AXA have confirmed that their attempt to take over SBJ has been successful, their offer was accepted by 90% of the group’s shareholders.

But although the offer has been accepted unconditionally it is being kept open for additional acceptances until further notice.

The FSA have approved the purchase, so AXA can now take formal control of SBJ.

Chief executive of AXA, Nicolas Moreua says: ‘I am delighted that our acquisition of SBJ Group has been successful. This marks a significant step in our strategy to build a leading advisory services and broking business in the UK.’

He adds: ‘The addition of SBJ strengthens our position in the market and represents an exciting opportunity for SBJ and AXA.

A distribution agreement that will see Nationwide Building Society sell Legal & General (L&G) protection, investment and pension products came into force today.

In return, L&G has bought Nationwide Life and Nationwide Unit Trust Managers for a total of £293m, a deal financed out of the £600m L&G raised through its Tier One capital issued in May last year.

Tim Breedon, group chief executive at L&G, says: “The strategic distribution agreement has the potential to become one of our largest.

“[We] will continue to develop and expand distribution in 2008, through banks and building societies, IFAs, platforms and direct to market.

“Each channel is strategically important to us and we see opportunities in each to grow market share.”

Graham Beale, Nationwide chief executive, adds: “This agreement enables Nationwide to focus on what it does best – distributing financial services products which are simple, accessible and straightforward for its 13 million members.

“In line with our policy of offering the best products from the leading providers in the market, we are now able to offer members a broader range of products to meet their protection and investment needs.

“For the first time an ethical trust will be available – an exciting new addition to a range of investment trusts, as well as innovative new policies like the family life insurance plan to protect families.”

Nationwide Building Society will offer unit trusts and ISAs investing in a range of L&G funds including the ethical trust, as well as offer other products such as family life insurance plan, capital guaranteed multi-index equity bond, critical illness cover and life cover.

However, we at www.howmuchcover.co.uk are confident that our Legal & General premiums will be cheaper than Nationwide’s due to the way we take less commission.

Not a very festive or imaginative present but a very important one.  And now for some really distressing news.

You are 50% more likely to die in an accidental house fire during the Christmas period than at any other time of the year.

This festive season, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to stay safe and protect their homes from fire by following twelve tips for festive fire safety:

Twelve days of Christmas

• On the 1st day of Christmas - Check your Christmas tree lights conform to the British Standard. Always use an RCD on outdoor electrical equipment (safety device that can save lives by instantly switching off the power).
• On the 2nd day of Christmas - Never place candles near your Christmas tree or furnishings. Don’t leave them burning unattended.
• On the 3rd day of Christmas - Make sure your family and visitors staying for the festive period know what to do in an emergency. Practice a fire escape plan.
• On the 4th day of Christmas - Decorations can burn easily - Don’t attach them to lights or heaters.
• On the 5th day of Christmas – Switch off electrical appliances when not in use, unless they’re designed to stay on. Take special care with Christmas lights. Always switch off and unplug Christmas lights before you go to bed.
• On the 6th day of Christmas - Celebrate Christmas and New Year safely. The risk of accidents, especially in the kitchen, is greater after alcohol is consumed.
• On the 7th day of Christmas - Most fires start in the kitchen. Never leave cooking unattended.
• On the 8th day of Christmas - If you are planning to celebrate with fireworks, store them in a metal box, read the instructions, never go back to a lit firework and keep a bucket of water nearby.
• On the 9th day of Christmas - Make sure cigarettes are completely extinguished.
• On the 10th day of Christmas - Check the battery in your smoke alarm every week and use Christmas as a reminder to clean it and remove dust.
• On the 11th day of Christmas - Keep candles, lighters and matches out of reach of children.
• On the 12th day of Christmas - Take the time to check on elderly relatives and neighbours this Christmas - make sure they are fire safe.

We spend more than 14 hours a month, or 40 minutes of our working day, “social not-working”, according to new research¹ from AXA.  Employees use up on average around five and a half days of the working year sending text messages, emailing friends and family, visiting social net-working websites, making personal phone calls, and gossiping, the new study reveals.

Add other activities, such as online shopping, booking holidays and even gambling at their desks to the equation and employees are spending more than 50 minutes every single day on non-work related activities. 

The research comes ahead of the launch of AXA’s My Budget Day (21 November), a national programme designed to encourage all UK adults to commit one hour a month to sorting out their finances.  As UK employees suffer a serious lack of motivation when it comes to spending time addressing their money matters, AXA is asking employers to help their employees kick start the programme by giving them the first hour while they are at work.  The initiative is being supported by the CBI and the UK’s largest union, Unite, and AXA has pledged the hour to its 12,000 UK employees.

AXA’s research shows that just one hour a month spent reviewing your money can improve finances and reduce stress dramatically.  Worryingly one in three people don’t do anything at all whilst the average person spends only 22 minutes per month considering their finances^.

^{Why don’t you see if you can save yourself some money by seeing if you are over paying for your insurance.  Dig out you policy schedules and get your comparison quotes here}

Non disclosure of your medical history on a personal insurance application is a dangerous move.  Smokers pay more for life cover but should not try to hoodwink the insurance company by declaring they are a non smoker.  Likewise, someone who has had a heart attack should always disclose it.

In the event that you, or your loved ones, submit a claim on a policy one of the first things that the insurer will do is to check your  original application.  You don’t want to be identified as a non smoker dying of lung disease.

It is a proven fact that paper based applications for life insurance, critical illness and income protection applications are more likely to have non disclosure issues rather than the new way of telephone underwriting.  telephone is when the insurer contacts you by phone and verbally takes your answers to the questions.

If you want ”Tele Underwriting” then send us a yes in the comments and we will change the way we work.

Businesses may want to protect the key employees within their firm – perhaps the key salesperson, or the IT manager without whom the business will not function properly. Keyperson protection can provide a fixed sum should the individual be unable work, or even die.

The benefit will be designed to cover the firm’s expenses in meeting any emergency costs, recruiting a replacement employee and protecting the future of the business.

The cost of key person insurance is broadly the same as a personal insurance policy, however, it is the company who pays the premiums.  Companies considering this type of insurance policy should check with their own inspector of taxes regarding the taxation position of both the premium and any benefit before they take out the cover.

if you would like a free guide on Keyperson Cover then please contact us

In recognition of the immense work that The British Heart Foundation does, howmuchcover is celebrating today by giving its financial support to this worthy cause. 

We are donating 10% of all our new business commission generated in October 2007 to their campaign to help fight heart disease.

Here are some amazing facts about the heart and blood:

1. Your heart beats an average 100,000 times a day – a staggering 36.5 million times a year. By the time you reach 75 it will have beat more than 2.7 billion times.

2. The average heart pumps out around 5 litres of blood every minute. Regular physical activity improves the strength of the heart which helps to keep it healthy.

3. On average, your heart is the size of your clenched fist and weighs about 300 grams.

4. Your system of blood vessels – arteries, veins and capillaries – is up to 60,000 miles long. That’s long enough to go around the world more than twice.

So, by taking out an life insurance policy, critical illness policy or income protection insurance policy through howmuchcover us you will be helping others too.