If you are a in insurance or if you are a lender or offer mortgages or are a bank you are well aware of the competition in the financial market. Especially today, companies are wondering what other businesses can offer clients as well as what they cannot.
With everything going on right now, are you aware of consumer trends and how consumers choose financial services today? Investing in a little research and development of <a title=Customer acquisition at Zoot! rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.zootweb.com/additional_information/customer_acquisition.html>customer acquisition</a>  and retention will put your financial services ahead of everyone else.

Most people will tell you the secret of <a title=Customer acquisition at Zoot! rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.zootweb.com/additional_information/customer_acquisition.html>customer acquisition</a> is relationships.
And those people are right. Think about what makes you come back to a company? Honest, hardworking and helpful people right? Insurance is a hard business to sell, not only because so many people sell insurance, but it’s a gamble for customers. If you think about it, when people buy insurance, they are gambling against themselves. Will they get in an accident? Will their house burn down? How can one company, besides those companies that sell mandatory insurance- like car insurance- make other insurance really exciting? Likely, you won’t have to be over the top with exciting details because with home and car insurance- it’s absolutely necessary to have it so if your company is one of the thousands selling mandatory auto insurance- how can you be sure to consistently get new customer acquisition and retain those customers over everyone else?  Read more

Who should read this briefing?

High earning individuals especially those in defined benefit pension schemes – they could suffer 50% tax on the value of personal and employer contributions.
Individuals who have suffered a ‘special annual allowance’ – in simple terms those high earners who have had pension contributions restricted for tax years 2009 / 2010 and 2010 / 2011to between £20,000 and £30,000.
Those individuals making significant pension contributions or those who intend to make significant pension contributions in the next few years.
Anyone who has used an ‘EFRBS’ or ‘EBT’ as a means of remuneration in recent years.
Those with pension funds valued in the region of £1.5m or above.

What is happening?

HMRC has recently confirmed the changes to the rules for tax relief on pension contributions from 6th April 2011.

We are delighted that tax relief on personal contributions to registered pension schemes will continue to be available at the individual’s highest marginal rate of income tax.

There will also be no change to the way tax relief is provided on pension contributions by companies.

Annual allowance.  Read more

Relationships require hard work and commitment and like most things in life there can be no denying that they always have their ups and downs. One of the biggest issues that couples must negotiate is that of their finances.

Throughout life couples will inevitably face various financial situations together and according to recent polls, financial arguments are one of the biggest causes of the breakdown of relationships. With this in mind we take a look at three of the biggest financial issues that couples often face and consider the ways in which couples can overcome these financial issues successfully

Issue 1: Overspending

As individuals we each have a different approach to our finances. Some people manage their finances very carefully and only spend when required. Other people prefer to approach their finances with a much more carefree attitude and enjoy the money they have worked so hard to earn.

Unfortunately, when the two individuals in a relationship have a different approach to spending it can lead to problems. Realistically it is unlikely that either person will change their financial values and as such in these circumstances compromise is required.  Read more

The financial planning industry is growing strongly and quickly. An initial major driving influence was the mandatory superannuation decision by the government which drove investment savings up incredibly. Financial planners are often sought in gaining advice on how to invest in preparation for retirement given the need for finance is now mainly independent from government contributions. When people do retire they also often need the expertise of financial advisers.

Many individuals who have initially chosen different professions have considered becoming financial planning because of the opptiunities both in finding a job and also the opportunity for a large remuneration once they get a job. PS146 / RG146 training would be necessary for people making a change of careers. These courses would general come in the form of a Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning). The main players in this industry are Kaplan, the International Institute of Technology (IIT), Finsea and PS 146.  Read more