of the problems with this is that people will be charged interest if they do not pay for purchases in full in the credit-free period. Paying part of the bill is not good enough.
A case study detailed in The Guardian found that someone had left 62p on their credit card by mistake, having paid off over £5,000 of the cost of some flights, but because there was this remaining balance he was charged £61.40 interest. Unbelievable. So make sure that you don’t over spend on your credit card so that you don’t have to worry about escalating interest charges.
One good piece of news today is that Gordon Brown may not go ahead with the 2p a litre increase in fuel duty this autumn. It isn’t confirmed yet but that would be one less thing to worry about, for now!
July 3rd, 2008
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