Monthly Archives: July 2020

Obviously, you should stick to the law and not speed, but many drivers will admit that they have sped once or twice, perhaps by accident or because they were in a desperate rush.

Then comes the fine, speed awareness course or points on your licence.

It hurts, and hopefully you learn your lesson.

But in some cases you might not actually have to pay the fine, thanks to a rule unearthed by The Money Advice Service.

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According to the free and impartial advice service, a letter should arrive within 14 days, and then youll need to return the completed Section 172 notice within 28 days, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Then youll be sent a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) - this is where you can plead guilty or not guilty.

However - before you do this, put the brakes on and check if a golden rule has been followed by the police.

The Money Advice Service confirm on their website: "If the ticket was issued written up, created outside of 14 days after the speeding incident, then there may be a possibility the ticket could be time barred (cancelled)."

However, they say the rules are more complicated than that.

They say: "All the police need to do is show the ticket should have reached the vehicles registered owner under normal circumstances within 14 days.

"This means the letter could go to an old address if youve not updated your licence, it could go to a hire company or to your work address if the vehicle isnt yours."

Put simply - if it gets to one of these within 14 days, it does not matter if it doesnt reach your address for another fortnight.

It also means delays caused by postal problems dont affect the rule if it was posted in time for a normal service to get the letter to you, a four-day strike wont sway the courts.

And by contesting the ticket, you could end up with a bigger fine and more points.

If you get 12 points or more over a period of three years, you could be disqualified from driving.

We've created a Facebook group for people who use the M25 to keep up to date with what's happening on the motorway.

We will keep you informed about the latest news that affects your daily commute to work, as well as at the weekend.

We'll also let you know in advance if there are any roadworks or closures you should know about, or if there are any problems at the Dartford Crossing.

Join the group here.

There are also more severe bands D, E and F, which are used for very serious speeding and driving offences.

The maximum fine is 1,000, rising to 2,500 if you were driving on a motorway.

Of course the most sensible and foolproof way to avoid a speeding ticket is to stick to the laws of the land in the first place.

Continue reading here:

The little-known law that could stop you getting a fine and points on your licence for speeding - MyLondon

It is even more important if you have children, a partner, or family member that are financially dependent on you. So how do you go about getting peace of mind at an affordable price?

The reality

Craig Baker, CEO of MiWayLife, points out that when it comes to protecting our financial future there is still more that needs to be done South Africans face aninsurance gap of R34.7 trillion, meaning that many people are financially exposed when it comes to protecting lifes unforeseen events. When it comes to providing financial protection against things such as death, most South Africans have a funeral policy in place which is a step in the right direction. However, the ball is dropped when it comes to having a plan that goes beyond the funeral.

Juggling many financial responsibilities is one of the reasons why some people delay purchasing life insurance. There is also the notion that life insurance is expensive, but in some cases, it is more affordable than funeral policies. It is all a matter of knowing which features to look for or speaking to a financial advisor who can help you find a policy that is tailored for you, comments Baker.

What is the age limit?

Most insurers have set the age limit to 65 years old and the minimum age is 18 years old. If you do take life insurance once you are over 50 years old, your life insurer will require you to submit your medical history. Keep in mind that life insurance is designed to be suitable for each life stage and creating financial security to help your loved ones continue the life that they know once you are no longer around.

Your age affects your premiums

The golden rule when it comes to having life insurance is taking out a policy as young as possible. Your premiums are most likely going to be lower compared to when you take it at a later stage. Furthermore, the older you get the more your health deteriorates and the higher the risks are of you passing away. Many factors are considered during the underwriting process to ensure that your health and life will not be at a considerably high risk.

With so many options available, it can get a bit overwhelming. We have put together useful tools to help you better understand and navigate your way to finding a policy that is suitable for you. There are effective tools that you can use to find out just how much life insurance you need to adequately cover you and your loved ones. For example, there is the MiWayLife life insurance calculator that can give you an answer in seconds. Confused by a certain term that insurers use? Our Jargon busters help you break down terms and phrases that insurers use.

See the article here:

What is the age limit on taking out life insurance? - South Coast Herald

If you spend several hours each day working at a desk, youve probably experienced the ache and pain that comes with poor posture. Were talking wrist pain, neck and back issues, hip soreness and even an increase in headaches all due to improper setup.

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Add in the new challenge of working from home during a pandemic and you might be wondering how to set up your new workspace to be productive and avoid pain.

Luckily, there are tips and tricks to setting up your office (or makeshift home office) to achieve good posture and ergonomics. Chiropractor Andrew Bang, DC, discusses what to keep in mind to avoid discomfort and injury.

Its no surprise that sitting all day (especially if youre hunched over pounding away on a laptop) can have some undesirable consequences to your health. From increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to painful injuries like carpal tunnel and a stiff neck, properly setting up your desk and workspace should be a priority on your wellness list.

When it comes to good ergonomics, its really about positioning yourself to avoid injury, pain and fatigue and just improve your overall work performance, says Dr. Bang.

And who wouldnt want to achieve all those things?

Dr. Bang explains that there are four key areas to focus on when it comes to your setup:

These four fundamentals are the golden rules of ergonomics (whether youre working in the office or remotely).

I tell my patients when theyre setting up their workstation, think: head right, arms right, back right and move right, he explains. So if you do those four things correctly, it allows you to be in a position where you can avoid pain and a whole list of other injuries.

Dr. Bang dives further into the four key areas of proper setup.

Your head is like a 10 pound bowling ball when your spine is in a neutral position, explains Dr. Bang. And if you get into the wrong position, your spine takes on more of that weight.

So the farther your head moves away from your neutral spine, the more the weight goes up. Even moving your head 15 degrees forward (so slightly looking down), your head goes from 10 pounds to about 24 pounds! Thats a big increase on your spine, which can quickly lead to neck and back pain.

Add in looking down at a piece of paper and the pressure on your neck and shoulders jumps to almost 40 pounds. Do this for several hours and were talking major pain and damage, says Dr. Bang.

For this reason, always focus on your spine and head being in a neutral position. Place your computer screen straight in front of you where your eyes are looking primarily at the area of the screen that you use the most. Use books or a box to prop the screen up to the appropriate level.

If you have two screens, put the primary screen right in the center and the secondary screen off to your left or to your right.

If you can, try to move your secondary screen around, says Dr. Bang. Have your secondary screen to the right for a few weeks and then change it to your left in another couple weeks. Good ergonomics is about keeping your neck moveable and avoiding repetitive movements.

If you use a laptop, you might run into the issue of having your screen up so high that you cant reach the keys. For this reason I always recommend using a wireless keyboard, says Dr. Bang. If you cant type comfortably, youre going to be straining, which will quickly cause neck, trap and wrist issues.

Whether youre sitting or standing, the preferred position of your arms is going to be 90 degrees. So that means your shoulders need to be down at a resting position (not hunched up to your ears) and your elbows should be bent with your wrists staying neutral.

When it comes to your computer mouse, Dr. Bang recommends using an ergonomics mouse verse a traditional mouse. A normal computer mouse forces your wrist to twist, which can irritate carpal tunnel syndrome or give you general wrist pain. An ergonomics mouse allows the wrist to maintain a neutral position, almost like youre shaking someones hand.

Its also a good idea to move around your mouse pad from time to time to create a little variety in your positions. Again, focusing on reducing repetitive movement to avoid injury.

Most standard computer chairs have built in lumbar support and the ability to change your height, which is great for customizing your workstation, says. Bang. But if youre working with a normal chair, maybe even at home, theres a few things you can try when it comes to supporting a good back position.

You first want to make sure your legs and thighs are parallel with the cushion of your seat. This allows the pressure of your weight to be evenly distributed and reduces the risk of thigh or leg pain. Make sure your legs arent dangling or that youre not using the rungs of your chair to prop your feet up. If needed, get a box or stool to rest your feet on.

Sometimes, when were really engaged in our work, we tend to lean forward a bit, but your back needs to be placed up against the back of the chair, explains Dr. Bang. If youre constantly leaning forward youre going to get tired and fatigued and thats going to lead to tightness and back pain.

Instead, try using a lumbar support pillow, which will allow you to sit with the natural curve in your back. Place the pillow in the small of your back and adjust it so that your head is over your neck and shoulders. This even works with a regular, small pillow.

Think of the curve of your spine like a spring.As gravity bears down on it, the spring can change pressure and distribute it evenly. If you straighten your spine out or overly curve it because youre in a weird position, youre going to start to have some discomfort.

Along with the lumbar support pillow, you can get a chair cushion, which is also going to help distribute your weight. Some cushions have a cut out for your tailbone, which is a common complaint, either from a previous injury or from childbirth.

Even if I sit in the best possible position, if I stay there for too long, its going to cause me some pain and discomfort, says Dr. Bang. Whenever you get stuck doing the same thing, youre going to get injured. Repetitive movement is a big cause of injury.

Our joints are made to self-lubricate when we move. (Thats why movement is so good for us!) When we move our muscles we also stretch out from being tense or overstretched from sitting or standing too long.

I learned a saying from one of my patients that I think is so important motion is lotion, says Dr. Bang. We need to get up and move throughout the day.

Set a timer, schedule it on your calendar or make a rule for yourself that during every conference call youll try to incorporate movement, even if its a simple neck stretch. Try to figure out times throughout your day where a little bit of movement or stretching wont affect or impact your work.

Blend tasks together. So while youre reading a long email, youre stretching. If youre waiting for your lunch to heat up in the microwave, throw in some movement while you wait. Take advantage of bathroom breaks to make sure you get up every 45 to 60 minutes. Or if you have a standing desk, switch from sitting to standing every hour and the back again.

Creating variety throughout our day is going to help us combat pain and discomfort, says Dr. Bang. Movement is an important piece of good workspace ergonomics.

View original post here:

Here's How to Set Up an Ergonomic Home Office to Avoid Aches & Pains - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

No effect of COVID- 19 on top brands growth, says Brand Footprint 2020

By M4G Bureau - July 13, 2020

According to Kantars report -Brand Footprint 2020, Dabur, Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond and Patanjali have joined the Billion CRPs Club this year

Worldpanel division of Kantar, the worlds leading data, insights and consulting company released its report Brand Footprint 2020. The report citied that Parle is the most chosen consumer brand in India. Also, five new brands such as Dabur, Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond and Patanjali have joined the billion consumer reach point (CRPs) club this year. Colgate stands at the highest penetrated brand at 88%, the report said.

Talking about the impact of Covid-19, the report said thatfood and beverage brands get picked up more often except Parle and Tata due to drop in frequency. For example, Amul is chosen over 100,000 additional times during the pandemic months, March to May. While personal and home care brands drop CRPs. However, trip size increases causing top brands to grow volume.

Consumer Reach Points are a great way to measure and rank brands as it is a measure of the number of opportunities a brand has, to interact with a consumer. It is great to see consistent validation for the fact that if you build penetration, frequency and growth follow. This has really been a year of global brands in terms of their higher growth than others. Like these, this years report has a lot of interesting nuggets to derive a lot of information and insights on top the behaviour of consumers towards brands in the last year, said K. Ramakrishnan, MD- South Asia, Worldpanel division, Kantar.

Top 10- Brand Footprint Most Chosen Consumer Brands

RANK

BRAND

CRP(m)

1

Parle

6,029 CRP (mn) +12%

2

Amul

4,632 CRP (mn) +17%

3

Clinic Plus

4,514 CRP (mn) +32%

4

Britannia

4,215 CRP (mn) +29%

5

Ghari

2,438 CRP (mn) +12%

6

Tata

2,212 CRP (mn) +16%

7

Aavin

2,080 CRP (mn) -10%

8

Nandini

2,025 CRP (mn) -2%

9

Colgate

1,868 CRP (mn) +23%

10

Wheel

1,630 CRP (mn) +14%

Key findings:

1) Scoring the highest CRP at 6,029 million with 12% increase, Parle ranks first followed by Amul at 4,632 million CRP with 17% increase, Clinic Plus at 4,514 million CRP with 32% rise, Britannia at 4,215 million CRP with 29% increase and Ghari at 2,438 million CRP with 12% rise.

2) Five new brands joined the Billion CRP Club this year- Dabur, Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond and Patanjali. Total 21 brands made it to this group in 2019 compared to 16 in both 2018 and 2017.

3) Over 2/3rd of the top 50 brands are Indian Origin brands while global stands at 14.

4) Global brands (29 %) show 1.8 times growth compared to Indian origin brands (16%). Global brands are growing almost twice as fast at 29% compared to Indian origin brands at 16%.

5) Consumers make significantly more choices this year leading to a significantly better CRP performance by brands. 57 % brands record growing CRPs.

6) Bigger brands find better growth and follow the golden rule, brands grow faster by growing penetration

7) Colgate stands at the highest penetrated brand at 88%

8) Surf Excel marks a consistent CRP growth rate at 20% upwards scoring 1566 million CRP

9) 58 brands saw a penetration gain of 1% or more. Leading the category is Ponds at 5.8% followed by Harpic (4.8%), Comfort (4.5%). 1% penetration gain adds an extra 2.9 million shoppers to the brand

10) In the foods category Britannia clearly charts out a success story as the second most chosen brand, seventh highest penetrated brand with a household penetration at 67.6%. While Aashirvaad saw a surge with 4% penetration increase and 55% in CRP growth.

11) Within home care, Surf Excel marks 48% CRP growth while recording 3.4% penetration increase, closely followed by Vim at 44% CRP growth and 3.2% penetration.

12) Dabur comes out strong in the personal care and foods category with 34% CRP growth, making it the fifth most chosen beauty and health brand in India with a 70% household penetration.

Also read:Amazon retains top position among 100 most valuable brands in Kantar & WPP report

See the original post:

No effect of COVID- 19 on top brands growth, says Brand Footprint 2020 - M4G Team

When you see a camera flash or a speed camera van in your rearview mirror it can be an agonising wait to learn if you've been caught for speeding.

Many of us have been guilty of this in our lives but the fines, speed awareness course or points on your licence still sting.

But it may not be too late to avoid a fine - thanks to a rule unearthed by The Money Advice Service.

According to the free and impartial advice service a letter should arrive within 14 days, and then youll need to return the completed Section 172 notice within 28 days, reports the ECHO.

Then youll be sent a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).

This is where you can plead guilty or not guilty.

However - before you do this put the brakes on and check if a golden rule has been followed by the police.

The Money Advice Service confirm on their website: "If the ticket was issued written up, created outside of 14 days after the speeding incident, then there may be a possibility the ticket could be time barred (cancelled)."

However, they say the rules are more complicated than that.

They say: "All the police need to do is show the ticket should have reached the vehicles registered owner under normal circumstances within 14 days.

"This means the letter could go to an old address if youve not updated your licence, it could go to a hire company or to your work address if the vehicle isnt yours."

Put simply - if it gets to one of these within 14 days, it does not matter if it doesnt reach your address for another fortnight.

It also means delays caused by postal problems dont affect the rule if it was posted in time for a normal service to get the letter to you, a four-day strike wont sway the courts.

And by contesting the ticket, you could end up with abigger fine and more points.

If you get 12 points or more over a period of three years, you could be disqualified from driving.

There are also more severe bands D, E and F, which are used for very serious speeding and driving offences.

The maximum fine is 1,000, rising to 2,500 if you were driving on a motorway.

Of course the most sensible and foolproof way to avoid a speeding ticket is to stick to the laws of the land in the first place.

Read this article:

A little-known law that could stop you getting a fine and points on your licence - Cambridgeshire Live