Posted by Mikayla Stevenson | January 30, 2012

World First Travel Insurance review: 9 out 10 for December 2011!

It doesn’t matter what kind of business it is – the people best placed to comment on the service are the people who use it: the customers. That’s why each month we ask every new policyholder for feedback. Then we share it. Here’s a selection of December’s customer comments and suggestions together with a response from our Managing Partner. It’s your chance to find out more about who we are, the way we work and our plans for the future.

Whenever a customer buys a new policy with us, we ask them to rate their overall experience of our service out of 10 – 10 being the best. Feedback was received from almost 100 people for the month of December.  The average rating was just above nine out of 10.

We also encourage our customers to give us their comments on our service and ask if they think there’s anything we could do better. Here’s a selection of the comments and a response to each from World First Managing Partner, Martin Rothwell.

Martin Rothwell: We do not expect to see any letters or medical records but we do ask all customers to make a warranty about their pre-existing conditions and to confirm they are not travelling against the advice of their Doctor. In the event of a claim we would ask for a claim form to be completed by your Doctor. If the claim is fo

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Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | January 22, 2012

Boxer Amir Khan to propose at lavish engagement party


Wedding insurance may soon be needed by Amir Khan, as he has revealed plans to propose to his girlfriend at a lavish ceremony.

In an interview with the Sun, the 25-year-old explained how he has purchased a £100,000 ring that will be presented to Faryal Makhdoom on January 29th.

The couple are to host a £150,000 party for 1,000 people at Bolton Wanderers Reebok Stadium, with stars including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ricky Hatton and David Haye on the guest list.

Despite enjoying a whirlwind romance since they first met last July, it seems everything was not always smooth sailing for the pair, as Ms Makhdoon admitted she struggled to understand Khans accent at first.

“When Amir opened his mouth it was completely different. It was like he was speaking in a foreign tongue so I just used to nod, agree with whatever he was talking about,” she explained.

Outside of his boxing career, Khan supports several charities and is an ambassador for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Tags:
Amir Khan, Lavish
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Posted by Victoria Milson | January 22, 2012

Nationwide Is Protecting Your Identity

When a policyholder’s bank account was drained, Nationwide came to the rescue.

What do you do when your bank account’s been drained by someone writing duplicate checks and you’re receiving notices from a check verification company about checks returned unpaid? If you’re a Nationwide ID Theft policyholder, you call the bank to close the account, call the police and call your Nationwide agent.

That’s when the system really went to work for one policyholder who faced exactly that challenge. Her agent, working with Nationwide’s ID theft partner, Europ Assist, was able to get the customer’s permission to take over the response.

Europ Assist’s ID Theft Resolution Specialist placed a 7-year fraud alert on the customer’s credit report, filed a complaint with the FTC and activated identity and credit monitoring to track the illicit use of her identity and monetary information. The specialist resolved charges resulting from the fraudulent checks and activated an alert to prevent additional bank accounts from being opened in the customer’s name.

Then, when additional fraudulent activity turned up on bank accounts the policyholder had not opened, the specialist followed up, resolving the charges there and having the accounts closed.

Ultimately, Nationwide and Europ Assist were able to get the fraudulent charges removed from the customer’s accounts and the money returned to her bank account. At the same time, the

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Tags:
Nationwide, Nationwide Protecting
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Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | January 14, 2012

Hybrid Market Share Shrinks, Diesel Grows in 2011

Auto sales in 2011 turned out to be pretty good for most automakers, including each of the Big 3. For the first time since 1988, all three domestic brands . The combined market share of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler came in at 47.2 percent, which was a significant rise from 45.1 percent in 2010.

Things werent quite as rosy for Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda, as both sold fewer cars in 2011 than they did in the year earlier. These automakers have led the way with hybrid technologies, with Honda introducing the first mass-produced hybrid automobile sold in the United States with the Insight in the 2000 model year. Toyota followed seven months later with the introduction of their Prius.

And for the second straight year, , despite the whopping increase in choices consumers have to pick from. Hybrid sales peaked in 2009. Back then, there were 17 different hybrid vehicles on the market. Now there are more than 30, yet hybrid vehicle sales decreased by 2.2 percent overall in 2011.

Hybrids sales have decreased, but diesel appears to be making a comeback in the U.S. market. Sales of new clean diesel automobiles in the U.S. increased by an impressive 27.4 percent in 2011 over 2010. An

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Tags:
2011, Market Share
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Posted by Victoria Milson | January 12, 2012

Six Things You Need to Know About Protecting Your Paycheck

While most of us understand the need to insure our cars and homes, many do not consider insuring what pays for those things our paychecks. It is crucial to understand the importance of properly insuring your paycheck with disability insurance. Here are answers to six of people’s most pressing disability insurance questions:

1. Where does disability insurance fit within my financial plan?

Disability insurance is there to protect your income, should you become ill or injured and unable to work. In essence, it protects your paycheck. Your financial plan needs to begin and end with income planning. Unless you first protect your income, there is no financial plan!

2. What about disability insurance through my work—isn’t that enough?

That’s called group disability insurance. With this particular coverage, you are just a tenant. You are not in control because you do not own the policy. It can be taken from you in an instant; your employer may give it up or the insurer may decide to stop insuring the group. You are at their mercy.

Plus, 70% of employers don’t offer long-term disability insurance at work, which means if you do have coverage, it’s probably short-term disability insurance, which would not help you meet your financial obligations if you were sick or injured for an extended period of time.

Also, keep in mind that group long-term disability insurance typically only covers your base salary, so bonuses, commissions, incentives, deferred compensation, stock options and pension contributions are generally not covered. In most cla

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Tags:
Paycheck
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Posted by Mikayla Stevenson | January 10, 2012

Brits conned by travel insurance ‘get out’ clauses? You’re safe with us.

Some travel insurance companies are in the news for all the wrong reasons. A number of British policyholders are furious with their insurance providers and have complained about being cheated by medical ‘get out’ clauses.

Knowing exactly where you stand with a travel insurance policy can be tricky enough, without media reports of customer complaints and suspected wrongdoing. So here’s a quick explanation of the disagreement as well as clear guidance on where you stand when you get cover with World First Travel Insurance.

What’s the fuss about?

Travel insurance policyholders have been complaining about insurers changing the terms of policies, after they have been sold.

Basically, some insurers are walking away from customers whose personal conditions change between purchasing their policy and going away on holiday (if they are diagnosed with a medical condition, for instance). It’s argued that some insurers use ‘ongoing medical warranties’ or ‘change of risk clauses’ as a get out if they no longer wish to insure the customer. This despite the fact that a customer cannot get a refund from their insurer on a policy if they wish to cancel it after the 14 day grace period.
It’s an issue that has not escaped consumer watchdogs

In a recent travel insurance survey, consumer group Which? found that nearly a

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Tags:
insurance, Travel Insurance
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Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | January 08, 2012

Shire acquires rights to develop and market Resolor in the U.S.

Shire plc , the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has acquired the rights to develop and market Resolor in the United States in an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Resolor, a prokinetic, is part of Shire’s gastrointestinal portfolio in Europe and is approved for use in 33 countries for the symptomatic treatment of chronic constipation in women in whom laxatives fail to provide adequate relief. Resolor is currently available in Germany, Ireland, Belgium, France, Greece and the United Kingdom, and will be commercially available in Italy in mid-January 2012. Additional launches throughout Europe are planned for 2012.

“We are excited about the opportunity to develop Resolor in the US and we look forward to working with the FDA and the GI physician community to define the path forward for registration of the medicine as a treatment for chronic constipation in the US,” said Roger Adsett, Senior Vice President of Shire’s global GI business.

Tags:
Market Resolor, Resolor
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Posted by Victoria Milson | January 08, 2012

Long-Term Planning and Social Security: Be Prepared When Aging In to Social Security

When we first begin to think about and take steps towards retirement, Social Security and financial planning, we often think about what we want to leave behind for those we leave behind. With the current issues surrounding Social Security, it’s best to start planning sooner than later.

Originally intended to provide “senior citizens” with income continuation after retirement, Social Security now includes benefits like survivor’s benefits and disability benefits. Currently, the retirement age at which you are entitled to full social security benefits is between 65 years and 67 years of age, depending on when you were born. Many people consider collecting Social Security benefits early, as young as age 62, however, collecting retirement benefits early will reduce the monthly benefit received by as much as 30 percent. Although often done out of economic necessity, early receipt of Social Security retirement benefits can have a long term negative effect on income continuation and the quality of a person’s life after retirement.

Great care should be taken in financial planning as it relates to Social Security. Social Security benefits should not be the sole safety net upon which you rely once you stop working, especially if you intend to leave money to loved ones. For example, survivor’s benefits will likely be insufficient to provide financial security to your dependents and cover the costs of final expenses after you pass.

As a supplement to Social Security, life insurance is the key.

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Tags:
Security, Social Security
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