Thursday 31 May 2012

Blue Insurances are amongst finalists of the European Business Awards 2012

Blue Insurances are amongst the 30 Irish companies that are national finalists in the European Business Awards. According to "Business & Leadership.com",  " Some 627 businesses from over 15,000 entrants in Europe are now national finalists for their respective countries in the European Business Awards. The Irish contingent is 30 companies."

This awards programme started in 2006 so it is now in it's sixth year. The award winners will be revealed next April (2013).

Blue Insurances was established in 2003 in Dublin, Ireland and in 2005 they opened their office in Cardiff, Wales offering insurance products to the UK market.


Catering for both the Irish and UK markets they offer a great selection of insurance products including Car Hire Excess Insurance, Breakdown Insurance, Gardget Insurance, Pet Insurance, Travel Insurance and Wedding Insurance.

Earlier this year, jml-Insurance started to promote them and details can be found at the Irish Property Insurance.com page Here

In the meantime we wish them all the success in the 2012 European Business Awards.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Great value 1 bed flat for sale in High Wycombe

If you are looking for your first home to buy in High Wycombe or wanting one to buy in a very popular location as an investment here is a golden opportunity.

Estate Agents, The JNP Partnership have just been instructed to find a buyer for this delightful 1 bedroom ground floor flat.

It is located in a small select development which is a very short walk from the Eden Shopping centre, bus station, BNU (Bucks New University), Wycombe Hospital and town centre. Here you will find the station with an excellent rail service on the Chiltern Line either to London Marylebone or to Birmingham.

The A40 is only a short distance away and the M40 mortorway is at the top of Marlow Hill next to the sports centre. 

Rutland Court has a mixture of owner occupiers and investors who have bought these easy to let out flats for the exceptionally buoyant rental market in High Wycombe.

What does this flat offer:


Photo The JNP Partnership
 There is a good size living room looking out onto the communual gardens.












Photo The JNP Partnership

There is a modern kitchen with internal window to the living room. Plumbing for washing machine and plenty of space for a fridge and freezer.


Photo The JNP Partnership

The bedroom has a built in wardrobe with sliding doors and looks out onto the gardens.

The bathroom has a modern white suite comprising panelled bath with shower unit over, pedestal wash basin, low level wc, part tiled walls, extractor fan, ceramic tiled flooring, wall mounted electric heater.

The flat is heated by wall mounted electric heaters.

It has an entrance hall with security entryphone system, wall cupboard housing fusebox, doors leading to lounge, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Outside there is an allocated car parking space, however unlike many of the newer developments that have sprung up in the High Wycombe area there are plenty of visitors spaces as well so it makes it ideal for a couple who have two cars. So many people renting are disappointed when they discover they can only park one car, or it costs a lot to park in the streets or car parks nearby. Here your tenants won't have that problem.

This Rutland Court flat is a leasehold property and is currently on the market via The JNP Partnership at £134,950.

Want to know more? Give JNP a call at their High Wycombe office on 01494 528000 

Please note the information and description above has not been prepared by the sales agents.  

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Don't forget your car hire excess insurance for the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend

The long bank holiday with the half term holiday is just around the corner. If you are hiring a car for the weekend or even for the week then you need to remember to buy your car hire excess insurance in advance before you collect the vehicle from the car hire desk.

Daily excess insurance policies are great for hiring a car, however if you are going away for the week, have you considered an Annual policy as it can work out even better value. What is more if you are likely to be renting a car later in the twelve month period you have already bought the insurance.  

There are plenty of car hire insurance companies to choose from and also car hire companies as well. More details at the insurance4carrental.com site here

You might have decided to go self catering and decide to hire a motorhome. There are a couple of insurance companies advertising at insurance4motorhomerental.com  and also one offering motorhome hire. Hurry as we are getting rather close to that important weekend.

Don't forget your travel insurance either there is a great choice at jml-insurance.co.uk

For many of us a bank holiday weekend is a time to move or going shopping and pick up the new garden furniture taking advantage of the special Queens Jubilee bank holiday weekend. You therefore might be hiring a van. As I discovered last weekend, having purchased van hire excess insurance in advance from one of the two insurance companies advertising at insurance4vanrental.com   the price I paid was a lot better value than the daily rate being offered by the major UK van hire company to reduce the £800 excess to nil. Apart from two van hire excess companies advertising, there are also a couple of van hire companies promoting their business as well and reserving is straightforward. Don't leave it to the last moment for arranging your car or van rental. The place I rented from last week was very short of stock.

Enjoy the good weather over the bank holiday weekend and don't forget your insurance, after all "Insurance is one essential you can't afford to be without today".

Thursday 3 May 2012

Businesses and homeowners seeking flood insurance could face greater uncertainty

Specialist insurance broker Neil Cook has just sent the following
Businesses and homeowners seeking flood insurance could face greater uncertainty and prohibitively expensive insurance premiums in just four months’ time, experts will warn today.



The British Property Federation has called for urgent action to create a new settlement between Government and insurers, warning that the end of an agreement that guarantees near universal provision of flood cover could leave around 200,000 homes in high flood risk areas uninsurable and leave homeowners and thousands of businesses facing unaffordable bills.The existing ABI/Government Statement of Principles between Government and the Association of British Insurers is due to end in June 2013, without any sign of a suitable alternative.
 
The BPF said that the uncertain future of flood insurance will hit businesses and homeowners from July 2012 as insurance cover starts to be renewed that covers the period that includes June 2013.Speaking ahead of a joint BPF/Peter Brett Associates summit held today, Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “This is a huge issue that is not getting the focus it needs, and time is running out. Its impact will be felt not only by our industry, but also banks and mortgage lenders.
 
Uninsurable property may be difficult to sell; banks and mortgage lenders may not wish to lend on properties in flood risk areas. Bank covenants and lease obligations may not be met, making it easier to prematurely end them.”Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance at ABI, will tell delegates: “Insurers are determined that flood insurance remains as widely available and as competitively priced as possible after the current Statement of Principles agreement with the Government ends in June next year. This can only happen if the Government agrees with the industry a new, long-term and sustainable flood insurance model – and the need for that agreement is urgent.
 
The current agreement is well past its best-by date as it distorts the market for both consumers and insurers. This is why we need a new approach, based on some form of pooling arrangement, to ensure that flood cover remains available to those at higher risk”Ben Mitchell, Partner at Peter Brett Associates, will say: “The issue of flood risk is never far from the headlines particularly in the light of the potential impact of climate change on increased flood flows and rising sea levels.
 
With the advent of future changes in insurance cover and austerity measures in the government funding of flood defence, it is important now to understand the current risks to which property can be exposed, how such risks can change in the future and what options are available to mitigate them.”Jackie Newstead, Partner at Hogan Lovells, will say: “There is still a widely held assumption that insurance will be available for flood risk, but with insurers being increasingly reluctant to insure high risk locations, we need to consider the implications for our transactions if it is no longer available. I
 
t may result in some transactions not proceeding and in other cases parties being exposed to claims for being in breach of their obligations.”
 
If you are looking for insurance for your home or business in a flood risk area, you should consider talking to Neil.
 
To find out more you need to contact Neil Cook Here.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Are you looking for insurance in a flood area ?

Towards the end of last month we asked on this blog "Will all this rain cause flooding?" 

The answer has come in the last few few days with severe flooding reports in the media in the UK and with April 2012 being the wettest since records began.

Unfortunately there is more rain on the horizon, but it is not filling the reservoirs.

"The Independent" is running a story today "Insurance industry set for a soaking in flood misery"  So more big losses for the insurance companies. The major problem is according to Insurance Broker Neil Cook, is that once a claim has been made with a property in a flood affected area, the insurance premiums and excesses can go sky high.

Neil has been helping individual householders who have had problems getting insurance and reasonably priced insurance in area of the country that is liable to flooding.

According to the National Flood Forum's website today (2nd May 2012) there are fortunately zero severe flood warnings, 13 flood warnings and 71 flood alerts in England and Wales.

The National Flood Forum has a page on it's site "Flood Friendly Insurance" where it says that "The NFF has developed a Charter for Flood Friendly Insurance. This Charter for seeks to restore customer confidence by promoting companies that demonstrate a fresh approach to flooded householders.We have also developed a protocol which defines the way brokers treat customers and work with the NFF."

One of the companies that have signed up to the protocol is T R Youngs Insurance Brokers and the contact is Neil Cook.

To find out more you need to contact Neil Cook Here

It is not raining in this part of England this afternoon, but will probably be on Thurdsday.