The Prudential has named its new chairman as Harvey McGrath, previously the chairman at leading hedge fund company Man Group. Mr McGrath retired from that position late last year but has clearly felt the need to return back into the financial services sector with this new appointment.
The role will be a non-executive one for which he will receive a fee of GBP500,000 annually. Mr McGrath felt that the Prudential combined a very strong history with an exciting future and as such seemed the perfect choice for him. He also meets the requirements of investors who wanted to see a chairman who was based in the UK but also brought experience of the international arena.
Mr McGrath has plenty of experience to draw upon and is looking forward to the challenge, with lots of background and hands on knowledge of many things the Prudential are currently dealing with.
The improvements made to their critical illness insurance cover by Legal and General have been supported by Only Finance, who are pleased to see positive changes in this market.
Although BUPA still leads the way with its critical illness insurance offering Legal and General have clearly taken positive steps an Only Finance spokesperson said. It is also great news that they have not used the cover improvements as a device to increase the price, thus bringing a real benefit to the consumer.
The Only Finance spokesperson also discussed the fact that it is certainly more cost effective to buy both life and critical illness cover together, saving money and also having a more comprehensive level of protection than when only taking one of them. He went on to advise purchasers of critical illness protection to ensure any medical questions were answered fully and completely, as almost twenty-five percent of claims made were rejected due to illnesses not being declared at the time of policy purchase.
Apart from all the other costs associated with having children Abbey National are warning parents that home insurance is essential so as to be covered for likely accidents.
Each year, according to a new Abbey National study, children cause damage costing more than GBP500 million across 2.5 million homes in the UK. It is the toddlers who are the ones to watch, as the study revealed those aged between 1 and 5 cause nearly a quarter of all the household accidents.
The Abbey National data also showed boys to be twice as troublesome as girls in the household damage stakes, while the most common home insurance claims for damage caused by children are on paint or wallpaper, furniture and items being broken.