Thursday 23rd September 2010

Sulkie Race

We were looking at an extraordinary video on YouTube this morning. It was shot on the N 4 Sligo Dublin Road and it shows two sulkie riders racing along the two way main road with a motorcade of 4x4s protecting, supporting and filming the race. Pat was joined by John Bromley of the Sligo Weekender who has been studying the video.

Banks

As if the photographs of Sean Fitzpatrick the ex Anglo boss smiling and being driven off from the courts in a Jaguar were not enough to irritate the public …now it reported that the banks are “fleecing” their customers to rebuild their balance sheets.

A government appointed watchdog, The Consumer Consultative Panel, which may soon to be abolished says “consumers should not be disproportionately punished with higher fees and interest charges in order for the banks to rebuild their balances, especially while the government is contributing substantial sums to them."

Writing in the Irish Times the Chairman of the panel, Raymond O’Rourke says “it seems the consumer is paying in every sense of the word for the chronic misjudgements of the Irish financial services sector”.

Joining us to answer those charges was Pat Farrell Irish Banking Federation.

Croke Park Deal

Minister of State Dara Calleary has given more details of how the Croke Park agreement on public service reform will operate. He has been briefing journalists at a conference on the Croke Park deal.

Martin Wall Industry Correspondent of the Irish Times joined Pat

Consumer Affairs with Tina Leonard

Mobile Phone Insurance

There are almost five and a half million mobile phone subscribers in Ireland and each one of those phones could be damaged, lost or stolen at any time.

So, you might have bought mobile phone insurance to cover yourself against any loss. Or maybe you are happy that your home contents insurance will cover your phone.

But is mobile phone insurance worth it or is a waste of money?

This type of insurance differs from others in that premiums are not based on categories like age, sex, work etc and no claims history is taken into account. So it’s a one size fits all product i.e. not tailor made for your circumstances.

You can buy mobile phone insurance from any of the phone providers and are usually offered it when buying a phone. In addition you can buy it separately from a number of insurance providers that sells this insurance product.

The first thing you are likely to check is the cost of the premium, followed by what you are covered for.

Premium

The average price for separate mobile phone cover is €9 month. That comes to €108 a year so think about how much your phone would cost to replace. Also, younger users tend to break their phones more and they tend to have cheaper phones. Also remember that there will be an excess on this of €25 / €35.

Cover

The typical ‘headlines’ are: damage, breakdown, accidental damage, theft and water/moisture damage.

The small print

Even if your phone is expensive and you think the premium is worth it, the policy will not cover you in every instance. Most people don’t bother checking the small print and what’s in that at the back of the policy information are the exclusions, or what you are NOT covered for.

There will generally be an exclusion for theft cover, if your phone is left unattended or visible in a locked car for example. Or your phone is on a restaurant table, you turn around for a minute and when you turn back it’s gone. Your phone was left “unattended” and your cover might not apply.

With regard to damage, a typical exclusion is that cover is not provided if the damage is willfully caused or due to negligent use (whatever that means). For example, water damage can be caused by leaving the phone over time on a dashboard or beside a moisture source like a heater or in a bathroom.

Most also have a limit on the number of claims, i.e. two or even just one a year.

So is it worth it?

In general, no. In fact one broker I spoke to said he felt it is a “money making racket” for the following reasons:
1. It is a general truism that buying small insurance policies for specific items will work out more expensive. You may end up paying more in insurance that the cost of replacing the phone.
2. You mightn’t be covered at all due to the general exclusions.
3. If your phone breaks because it is defective your consumer rights should cover that anyway i.e. the retailer has an obligation to remedy where the product is faulty. In practice, however I regularly hear from consumers whose phone breaks, it is sent away for testing and they are told they have damaged it. And then it is impossible to prove they didn’t drop it, which is frustrating.

Why not just claim under your home contents insurance?

Inside the home
In the contents part of your policy you will be covered for a stated sum for all your contents, and you may have specified the value of some. Your phone may be included in this, so this will cover you if something happens to it in your home, ie. theft, destroyed by fire (fire and perils). Accidental damage may or may not be included in your cover so check it out to see what you have.

Some policy providers will specifically not give cover for mobile phones. With other providers, you can buy an add-on for phone cover for around €50 which will cover up to €1,000.

Outside the home
In order to have cover for your belongings once you leave the house, you have to have all-risks cover, so see if this is included in your policy. Again you can be insured for an unspecified limit or for specified items, and you could include your mobile phone here, although again some providers won’t cover mobiles.

Excess
For either scenario, check the excess. Excess on your home insurance can range from €125 to €500 so it mightn’t even be worth your while claiming. Plus some providers penalise you for claiming by increasing the premium, while some providers won’t give a quote to someone who has previous recent claims.

Advice

1. Ask yourself what is your risk of losing or breaking your phone.

2. Whether you deem yourself to be a high risk or not, but want the security of insurance, then why not put away the money into a savings account instead. (Work out the replacement cost and divide by 12 months). That way if you lose your phone you’ll have the cash to buy a new one, and if you don’t you’ll still have the cash but the insurance companies won’t.

School Science

Next to Singapore and Ireland's bid to retain the Formula One world cup - and yes you read that correctly. The Singapore Grand Prix may be on this weekend, but already this week four teams from Ireland have been competing against fierce international opposition in the Formula One for Schools competition. Leo Enright is here to tell me all about it.

If you have anything you would like explored or explained in the
science world then email us at
science.todaypk@rte.ie

This was an independent production by:
RED DIAMOND MEDIA

Taliban: The true story of the world’s most feared guerrilla fighters

Author: James Fergusson
Published by: Transworld Publishers Ltd.

It is not often that the left and the right in the west unite but one of the few subjects they can agree on is their abhorrence of the Taliban. The former despises their abuse of women and contempt for human rights; the latter their hatred for America and Israel. So the move towards negotiation and reconciliation between the Taliban and those governments who have waged war against them all through the noughties has not, until recently, been greeted warmly in such circles. James Fergusson, a British journalist who has been covering Afghanistan for 14 years, believes that dealing with the Taliban is in the interests of both foreigners and Afghans. His argument, woven through his new book, Taliban: The true story of the world’s most feared guerrilla fighters, describes the rise, fall and rise again of a bunch of Pashtun guerrillas who have pinned down the armed forces of the world's great powers in an unwinnable war, comes in two parts: that the Taliban are not as bad as westerners think, and that they are too important to be ignored.

Trad for Trocaire

Today marks the start of a great new initiative by Trocaire and Comhaltas Ceolteoiri Eireann to help raise much needed finds. It’s called Trad for Trocaire and the father or possible grandfather of Comhaltas was into give us a couple of songs. Sean O’Se came into us this morning

To organise an event:
Order a Trad for Trócaire pack (containing t-shirts, posters, stickers and a donation form) and register your session by visiting trocaire.org/trad or calling 1850 408 408.

Find local sessions:
To find out where a Trad for Trócaire session is happening locally visit trocaire.org/trad for a list of events nationwide or call 1850 408 408.