Around half of all drivers treat their cars as a shop window for thieves, according to insurance company Zurich.

Sunglasses (77%), clothes (28%) and sat-navs (20%) are the most common belongings left on show by drivers in parked and unattended vehicles, according to research by the firm.

Other easy pickings for thieves include with mobile phones, left by 6% of motorists, music players (5%) and cash (5%).

The insurer claims motorists underestimate the value of belongings they leave in their cars and are often not covered for the full value if a thief strikes.

The research findings showed drivers reckoned they left just £85 of belongings in their cars, while data from the British Crime Survey puts the average haul stolen from a car break-in nearer to £200.

Zurich’s Steve Gilbert said: ”It can be a pretty distressing experience finding your car has been broken into. There’s the financial loss, as well as the added misery of when something irreplaceable or sentimental is stolen. It is vital that car owners don’t leave their possessions on show. Thieves don’t need an added invitation to break into your car so don’t give them one. 

“It’s encouraging that fewer motorists are leaving possessions in their car – with the proportion falling from 85% in 2007 to 51% today – but it’s still important to remember that anything which has to be stored in the vehicle should also be locked-up.”

Gilbert also warns that insurers may reject claims for belongings that were left in plain sight and most car insurance policies do not cover stolen cash or credit cards.

Drivers should check their car insurance policies to see what is covered in a break-in – many insurers may have a low limit on cover or charge an excess for dealing with the claim.

As a landlord, you need to protect your own finances and your investment by making sure the money is available to pay the mortgage if a tenant falls in to rent arrears.

Secondly, you need professional and effective legal advice to remove a tenant in arrears, so one who can pay their way can move in.

Landlord and tenant law is notoriously complicated and small mistakes can cost time and money 

Rent guarantee insurance solves both problems.

What is rent guarantee insurance?

Rent guarantee insurance is a combination of two services for landlords -

• Legal advice and expenses cover to evict a tenant in rent arrears – the cover should also include dealing with breaches of the tenancy agreement and claims against the landlord
• Income protection insurance that pays out a sum each month so the landlord can continue to pay the mortgage if a tenant is not paying the rent

How does rent guarantee insurance work?

Your insurer will want a strict paperwork bundle before considering any application for cover that includes:

• A signed assured shorthold tenancy agreement in force
• Proof of tenancy deposit protection with an authorised scheme – and the deposit must cover at least one month’s rent
• Proof that any legal requirements in respect of letting have been carried out – like getting electrical and gas safety certificates.
• Tenants must be properly referenced before they move in – many rent guarantee policies will not pay out if a tenant is already in the property when the policy is set up.

Properly reference means running a credit check with one of the three agencies – Experian, Equifax or Callcredit 

Some insurers will also want references from employers and previous landlords. Guarantors must be referenced as well.

Rent guarantee insurance will kick in after one month’s rent is missed to start legal proceedings to evict the tenant.

Most tenants who are in arrears will not leave until legal papers are served threatening to take them to court because they have nowhere to go.

They cannot rent another property because they will fail the referencing process and a local council will not house them because they are making themselves intentionally homeless.

Generally, the eviction process takes about three months and the rent guarantee cover will pay out to cover the rent and legal costs during that time.

Points to watch on rent guarantee cover

Rent guarantee cover is not standard between insurers, so shop around for the best deal.

Consider:

• Levels of cover – You may want to set the amount paid to cover the mortgage and other bills rather than the profit element of the rent to reduce the cost of cover
• Term – Rent guarantee policies often last the length of the tenancy agreement, so if the tenant moves on to a rolling tenancy, check cover is still in place. The length of time the policy pays out can often vary – most should pay for at least six months
• Excess – Set the deposit paid by the tenant to at least cover the rent guarantee policy excess
• Legal expenses – Every lawyer has to follow the same eviction process, so do not pay over the odds for what is effectively the same service
• Bundle your cover – some insurers offer a comprehensive buildings/contents/rent guarantee package for landlords at a discount, and will consider dropping the price even further if you have more than one property to insure

The Insurance Fraud Register of proven scammers will cover all forms of insurance – and every application will face a routine check.

Anyone on the database will have problems in arranging cover – or have to pay higher premiums.

Most insurance companies will join the database, which will cover home, car, personal, travel and business policies.

The database will be managed by the Insurance Fraud Bureau for the Association of British Insurers, the trade body for the UK’s insurance companies.

Checks are expected to start in July, after the IFB and ABI signed contracts to set up the scheme.

Richard Davies, head of fraud at Axa, who is leading the project, said: “The signing of the contracts is an important step as we move towards delivery of the IFR during the summer.

“Over the coming months, we will step up our engagement with insurers to ensure they are ready to participate. We will also be talking with consumer organisations so that they fully understand what the register will mean for consumers.

“While insurers remain committed to paying genuine claims as quickly as possible, committing insurance fraud will have long and serious consequences.”

An issue for consumers is how the IFR will define a ‘proven fraudster’.

That could mean someone with a conviction by a court – or the definition could include someone who has had an inflated claim rejected.

“Dishonest motor insurance claims are paid for by honest customers – this is why insurers are determined to stamp them out,” said an ABI spokesman.

 “Sharing information reduces insurance fraud. Not only will it help detect more fraud, but it will act as a strong deterrent, making anyone thinking of cheating on their insurance  think twice.”

Standard motor insurance is just not up to the job, especially if the courier carries high-value cargo.

If you are looking for cheap courier van insurance, here are some points to consider:

• Courtesy vehicle – as a business, you cannot afford to have one or more vehicles off the road after an accident, theft or other incident. Check the cost of hiring a vehicle direct against the extra cost of insurance to ensure value for money.
• Goods in transit – The technical term for the parcels and packages inside the vehicle. Check for limitations on cover. Some insurers will exclude certain items that may be flammable, poisonous or likely to injure passers-by in the case of an accident.

If you carry these goods or need hazchem labelling, you may need to seek a specialist insurer.

• Comprehensive insurance is a must to give all-risks protection
• If your vehicle is loaded and left overnight, the insurer might insist you park in a secure compound

If you are a self-employed courier van driver and work from home, look at taking out public liability cover – and don’t forget standard home insurance might not cover a home office, even if you only use the facility for the odd hour here and there.

For bigger businesses, bundle in employer liability cover to protect staff driving your vehicles and working at your premises.

Beef up the security on your vans with a tracker, immobiliser and a robust alarm system to make life just that little more difficult for all but the most determined thief.

You can cut the cost of courier van insurance by offering the insurer a larger voluntary excess and by scanning the policy to make sure any features that you won’t use are removed from the cover.

Research by the BBC showed unemployed owners are paying up to 63% more for their car and van insurance.

Mystery shopping applications for car insurance quotes were made to car insurance firms through three brokers.

The results were compared to identical quotes for employed drivers – and all charged more, with the surcharge ranging from 30% top 63%.

When challenged about their reasons for charging the jobless more for their car cover, the underwriters claimed one reason was unemployed drivers travel along unfamiliar routes for job interviews that are more likely to lead them to having an accident.

Other reasons included an increased risk of a claim because the unemployed do not have the cash to maintain their cars to a high standard – even though car insurers will not issue cover without a valid MoT certificate unless the car is less than three years old.

They also cited a higher risk of fraud because a jobless driver needs the money more than an employed car owner.

With the jobless rate in the UK running at 8.4%, this could mean a huge number of drivers paying over the odds for their car insurance.

Insurers have always weighted cover by assessing a driver’s job – but including a penalty payment for not having one seems rather severe.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has suggested one way of cutting car insurance costs could be including rural road driving as part of the compulsory test.

The IAM claims 82% of serious and fatal crashes are on single-carriageway A-roads

Chief executive Simon Best said that while cars and roads are safe, drivers need to be encouraged to use them properly.

“We can only improve our cars and roads so far. The challenge now is to improve the humans that drive them, to continue our outstanding record of road safety,” he said.

TomTom has teamed up with a broker to offer cheap car insurance quotes based on rewarding good drivers by offering lower premiums.

The cover ignores traditional risk based underwriting based on age, gender, postcode location and type of vehicle 

Instead, TomTom reckons on charging a low price for car insurance – as long as the motorist keeps within the agreed good driving standards, the premium stays low.

“Our entry in the insurance market with our proven fleet management technology puts us at the forefront of a move that could help to revolutionise the motor insurance industry,” said Thomas Schmidt, managing director TomTom Business Solutions.

“We offer a unique combination of navigation, traffic information and telematics which opens up great opportunities for insurance companies to promote greener, safer driving and create a ground breaking portfolio of new insurance products.”

However, TomTom may need to convince drivers of the merits of their black box in the car after having to apologise after selling Dutch police data gathered from customers to help them set speed traps.

The firm admitted the gaff, but claimed they did not know how police were using information bought to map accident blackspots.

“We’ve dispensed with generalisations and said to our customers, if you believe you’re a good driver, we’ll believe you and we’ll even give you the benefit up front,” said a TomTom spokesman.

“This is unlike some other telematics-based schemes where you may have to prove your ability over a number of months. So if you think of your insurance as your car’s miles per gallon – the better you drive, the longer your fuel will last. It’s the same with our insurance, good drivers get more for their money and in that sense they will pay ultimately less.”

Cheap home insurance can miss out some of the most popular add-ons to help property owners – but sometimes that lower price is still too much when a pay out fails to cover a claim.

Insurance companies know that home owners are confident about buying policies online and work hard to package their products on price and not necessarily the features.

Web sites shout out ‘Compare cheap home insurance policies’ and the massive savings that are available, while discerning buyers want to know the policy actually pays out for a claim.

Home owners are steered to buy on price and not the value of the cover.

Take accidental damage cover. Most home insurance buyers would expect this as standard, but only 12% – or one in eight – of buildings policies and 10% of contents policies include cover, says independent financial watchdog Defaqto.

The firm’s research also found home emergency cover was the most popular add-on, and although more than half of policies include cover (56%), its only standard on 12% – the rest charge extra.

The cost of an excess – the amount the policyholder has to pay on the first claim in a year – is also important to many buyers.

A quarter of all home insurance cover applies a standard minimum £100 excess, which means any claim has to be for a significant amount before haggling with the insurance company becomes worthwhile.

Defaqto’s Mike Powell said: “Providers are faced with an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace. A vast number of consumers searching for home insurance policies each year and many choose the internet to compare products.

“Attitudes to insurance in an online world have changed. Our research shows that consumers are more comfortable with comparing cover online before they buy to ensure they select a policy that is right for them.

“Product differentiation is the key in attracting consumers and combating the ‘price versus cover’ challenge. Providers not only need to look at the features they offer within their product range, but also how proactive they are in marketing these to potential customers.”

In a round-table summit at 10 Downing Street, Cameron urged the firms to make car insurance cheaper – and in return offered to find ways to plug the money pouring out to claims firms.

He promised action to reduce the £2 billion-a-year paid out on car insurance claims for whiplash injuries, and to change Britain’s “compensation culture”.

The cost of car insurance has soared by an average of 17% over the last year – and by similar amounts in previous years.

Britain is dubbed “the whiplash capital of Europe”, with 1,500 claims a day from minor accidents which add £90 a year to the average driver’s insurance premium.

Much of the cash goes to claims management firms or cash-for-crash fraudsters who stage road accidents to prey on innocent drivers by claiming for non-existent injuries and inflated bills for repairing damage.

The Ministry of Justice is looking at ways of making whiplash compensation harder to claim, by setting a minimum speed or the provision of more detailed medical evidence.

In Germany, drivers make fewer whiplash claims as cars have to move at 6.25 mph or more to qualify, as doctors suggest injuries received at less than that speed are minor and do not result in long-term medical issues.

Setting limits on lawyers fees for personal injury claims is another option under scrutiny.

Mr Cameron told the summit: “I am determined to tackle this damaging compensation culture which has been pushing up premiums.

“I want to stop trivial claims, free up businesses from the stranglehold of health and safety red tape and look at ways we can bring costs down.

“The insurance industry plays such an important part in all our lives – it is there to help when we are at our most vulnerable and at greatest need. I want to ensure that we all do what we can to help people through this difficult time.”

Dozens of gadget insurance sites offering cheap iPad insurance from around a fiver a month have sprung up online – but like most other cover for electronics, it’s often a waste of money.

Paying £60 a year or so for iPad insurance cover seems a good idea – but often the same or better cover is included for free or for less money in existing home insurance.

According to independent insurance monitor Defaqto, 80% of home and contents insurance policies  offer standard cover for students living away from home – providing they come back to stay with mum and dad in the holidays.

Check out the small print of the policy, but you should find iPads, Kindles and other electronics like iPhones, smartphones and iPods are all covered.

Some insurers may have exclusions that limit the cover and charge an excess for a claim. An excess is a payment you make against the first claim in the year – so your policy may have a compulsory excess plus a voluntary excess that add up to a significant proportion of the cost of a new iPad, the claim may not be economical.

Separate gadget insurance is the same – £60 a year  or more over three years adds up to at least £180 and might well come to the same as paying a home insurance excess in the event of a claim.

The average claim for theft of student possessions in £1,047, according to one insurer, and generally includes laptops and bikes as well as gadgets, clothing and cash.

Don’t forget to protect downloads as well. The cost of downloaded mp3s, movies and books can come to much more than the price of the gadget that plays them.

Some home insurance polices cover downloads as standard, but many exclude cover or include the feature as an add-on.

If motorists want cheap car insurance, then they should keep on taking driving courses and not breathe a sigh of relief and give up when they pass the test.

Many insurers offer discounts and added benefits to drivers who can prove they make an effort to hone their skills behind the wheel.

Adding that extra experience and technique not only cuts the cost of car insurance, but hopefully makes a better driver who is less likely to have an accident 

Several organisations offer extra training and driving courses:

Pass Plus is a government-backed scheme run by the Driving Standards Scheme. The course lets new drivers take lessons in motorway driving, throws light on driving at night and shows them how to weather different driving conditions.

Many insurance firms offer a discount to drivers who have a pass certificate

Skill For Life – this package is a membership option for the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) that includes ‘everything a driver needs to know’ about taking and passing an advanced driving test. Signup, which includes a year’s membership of the IAM, costs £139.

The IAM also runs assessment courses to highlight skills awareness for drivers costing around £35.

Car insurers will discount policies for IAM members.

Speed Awareness Courses – These are generally offered to first-time speeding offenders for around £80 as an alternative to points on a licence – with the promise the driver’s car insurance firm will not find out about their transgression.

For drivers who do tell their insurers about attending the course, premiums are likely to rise rather than fall.

The IAM also runs an advanced riding course for motorcyclists, costing £139 and including a year’s membership.

Other driving courses are available – from training on skid pans and tracks to rally driving skills.

Some car makers offer specialist driving courses to buyers to show off the finer points of their new vehicles – for example 4×4 driving days.

 Although they are fun, these courses do not count towards cheaper car insurance.