http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/finance/insurance/fco-travel-insurance-advice.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/insurance/fco-travel-insurance-advice.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The FCO has guidelines for what your insurance should cover in the event of an emergency or other problems you may experience while on holiday.

The real cost when things go wrong. An emergency abroad can be extremely expensive. If you need to be returned to the UK it could cost you thousands of pounds, unless you are adequately insured:

* £30-35,000 - air ambulance from USA’s East coast
* £12-16,000 - air ambulance from the Canary Islands
* £15-20,000 - scheduled flight, stretcher and Doctor escort from Australia

What should my travel insurance policy cover?

* medical and health cover for an injury or sudden illness abroad – more information on medical and health cover page
* 24 hour emergency service and assistance
* personal liability cover in case you’re sued for causing injury or damaging property
* lost and stolen possessions cover
* cancellation and curtailment (cutting short your trip) cover
* extra cover for activities that are commonly excluded from standard policies, such as jet skiing.

The policy should cover the whole time that you’re away.

Your policy may also have:

* personal accident cover
* legal expenses cover
* financial protection if your airline goes bankrupt before or during your trip.

Many insurers will extend cover if you ask them. If not, shop around for a specialist policy.

Common travel insurance policy exclusions

Always check the conditions and exclusions of your policy:

* most policies will not cover drink or drug-related incidents
* you must take reasonable care of your possessions or your policy will not cover you.

Travel insurance buying tips

* shop around to find a good price and the right product rather than opting to travel without cover
* cheaper policies will usually have less cover – for some the price seems most important, but is it worth the initial saving?
* consider annual multi-trip insurance if you make several trips a year – you’ll save time and money.

Cancelling or cutting a trip short

A good insurance policy will cover you for cancelling or cutting a trip short. Check carefully to see exactly what you’re covered for:

* accident
* illness
* pregnancy (unknown when you buy the policy)
* jury service or witness summons
* home emergency: fire, storm or flood, burglary
* redundancy
* strikes
* bad weather – affects the departure of flights and ships.

Ensure your policy:

* will refund the full cost of your holiday
* pays out if you need to cancel or cut short a trip because you fall ill for example
* covers pre-paid expenses such as excursions
* covers extra costs incurred to get home

And try to book through an agent that's with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), Air Travel Organisers' Licencing (ATOL) or other credible Financial Protection Organisations.
Personal liability insurance

If you accidentally cause an injury to someone or damage their property they may sue you. Good travel insurance will cover you for personal liability.
Personal accident cover – disability and death

Travel insurance can cover a personal accident payment made for permanent disability or death.
Cover for stolen, lost or damaged possessions

You can normally choose the limit in your policy. Limits for single items such as cameras and jewellery can vary from as little as £250 up to £1000 or more. Check these limits are adequate and realistic.

You should report a loss to the Police within 24 hours. Proof of notification will be required when you make your claim.

All insurance policies say that you must take care of your belongings at all times. If you don’t, the policy may not pay out.

Tip: take as much care of your property as if it were uninsured.
Lost baggage on flights

Do not rely on compensation from an airline if it loses your luggage.

By law, airlines only have to pay a specified minimum value per kilo of lost luggage. This is unlikely to cover the full value of your things.
Legal expenses cover

Taking out legal expenses cover will help you to pursue compensation or damages following personal injury while you're abroad – very important in countries without a legal aid system.
EHIC - European Health Insurance Card

Get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for healthcare in European countries. Understand what it does and doesn’t cover you for.
Medical health insurance

Financial protection for holidays

Don’t get stranded abroad without a refund when your holiday company goes bankrupt – know what protection exists for you.
Credit card protection

Information on the financial protection offered to credit and debit card users.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to Travel Insurance. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/tiredness-causes-1-5-of-all-road-accidents.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/tiredness-causes-1-5-of-all-road-accidents.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The road safety website Think! has recently launched a campaign to try to combat the issue of car accidents due to driver tiredness. The campaign will have a particular emphasis on people who drive for a living.

The company commissioned research into people who drive for work. This research confirmed that people who drive for work are an at risk group, demonstrating key risk behaviours such as talking on mobile phones whilst driving, speeding and driving whilst tired. However, although an at risk group, they do not recognise themselves as being at risk, nor do they recognise themselves as a group. THINK! therefore decided to address the key at risk behaviours, targeting the communications at drivers for work through the way they are placed. Campaigns on mobile phone use and speeding are already in place. The fatigue campaign has been developed specifically with the work driver in mind. It is hoped that the campaign can deliver its key messages of “tiredness kills” and “make time for a break”.

Think! hopes to reach its target audience that consists of young company car drivers under 30 years (e.g. Sales Reps), company car drivers aged 30-44 years (e.g. Sales Execs), HGV/LGV drivers, passengers and leisure drivers at weekends/holidays etc.

The main objectives of the campaign are to encourage drivers to take a 15 minute break every two hours of driving, increase awareness of the dangers of driving while tired and increase awareness of the signs/symptoms of driver sleepiness.

Facts about driving when tired:

* An estimated 300 people a year are killed where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.
* Research commissioned by the Government found that falling asleep at the wheel accounts for up to 20% of crashes on motorways or similar roads, and as many as one in ten of all crashes on Britain's roads.
* If you fall asleep at the wheel you are 50% more likely to die or suffer serious injury because a sleeping driver does not react before a crash.
* The greatest risk of falling asleep at the wheel is between midnight-6am and 2-4pm.
* It can affect any driver, but people who drive as part of their job may be more at risk. About 40% of sleep related crashes are work-related, inasmuch as they involve commercial vehicles.
* Alcohol and drugs (including some medicines) can make you more tired without you realising it.

Tips for drivers

* Plan your journey to include a 15 minute break every two hours of driving.
* Drinking 2 cups of coffee or other high caffeine drink and having a rest to allow time for the caffeine to kick in are effective methods of combating tiredness.
* Have a good night's sleep before setting out on a long journey.
* Remember the risks if you have to get up unusually early to start your trip, or have a long drive home after a full day’s work.
* Avoid making long trips between midnight- 6am and 2-4pm when natural alertness is low.
* Share the driving if possible.
* If you start to feel sleepy find a safe place to stop (not the hard shoulder of a motorway) as soon as possible.
* Opening the window or turning up the radio does little to prevent a driver from falling asleep at the wheel.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury and other legal articles.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/volvo-city-safety-to-eliminate-whiplash.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/volvo-city-safety-to-eliminate-whiplash.html Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
One of the main safety features that won many plaudits was the City Safety system that has been developed by Volvo. The system was designed to prevent low-speed collisions which are most common in urban city traffic. Volvo have high hopes that the system could eliminate whiplash.

“City Safety is yet another example of Volvo’s aim to utilise real world traffic situations to develop solutions to prevent accidents. It is extremely gratifying that we are now being acknowledged with this prestigious award,” said Jonas Ekmark, head of preventive safety at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

Rear-end collisions at relatively low speeds are the most common cause of whiplash injuries. The City Safety system is designed to stop Volvo drivers from crashing into the back of car’s ahead. Along with other cars the system will also detect other potential hazards like pedestrians.

The system uses senses to monitor the traffic ahead. A laser sensor is built into the windscreen's upper section at the same height as the rear view mirror. It can detect vehicles or people that are up to 6 metres in front of the car's front bumper. City Safety is programmed to react to things in front that are either stationary or moving in the same direction as the car itself. On the basis of the distance to the object in front and the speed of the car itself, the system makes 50 calculations a second to determine what braking speed is required to avoid a collision. If the calculated braking force exceeds a given level without the driver reacting, it interprets this as an imminent danger of a collision. City Safety then helps to avoid or reduce the consequences of a collision by preparing the car's brakes or braking automatically and disabling the accelerator.

If the car approaches a pedestrian, a red warning light will come on first on the windscreen's head-up display and a warning signal will sound. This helps the driver to react, and in most cases an accident can be avoided.

If the risk of a collision increases further, assisted panic braking is activated to provide more pressure when the brakes are applied. If the driver still doesn't brake, and the collision is imminent, the car's brakes are activated immediately.

The system is ideally designed for lower speed activity and although it has the capacity to reduce a car’s speed by approximately 15mph, it will be unable to prevent collisions at much higher speeds.

City Safety has the same limitations as all optical systems in that the detection capacity can be limited by fog, snow or heavy rain. It is therefore necessary to keep the windscreen free of dirt, ice or snow. If the sensor is blocked, the driver is advised via the car's information display to clean the area. The system works equally well during the day and night.

"It is important to underline that the system does not relieve the driver of the responsibility from maintaining a safe distance to avoid a collision. The automatic braking system does not react until it considers that a collision is imminent. The system therefore helps to limit the consequences of or, in some cases, avoiding an imminent collision," said Jonas Ekmark.

With 75 per cent of all reported collisions thought to occur at speeds up to 30 km/h, with many under 20km/h not reported to insurers, the new technology could prevent a lot of accidents.

The City Safety is just part of the new technological developments that Volvo is developing in the next generation of car safety measure. Next to be introduced is collision avoidance steering by auto steering.

Collision avoidance by auto steering is a further development of lane departure warning, which uses a camera to monitor the car's position between lane markers. If a car wanders across any of the lane markers without using the indicator, the driver is warned by an audible signal.

Collision avoidance by auto steering is significantly more advanced. The system is designed to help prevent a frontal collision caused by temporary distraction by using both a camera and radar to monitor the position of the car itself and the oncoming traffic.

If the car is about to move into the wrong lane and the system detects that an oncoming vehicle is on a collision course, the car is automatically steered back to a safe position in the original lane. The high demands for reliability mean that Volvo experts are still assessing which degrees of steering wheel intervention are relevant and the exact speed range the system can operate within.

If this all sounds like something from the futuristic film I Robot then Volvo’s next big project goes even further cars that talk to each other.

Cars that can communicate with other vehicles and the surrounding traffic environment should enhance the potential for safer driving and fewer traffic accidents. For communication to work, it is necessary to have a standard "language" which makes it possible for all vehicles to talk to each other irrespective of make. There are currently several international projects that endeavour to contribute to this standardisation.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/insurance/motorists-turning-greener.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/insurance/motorists-turning-greener.html Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Recent research by the AA has indicated that there has already been a trend in recent years of motorists looking at environmental friendly issues and factors.

Two years ago when asked if they intended to purchase a ‘green’ car this year, a mere 6% of respondents said that they were.

However, the new research reveals that this figure has soared to 23%, almost a fourfold increase.

Occurring over the same time period, the number of those surveyed interested in sportier cars has declined.

Further, those after small family cars has increased.

Two years ago so-called gas guzzlers were the target of 5% of respondents, though this figure has slumped to just 2% this year.

With the lull in the economy responsible for a more cautious outlook and in some cases the tightening of household budgets, more motorists will be turning to smaller and more economic vehicles. Lower car insurance, road tax and less outlay on petrol are all savings that good economic sense.

Along with making financial savings motorists will know that are also doing their bit to cut carbon omissions. As transport accounts for almost one third of carbon emissions and cars responsible for 22 per cent, the average car on the road today emits 168g/km. A typical driver can reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 25 per cent by choosing the most efficient vehicle.

One of ‘green tax’ initiatives in the budget for motorists will be the Vehicle Excise Duty. From April 2009 the VED will be restructured to reward drivers of the cleanest cars, with a higher first-year rate from 2010 to encourage people to buy greener cars. The most polluting vehicles will face a £950 "showroom" tax that will come into effect from 2010. The showroom tax hit people buying new cars that are the most polluting.

Although as the AA research has suggested that there is a trend towards less polluting car models there are still many Brits who stand fast in their choice to drive their 4x4s. Arguments for driving 4x4s seem to revolve around feeling safer, room for kids, long distances to just purely aesthetics.

Mr Darling’s budget also introduced initiates that will benefit manufacturers and buyers of greener cars.

From April 2010, no car tax in the first year for cars that emit less than 130g/km of CO2. A so-called “Showroom Tax” means that the most polluting vehicles such as those in Band G will pay £1000 road tax in their first year, before dropping to the current level of £400. From April 2009, Vehicle Excise Duty is to be reformed to encourage manufacturers to produce more environmentally friendly vehicle.

New funding will be set aside to develop technology for national road pricing in a bid to ease congestion. The 2p rise in fuel duty will be postponed from April to October.

The short-lived reprieve follows record highs in crude oil prices.

New capital gains tax will come in next month. Tax incentives may be introduced to encourage companies to adopt greener fleets.

Different coloured tax discs on cars could be introduced to allow higher parking charges for the most polluting vehicles.

The current disallowance for leased cars costing over £12,000 will be replaced by a disallowance based on CO2 emissions. From April 2009, cars with CO2 emissions in excess of 160g/km will attract a 15% net disallowance relating to finance payments. For cars with emissions of 160g/km or below there will be no disallowance. Writing down allowances (WDAs) will be based on emissions from April 2009.

Cars with CO2 emissions above 160 g/km will attract 10% WDA, whilst cars with emissions of 160g/km and below will attract 20% WDA. The duty differentials given to biofuels will be abolished in 2010.

The 100% first year allowance for the cleanest vehicles is being extended to March 2013. The qualifying CO2 emissions threshold will be reduced to 110g/km.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to Car Insurance. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/10-safety-tips-to-prevent-road-accidents.html http://www.articletrader.com/legal/personal-injury/10-safety-tips-to-prevent-road-accidents.html Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The Royal Society for the prevention of accidents has formed a list of ten tips that could prevent accidents from happening.

1. Check your speedometer regularly, especially when coming off high speed roads

If you don’t regularly check your speedometer it’s very easy sometimes to not realise how fast you are going. You may be in a built up area where there is minimum speed limit but adhering to that can feel like you are crawling. Checking you are within the speed limit regularly may not only save you a fine for speeding but can save lives too.

2. Know the limits – look for signs, especially at junctions


You need to know the speed limit of the roads you are using. In many cases, the nature of the road does not indicate the speed limit. In urban areas, for example, dual carriageways can have limits of 30 mph, 40 mph, 50 mph, 60 mph or 70 mph.

Speed limit signs tend to be placed at junctions because this is often the point at which the limit changes. However, junctions are also where you need to absorb a wide range of different information and it is easy to miss a speed limit sign when concentrating on one or more other things (e.g., which way am I going, is that driver going to pull out, etc). So you need to get into the habit of checking for speed limit signs at junctions, and looking for repeater signs after the junction, especially if the nature of the road has changed.

3. Assume lamp posts mean 30 mph, until signs say otherwise – but remember it could be 20 mph

The Highway Code advises that street lights usually mean the limit is 30 mph unless there are signs showing otherwise. Use your common sense judgement as well. If it looks like a built up residential area then lower your speed accordingly to 30 mph.

4. Remember, speed limits are a maximum, not targets

Examples of situations where drivers should drive at lower speeds than the limits are:

around schools at opening and closing times, when children are about (especially residential areas, near playgrounds or parks), on busy, narrow roads, where parked vehicles reduce the width of the road, on rural roads which are narrow, bendy and hilly and visibility is restricted, in poor weather or reduced visibility, on wet, icy or snowy roads or at roadworks.


5. 20’s plenty when kids are about – and may even be too fast

One of the most effective ways we can ensure that a child who dashes into the road or who makes a mistake while cycling does not pay for that mistake with their life, is to drive slower when children are, or may be, about.

6. Try no higher than 3rd gear in a 30 mph limit

If you struggle to keep your car within 30 mph when driving in a 30 mph zone, try driving in 3rd gear (or lower when necessary). If you can comfortably travel at 30 mph in 3rd gear without feeling that the engine is laboured, adopt ’no higher than 3rd in 30 mph’ as a principle.

7. Recognise what makes you speed - keeping up with traffic, overtaking or being tailgated

We all have reasons why we sometimes speed up. It might be listening to loud music or feeling stressed by a driver too close behind. Finding out personal speed triggers and then addressing them is a good way forward.

8. Concentrate – distracted drivers speed

Paying attention while driving is obviously very important and can lead to less
speeding.

9. Slow down when entering villages

Villages are in rural areas and normally surrounded by roads with 60 mph limits. But, of course, in the village itself there are pedestrians, cyclists, junctions, slow-moving vehicles.

10. Give yourself time – there’s no need to speed and you won’t get there quicker

You’re late so you drive faster to make up the time. The reality in a lot of cases is that you can try to drive like the clappers but not get there much quicker than if you drove normally.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/loans/motorists-turning-greener.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/loans/motorists-turning-greener.html Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
At the outset it is important that you consider how much your can comfortably afford to pay back. Loans typically need to be paid back in monthly instalments so work out how much you can pay back each month. A lot of people run into trouble when they agree to pay back a certain amount every month only to find out later that they are struggling to meet their commitment due to some unforeseen added expenses. As a rule of thumb work out how much you can pay back after comfortably paying for all your other expenses. Your loan pay back amount should be an amount that you do not really miss. If it would be taking a big chunk from your disposable income than the chances are that the amount is too much.

Who can get a loan? Most reputable lenders will need you to meet certain conditions. You will have to be at least 18-years-old, resident or ordinarily resident in the UK, have a good credit record and receive a regular income. Some lenders may ask for a deposit and also charge a set-up or administrative fee.

Applying for an overdraft with you bank is one good way of getting a loan, especially if you need cash short term or a facility where you can get access to extra cash when you need it with little or no notice.

Credit cards can also be very handy as they allow you to buy goods or services or get access to cash. They can also be very useful in the case of emergencies. Caution must be taken though to not run into a vicious cycle of paying back high interest charges where it can take a long time to be able to pay back what owe. If you are gong to use a credit card for a substantial outlay, work out a plan beforehand to pay back the amount as it not incur too much interest over a long period.

Personal loans are especially suitable if you need to pay for a large item such as a car or a holiday. Most lenders will offer you up to 15,000 pounds. The interest rate may vary depending on how much you borrow and over what period of time you agree to pay back the loan. Generally you can pay it back over 12 - 96 months. It is important to remember that if you pay back your loan over a longer period, the monthly repayments are usually smaller but you pay more interest because you have the loan for longer.

Some banks offer you the chance to combine all your financial commitments into one loan with a fixed interest rate so that you can pay your debts off gradually by making one payment each month.

A secured loan gives the lender the security of knowing that if you fall behind on repayments they can claim the money back by repossessing an asset that you have secured the loan against. The most common way of securing a loan is to take out a mortgage on your property. If you fall behind on repayments the lender can apply to the court for a repossession order and then claim the house or whatever you have used as security to repay your debt.

Secured loans tend to be cheaper because they are less of a risk for the lender but you should always consider the implications if you fall behind on your repayments.

A lot of banks and building societies will offer you payment protection with your loan. For a small monthly fee this ensures that your repayments will be paid if you find that you are made unemployed, are sick or have an accident. In most cases if you die your loan will be paid in full for you.

Finally, a word of warning about ‘loan sharks. Be very careful when you choose a lender. Make sure you use a reputable company, as some of the more unscrupulous lenders can often charge very high rates of interest that make it difficult to pay the money back. Check what you are committing yourself to before you sign any contracts.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to Secured Loans. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.



Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/debt/facts-about-no-win-no-fee-litigation.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/debt/facts-about-no-win-no-fee-litigation.html Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
48 % of the 1,220 people, with ages ranging from 16 to 25, said that debt was the thing that made them most anxious about for the future.

The Youth Future Fears UK survey was commissioned by Community Service Volunteers and conducted as part of the Agents4Change campaign, which has received £1m of public and private sector money to deliver a project that encourages young people into community volunteering. The campaign is supported by Tesco and the youth volunteering charity v.

Youthinformation.com, a National Youth Agency's resource for young people and all those working with them, highlighted how:

Young people are particularly vulnerable to debt; unemployment and low pay is a major factor as well as tempting offers such as 0% finance on goods purchased, and discounts offered by storecards.

Debt is also a major problem for students in further and higher education. They can now expect to build up debts during the time they study and repay them once they leave. According to the National Union of Students (NUS) student loans now make up one half of a student's living costs.

A joint GMB/NUS survey called Students at Work found 40% of students are employed during term time. Of these, four out of ten are employed for between 12.5-20 hours a week. Two thirds of students interviewed said that working adversely affected their studies; 30% miss lectures to work and 20% missed course deadlines and failed to submit academic work due to their employment.

Obsessive gambling can quickly lead to debt. Most young people with gambling problems play fruit machines although more recently lottery scratch cards have become popular.

Debt is increasingly recognised as problem for young people. If young people are experience debt problems the advice is to seek help as soon as possible before the situation gets any worse. Many Citizens Advice Bureaux and benefits advice centres employ debt counsellors and money advisers. The National Debtline offers range of local services along with having advisors on hand to speak to about any debt related problems young people may have.

A draft report released last October by youth charity Rainer and YouGov revealed that nearly 80% of young people, four out five, have been in debt at some point.

A third of young people had owed more than £5,000 and one in five had owed more than £10,000.

The research shows that these debts are not confined to student loans. Young people from across the spectrum are affected, with credit cards (32%) and overdrafts (38%) heavily used, alongside loans (49%). For young people reliant on benefits, long delays and the complexities of the system were a major cause of debt.

These debts are leading to crisis point for one in five young people who, after paying bills and debt repayments, are left £50 a month or less to cover food and other expenses. One in ten young people are left with nothing.

It is those young people who are vulnerable in other areas of their lives who are hit the hardest. Eighty five per cent of homeless young people are in debt and Rainer's research showed that the young people it supported are left with an average of just five pounds per week.

Rainer Chief Executive Joyce Moseley said:
"Young people tell us that being in debt is now just part of the norm, but it can quickly become a millstone around their neck. In addition to the stress it can cause, there is strong evidence that debt can prevent young people from living independently or taking part in education or even eating healthily."

Rainer is calling for jargon-free practical financial advice to be available to all young people, with particular support targeted at vulnerable groups such as homeless young people or care leavers. The charity is also calling for reform of the benefit system to remove delays and provide better advice to those who are in financial trouble.


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Sav is an author of several articles pertaining to Debt. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.



Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>