A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Two-thirds of drivers 'avoid making claim'

Two-thirds of drivers would rather pay for the cost of an accident themselves than submit a claim to their insurance company, according to research commissioned by XS Direct, a niche motor insurer for high-risk drivers.

Some 65 per cent of respondents said the high cost of losing their no-claims bonus and the hassle of dealing with insurers would put them off submitting a claim.

When asked how much they were prepared to pay for repairs themselves to avoid losing their no-claims bonus, the amounts varied depending on the category of driver, with men under 24 prepared to pay as much as €755 and women over 30 prepared to pay up to €425.

Most drivers agreed that it was worthwhile to pay about the same amount as their annual premium to avoid losing their bonus.

XS Direct said the real cost of making a claim was often three times policyholders' annual premiums if the extra premiums charged over the five years following a claim are taken into account.

Most pensions 'satisfy funding'

Just over half of occupational pension schemes linked to final salary and years of service are now satisfying the Pensions Board's minimum funding requirements, according to new figures.

Some 51 per cent of the 460 companies that submitted funding certificates this year were sufficiently funded.

But 226 of the schemes failed to meet the standard, which is set to protect members of defined-benefit occupational schemes from losing out financially if the scheme is wound up.

Of the schemes that did not make the grade, 77 submitted proposals about how they would make additional funding to the schemes to get them back on track within three-and-a-half years by increasing the company's contributions, the scheme members' contributions or cutting benefits.

Friends First issues protected product

Friends First has launched the sixth edition of its protected investment bond for investors with a minimum of €10,000.

The capital-guaranteed, actively-managed bond has an investment term of five years and nine months. A bonus is declared after the first six months and may be added on every subsequent anniversary.

Money placed in the protected investment bond is invested in a combination of equities and fixed-interest assets. The equity portion is managed by investment firm F&C and invests in international blue-chip companies including Vodafone, Telefonica and GlaxoSmithKline.

The management charge is 1.8 per cent per annum. There are entry charges on investments up to €125,000.

Lender launches investment bond

Two property and commodities investment bonds have been introduced by First Active.

The property and commodities growth bond series two and the property and commodities investment bond series three are linked to the performance of the European Public Real Estate Association (Epra) index and commodities consisting of aluminium, copper, nickel, lead and oil.

Both bonds have an investment term of five-and-a-half years. The minimum investment is €2,000 and the closing date is November 30th.

'Money Show' travels to Belfast

Some 1,500 people are expected to attend the Money Show exhibition in Belfast on November 19th and 20th. The show, which attracted more than 4,000 people at Dublin and Galway events in October, takes place in the Ramada Hotel in Belfast. Free tickets are available at www.themoneyshow.ie.