After seemingly endless rises in car insurance premiums, it has been reported that things are looking up for younger drivers.

Website Tiger.co.uk has announced findings from research based on thousands of car insurance quotes in the UK, noting a 5.5% drop for both male and female young drivers between July and September.

The month of September alone has, according to the research, seen around a 4% drop for young men, and a 1% drop for young women. However, it is worth remembering that the premiums rocketed in 2010, and the cost of car insurance is still sky-high, despite the welcome drop.

Drivers are encouraged to shop around and compare car insurance in order to find the best deal, and to look out for policy details and benefits, instead of simply seeking out the cheapest offer.

Image: L&LAutomotive

In a move designed to curb the UK’s current compensation culture, the government is planning to ban injury claim referral fees paid by lawyers to insurance companies.

Lawyers pay a fee to insurance companies for customer details relating to accidents and injuries, and then pursue the individuals involved in an attempt to coerce them into making a claim. These are often advertised as ‘no win, no fee’ claims; this encourages people to move forward with their own potential claim as they have nothing to lose and money to gain.

According to The Independent, insurers partly blame their own soaring premiums on the rising number of personal injury claims, although, conversely, insurers receive payments for passing on the details that are integral to the whole process.

Justice Minister Jonathan Djangoly, quoted by the BBC, agrees that premium hikes can, in part, be attributed to the vast quantity of loose claims, saying: “Many of the claims are spurious and only happen because the current system allows too many people to profit from minor accidents and incidents.”

However, insurance companies can receive as much as £1,000 as a single referral fee, and the BBC report highlights the fact that around 6% of car insurance profits come from these fees paid to lawyers for personal details.

If the fees were to be banned, the insurance companies may actually look to counter the drop in profits by further increasing premiums. The ban could actually push policy prices up.

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Next week will see car repair specialist Kwik-fit offering extra online discounts for car insurance policies.

Those looking for an improved car insurance quote may want to look at Kwik-fit, which has a strong focus on online discounting, and on Tuesday 30th August extra discounts will be added for one day only.

Kwik-fit car insurance is particularly popular for its competitive pricing, which includes a 20% discount when booked online, and other types of insurance are also available in conjunction with further deals and offers.

In order to get a quote you can visit the Kwik-fit insurance website, and fill in the details. Kwik-fit searches a range of insurers to find you a suitable deal, and different levels of policy are available.

The Kwik-fit website has also been kitted out with tools, information and an online magazine Extra Mile providing regular updates on subjects such as motoring safety and fuel cost cutting.

UK residents travelling abroad face eye-watering hospital treatment costs in the case of an accident of unexpected illness, according to the latest reports.

The Daily Mail has highlighted some surprising statistics from Sainsbury’s Travel Insurance, as it emerges that the average cost of treatment for UK travellers abroad is £1,333. Figures for those treated in the United States are even more alarming, with the average for each medical bill reportedly standing at a massive £4,726.

It was not all doom and gloom, as those without travel insurance to cover medical bills would be looking at something far lower in Greece, where the average is £422. The research, based on claims from last year, also showed that Spain was the country in which most British holidaymakers needed medical assistance. The types of treatment varied dramatically, from an ear infection costing £320 for treatment, to heart problems prompting average medical bills of £8,148.

Scott Gorman, Sainsbury’s Travel Insurance manager, said: “It has been widely reported that healthcare costs are rising far faster than the rate of inflation, not just in the UK but in other countries as well, so ensuring you have adequate cover and peace of mind while you travel abroad is more important than ever.”

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Experts have warned UK borrowers that only those with ultra-clean credit histories will be able to take advantage of some of the latest attractive offers from credit card companies.

Barclaycard now offers its Platinum Card with an interest-free balance transfer that lasts for an unprecedented two years. The fee for the transfer is 2.8%, and there’s a discount of £20 for a transfer of at least £3,000. Virgin Money is also in on the act, with an interest-free balance transfer lasting 19 months, and MBNA offers the same.

Whilst these deals will appeal to many looking for a good deal on borrowing during tighter financial times, many will struggle to get the offer they want, and may be forced to look at alternative lending at a much higher rate of interest.

Anyone who has made a late credit card payment, or reneged on an agreement with a bill company, will find that their credit history has taken a hit as a result. Your credit history is used by lenders to assess your ability to make payments and your reliability as a borrower. Should you have any question marks hanging over you, then the best credit card deals are likely to elude you.

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Car insurance policyholders could be forced to forget smoking at the wheel, as The British Medical Association has recommended that the government introduce an in-car ban to the UK.

According to BigMouthMedia and WalesOnline, the BMA annual conference saw the motion passed, and this will result in a concerted push for new legislation. The medical health experts say that stopping drivers from smoking could improve road safety, whilst also preventing damage to passengers’ health.

The BMA’s Dr. Mark Temple drew comparisons between driving and smoking with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and added: “Smoking is bad wherever it may be involuntarily imposed on people. It’s quite obvious that people who smoke in cars do not just put themselves at risk, they also put other road users at risk.”

“People are distracted by trying to light their cigarettes and if they then drop it there’s a sudden distraction because they are getting burnt. Fires and cars do not mix very well.”

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The rate of inflation is currently much higher than the interest rates offered on savings accounts, and this means that UK savers are losing out on billions.

MoneyHighStreet has reported that, according to information from accountants UHY hacker young, inflation wipes £36 billion off the cumulative value of UK consumer savings.

Specifically, UK savers on average get a dismal 1.6% return on the cash they put away, whilst the accounts that should see bigger and better savings, such as ISAs, are not much better, with an average of 2.57%.

With inflation hitting 5.2%, according to April’s Retail Price Index, £36 billion is lost from £1 trillion worth of UK savings. The Consumer Price Index has an alternative figure for inflation of 4.5%, but this still equates to £29.42 billion that is lost.

Savers are advised to choose wisely when looking for a place to store and save their cash, and the best solution is to compare savings accounts.

UK credit card holders are facing even higher interest rates, as banks find ways to counter new profit-cutting legislation.

As of the start of the year, lenders must use repayments to clear the most expensive debts first, and this inevitably results in lower profits.

The Daily Mail reports that lenders have increased the interest rates on 18 credit cards since the beginning of 2011, despite the fact that the Bank of England base rate has stayed at 0.5%. The article highlights that by this time last year only 4 cards saw a rise in APR.

The information, gathered by Moneyfacts, also added that the average interest rate for purchases is now 19.1%, which is a 13-year high. The jump in rates varies from 0.6% to 2%, with providers such as Halifax, NatWest, Barclaycard, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sainsbury’s Finance and Santander all raising rates, with borrowers once again losing out.

Michelle Slade, of Moneyfacts, said: “Card providers have also been hit by claims for PPI misselling, which has seen them having to repay money to customers. It is unlikely we have seen the last of these rate rises.”

Motorists could see their cars clamped on their driveways if they fail to renew their insurance on time, under new legislation announced by Parliament.

The new rules, collectively known as ‘continuous insurance enforcement’, will require insurance renewal on all cars, even those tucked away on the drive. If an enforcer spots an uninsured car off the road, authority can be given to clamp the vehicle.

The only way to avoid this action for an uninsured car would be to declare it off the road with a SORN, or Statutory Off Road Notification.

According to This Is Money, motoring groups are deeply concerned that those who are on holiday, in hospital or simply forget to renew could be facing heavy punishment, including a possible £100 fine, for an innocent or unavoidable mistake.

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Recent figures have indicated that the level of credit and debit card fraud in the UK is continuing to decrease. This encouraging news serves to highlight the growing efficiency of anti-fraud measures put in place to protect our finances, as well as the increased vigilance among UK cardholders.

According to the UK Cards Association, a total of £365.4 million was lost through credit and debit card fraud in 2010; whilst this is a huge sum of money, it actually represents a 17% drop from the 2009 figures. This has been attributed to the roll-out of chip-and-pin, and improved customer awareness.

It was also found that phone, mail-order and internet fraud dropped by 15% thanks to the Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code anti-fraud systems that now operate on the web.

It’s not all good news though, as phone banking fraud totalled £12.7 million, equating to an unwelcome increase of 5%.

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