Brexit transition leads to pessimism in the UK households

The Brexit vote has resulted in lot of changes in the lifestyle of Britons as they face trouble due to the falling pound as well as income crisis. In addition, commodities and services are becoming costlier and people are facing issues due to food inflation. The overall effect of Brexit is that household bills are increasing by leaps and bounds making Britons pessimistic about their own survival as well as country’s economic prospect. This creates a sense of insecurity around the households as suggested by a survey done by the analytics firm Markit.

The findings were derived from the monthly Markit Household Finance Index, consisting of 1500 respondents. The results of the survey came at a time when the Prime Minister initiated Article 50 and the exit of Britain started from the EU on the 29^th March. Looking at the pace of events it is clear that things are becoming difficult for an average family that needs to make savings by option for best deals of the day or relying on the cheapest deals in energy, insurance and other essential services.

The survey revealed that people are losing hope as the percentage of people that expected economy to grow in a decade has dropped from 39% to 29% since July 2016. Also, the number of people thinking UK’s economic prospects are facing downturn has increased from 42% to 53%. The survey also brought forth the fact that the country’s lowest income group has become pessimistic about the results of Brexit. They feel deprived of basic facilities like cheaper energy deals, home and car insurance and travel deals.

Following figures suggest the results of the survey in detail:

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at Markit, said: "Whereas opinions on the long-term impact of Brexit were finely balanced in the immediate aftermath of last June’s vote (albeit leaning towards pessimism), a negative view of the economic consequences has become increasingly apparent and widespread.

"Pessimism has now spread to all age groups and income brackets. Shortly after the referendum, the older generations and the very poorest families were the exceptions in considering Brexit to be beneficial to the long-term health of the economy. However, even these pockets of the population have now become pessimistic.

"The most marked turnaround is evident among the poorest paid, who have switched from being the most optimistic to now being the most downbeat."

To survive this condition, households can only rely on savings made on commodities and services. They can choose energy suppliers that offer the cheapest home energy plans to cut down a major chunk of their energy bills. In addition, they should make online purchases that save them up to 60% or more by choosing top deals of the day. Overall, they should make a habit of shopping around so that they can benefit from the latest discounts offered to the new customers.

Comparing prices can be a huge task that demands time and if anyone is not comfortable making those calculations then they can rely on energy price comparison sites like FreePriceCompare. The company offers price comparison for various essential services like travel, insurance, loan, broadband plans and more. We offer comparison services for free and are trusted by a huge customer base spread across the UK. If you want to get the cheapest home energy deals or want to buy things through best daily deals then call the friendly and meticulous team of comparison experts on 02034757476.

Author Bio:

Arjun Vishram is a financial advisor at Freepricecompare.com and a passionate blogger. He writes on personal finance and money-saving tips. He suggests all UK households to compare home energy prices before renewing energy contract with existing supplier. When he isn’t writing, he is spending time to find advance technique of farming and its way of applying. He also plays his guitar gifted by his father.

Spring Budget 2017 and its impact on the UK motorist

It was the Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first budget and the UK people were keeping a close observation. It was anticipated with so much excitement as everyone wanted to know what the government has planned for its people after Brexit. Although, experts do not consider it as the best budget, it still affects a big deal of our present as well as future life. Today, we talk about the impact of the Spring Budget 2017 on the UK motorist. Read below to find what the Chancellor has declared for reducing urban congestion, fuel duty freeze, IPT and more.

How the Spring Budget 2017 affects the motorist?

Fund for easing urban congestion: The UK ranks as the third most congested country in Europe and events of road rage and accidents are common on these roads. The budget made special consideration for this and allotted £690 million for English councils that can leverage it through bidding. The Chancellor declared £90 million for the North and £23 million for the Midlands for facilitating transport on the UK roads.

Fuel duty freeze: Just like their fellow predecessors, this government also agreed to keep the fuel duty freeze intact for the seventh consecutive year at 57.95p. For this, the treasury allots £850 million and gives car drivers a chance to save £130 and van drivers £350 a year. Although, the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for vehicles would increase from April 1, the VED rates for hauliers and HGV road users will be frozen for another year. New cars purchased after April 2017 would fall under the new Vehicle Excise Duty rules.

Insurance Premium Tax: The Chancellor was tight lipped about the IPT and chose not to talk about it but, the experts suggest that the government would implement its autumn statement announcement of a 12% rise in the premiums from June 2017.

Road maintenance: The exchequer did not announce funds or schemes for road maintenance. Experts were waiting for some announcement considering the condition of UK roads and preventive measures for potholes. As the number of pothole related breakdowns has multiplied by two, people were anticipating fund for road maintenance.

Advance cars and new technology: The Chancellor announced a fund of £270 million for high tech vehicles and autonomous cars. This would be used in creating infrastructure for combating the loop holes of driverless cars.

Author Bio:
 

Arjun Vishram is a financial advisor at Freepricecompare.com and a passionate blogger. He writes on personal finance and money-saving tips. He suggests all UK motorists to compare car insurance quotes before accepting renewal quote with existing supplier. When he isn’t writing, he is spending time to find advance technique of farming and its way of applying. He also plays his guitar gifted by his father.

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Spring Budget 2017 fails to impress UK SMEs, hints to the need for business insurance

Just like households, businesses were also waiting for the Spring Budget 2017 with a lot of anticipation. As the Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged to convert the UK into the best place for starting and growing business, there was a lot of expectation from the business class.  However, it seems that businesses especially the SMEs are not very pleased with the latest budget. Some of the reasons cited by experts are increase in National Insurance and cutting down of the dividend tax free allowance.

When all these reasons were clubbed, it was discovered that there would be an additional tax on entrepreneurs and the self-employed. Moreover, the tax amendments made in the recent budget are not the most suitable bet for the small businesses. As most of the small business owners were looking out for a considerable reduction in the income tax, the budget was a disappointment for them. On the whole, experts suggested that the budget could be termed as a mixed bag for the SMEs. Therefore, insurance experts suggest that every business, be it small or big should choose the best business insurance as it helps to deal with crisis situations of all kinds.

ICAS agreed that the budget was average for the SMEs however, concurred with the Chancellor’s decision to put off the Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme for the businesses that manage a turnover that is falls below the VAT threshold. Anton Colella, chief executive of ICAS expressed his views by saying that “ICAS supports the overall objectives of Making Tax Digital, but has long been concerned with the unrealistic timescale for the project. This shows a chancellor who has listened.”

Some of them even felt that the Chancellor gave priority to the big businesses instead of encouraging the start ups and smaller organisations. Jenny Tragner, director at R&D tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown pointed out the contradictory statements of the Chancellor and said that “The government’s message also seems to be contradictory. The Spring Budget appears to prioritise the needs of big business over those of SMEs and start-ups, yet the chancellor stated it is the government’s ambition for the UK to be the best place to start and grow a business.”

Many of the business owners were waiting for the announcement of the Small Business Commissioner. They argued that as small businesses form 99% of the private sector, there is an ardent need for the appointment of the commissioner. The Chancellor did not make any announcement on this front and so it was quite disappointing for many. Dafydd Llewellyn, managing director of Concur said that “I was disappointed however, not to get a further update on the appointment of the Small Business Commissioner.”

To sum up, the budget did not do much for SMEs and people felt quite dejected from it. In such situations, it becomes important that the SME has a small business insurance cover because if any unexpected event or wrong decision may result in huge losses then they can recover from it. To protect one’s business from sudden failure or bad blows from the market, one should choose all-inclusive business insurance.

Author:

Arjun Vishram is a personal finance mentor working at UK’s leading price comparison expert FreePriceCompare.com. Arjun studied the Spring Budget 2017 and its impact on SMEs and start ups and concluded that British Entrepreneurs and business leaders should compare business insurance cover online and find the best plan that suits their requirement and budget. It will give them a peace of mind.

Energy companies are exploiting loyal customers, says the government authorities

Energy price rise have become the talk of the town! Apart from most of the Big Six suppliers, the relatively smaller suppliers have also upped their household energy prices making things worse for the consumers. Even the government has admitted that millions of consumers are overpaying for their electricity and gas usage. The authorities support the fact that now is the time to take drastic measures to protect the energy consumers and UK households.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that ministers and law makers are ready to take concrete action to mend the loop holes found in the energy market. It stated that the ministers were “concerned by recent price rises, which will hit millions of people [who are] already paying more than they need to. Wherever markets are not working for consumers, this government is prepared to act.”

Apart from the five Big Six suppliers who have already announced enormous price rise, there are smaller and medium sized suppliers who have also been on a price rise spree. Some of them include Good Energy which announced an increase of 11%, First Utility which hiked its energy prices by 9.7%, Utilita which upped the prices by 2.9%, Co-operative energy which hiked it by 5% and Ovo Energy that made a jump of 1.5%.

Experts suggest that the Big Six are the main culprits as they occupy 85% of the energy market. As they have 85% of the customers with them, they can actually control the market by either increasing or decreasing the energy prices. They can turn the tide if they actually want to as two-third of their customers are on SVTs and do not show any switching patterns. Moreover, the remark by Ofgem that these companies have no reason to increase prices as they buy energy two years before the actual supply makes it very clear that rise in wholesale energy prices has no impact on the Big Six.

Despite this, they are on a spree of price hikes making it mandatory for the government to step in and address the issue. The MPs are also hinting to the fact that energy companies are ripping off their loyal customers who are too busy to switch to cheaper tariffs. The customers are being moved to the most expensive tariff without informing them that their contract for the cheaper deal has expired and they can compare energy tariffs and their prices to keep their energy bills under control.

Former Tory minister John Penrose expressed his disappointment by saying that “Loyal customers are being systematically ripped off by big energy firms, and it’s just not fair. Most industries don’t exploit their best customers like this, by quietly switching them on to expensive default tariffs when their existing deal comes to an end. Loyalty should be rewarded, not exploited.” He is also expected to propose the ‘relative price cap’ method in which the consumer cannot be transferred to a deal that more than 6% expensive when compared to their previous tariff.

A recent report by the CMA, suggests that the customers have paid £1.4bn a year extra between 2012 and 2015. Out of the total, 70% of the consumers paid at least 11% more on electricity and 15% extra on their gas prices. This clearly suggests that consumers that do not switch to a better deal are not only wasting their money but are also creating an imbalance in the energy market.

For this, a debate is expected in parliament where ministers would give their suggestions to find a common alternative that works not only on the Big Six but for all energy suppliers across the UK. As the method of pushing the busy customers to switching the supplier is not working till now, the government is expected to find a solution to keep the energy suppliers under control. This is on their priority list and we can expect a quick announcement in the month of April.

To sum up, there is a common thought that energy companies are exploiting their loyal customers. To combat this, the authorities and the government are putting their foot down to take concrete measures to keep the suppliers under control. If this happens then we can expect fair energy prices and tariffs for the UK customers. This would be a positive sign for households who already face the aftermaths of Brexit. Let us wait and watch the government’s plans and solutions for regulating energy suppliers as well as their innovative ideas to bring down the overspending on energy.

Author Bio:
 

Brijesh is a financial advisor at Freepricecompare.com and a passionate blogger. He writes on personal finance and money-saving tips. He suggests all UK households to compare home energy prices before renewal energy contract with existing supplier. When he isn’t writing, he is spending time to find advance technique of farming and its way of applying. He also plays his guitar gifted by his father.

Impact of Spring Budget 2017 and saving tips for UK households

The Spring Budget 2017 was announced amidst much anticipation however, many feel that it was not the best job done by the exchequer. Although, he covered different dimensions and tried to create a balance between various sectors, the budget is still not considered an exciting one by the experts. Some of the points work well on a long term basis while some are good for immediate effect.

Let us check the effect of the budget:

What is the effect of the Spring Budget 2017 on families?

The Chancellor was considerate of ordinary families and has announced some measures that bring relief for families facing the aftermath of Brexit. The tax-free personal allowance was raised from £11,000 to £11,500, which means they don’t have to pay tax on an extra £500 of their hard earned money. People earning low wages would also be happy as the budget announced an increase in the National Living Wage from £7.20 to £7.50 an hour.

Some of the Brits may feel that these declarations are not enough and may still struggle with finances. They can take help from Citizen Advise or the nationaldebtline.org, which is a debt charity that helps people sort out their financial issues. Apart from all this, families would still need to keep their budget in limit so as to make savings amidst the ever rising household bills.

Effect of budget on working parents:

The Chancellor made an announcement of tax free childcare scheme which would be launched in April along with doubling free early education or childcare hours from 15 to 30, with effect from September. The new scheme will facilitate families with £2,000 a year as the cost of childcare for children under 12. For this, the parent should be working at least 16 hours per week and earn over £100 per week.

Although, this much help may not make a significant difference in child care, you can still feel a sense of support from the government. To save the cost of childcare you can always rely on your family like grandparents that can lend a helping hand while you juggle between home and work.

For those who want to make savings:

Saving has become a necessity now and so, the Chancellor has pushed the Isa allowance from £15,240 to £20,000 with effect from April this year. There was an announcement of new fixed-rate bond from NS&I, which would pay 2.2 per cent to the investor. This would be launched in April but may not be the best solution for making big savings.

Budget announcements for car drivers:

Fuel duty freeze would continue but, drivers need to be careful about the 12% hike in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) from June. This would add £109 to annual insurance costs making it unbearable for the motorists. Even the announcement of decrease in interest rates while paying severe injury compensation would add £60 on average to premiums and £107 for drivers under 25.

To combat these hikes, you should shop around to buy the cheapest car insurance policy. This could save you over 33% from the insurance cost and paying lump sum premiums would be cheaper than paying monthly. Enhancing the safety and security features of a vehicle will also further help in cutting down insurance costs.

Budget and the self-employed class:

The Chancellor has taken away the smiles from people who are self employed and have their own business. By increasing the National Insurance (NI) contributions from 9% to 10% from April 2018 and to 11% from April 2019, the budget has made the business owners angry and frustrated.

To sum up, the budget was reasonably good but not the best for people who are already facing the hike in prices. The Chancellor did not give room for property ownership and had nothing in store for the motorists as well as energy consumers who may face adverse results of price hikes in the coming future. The only piece of advice is that you need to keep saving for your family. Leverage schemes that help in cutting down costs so as to save you from overspending. Look out for discounted daily deals on FreePriceCompare and leverage its price comparison service for various sectors.

Author Bio:

Arjun Vishram is a financial advisor at FreePriceCompare.com UK’s leading price comparison website. He suggests all UK households to compare energy prices and switch to the fixed price tariff offered by top rated supplier.

Ready to pay heavy fines for texting or calling at the Wheel

UK drivers are often caught texting or making calls while driving on the roads leading to risky situations and accidents. However, this practice is going to fetch them much higher premiums as the insurers can now keep a check on them. With the telematics car insurance, insurers can keep a watch on the driver through their mobile phones.

The device tracks whether the person is using mobile phone or hands free device and informs the insurer. In return, the insurer raises the premiums of the driver or withdraws the policy in extreme cases. Telematics tracks the driver either through mobile phones or black boxes. It informs the insurer about the driving pattern like braking, acceleration and cornering. As the app runs in the background of the phone, the insurer gets a detailed report of every function used in the phone. It could be anything from making calls to using maps.

According to data from the AA, it was found that drivers could actually face a 28% hike in premiums if they are found using phones while driving. Some of the companies do not offer policies to the drivers with a history of using phones while driving. While this is an advantage for the insurer, it does intrude in the privacy of the policyholders. Wunelli, the provider of telematics technology confirms that a lot more can be monitored through the mobile phones.

Simon Morrissey, head of data and privacy at law firm Lewis Silkin, talked about the intrusion of privacy by saying that “That type of ‘cross-pollination of information’, where one app knows what you’re doing on other apps, creates a privacy issue. In my view, if they know that you’re using your phone while driving, that is intrusive.”

Telematics expert are pledging to develop technology that overcomes such issues and makes the monitoring more concise. Debarring these drawbacks, telematics is still a popular name in motor insurance and the popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. There has been a 23% increase in the number of people choosing telematics or black box insurance totaling the number to 561,500 drivers as of now. While a quarter of these drivers choose to be tracked through mobiles, the rest allow the black box method of estimating the driving behavior.

Therefore, if you are using telematics then better keep your hands off the phone at least while driving. To make matters worse, the government is planning to increase the penalty to two hundred pounds for all those caught using phones while driving. So, better beware and start practicing good driving habits.

Author Bio:

Arjun Vishram is a personal finance mentor working at UK’s leading price comparison website FreePriceCompare.com. He suggests all UK motorists to compare car insurance quotes before renewal the cover from existing provider. To cover the smaller damage, he recommends a cosmetic car insurance cover so one can protect no-claim discount on next premium.

Fewer than 8% of UK businesses know the necessity of health insurance for their overseas employees

Insurance is an ardent necessity to combat financial needs during extreme health as well as life threatening conditions. Whether you are working or own a business, the necessity of having an insurance policy cannot be avoided. If you are an employer then it is important to insure all your employees irrespective of their job location. However, just 8% of the UK businesses have the know-how on insurance policies for their overseas employees, says the international healthcare provider Expacare.

In a survey done by the company which covered 1000 UK business owners, it was discovered that only 7.8% of them knew the requirement of insurance for their overseas employees while 67.3% were not aware about it and 24.9% were not sure about it. This suggests that a big chunk of business owners do not know the details of a basic facility like insurance of the employees. Many of them feel that EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is sufficient but, that is not the case.

In fact, to make things clear one should know that EHIC might be fine for employees who travel overseas frequently for shorter periods of time. However, for those who stay abroad for longer trips should have an international healthcare insurance policy. This will help them cover the medical expenses for accidents, work related illness or injuries of various kinds.

Another kind of policy called Employers’ Liability policies will cover staff that live overseas for an extended period of time. Expacare advised all employees to check on this with their employer by stating that “Speak to your Employer’s Liability insurer to find out whether your policy includes this or if you will need to take out an additional country-specific policy for liability insurance to cover employees who sustain injuries or work-related illnesses while working away.”

It advised the employers that “When planning relocation for your staff, do your research and check whether health insurance is mandatory in the country they will be working in. In non-European countries where documents such as visas or work permits are required, certain levels of health insurance may be required for them to be issued.”

This means that the EHIC card would not be enough for your health care if you are under the impression that it is especially when you are abroad. Moreover, it is the employer’s duty to keep their staff insured to deal with the financial aspects in the event of sudden sickness, accident or major injuries.

To conclude, an employer or an employee should know all the aspects of private medical insurance, especially when the staff is stationed away from their family. The policy would help them manage the financial aspect of any catastrophic event when they cannot find immediate financial help.