Interesting Facts

According to a recent study of around 9,000 British pets by pet insurer Animal Friends, the number of  cats diagnosed with diabetes has skyrocketed by  1,161 percent over the past five years. (The fact is people who feed cats human food are shortening their lives. In addition more than half of the cats kept indoors are dangerously overweight. I've never understood the idea of an indoor cat. Spooky and Moose would never have stood for it.) 

A survey conducted by life insurance provider Beagle Street, revealed that young Brits don't feel "adult" until they have reached the age of 29. (Although legally you are regarded as an adult at 18 in the UK, seemingly the average young Brit believes it is another 11 years until they actually reach adulthood. The reasons excuses they give are living at home, playing computer games, watching children's films and a reluctance to settle for a "real job". The top 10 signs of being and adult were considered to be: Buying your first home (64 per cent)   Becoming a parent (63 per cent)   Getting married (52 per cent)   Paying into a pension (29 per cent)   Becoming house proud (22 per cent)   Taking out life insurance (21 per cent)   Looking forward to a night in (21 per cent)   Doing DIY (18 per cent)   Hosting dinner parties (18 per cent)   Having a joint bank account (17 per cent) The top 10 reasons excuses for not feeling like...

According to research commissioned by home insurance company More Than, the biggest hazard in the home is ... children. (By the age of 10 the average child in the UK will have caused more than £2,000 worth of damage around the house. The most common things kids do to destroy the house are:- 1. Drawing on walls 2. Permanent stains on the carpet 3. Breaking plates and crockery 4. Damaging furniture 5. Footprints/handprints on surfaces 6. Scratching upholstery 7. Blocking the toilet 8. Accidentally smashing a window 9. Scratching walls with bikes 10. Blocking the kitchen/bathroom sink 11. Breaking beds by jumping on them 12. Staining kitchen surfaces 13. Breaking door handles 14. Pulling up carpets 15. Splashing paint on everything 16. Gluing things to furniture and walls 17. Breaking the banister to the stairs 18. Breaking the TV 19. Setting things on fire 20. Putting toys in the microwave I'll always remember when a friend of mine found that her son had pu...

According to a survey conducted by Confused.com, the average Brit lies about 10 times a week, 91 per cent have told a lie. (The most common lies were regarding vices:- 41% - the price of an item they had bought 25% - how much they drink 23% - eating habits, News.com.au reported 16% - past relationships 15% - where they were the previous night 14% - who they were with the night before Matt Lloyd, head of life insurance at Confused.com, said that little white lies are part and parcel of daily life. I'm glad he's not my husband.  Regarding the 9% who say they have never told a lie...)

Drivers in the UK will no longer have to display a tax disc on their car windscreens. (Motorists will still have to pay tax on their vehicles, but cameras will read a registration plate and check it on a database of cars that have tax, insurance and an MOT.   People who collect tax discs will be gutted.)

According to a survey run by Direct Line insurance, we need an extra 2 hours 45 minutes every day to do everything we want to do and have enough time to relax. (A basic need for most humans is to have seven hours of free time every day, but the average person nowadays (2013) only manages four hours, 14 minutes. In 1995, people had six hours and 57 minutes downtime, by 2000 that was reduced to six hours and 34 minutes. but nowadays it's a measly four hours, 14 minutes.  The culprit?  Technology.  So go on, switch off your computer and go and sit on the couch, or go and chill out in the garden, if you don't have a garden, take a walk in the park to feed the swans and get some fresh air.)  

According to a report the Halifax Insurance Digital Home Index, over 50% of people in the UK text or email friends and family in the next room. (I did it once, and that was for a joke. Since then I just do what I always did and yell through the door.)

Between 2008 and 2009, 921,840 drivers across Britain admitted crashing because they were distracted by a member of the opposite sex. (According to aA study carried out by Insurance company Direct Line, found 60% of men admitted to being distracted by attractive women whilst driving, and interestingly us ladies aren't completely innocent either; 12% of women said they took their eyes off the road to have an ogle at good looking men.) Time for a song I think:-

French bank Societe Generale has started a new bank card especially for women. (The pink-and-gold-coloured "Pour Elle" bank card, offers holders up to €200 of handbag theft insurance and a dedicated hotline for up to two electrician, locksmith or other handyman callouts per year. And before you shout "sexism" a spokeswoman from the bank has said, "5% of the cardholders are men".)

According to research commissioned by Santander Insurance, one in four adults has suffered damage to their home over the Halloween period. (Yes, many people experience being a victim during the period from Halloween to Bonfire Night (we don't call it “mischief week” for nothing). Most pranks are harmless, but of course some people don't know when enough is enough, as a result households in the UK face an average of over £232 in repair fees, or a collective £2.65billion. One in eight adults has suffered damage from eggs being thrown at or in their home and six per cent have had garden plants, ornaments or fences damaged. More than 1.6 million have been victims of theft inside or outside the home during this period, and two per cent have had windows broken. Over 1.4 million have had their property damaged by sparklers or stray fireworks and 1.1 million suffered damage from firecrackers or silly string through the letterbox.)

Under a new system called continuous insurance enforcement, motorists in the UK who fail to renew their car insurance in time face having their car clamped in their own driveway, seized and destroyed. (As of June 2011, the new system means cars must be insured at all times, and no longer have to be on the road in order to be seized. To get round it, drivers have to make an official declaration that the car is permanently off the road and not being driven.) Source

If you trip on a pavement in the UK, you can be eligible for compensation. (In the UK if a pavement is uneven by more than 1" and someone trips, they can make a claim. Over the past 5 years, councils in England have paid out more than £82m in compensation to people who've simply tripped on uneven pavements. Leeds City Council top the league for claims. So, if you've had an accident or fall anywhere - call this number ......"

The tongue of the chief coffee taster for a worldwide chain of coffee shops has been insured for £10m ($13.95m). (I knew you could insure most things, but this is a bit tasteless.)

According to R&V insurance, Germans are more frightened of a higher cost of living than of terrorism, natural catastrophes or illness. (The list goes like this:- Higher living expenses - 66% Natural catastrophes - 59% Infirmity in old age - 53% Bad health - 51% Political situation - 51% Terrorism - 50% Worsening economic situation - 48%)

powered by ODEO According to the Times, uninsured vehicles are 10 times more likely to be involved in hit-and-run crashes. (It's estimated that 2 million vehicles, about 6 per cent of the UK vehicle fleet, are being driven by uninsured drivers. The Police now have the power to seize and destroy an uninsured vehicle.)