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“We have a tripartite approach to the market,” says Jeremy Reynolds, a company representative “That is through Prudential, Scottish Amicable, and Egg. This clarifies do-it-yourself financial advice, leaving you free to buy on an “execution-only” basis.”The Net is separating commodity products – those most easily understood by consumers and discounted accordingly, from more complex ones, where some advice may be needed,” says Ian McKenna of Financial Technology Research.Accompanying this there are clear signs that the Net is exerting a downward pressure on initial charges and commissions across a wide range of products.Part of the reason is that surfers tend to be more serious about buying than those responding to any other form of advertising.”We reckon to ‘convert’ an average of 25 per cent of all our Net-sourced enquiries,” says Andy Harris, at Maddison Money Management, a firm of independent financial advisers which offers a discount “execution-only” service, along with full commission or fee based advice.”They come to us having already done research and with a critical attitude to issues including charging. This means you can have access to the same data used by your adviser or broker when taking investment decisions.Sites such as MoneyeXtra also offer simple definitions of personal insurance products and a calculator that will help you decide just how much cover you need. Look out for those which re-package market data bought in from the likes of Standard & Poors Micropal, or Bloomberg. If acting on a “best advice” basis they are required to complete a questionnaire detailing a client’s financial position, and prefer to have the client sign it.What you will find on some of these sites is “free” information. The rules and regulations covering what can go on these sites are identical to those applied to other advertising media. With the exception of opening an ISA, you cannot buy or sell direct – at some point your signature will be required on a paper contract.Financial advisers are also reluctant to give advice over the Net.

The key factor driving down prices will be a combination of lower administration costs for Internet purchasers, plus the recognition by providers that Net users who make contact with them are far more serious about buying than those who obtain information over the phone.
The predicted fall in the cost of products comes as both Internet usage and the number of personal finance sites grows almost daily.These fall into a number of overlapping categories; some are interactive, some not, most belong to a single product provider, some are posted by independent financial advisers (IFAs), and a handful, such as the new MoneyeXtra site, offer on-line quotations from a wide range of products and providers. Rather than worrying about the bank we were able to get on and run the business.. THE COST of financial products, including life and personal insurance, pensions and packaged investments, will fall dramatically as customers increasingly use the Internet for purchases, say experts. This avoided a mistake that a lot of small businesses make: they have to please the banks rather than do what is commercially sensible. As soon as it stretches beyond three months, it goes cash-negative.

But there was huge demand and little competition, and as long as our rates were reasonable, the insurance companies didn’t have any option but to pay.Luckily, we realised it wasn’t going to be a cash cow for some while. We realised it was going to be a company that used up a lot of money. There were 16 private investors who capitalised it in such a way that it didn’t need to use borrowed money for the first two years. You buy your cars and put them out on hire, but you don’t get paid You behave like a bank – you loan people money. Alec decided to set up business in Leeds, and I got together a group of friends and investors to found Helphire, and the rest is history.Of course, if you know anything about credit hire, you’d realise that you don’t get any money back from insurance companies for anything up to a year.

We came up with a brilliant concept, after I can’t remember how many beers, that after a few months it would be producing huge amounts of cash. I said, “What a brilliant idea – why doesn’t everybody know about it?”Alec and I started writing figures on the back of an envelope, trying to do a business plan. We went to the pub and he said: “Have you ever heard of something called credit hire?” I said no, and he told me about a company in Leeds. If you’ve had an accident in your car and it’s not your fault, the company would supply you with a replacement and give you credit while it collects the money from the insurance company.