Research by moneysupermarket.com has revealed the UK hotspots for cheaper home insurance.

Lucky southerners living in sunny Bournemouth have the cheapest average premium of £103.98, which is £60 less than the national average.

York and Glasgow are the runners-up with an average of £109.22 and £110.73 respectively, closely followed by Tidworth, Nottingham and Leicester.

The data, based on a year’s worth of home insurance premiums quoted to over 2 million people, also shows that Greater London postcodes are the most expensive, but there are no surprises there.

The top 10 most expensive average premiums were all quoted in Greater London areas; Stanmore, in Harrow, topped the list with £286.50, closely followed by Golders Green with 280.59, and Dulwich with £279.07. This unenviable list also includes Mill Hill, Northwood and Edgware.

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Interest rates on small personal loans have shot up by 130% since 2006, according to information from Moneysupermarket, published by the Telegraph. Although the Bank of England base rate has been taken down to 0.5%, the average interest rate on a £3,000 loan is now 14.92%; a stark contrast to 2006, when the rate for the same loan amount stood at 6.49%, whilst the base rate was 4.5-5%.

Any borrower wishing to take out a £5,000 loan will see a similar increase; the rate has leapt from 5.83% to 10.84%. Average rates on a £10,000 loan have increased from 2.73% to 8.75%, whilst rates on a £15,000 loan have also seen a big jump; 5.79% to 9.08%

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No Smoking Day is upon us, and with that we receive a timely reminder of how much money can be saved through stubbing out the habit for good. Life insurer Aviva has released statistics showing that if smokers quit, they will pay significantly less on their life insurance premiums.

Women who hit 35 on their next birthdays, can save up to £40.56 if they’ve quite smoking and are on a 15 year level term assurance (without critical illness cover) and with a sum assured of £75,000. Men who are 25 on their next birthdays can, with 30 year level term (with reviewable critical illness cover) with a sum assured of £125,000, can net a saving of £151.56 annually.

Astonishingly, a smoke-free 45 year old male will make a maximum saving of £276.60 annually for his 10 year level term policy (no critical illness cover), with a sum assured of £50,000.

Aviva revealed that 15% of their customers are still smoking, and, according to the Office of National Statistics, two thirds of British smokers do want to quit. The habit comes at both a financial and physical cost, with information about quitting available at smokefree.nhs.uk. This site will provide you will details about how smoking affects your health, and also allows you to operate a smoking cost calculator. If your pack of 20 cigarettes costs £5, and you smoke 20 a day, it is costing you £1825 annually; the equivalent of 30 Premier League tickets, or 6 weekends in Paris.

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Alliance & Leicester’s Premier Current Account presently offers a £100 cashback incentive, combined with an interest free overdraft for 12 months, free annual European travel insurance and a 0.5% credit interest rate. Fairinvestment.co.uk has announced that Alliance & Leicester will be calling an end to its £100 cashback offer (currently the most generous on the market), with the date firmly set at March 7th of this year.

Helen Bierton, head of current accounts for Alliance & Leicester, offers words of encouragement to potential customers: “Changing your current account is hassle free with our premier switching service so customers do not need to worry about re-directing direct debits or standing orders.”

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With the new registration coming out today, many people will be looking to renew their car insurance. Moneysupermarket says that 7.3 million drivers will renew with their current car insurer, without examining the variety of options available from other potential providers. This means that a staggering 22% of the UK’s drivers are not even trying to save, despite the abundance of car insurers looking for your business!

UK drivers are wasting an astonishing £1.3 billion; an average of £180 per policyholder. 14% of those choosing to automatically renew their car insurance simply do not believe they will find a better deal, whilst 8% just cannot be bothered! Comparison websites offer people any easy and quick way to check if they could save money on their car insurance; but blind loyalty and a certain amount of laziness is costing almost £200 per person.

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The ISA season is here, and it’s time for providers to start competing for the attention of UK savers. An ISA provides tax-free returns on savings, and the next few weeks will see a lot of activity from the likes of Santander, Newcastle building society and Nationwide.

According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, savers should be looking at transferring their ISA, with a massive 92% of cash ISAs accepting ‘transfers in’. Cash ISAs that provide this option have increased from 183 to 272; the average fixed rate ISA is paying 3.24%, which is a positive contrast to last year’s 2.81%.

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House insurance could become more expensive as a result of climate change, an insurance body has said.

The Association of British Insurers warned that insurance companies would have to pay out more for flood and windstorm damage as temperatures increased. The extra cost would in turn be passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums.

Wales and the south-west of England would be worst hit, the report said.

The ABI report, which used predictions from the Met Office, studied the financial effect of temperature increases of 2, 4 and 6 degrees Celsius.

A rise of 4 degrees could see the average annual insured losses from river flooding and flash floods in the UK rise by 14% to £633m by 2060, while wind storm losses could increase by 25% to £827 million each year.

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Barclays has lodged an appeal against threatened limits on the sale of the controversial Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).

PPI is supposed to cover loan repayments if the holder is unable to work due to an accident or illness or if they lose their job.

In January the Competition Commission passed a ruling to prevent lenders from selling PPI alongside credit cards, loans and mortgages from October 2010. Instead they must wait seven days before contacting customers to sell them the cover.

In March Barclays lodged an appeal against the ruling, which is currently being heard in court. The bank argued that the ban is not justified by the evidence collected as part of the Competition Commission’s investigation.

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Eat out at a Slug and Lettuce bar this week and cut your food bill by half.

The Slug and Lettuce are offering to slash your food bill in half when you order a meal from one of their bars this week. To take advantage of this offer, all you need do is sign up to their newsletter and you and three friends can dine for half the usual price.

Take a look at the Slug and Lettuce menu, which includes tempting starters such as tempura vegetables and toasted garlic ciabatta strips, hearty mains including Butternut Squash & Goat’s Cheese Lasagne and Steak & Mushroom Pie, and a range of sumptuous deserts.

To benefit, simply sign up to the ‘Slug Club’ newsletter by filling in a few details here. You’ll then be sent a voucher entitling you to 50% off food when you dine at your nearest Slug and Lettuce, up until this Friday (28th August, 2009).

One voucher is sufficient per group of up to four people, over 18s only, subject to availability. Drinks will be charged at full price.

Book in advance and you can enjoy a relaxing stay at an Innkeeper’s Lodge for as little as £29.95.

During August and September, Innkeeper’s Lodge are giving you the chance to stay in one of their comfortable hotels for as little as £29.95 per room per night with their summer saver offer. The offer is available to two adults sharing a twin or double room, or two adults and two children sharing a family room. Breakfast is included.

Click here for more details of participating lodges, and to book your stay online.

It is best to book your room as far in advance as possible in order to take advantage of the cheapest rates.

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