Tuesday 29 July 2014

Tenants in London are now paying twice as much as those across the rest of Britain

Average rents across the UK rose by 6.3% over the past year and now stand at £862 a month compared to £811 a year ago, the HomeLet Rental Index study found.

Tenants in the capital face average monthly rents of £1,412, compared to £694 for the rest of the UK once London is excluded, and saw prices soar 11.2% in the year up to June 2014.

Out of the country's 12 regions, only the North East of England and Scotland saw minor falls in rental prices, with year-on-year drops of 2.3% and 3.8% respectively.

As well as information on rental amounts, the HomeLet Rental Index also provides information on tenant demographics, such as their average age, income, previous residential status and property type they’re applying to live in.
HomeLet is one of the leading sources of support for the UK’s vibrant private rented sector. It is part of the Barbon Insurance Group and based in Lincoln. There are now more than 300 members of staff working hard every day to support letting agents, landlords and tenants.

They offer tenant referencing services plus Landlord Insurance and Tenant Insurance products. Find out more about these insurance products here.

Source:HomeLet 

Seasonal holiday tips from Economy Car Hire and Staysure Insurance

With the holiday season in full swing and the English coastline fading away in the distance two companies have been sending out tips for travellers in the past couple of days.

First of al Economy Car Hire . They offer great deal car hire in numerous locations in Europe. They said "How to avoid long queues at the airport"

They went on to say " Now that the summer is here, people are queuing at some car rental desks in major Spanish Airports for up to two hours. What a way to start your holiday!

Many of the suppliers that we work with in Spain operate offsite. Simply hop on a shuttle bus. Your first few minutes on unusual terrain will be a in quieter spot, instead of having to deal with heavy traffic straight away.

We do also work with suppliers that facilitate airport collection, where the queues are more reasonable. Watch out for the blue desk in airport tag on the quote results. Whichever option you choose, make sure it's with us!"  Find out about Economy Car Hire Here 
 


Then there was Staysure Insurance who offer travel insurance and holiday home property insurance products. They said "Stay safe when travelling". Their tips had been prompted by  the campaign to help find pensioner Arthur Jones over the past few weeks. The 73-year-old granddad went missing on the Isle of Crete during a walking trip on 19th June.

Staysure  have put together these 20 Tips

 Be Safe 1. Always tell someone where you are going—even if it's the hotel reception.
2. Stay in touch with family regularly via phone, email or even social media.
3. Take a fully charged mobile phone with you when exploring.
4. Keep to open public places, especially at night.
5. Avoid looking like a typical tourist—don't walk around with a map outstretched in front of you or taking photos of everything that moves!


Planning Ahead 6. Scan all your important documents and then email them to yourself.
7. Book your first night's accommodation in advance.
8. Visit your doctor before you leave and ask about vaccinations you may need.
9. Know what buses, planes and trains you need to take and how much they will cost.
10. Arrive early in the day, so that you are not wandering around at night in an unfamiliar place.


Watch Your Valuables 11. Don't put all your cash/cards in your wallet/purse. Leave some in a safe if you have access to one, so that if you lose any, all is not lost.
12. Don't keep your wallet/purse in your back pocket.
13. Use a padlock to keep your luggage secure.
14. Try not to show off your valuables or flash money around, as this could make you a target for thieves.
15. Be wary of giving money to beggars as people will see where your wallet/purse is. If you want to help out, donate online or when at home.


Be Smart 16. Try not to use your credit card at an Internet café or with Wi-Fi, as your information can be stolen.
17. Slow things down when necessary. If a stranger is rushing you to make a decision, just tell them to talk slower.
18. Use the same common sense that you use at home.
19. Trust your gut feeling. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.
20. Most importantly of all, get good travel insurance.


Following on from number 20  Find out More about Staysure Insurance products here

Sources: Economy Car Hire and Staysure Insurance.


Friday 25 July 2014

School is out and holidays finally here have you got the insurance you need?

Schools finally break up today for the six week break. Of course many broke up much earlier than this including those in Scotland, Ireland and France.

In Britain the airports, roads and ferry ports will be very busy this weekend. Are you completely prepared?

Have you packed everything,? Taking your car, have you adjusted the tyre pressure to allow for extra weight? Did the passport you were waiting for finally arrive?  Have you purchased your travel insurance and if you are hiring a car your car hire excess waiver insurance?


If you have not arranged your insurance yet, it is easy to do by visiting www.jml-insurance.co.uk  This is a specialist site that promotes a great selection of individual insurance company's insurance products and like the Irish version  www.irishpropertyinsurance.com also offers access to holiday home property insurance as well.

You make all the arrangements direct with the individual insurance company so if you have forgotten that important "something" - "insurance" it is very easy to get it arranged  straightaway.

Remember insurance for travel, car hire excess and your holiday home is one essential you can not be without.

Enjoy your holidays.

   


Tuesday 15 July 2014

Blue Insurances is working with Transport Media on the London Underground

According to a media report issued yesterday by Pressat and published on the Motor E Magazine website, " Irish insurances group Blue Insurances is working with  Transport Media  to launch a summer campaign on the London Underground, protecting holiday makers planning on travelling abroad. A two week campaign will launch on July 14th across the capital’s Underground network, displaying Blue Insurances’ advertising on tube car panels throughout the network’s carriages. 

Two different designs are being used to promote carhireexcess and multitrip; two insurance websites dedicated to protecting travellers abroad. carhireexcess.com provides car excess insurance for people planning on hiring a car in Europe or worldwide. 

Award winning travel insurance site multitrip.com covers passengers when experiencing flight delays, and is using the campaign to promote its annual travel insurance deal. As the advert explains: “ We can’t stop your flight being delayed, but we can cover you, when things go wrong! ” The colourful, eye-catching adverts are perfectly positioned to attract the interest of London’s commuters and tourists during the summer holiday period. 

The advertisementsalso highlight that each site and its services are accessible from a smartphone – an ideal functionality for Blue Insurances’ target market of audiences on the move. Positioned at the top of a tube carriage, advertising on London’s tube cars panels creates highly visible advertising that is viewed at close proximity. With an average duration of 13 minutes spent in a carriage per journey, audiences will have plenty of time to read and absorb Blue Insurances’ campaign messages.

Lee Dentith, CEO of Transport Media’s parent company, Media Agency Group said: “Tube car panel advertising is a fantastic way to guarantee exposure across the city to a huge, captive audience. Perfectly timed to coincide with the summer holidays, this campaign will be sure to engage with passengers either planning, or on route to their holiday abroad.”  

Blue Insurances Travel insurance / Car hire excess insurance / Pet Insurance / Gadget Insurance / Wedding insurance and breakdown insurance have been promoted at various jml Insurance websites including Irishpropertyinsurance.com and insurance4carrental.com for the past couple of years. They offer products for the Irish and UK markets and are based in Dublin, Ireland and Cardiff, Wales. 

To find out more about their range of products for the UK market and arrange your purchase on line follow this link

For the Irish market follow this link

SourcePressat , Motor E Magazine, jml Insurance

Sunday 13 July 2014

British tourists are facing sky-high car hire costs in some of the most popular summer holiday destinations


The "Express and Star" published a topical article yesterday "Britons warned about car hire costs -British tourists are facing sky-high car hire costs in some of the most popular summer holiday destinations.

According to this informative article "Costs in Majorca, for example, are almost twice as high as those in Cyprus, which has the lowest charges among 16 resorts surveyed by Post Office Travel Money.Other popular spots where charges were particularly high include Faro in Portugal, Split in Croatia and Dublin."

There are a lot of similar travel articles about at the moment at the start / well into the summer holiday season (depending on whether you have youngsters at school or not or when they broke up or are about to).

The article went on to say "After Larnaca in Cyprus , the best value destination was Luqa in Malta (£317), followed by Marmaris in Turkey (£325), Copenhagen (£335) and Salzburg in Austria (£362).

Post Office Travel Money said its survey of 2,106 UK adults showed that in hiring a car, 56% failed to take out excess waiver insurance that reduces the excess payable for accidents or theft to zero.

Even more (76%) did not take out insurance cover for tyre, undercarriage and window damage.
Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: "These figures make it clear that it is a false economy to cut costs by sticking to the basic cost when booking car rental online.
"We advise against taking a risk that could cost hundreds of pounds if your hire car suffers damage or is stolen."

There was no reference as to whether the Post Office offers  excess waiver insurance, however you can find a great choice of competitive providers here.

To view the article follow this link to the Express and Star.