Property, pensions and home insurance

Britain’s obsession with property has propelled the country’s net worth to an estimated £8.8 trillion, an increase of 6 per cent (£493 billion) compared with the end of 2014, The Guardian reports. A surge in house prices in 2015 offset the UK’s decline in savings, the slow recovery of the banking sector and the Government’s growing debt mountain. Overall, house prices increased by 7 per cent in 2015 to add a further £355 billion to the already huge value locked up in Britain’s homes. The Office for National Statistics said in its annual assessment of Britain’s assets and liabilities that the value of dwellings was estimated at £5.5 trillion at the end of 2015, more than four times their estimated value in 1995, when the figure touched £1.2 trillion. Pensions Britain’s largest brickmaker is to cap the liabilities of its pension fund and block present members from making fresh contributions, according to The Times. Ibstock launched a two-month consultation after announcing proposals to scale back the cost of its final-salary pension scheme, which entitles retiring members to pensions linked to their earnings at the point of retiring. About 850 of the company’s 2,100-strong UK workforce are members of the scheme, which has already been closed to new employees. Ibstock has reported that its UK pension schemes have a £19 million deficit, with gross liabilities of £645 million. Tom McPhail, of Hargreaves Lansdown, said that it was only a matter of time before all final-salary schemes are wound down. ‘Such schemes work well with long-term employees.’ he said. ‘We now have higher turnover. Willingness to underwrite these schemes has diminished.’ Home insurance

The cost of the average combined buildings and contents insurance policy is at its lowest level in four years, according to the Association of British Insurers’ latest Home Insurance Premium tracker.

Taking simple steps to avoid accidents and investing in preventative measures to mitigate risks could save UK households almost £5.6 billion per year in insurance costs, according to a new report by AXA Insurance.

‘The Financial and Psychological Value of Risk Prevention’, estimates that the direct financial value of risk prevention measures equates to a saving of £209 per household in the UK.

Based on calculations and research conducted by Dr Enrico Biffis from Imperial College Business School and a poll of 2,000 UK adults, AXA’s data demonstrates the scale of how much the majority of consumers overlook the value of risk prevention.

The bulk of savings derived from reducing risk can be achieved by UK motorists, who could benefit from £4.96 billion a year from lower premiums. Buying a vehicle fitted with in-built safety systems, such as autonomous emergency braking systems, could save as much as £1.5 billion in car insurance premiums and a further £1.3 billion from a fall in insurance claims. For younger drivers, taking out ‘black box’ insurance could reduce premiums by up to 40 per cent, saving £629 per policy.

Virgin Media

Virgin Media has announced another price hike for its 5.2 million customers of 5.1 per cent on average from the start of November, Thisismoney reports.

It is increasing the price on a number of TV packages between £1 and £3.49 per month and line rental will rise by £1.01 to £19 per month.

This is the third price rise of the year by Virgin for some customers, but existing customers are able to leave early without penalty if they’re not happy with the higher cost.