It claims Mr Perrett paid pounds 400 less than the next quote

It claims Mr Perrett paid pounds 400 less than the next quote. It also provided him with a courtesy car.Mr Perrett said this was not enough. After he contacted the Independent on Sunday, Privilege relented and will now send him the full pounds 500. Furthermore, it has offered to transfer the insurance to another vehicle, or the Mercedes if Mr Perrett chooses to rebuild it, and refund the difference between the cost of comprehensive and third-party cover, some pounds 350.Privilege, it seems, with its low offer, was well within its rights.According to Michael Lovegrove of the Insurance Ombudsman's Bureau, when some- one writes off a car in an accident, insurers' standard practice is to pay either the market value immediately before the loss, or the policy holder's latest stated valuation, whichever is the lower. The main exception is with agreed-value policies, purchased usually for classic cars.With standard policies, the insurer appoints an engineer to assess the value before the ac- cident, which is based around retail prices in Glass's Guide, the trade second-hand guide."When determining the premium, people don't realise that the value they state on the proposal form is not particularly relevant The premium is hardly affected by the value.

More important is the type of car, and the age, experience, and driving history of the insured," Mr Lovegrove said. He added, however, that if the insured's assessment was considerably lower than the market value, most insurers would bring the sum up to the market value. The Ombudsman takes a dim view of those insurers who do not.However, if claimants still feel they have been unfairly treated, and that they are not being offered a fair sum, they should start by complaining to the insurer. It will help the case to present evidence to demonstrate the claimed value - for example prices of similar vehicles from publications such as Exchange and Mart.If complaints do not get satisfaction, they should get in touch with the Insurance Ombudsman's Bureau.Mr Lovegrove added that an insurance broker might have been prepared to give Mr Perrett advice about whether a fully comprehensive policy was worthwhile, whereas Privilege did not. The company is a direct insurer that offers its own products only.

Conversely, direct insurers often offer more competitive prices than brokers.The best advice to the customer to shop around for advice as well as quotes.. BRISTOL-BASED broker Hargreaves Lansdown is offering a corporate bond PEP investing in the bonds of a single company. Investors can choose between the Hanson 10 per cent loan stock maturing in 2006, the Glaxo stock paying 8.75 per cent and maturing in 2005, the Royal Insurance, 9.625 per cent, 2003 and the British Gas, 8.75 per cent, 2025. At current prices the Glaxo stock offers an income yield of 8.86 per cent in a PEP, British Gas offers 9.2 per cent, and the other two 9.5 per cent.Hanson's stock is trading at pounds 105, which means an investor who holds stock worth pounds 100 (face value) until maturity will suffer a pounds 5 loss, but the income over the next 11 years should make up for that.The minimum investment to buy direct into a corporate bond is pounds 100,000, but by buying in bulk Hargreaves Lansdown will offer single-company PEPs in amounts as small as pounds 3,000.Unlike conventional corporate bond PEPs, which are invested in a variety of bonds from a number of companies that mature at different dates, the single-company bond PEP will be transparent.As with all fixed-interest bonds, prices will rise if interest rates fall, and fall if interest rates rise, but investors who hold them until redemption know they will be repaid at par.There is a broking charge of 0.5 per cent for the PEP, but no initial or withdrawal charges, and the annual management fee is pounds 30, rising in line with inflation. This compares with initial charges of up to 5 per cent and annual fees of 0.5 to 1.5 per cent on most corporate bond PEPs.Hargreaves Lansdown admits there is an element of risk in having all one's eggs in a single basket, but claims the single-company bond PEP is closer to the ideal the Treasury had in approving corporate bond PEPs than the single-company bond PEPs offered by Legal & General and Johnson Fry, which are invested in their own stock.. MORTGAGE protection insurance, which covers repayments in the event of disability or redundancy for up to one year, has become widely available as a result of the 1994 Budget changes But home owners are not the only ones at risk. Those who do not have a mort- gage may still find themselves unable to work. Nevertheless, protection insurance for such people has enjoyed little publicity in comparison.

There are only two income protection policies that are not specifically linked to a mortgage or other kind of repayment facility. Both pay out for a maximum of 12 months per claim and their benefits can be spent on anything the policyholder wishes. The Hamilton Income Protector, provided by Lloyd's broker Hamilton & Wellard (part of the Edgar Hamilton Group), has been available since 1985. Maximum cover is the lesser of 60 per cent of gross monthly income, or pounds 1,000 a month.It covers against being off work for more than 30 days for accident and sickness, or 60 days for redundancy.NWS Bank's IncomeCare, available since July 1994, pays out after 60 days for both types of claim. Maximum cover is the lesser of pounds 750 per month or 75 per cent of net monthly income.Such policies can also suit people with small mortgages Sarah Roper, a 39-year-old mother of two, is a good example. In March 1991, when working as a business operations manager with a depart- ment store group, she took out pounds 500-a-month cover with Hamilton Income Protector for pounds 30 a month."We didn't have much of a mortgage to pay as we had moved to our present house before the property boom," she explains. "My husband had always had a good job as a lawyer and everyone assured me my own job was safe Nevertheless, I was not leaving anything to chance. The children had entered private education and it was of paramount importance that we didn't have to remove them."In February 1993, Mrs Roper, along with a number of others, was laid off and she did not start another job until that August.