Be happy… that's what insurers do now when they deny a claim, says JEFF PRESTRIDGE

An insurance executive once told me he was happy when his company paid a customer's claim.

After all, he said, this is what his insurer wanted to do: provide customers with financial protection for the times when things go wrong in their lives.

Unfortunately, this view no longer prevails in the insurance industry. It now appears that some insurers are trying to deny as many claims as possible, using false reasons or unjustified conditions to deny them.

Earlier this month I wrote about the terrible case of Rachel McNamee whose home insurer (Halifax) refused to accept a claim for extensive damage caused by a leaking bathroom pipe.

Although the basis of the claim was valid, Halifax rejected it because Rachel failed to disclose that her son had been subject to a conditional discharge at the time she purchased the coverage.

According to Halifax, disclosure of this would have resulted in no coverage being offered. Rachel unsuccessfully argued that her non-disclosure was unintentional and not intentional – a result of her failure to realize that a conditional discharge was an unspent conviction that she had told Halifax no member of her household had.

Most reasonable people believe that Rachel was treated harshly. An experienced claims adjuster (one employed by insurers to assess the merits of claims) describes Halifax's behavior as 'immoral', adding: 'One should be ashamed of himself for even considering invalidating the policy declare for a completely unrelated reason. Insurance is based on the doctrine of utmost good faith, which Halifax does not defend.”

Rachel has taken her case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, an independent adjudicator of unresolved complaints, in the hope it will overturn Halifax's decision.

Since the ombudsman has just ordered two pet insurers to pay out for claims they originally denied on false grounds (the pets are overweight), Rachel has a fighting chance.

I can't wait to meet 'the manager' of all this railway chaos

It would be nice to think that the new year will herald a renaissance of our dilapidated railways. Unfortunately, that won't happen, given the chaos over the Christmas holidays, the ongoing industrial action by the damned train drivers' union ASLEF and the continued poor service on many lines.

Eight days ago I had to cut a trip to my mother short when the return journey from Birmingham to Reading was canceled at short notice, leaving me with only one other available train – otherwise I would have to spend a night in a hotel. I stepped on it, but it was rammed by people standing in the aisles. All quite unpleasant and irritable.

Note the gap: judging by the chaos over the Christmas holidays, the ongoing industrial action by the damned train drivers' union ASLEF and the continued poor service on many lines

When I returned to work last Wednesday after two days of festive joy, I was unable to reach London Paddington due to maintenance work. I traveled to London Waterloo with SWR instead, which was fine apart from a little delay. The return journey was marred by the fact that all the toilets on the eight-carriage train were out of order, except one.

As the train consisted of two separate units of four carriages, anyone wishing to use the toilet had to ensure they were in the correct unit. You couldn't make it up.

SWR will be holding a 'Meet the Manager' session in London Waterloo on January 24. The idea is that customers come by and talk about the company's service. I will be present, along with a list of complaints about the length of one of the carriages.

It could make for a nice early evening, provided I can get home afterwards on a punctual, fully functioning SWR train. Fifty fifty.

Don't give the tax authorities a reason to fine you

I am delighted that 4,700 people took the time on Christmas Day to submit their tax returns to Her Majesty's tax office.

While readers may find it rather sad to do this on this most festive (and religious) of days, I disagree.

Tax is burdensome: failure to file on time for the tax year ending April 5, 2023 (the deadline is midnight January 31) will result in a £100 fine

I imagine for some it was a temporary respite of a few hours from the busy family crowds. May I remind you that the tax filing deadline is looming for most of you who preferred to spend Christmas playing Monopoly and eating copious amounts of turkey (if you've already filed, a big well done).

Failure to submit returns for the tax year ending April 5, 2023 on time (the deadline is midnight on January 31) will result in a £100 penalty. Late payment of tax due will result in interest charges. So please don't give HMRC an excuse to apply these penalties.

After all, the government (HMRC's boss) has already cleaned us out by freezing our benefits and restricting our ability to earn tax-free income from our savings and investments. A punishment imposed by those who created the mess that we as taxpayers continue to pay a high price to clean up.

WH Smith's rebrand needs a sanity check

Rebranding companies rarely makes sense. Yet this hasn't stopped many companies from spending huge fortunes on it.

The latest is retailer WH Smith, which is testing a new brand 'WHS' at selected branches. What it hopes to achieve with this (nonsensical) shortened brand is anyone's guess.

But so far it has only brought huge amounts of ridicule on social media, with many commenting on the similarity between the new brand and that of the NHS. Good companies don't need to change their brand. Only those struggling to revive their fortunes go this route.

Nonsensical: Many have commented on the similarity between the new WHS brand and that for the NHS

In the financial world, one of the most bizarre rebrands in recent times was the renaming two years ago of asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen to abrdn – yes, no seed capital 'A'.

At the time, Abrdn's CEO said the new brand was “modern” and “dynamic.” But others of a more independent spirit derided the change, suggesting that the new name seemed more like 'a burden' than 'aberdeen'. The rebranding has not caused the company to disappear from the FTSE 100 Index.

Rather than continuing with this pointless exercise, WH Smith – like Abrdn, no longer a member of the elite FTSE 100 club – should focus on its future and the direction it wants to take.

Although most shops in airport terminals and train stations are modern and welcoming, many on the high street look tired. WH Smith has a choice. Concentrate on the travel shops and leave the shops in the main shopping streets, or invest a lot of money in making the shops in the shopping streets suitable. Neither option would be helped in the least by a rebrand.