According to data collated by the Halifax home insurance division people in the UK have a bicycle stolen at a rate of just over one every minute.
The actual rate is one every sixty-five seconds, worsening from one every seventy-one seconds last year. The data also shows that London is the most dangerous place to own a bicycle, perhaps unsurprising as the bike is a popular form of transport in major cities like this. A Halifax spokesman suggested a simple way to cut the rate of bike theft would be to use a simple U shaped lock when the bike is left unattended.
The Halifax insurance spokesman also suggested looking at garden security, since many bicycles are kept in garden sheds or just in the back garden itself. Simple security is not expensive and could mean a home insurance claim is not needed.
Results from a recent Sainsburys Bank survey show around 4.7 million adults in the UK are without home contents insurance cover.
The most insured area in the UK is Yorkshire and Humberside, where 96 percent of people have contents insurance. This contrasts with London, the least insured place in the country, where only 78 percent of people have cover. Sainsburys Bank urge people without home insurance to get cover as it offers peace of mind and financial cover for what can end up as a significant sum.
With regard to the reasons for not having contents insurance the main reason given was that it simply was not required. This was followed by it being too costly. A Sainsburys Bank spokesman suggested these people should firstly tot up the value of their possessions and then check online to see how inexpensive home contents insurance can be.
Halifax home insurance customers will be happy today as they find out that they will receive GBP50 as a thank you for their loyalty to the company.
Each year that customers stay with the Halifax and have a claim free year they will receive GBP50, the award to be ongoing. The decision was made to introduce the payment after feedback from customers showed that they would like to their loyalty recognised. In addition to the payment customers will also be pleased to see that they can save up to GBP125 just by switching their buildings and contents insurance to the Halifax.
The head of marketing felt that this loyalty payment was perceived much more positively than the usual incentives and promotions offered by some other insurers.
