Latest news with #comparison
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
ASIC sues Choosi for allegedly misleading customers about insurance comparison services
The corporate regulator is suing insurance comparison provider Choosi for allegedly misleading customers through its insurance comparison services. In proceedings filed to the Federal Court, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges Choosi has misled Australians by claiming to compare a range of funeral and life insurers. On its website, Choosi states: "Compare the benefits and prices of a range of products from leading insurers so you can confidently choose cover that suits your needs, budget and lifestyle." However, ASIC claims that from the middle of July 2019, Choosi has only compared policies issued by a single insurer, except for on one occasion. "Choosi is only comparing one insurer — Hannover Insurance — and so we're concerned that the representations to those consumers who looked at the website and heard that advertising have been misled," ASIC's deputy chair Sarah Court told The Business. ASIC alleges that while the three funeral insurance products on Choosi's website have different branding, they are all issued by Hannover. Similarly, despite Choosi comparing five life insurance policies with different branding, they are once again all issued by Hannover — expect for the period prior to July 2023, when Choosi included a single policy from an additional insurer. ASIC says all policies were distributed by Greenstone Financial Services — a company associated with Choosi. "From a consumers perspective, they've come onto a website, they're told we will compare a range of products from a number of leading insurers," says Ms Court. Hannover is a global insurance provider with two entities in Australia — property and casualty insurance, and life and health insurance. ASIC is alleging Hannover paid Choosi about $61 million in commissions since 2019 to solely advertise products from its company on the comparison website. "What we're seeing here is the Choosi platform really being used by Hannover as just a platform to distribute its products, with no comparison going on with other insurers at all," says Ms Court. She says "millions of people" would have been exposed to Choosi's messaging over the six years since this arrangement began. "We know that this was a very widespread advertising campaign by Choosi over many years... and we know there have been thousands of policies that have been sold," says Ms Court. ASIC alleges Choosi made the misleading representations on its website, across social media, and via television commercials and advertorials. From July 1, 2019 until November 30, 2024, 4,225 funeral insurance policies and 9,478 life insurance policies have been sold. Ms Court has told the ABC if the Federal Court finds Choosi has misled customers, then "it will be important for [ASIC] to seek substantial penalties". "[It's] to send a message to Choosi, but also as importantly, to send a message to the broader industry and others that run comparison websites… "If you want to run these kind of sites then you certainly have to be very open and transparent with consumers about what it is that you're comparing." Ms Court says insurance comparison websites hold an important role, when they are operated and used correctly. "We know that people are finding it difficult to afford insurance, difficult to access insurance, and so comparison websites could play a really important role in helping consumers with what is out there and helping them choose the products that are best for them." But she warns consumers to be "wary". "[These comparison sites] are effectively commercial businesses, they make money in certain ways. "So with Choosi, it was from getting commissions paid to it from the one insurer whose products it was selling," she says. While she urges consumers to do some "due diligence" by checking the policies product disclosure statements, she says the onus is on the provider to do the right thing. "Anyone that is a commercial provider offering a comparison website, you have to be up-front with what it is you are comparing, you need to be transparent with anyone, any consumer that's coming on to use your site."
Car and Driver
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
View Photos of the 1995 Compact Luxury Convertible Comparison
Read the full review Up until this here comparison, the BMW 3-series was undefeated in every comparo we threw at the dang thing. But this time around, the mountainous competition might be too tall for BMW to climb.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Did you solve it? Are you craftier than a cat burglar?
Earlier today I set these two puzzles. Here they are again with solutions. 1. Go compare! A dealer places one hundred cards on a table. On their face-down sides are the numbers from 1 to 100. The cards are randomly arranged so you have no idea at the beginning which card is which. Your task is to identify the 1 card and the 100 card without turning any of them over. The only way to learn information about the cards is by comparison. At any stage, you may choose two and ask the dealer which is smaller and which is larger. The dealer always knows. They will never tell you the number on the cards, just which is smaller and which is larger. It is possible to identify the 1 card after asking the dealer to make 99 comparisons. First, ask them to compare any two cards. Make a note of the lower card, and ask them to compare it with one of the 98 remaining cards. Make a note of the lower card, and ask them to compare it with one of the 97 remaining cards. And so on. The lower card in the 99th comparison must be lower than all other cards, and thus is the 1 card. Likewise you can identify the 100 card after 99 comparisons, making a total of 198 comparisons to find both highest and lowest cards. Can you find a method to identify the 1 and the 100 cards using less comparisons? What's the optimal strategy? Solution You can do it in 148 comparisons. STEP 1: Divide the cards into fifty pairs. Ask the dealer to compare the cards in each pair. (Total: 50 comparisons.) STEP 2: Consider the 50 lower cards from these comparisons. This group contains the 1 card. It will take 49 comparisons to identify with 100 per cent certainty which is the 1 card, which we do by comparing any two cards, taking the lower one, etc, and going through the remaining 48 as we did above. STEP 3. By the same logic, the remaining 50 cards contain the 100 card. It will take 49 comparisons of this group to identify with 100 per cent certainty the 100 card. TOTAL: 50 + 49 + 49 = 148 comparisons. This strategy is optimal. The proof is somewhat technical for a general audience, but if any mathematicians want to write it down in full in the comments below I'm sure some readers will be grateful. 2. The rope trick You are a burglar at the top of a 20m building, which has a ledge half way down on which it is possible to stand. There are hooks at the top of the building and on the ledge. You have a 15m length of rope and a knife. You can cut the rope if you like, and also make any type of knot anywhere on the rope, which uses up no length, and which can be placed on either hook. How would you use the rope to descend the building safely? You are not allowed to jump off the building or the rope. Solution Cut the rope into two pieces of 5m and 10m. Make a knot at one end of the 5m rope. Thread the 10m rope through this knot and tie its ends together. Make a knot at the other end of the 5m rope and attach it to the hook. Dangle the ropes down the side of the building and climb down them. The joined ropes have a combined lenth of 10m (5m + 5m), which gets you to the ledge. Untie the ends of the 10m rope and pull it through the other rope. This rope will get you down the final 10m when you attach it to the hook on the ledge. Thanks to Geza Bohus for suggesting today's puzzles. Geza was a Hungarian maths olympiad contestant many moons ago and is now semi-retired after a career in academia and industry, specialising in machine learning and financial modelling. These are two of his favourite puzzles. I've been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I'm always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Can you solve it? Are you craftier than a cat burglar?
Two very different puzzles today. In the first, you have to identify two numbers. In the second, you have to escape off a roof. 1. Go compare! A dealer places one hundred cards on a table. On their face-down sides are the numbers from 1 to 100. The cards are randomly arranged so you have no idea at the beginning which card is which. Your task is to identify the 1 card and the 100 card without turning any of them over. The only way to learn information about the cards is by comparison. At any stage, you may choose two and ask the dealer which is smaller and which is larger. The dealer always knows. They will never tell you the number on the cards, just which is smaller and which is larger. It is possible to identify the 1 card after asking the dealer to make 99 comparisons. First, ask them to compare any two cards. Make a note of the lower card, and ask them to compare it with one of the 98 remaining cards. Make a note of the lower card, and ask them to compare it with one of the 97 remaining cards. And so on. The lower card in the 99th comparison must be lower than all other cards, and thus is the 1 card. Likewise you can identify the 100 card after 99 comparisons, making a total of 198 comparisons to find both highest and lowest cards. Can you find a method to identify the 1 and the 100 cards using less comparisons? What's the optimal strategy? 2. The rope trick You are a burglar at the top of a 20m building, which has a ledge half way down on which it is possible to stand. There are hooks at the top of the building and on the ledge. You have a 15m length of rope and a knife. You can cut the rope if you like, and also make any type of knot anywhere on the rope, which uses up no length, and which can be placed on either hook. How would you use the rope to descend the building safely? You are not allowed to jump off the building or the rope. I'll be back at 5pm UK. PLEASE NO SPOILERS. Please discuss your favourite knots. Thanks to Geza Bohus for suggesting today's puzzles. Geza was a Hungarian maths olympiad contestant many moons ago and is now semi-retired after a career in academia and industry, specialising in machine learning and financial modelling. These are two of his favourite puzzles. I've been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I'm always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Louise Minchin
For more information on the predicted energy price cap, click a list of the Ofgem-accredited price comparison websites to help you compare deals, click here, before switching energy provider, it's important to ask yourself the following questions:Are there special offers or discounts? How long will these run for?Are there extra or hidden charges?Is the payment schedule and method right for you?How much is the standing charge and the consumption charge?To calculate whether switching energy provider is worth it for you, multiply your current rates by your past year's energy usage (in kWh), then do the same with the new capped is an example calculation:
