30 Mar-5 Apr: Groan

Speed demon

The number of drivers breaking the speed limit increased by 5.8% in 2011, according to LV= research, with the fastest driver clocked at 152 mph in Surrey. The 2010 record was 144mph in the Avon and Somerset area. The insurer compiled police statistics to find that there were 955,459 speeding cases in 2011, up from 899,934 in 2010.

Air unfair

Despite airline claims hitting a historic low last year, Aon has warned that rates will not follow. Apparently, the risk that the aviation industry represents remains high, and exposures such as average fleet value and passenger forecasts are growing, meaning that the real cost of insurance is reducing. However, the actual cost of insurance will not be falling.

Bandwagon

The Ministry of Justice has been called in by banks to investigate the soaring number of invalid payment protection insurance compensation claims they have been receiving from claims management companies, many of which bombard consumers with adverts encouraging them to make claims. Among the firms being investigated are the Claims Advisory Group, The Claims Guys and The Fair Trade Practice.

Performance

Equity Insurance has unveiled plans to roll out perfomance-related pay for all its 1,200 staff this year. The company’s head of compensation and benefits, Ricky D’Ash, said this would control costs and make sure staff are treated fairly and transparently. He added that the firm would also put its staff into grades according
to job role.