Rising insurance premiums lifted the level of inflation in financial services' prices to 1.5 per cent over the December quarter and to 3.1 per cent over the calendar year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the main contributor to the rise in financial prices over the year was insurance products, which rose 8.5 per cent over the year. Mortgage applications in New Zealand increased by 19.8 per cent in December 2012 from a year ago, and people are also taking out more personal loans, credit reference agency Veda reports. Credit card applications fell 4.5 per cent in December from the previous year, while personal loan applications rose 11.8 percent, and hire purchase applications rose 8.8 per cent. Mortgage company Firstfolio expects to reports a 15 to 20 per cent increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) when its releases its December half financial report next month. Firstfolio had a horror year in 2012, with the departure of two chief executives and a 50 per cent fall in earnings. EBITDA for the six months to December 2011 was A$6.9 million