Financial Review of 2008

What a year it's been in the UK. In fact, what a year it's been globally! Obviously not in a good way. Quite simply financial turmoil, the likes of which have never been seen before.

When Northern Rock had their problems towards the end of 2007, no one was thinking that this was the beginning of what has happened since. Even when they became nationalised in February 2008, it seemed like it was just an isolated incident but since then, many banks have held out their hands begging for help.

A knock on effect of this was that the housing market started to fall. More difficult to get a mortgage meaning less buyers. Less buyers meaning house prices start dropping. This in turn means the buyers wanted to wait to see what happened making even less buyers until pretty much no house sales were going through. Also, builders working on new builds were beginning to stop their work as it was pointless building a house that no one was going to buy.

Companies started dropping left right and centre with the now household name "credit crunch". They are still going now, most recently Woolworths and Zavvi. One begins to think if there will be any major high street stores left by then end of next year.

I could go on and on about all the problems that have happened this year but I would be writing well into 2009 before I got anywhere near the end! Here's to a better 2009 in the hope that "things can't get any worse" (touch wood).

Ashburnham Insurance Opening Hours

With only 3 sleeps to go, it is nearly time to get the mince pies and mulled wine out. Hopefully by now you are all ready for the big day, if not then it's time you got your skates on. If not because of the amount of time left but before all the shops you use go into administration!!!

Our opening hours have been updated on our contact us page for the forthcoming festive period in case any of you need to get in touch with us. As usual, all of our insurers have their claim lines open 24 hours a day, every day of the week to cater for any unfortunate incidents that may occur. These numbers can be found in your policy booklet and/or insurance documents.

All the staff here at Ashburnham Insurance would like to wish all our readers and customers a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Historic Employers Liability Claims

A issue with employers liability insurance claims was sorted out by a recent ruling. The situation was to do with historic claims involving asbestos. As many people know, asbestos can release harmful fibers when broken. If these fibers are inhaled, they can cause damage to the internal system especially the lungs by causing them to inflame and develop into cancerous tumors.

It can take years, even decades for symptoms to develop and consequently it has always been unknown as to whether employees who are victims to this awful disease should be making claims against the employers liability insurance that was in force at the time of the inhalation or at the time of discovering the tumor itself.

The judge has decided that a claim can be made against the historic insurers. This ruling will hopefully clear up an ongoing uncertainty in this particular claim for all future claimants. It is a difficult one to call due to the amount of time between the events but I believe the right decision has been made.

The only problem could be tracing who the employers liability insurance company was at the time of inhalation but businesses have to legally have this insurance in place and keep documentary proof for at least 40 years. As long as they comply to this then it should make life easier.

From Homeowner to Landlord

It seems as though landlords are on the increase, probably due to the economic crisis at the moment. House prices haven fallen so much that some people can't afford to sell. Obviously house prices will eventually rise again but without knowing how long this will take, the only option for people in this situation seems to be to rent your property for the time being.

This coupled together with people waiting for house prices to hit their rock bottom before buying means that tenants are plentiful also. More and more people are turning their attention towards letting their house but with most being new to the game, there is always something that gets forgotten.

As a homeowner you will have your insurance, mortgage and bills all running smoothly. Unfortunately you will have to change all of these for landlord specific products. A normal home insurance policy will not cover your home if it is let so this will need to get landlord insurance instead.

You will find that there is pretty much no difference between the two policies but if you don't have the right policy in place then you could be un-insured. When we are talking about a several thousand pound investment, then this is a risk you cannot afford to take!

It's not as straight forward as it seems to let your home for the first time but if you are thinking of making the change from a homeowner to a landlord then make sure you get a landlord insurance policy now.

The Bank of Essex

HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, watch your backs because the Bank of Essex is about to launch! That's right, Essex County Council is considering setting up its own bank for the community to help local firms who are struggling to obtain credit from the bigger banks.

Personally another bank is probably not the best idea at the moment. Companies are dropping left, right and centre and banks need experience and stability to survive. This could potentially cost Essex more than the proposed £50million which is already being funded by the council and local authorities if things go wrong.

The council leader, Lord Hanningfield, has said that Essex is among the worst affected places in the UK by the credit crunch and says there are many small businesses which can't get the credit to develop in the area and this is the solution that they have in mind. We shall see...