Banks, insurers and investment firms will be liable to pay out £50,000 more in compensation to wronged consumers from next year.
The Financial Services Authority has increased the amount that can be awarded by the Financial Ombudsman in redress to wronged consumers from £100,000 to £150,000.
The announcement comes days after the FSA fined Bank of Scotland £3.5m for poor customer complaints handling practises.
This is the first time that the compensation sum has been revised since the limit was set in 2001, and comes as the Financial Ombudsman, which acts as a mediator between businesses and clients in dispute, has attracted more attention than ever for its role in the fight between banks and customers over controversial payment protection insurance policies.
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New research from RAC Home Insurance, part of the Aviva group, suggests that almost a quarter of homeowners automatically renew their home insurance with their existing provider, rather than shopping around to find a better deal.
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Endsleigh today unveiled a promise to all NASUWT members across the UK that they will beat any existing home insurance renewal quote for them.
Endsleigh already offer customised deals for teachers and are now bolstering their NASUWT home insurance product by offering this price guarantee until 31 December 2011.
Endsleigh home insurance includes 24 hour replacement for laptops, TVs and bikes and free home emergency cover when building and contents insurance are purchased together.
All NASUWT teachers will also automatically have any home office equipment and garden contents insured as standard and cover for house keys.
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Barclays is to pay out compensation to all customers who believe they were mis-sold loan insurance and whose complaints are currently on hold, but the rest of the UK’s largest retail banks said they had no plans to replicate Barclays’ decision.
The bank has set aside £1bn to cover the cost of compensation for tens of thousands of borrowers who say they were wrongly sold payment protection insurance, which covers loan payments if borrowers lose their jobs or are too ill to work.
Complaints lodged before 20 April, when a dispute over new FSA rules came to an end, will be repaid at the full cost of the premium, plus interest at 8 per cent, ”as a gesture of goodwill”.
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Lloyd’s is warning that alarm bells are already ringing across Europe over the potential for widespread water shortages.
According to Lloyd’s, 2011 is shaping up to be seriously dry, with officials having already raised concerns in Switzerland, The Netherlands and France, while parts of the UK have seen the driest Spring in more than a century.
In addition to the agricultural sector, water shortages can have serious implications for the energy sector, with the hydropower sector vulnerable to problems and non-hydro power plants in need water for cooling.
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Bank customers who claim on insurance provided within packaged current accounts could end up losing their no-claims bonus on other policies.
Most paid-for bank accounts now offer consumers some form of home, travel or motor insurance as an add-on in return for the monthly fee charged for the account.
But for many customers, this insurance is useless. Often consumers have already taken out alternative, and more suitable, policies. This means they are needlessly doubling up their insurance, paying twice for inferior cover.
Not only are consumers paying for insurance they already have, but they could adversely impact both policies if they make a claim on one.
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