OSLO (Thomson Financial) - The number of registered jobless in Norway at the end of April was 47,961 after seasonal adjustments, down from a revised 49,267 in March, the labour directorate said. In absolute figures, the number of registered jobless was 47,296, or 2.0 pct of the workforce, down from 2.1 pct the previous month. alastair.reed@thomson.com ar/rfw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content,...
Motorists’ Premiums ‘Going Up Again’
Posted in economy | Monday, April 30th, 2007 | Trackback
Motorists are facing yet another hike in driving costs with insurance premiums set to rise 10% in the coming year.
Insurers saying they are paying out more in claims than they are receiving in premiums.
The prediction of an increase comes from the car insurance internet search engine Confused.com.
It said that not all drivers would face increases and that some insurance companies would offer incentive deals to soften the blow of premium rises.
Confused.com managing director Debra Williams said the average claims payout was 109 for every 100 generated in premiums.
“Such losses can only be sustained for so long, and we predict premiums will be forced to rise by a minimum 10% to meet the shortfall,” she said.
“While it’s evident that there is a deficit in premium versus claims payouts, not all insurers will necessarily increase prices.
“We expect those with comparatively low claims ratios will find it easier to respond to market movements and maintain competitive deals, while some insurers will keep rates low in order to build volume.
“While the trend of providing preferential policies, combined with value-add incentives is flourishing in response to the industry’s need to be more competitive, this approach doesn’t always guarantee the cheapest premiums.
Drivers are being advised to look closely at the incentives offered by existing insurers to see if they can find savings elsewhere.
