September, 2009
Winter Olympic Sports: Short Guide to Curling
In the build up to the winter Olympics we thought we will give you a short guide to some of the winter sports that will be contested and more importantly, winter sports that the UK could possibly win a medal in! These are also sports that you can participate in whilst travelling when you purchase our winter sports travel insurance.
The first winter sport we will look at is Curling, widely described a ‘chess of ice’
In 2002, Great Britain’s woman curlers claimed the country’s first winter sports gold medal in 18 years (Torvill and Dean in 1984), overcoming Switzerland with a 4-3 victory. Victory again at the 2006 winter Paralympics looked possible; however the team lost out to Canada on the final push.
Aims for 2010 games is to have won medals in 3 consecutive winter games and to have won medals in both the Olympics and Paralympics.
WHAT IS CURLING?
Taking place on a 44.5m long area of ice with target areas marked out on both ends. The target areas are similar to archery or shooting targets laid out on the floor under the ice and are 6ft wide.
Similar to lawn bowls, the aim of the game is to slide your stone (a dense granite weighing 19.1kg), closest to the centre of the target.
To slide the stone, a player pushes off holding the stone from a rubber mat and have to release it before crossing a set line called the ‘hog line’. After the release, two sweepers brush the ice to make it smoother to make the stone go further, or they leave the stone so it slows with the friction of the rougher ice. The sweepers’ skill lays in the ability to judge the speed and to get it to finish in the centre of the target called the ‘tee’. Sweepers may only sweep between two tee lines.
TYPES OF SHOT
1.) Raise – aim to knock one of your teams’ stones into the house
2.) Hit – Aim to knock the opposing teams’ stone out of the way or out of the house
3.) Draw – aiming to get the stone into the house
HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED
Each team has 4 players and a game consists of 10 ends. To play an end each player of a team pushes two stones so 16 stones are pushed in total. The first two players for each team can not displace the other teams stones if they are in the ‘guard zone’, an area before the house which can be used to protect the teams stones already in the house.
To win points the team with a stone closest the ‘tee’ wins. A point is awarded for every stone that is closer to the tee than the opponents.
The team with the highest score after 10 ends have won.
Do you like winter sports? Let us know if there are any particular short guides you would like us to blog.
If you like winter sports you will probably be planning to travel this winter, so make sure you are covered with winter sports travel insurance from click4quote.com
Buy to let tenants evicted
In the first three months of this year 1,700 landlords had buy to let properties repossessed by lenders. Repossession is bad news for both the landlord and the tenant but there is an alternative; a receiver may be appointed to collect the rent so the tenant can stay in the property. Receivers of rent were appointed in 2,400 cases in the first quarter of 2009. If a receiver is appointed the tenant can stay in the home and the rent is offset against the mortgage interest. Receivers are usually chartered surveyors or insolvency practitioners. If a tenant is threatened with eviction because the landlord has defaulted then the tenant can make representations in the possession proceedings. Has anyone had any experience of this procedure?
The picture in the market as a whole seems to have been improving recently and the total number of repossessions, including both buy to let landlords and owner occupiers fell in the second quarter. Land Registry data shows that prices increased by 1.7% in England and Wales in July- the biggest rise since May 2004.
It still seems difficult to obtain finance for buy to let projects – does anyone have any recent experience?
If you require landlord insurance, or buy to let insurance, contact Click4quote.com for a competitive quotation.
How dangerous is skiing – need ski insurance
A few years ago the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reported that more than 10,000 people have to attend British hospitals each year following accidents on the slopes.
This sounds like a worryingly high number and one wonders how travel insurers could ever make a profit! However there are always different ways of looking at statistics and recently a GP in Scotland has undertaken a comprehensive survey of skiing injuries. Dr Mike Langran runs a specialist website: www.ski-injury.com .
He says that between two and four people need medical attention out of every thousand people skiing or snowboarding in a day. Apparently the figure is slightly higher in Greece and Japan. The risk of accidental death is .7 per million skier visits and a lower figure of .46 deaths per million for snowboarders. These figures seem quite reassuring but for the people involved an accident on the slopes can be traumatic.
Apparently 10% of accidents involve a collision, 5% involve ski-lifts and another 5% relate in some way to equipment breaking or failing. You are more likely to have an accident if you have been drinking and this may be a reason for there being more accidents in the afternoon than the morning.
There has long been a debate about the benefits of helmets but Dr Langran advises wearing one that is suitable for the activity you are planning and conforms to the relevant standards. Personal fitness is also a factor; if your body is unprepared for the physical strain of skiing you are more likely to suffer an injury.
Make sure your ski travel insurance covers the type of activity you are planning- some have exclusions that may rule out the cover you need. Make sure you have winter sports insurance in place before you travel.
Overloading car means no travel insurance cover
A travel insurance company has refused to pay for medical treatment for a teenager seriously injured in a car crash because he was not wearing a seatbelt and the car was overloaded. The accident occurred in France when six people were travelling in a Peugeot 206 that veered off the road and overturned. The injured young man may have to been repatriated which will cost thousands and the insurers say they will not pay. travel insurance policies normally have exclusions aimed at avoiding cover if you engage in criminal acts or deliberately place yourself in danger. Policy wordings vary but there will always be a complaints procedure and if a dispute cannot be resolved it can be referred to the Ombudsman,
On the subject of accidents on holiday the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says that Thailand is the most dangerous destination for British tourists. In 2008, 269 British people died there and there were hundreds of hospitalisations. Motorbike accidents are very common in Thailand with something like 38 people dying in this way every day.
These two stories go to show how important it is to have travel insurance and to make sure you keep yourself safe when abroad.
Let us know your thoughts on the above – do you agree with the insurance company?
Good news for landlords and would be buy to let investors?
According to the Building Societies Association something like 58% of people think it is a good time to buy a house, this compares with only 19% who think it is a bad time. The BSA carried out the same survey a year ago and only 34% thought it was a good time to buy at that time.
Uncertainty about job security and the lack of a large enough deposit are the main reasons holding people back. Despite that the survey indicates that people think that house prices will rise by around 1.6% in the coming year.
Landlords will also be interested to see that the number of houses being repossessed fell 9% in the quarter to June compared to the previous three months. The Financial Services Authority said that the sharply rising trend up to the end of 2008 has stabilised. Even so, 13,610 homes were repossessed in the period, a higher number than a year ago.
Estate agents are feeling much more cheerful according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; They say that in August more agents reported house price rises than falls. Perhaps we will see buy to let investors coming back to the market- if they can raise finance from cautious mortgage lenders.
Are you a buy to let investor looking for buy to let insurance? If so contact click4quote.com, we offer landlords specialist landlords insurance for their buy to let property.
Landlords charged unfair renewal fees by managing agents
A recent case in the High Court will be welcome news for landlords who have been annoyed to discover that a managing agent has charged a “hidden” renewal fee. Some agents charge quite large fees (11% in this case) when the tenancy continues after the initial term even if the agent did not have to do anything to arrange the renewal. The judgment has not outlawed renewal fees altogether but it has said that to be enforceable they must be clearly described in the agent’s sales literature and not hidden in the contract. The Judge said that typical landlords would not read all the terms of the contract and they would not expect important matters like fees to be buried in the small print.
This ruling only affects landlords who are regarded as consumers; those with no more than two properties. This is because the case was brought under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
Landlords may reclaim fees in these circumstances, even if they were paid as long ago as six years. The first step is to write a letter of claim to the managing agent. If that does not work consider taking action in the County Court.
Are you a landlord suffering from unreasonable renewal fees? If so post a comment and let us know your thoughts.
If you are looking for buy to let insurance or landlord insurance then contact click4quote insurance.