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The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has welcomed the Lord Chancellor’s agreement to a review of the discount rate.

The discount rate is used to calculate the amount deducted from an injured person’s compensation to account for any income they may receive from investing their damages.

The rate was set at 2.5% by the (then) Lord Chancellor in 2001, with the calculation based on yields generated by index-linked government stock (ILGS).

Since then yields on ILGS have gradually declined, according APIL president, Muiris Lyons, who believes that over the last three years the average gross yield has been less than 1%.

Mr Lyons comments: “For years now, injured people have been undercompensated because of the previous Government’s failure to review the discount rate in light of economic changes.”

He adds: “Our hope now is that the Lord Chancellor’s review proceeds quickly and redresses this imbalance which has had such an impact on injured people for so long.”

If you own a classic car, an antique car or a collectible car, then you most probably understand just how valuable these types of vehicles are. Like other classic car owners, you may have spent thousands when you purchased or restored yours and a couple of thousand more for its maintenance throughout the years. Because of the high value of classic cars, it is just reasonable to make sure that you are able to get the right type of insurance policy to cover the one that you have. To find out all about classic car insurance types and classic car insurance rates, read on.

Classic car insurance is different from the regular car insurance that you get to cover regular new cars and used cars. A classic car insurance policy is usually purchased to protect an older and more expensive cars and vehicles, which are primarily maintained and driven for pleasure and not as a primary mode of transportation. Classic car insurance is sometimes referred to as collector car insurance.

There are some classic car owners who assume that classic car insurance rates are lower than regular car insurance rates because they are purchased to cover a vehicle which is used less frequently; however, this is actually a misconception. Cars which are driven occasionally or as a hobby are often a lot more expensive to insure compared to those which are used as a daily means of transportation. This is primarily because classic cars or collector cars are usually more expensive to repair than newer models, making the regular car insurance policies inadequate to cover the possible expenses.

There are several types of classic car insurance policies. Read more…

Saving money is a top priority in these rough economic times and people are constantly looking for new ways to cut costs. One way in which many people waste hundreds of dollars, each year, is by over-paying for can insurance. It’s pretty hard to find someone who has not seen companies’ ads on popular cable networks – promising to save prospective clients hundreds of dollars if they switch, etc. The easiest way to pick the company that offers the most savings is to do online car insurance comparison – giving you the opportunity to compare quotes from rival companies, side-by-side, so that you can decide on the right insurer for you.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, getting these quotes online is not at all difficult or time consuming. A few minutes is all it takes to be presented with the best quotes of a variety of top insurers – from the comfort of your home, or office – where you can do a detailed comparison between the policies offered – at your leisure. This removes the stress once associated with shopping wisely for insurance and can afford drivers substantial savings.
Finally, an online car insurance comparison is a convenient way to get quotes from multiple insurers – in a fraction of the time it would take to do it the conventional way. Not only does it save money, but it also takes a lot of the associated stress out of getting insured – without overpaying.

With money tight and household bills on the up, it has never been more important to shop around for the best deals on everything from gas and electricity to family days out. We have come up with the 10 top ways you can save money this winter, and beyond, without making any lifestyle changes or going without.

By putting them all into practice, you could save more than a massive £2,600 over the course of the next 12 months.

1. Switch energy supplier and save up to £312 a year

If you have never switched from your standard energy tariff, you could make a huge saving of £312 a year just by switching to the best online deal.

However, even if you have switched before, there are still some great savings to be made.

Energy giant Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) recently announced plans to hike its gas prices by 9.4% for about 3.6 million customers – and its rivals are expected to follow suit.

According to moneysupermarket.com energy manager Scott Byrom, those keen for the security of fixed prices should therefore look at the New Energy Fixed tariff from OVO Energy at £993 a year, while those looking for the cheapest variable deal should consider the iSave v5 tariff from First Utility at £883 a year.

2. Change your car insurer and save £237 a year

Car insurance premiums have soared by up to 51% for some drivers over the last 12 months, according to figures from the AA.

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When it comes to purchasing car insurance, it’s important to get the best deal you can. There’s also a great deal of fine print involved, so you need to understand just what you’re getting with your policy. Here are 8 little-known facts that could save you money:

1. You’ll pay less if you have good credit When we think of car insurance, we don’t often think of credit scores. However, your credit score can affect what you pay for auto insurance. Many home and car insurance companies use your credit information, filtered through a formula to create an “insurance risk score,” to determine how likely you are to file an insurance claim. Your premium bill could rise if you have a bad credit score, even if you haven’t filed a claim. One of the main reasons is that a low score might indicate that you have been missing payments or paying late. If you do that to creditors, auto insurance companies worry that you might do it to them. Also, those who show responsible financial behavior may be more likely to be responsible in their driving behavior, resulting in fewer claims. Make sure you have good credit, and you could save money on your car insurance premiums.

2. Your insurance company may consider your car cheaper to replace than you do If their car is totaled in an accident, many people expect an insurance company to reimburse them for the amount they paid for it. However, your car depreciates in value the minute you drive it off the dealer’s lot. Car insurance companies use different models to decide how much your car is worth now (not what you paid for it, or what you still owe on it), and will provide you with that amount. Unless you have a

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The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) has identified the top-twenty areas of the UK affected by crash-for-cash scams during the third quarter of 2010.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, London East, Bradford and London North retained their positions as the top six location, followed by Chester, Leeds, Oldham, Blackburn, Luton, Warrington, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Uxbridge, Harrow, Bolton, Ilford and Barking, Wakefield, Sheffield and London North-West.

Warrington has moved eight places up the league table, compared with the previous quarter, and Sheffield seven.

Typically, crash-for-cash scams involve fraudsters driving to busy road junctions and then performing unexpected, unnecessary and dangerous manoeuvres designed to cause innocent members of the public to crash into them.

According to the Bureau, live IFB and Police operations span all the hotspots identified, with 27 joint Police operations in hand and each operation representing a typical value of £1.7million, or an average 253 claims.

Since its formation in July 2006, the IFB has been instrumental in helping the Police make over 424 arrests in connection with insurance fraud, resulting in over 98 convictions.

Last month, a former member of a crash-for-cash gang was ordered to repay £150,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, having already been jailed in 2008 for his involvement in insurance fraud.

Bradford Crown Court ordered Mohammed Rashid to stump up the money within six months, or face extra time jail.