The UK Government has declared war on the private motor insurance market.

The Government has yet to decide who the enemy actually is, although one ethnic group ‘CFA referal collectors’ have been singled out for the death camps and news coming out of Westminster today confirms this.

The call for the ‘War on Car Insurance’ from the media and consumer led groups has reached deafening proportions recently and the UK Government will tell you they have been forced to act.

The AA have stated that the ‘average’ car insurance premium has risen by 40% and on the word of the AA and probably as a deflection away from the more pressing economic issues, battle has begun.

Government Forces Attack

First into battle yesterday for the Government, was the consumer watchdog the OFT (Office of Fair Trading). They have been asked by HQ to find out if the price rises are real and whether there are any (choke) anti competitive practices occuring in the UK private motor insurance market that may be pushing up prices.

To do this they have initially asked those thought to be contributing to the high costs of car insurance and will then ask the nation to contribute in an open call to arms, to publically air their grievances on car insurance price hikes, by filling in a form.

The OFT has asked all the suspects to contribute to the war effort or else stand accused of being part of the problem not the solution to higher car insurance premiums.

Most Wanted Suspects

1.  Price Comparison  Websites

2. Replacement Vehicle and Car Hire Companies

3. Approved Motor Vehicle Repairers.

4. Insurance Companies Products.

None of the major suspects is being pulled in for interrogation at this point in time. They have been given 5 weeks until October 12 to comply with the resolution or face shock and awe.

A spokesperson for the regime said’

“We will be engaging with participants in this market, trade bodies, the Government, regulatory agencies and consumer groups over the next five weeks by issuing information requests, arranging roundtable discussions and holding bilateral meetings.

Information requests:

• Questions for credit hire providers (pdf 96 kb)
• Questions for insurance companies (pdf 157 kb)
• Questions for vehicle repairers (pdf 97 kb)
• Questions to price comparison sites (pdf 93 kb)

We will also be inviting comments from consumers and other interested parties. The OFT is, however, unable as part of this study to address or advise consumers in this market on individual matters or complaints.

Any party that wishes to submit their written views, can e-mail motorinsurance@oft.gsi.gov.uk by 12 October 2011 or write to:

Private Motor Insurance Call For Evidence
Fourth Floor
Office of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8JX “.

Second Front Opens with Pincer Movement

As soon as the OFT went into battle yesterday, it was immediately announced that the Government were opening up another front with a full out attack of its heavily armed praetorian guard, the FSA, against those supplying information to the enemy in return for money.

The practice is to be banned immediately it has been confirmed today, indicating that the government will take the side of Insurers against Lawyers. Questions of the legality of the war and the interfering with free trade could be raised at the international courts at a later date.

Tensions between Solicitors and Insurance Companies have been rising steadily over the last few years with Insurers furious about having to pick up massive bills for professional negligence by solicitors involved in mortgage and building surveying disputes. In many cases Solicitors PI premiums have been raised so high that many solicitors are now finding it impossible to practice.

Coupled with the massive amounts that the insurance companies are having to pay against public liability and employers liability claims for negligence, it appears the Insurance companies have finally had enough.

The number of car accidents involving personal injury claims is 31% down on the average for ten years prior, however the cost of personal injury claims has more than doubled from £7bn to £14bn in the past ten years and motor insurance premiums have risen at least 30% this year.

Insurance companies are blaming Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA’s) or ‘No Win No Fee’ for the rising costs of car insurance. They argue that there is no disincentive, such as having to pay if you lose, that’s stops people making a claim if you have been injured in a car insurance accident.

The Government has stopped going as far as banning CFA’s completely, which would seriously impede that right to justice for the majority of the people in this country who cannot afford solicitors bills of £180 per hour +.

Today it has announced that those referring accident injury victims to solicitors and lawyers will be banned from receiving payment!

It also seems that the special relationship that UK Insurance companies have with UK Government through the ABI etc. appears stronger than that of the Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) who traditionally only find allies in the other place, the House of Lords.

It also appears that the Government think that the Insurance Companies, who set the car insurance prices, are not actually responsible for their own pricing!

Insurance Blog will keep you abreast of all the developments as the war on car insurance unfolds. We will also be running a series of posts that examine in detail the questions being asked of the Motor Insurance Market.

Related posts:

1. Solicitors Are To Blame For Car Insurance Premium Hikes!
2. Car Insurance and Motor Insurance premiums reach record levels
3. FSA To Clampdown On Insurance Selling On The Internet In The UK

So if you haven’t seen her enough on TV already …. here she is again for the benefit of everyone working at Insurance Blog.

Related posts:

1. Quotezone comes out top in UK car insurance price comparison website review!
2. UK Public Demand Cheaper Young Drivers Car Insurance
3. Don’t Renew Your Car Insurance Until You’ve Read This!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 12, 2010 – The car insurance television review panel, which is widely regarded amongst industry peers as the toughest and perhaps more truthful of the on-line car insurance review websites,  has unusually come out strongly in favour of two aggregator websites which compare car insurance quotes in separate independent reviews released this week.

The review team praised the small independent car insurance comparison website Quotezone.co.uk and the ubiquitous Moneysupermarket.com , however the praise was for differing reasons.
Moneysupermarket received the thumbs up from the public for it’s speed and overall ease of use and one stop shop facilities.

Smaller rival of the car insurance supermarket giant, Quotezone.co.uk received great praise for the prices of the premiums returned and the value for money of the deals  and as such may well help the fledgling website’s cause in vying for the lucrative Insurance Times and Insurance Industry media award of car insurance comparison website of the year.
Quotezone are a relatively new entrant to the scene who will be making a big splash later this month with the launch of their first Car Insurance television advert across UK  TVscreens.
Quotezone are unique in the market in that like the aggregators they return quotes from all the mainstream car insurance companies, however the majority of the quotes offered come direct from car insurance brokers. These brokers are able to price match or offer better deals and better cover than the system limited larger car insurance price comparison websites.
Keep a  look out for this comparison system when you are shopping online for car insurance this year!

Related posts:

1. UK TV Ad Revenue Underwritten by Car Insurance Price Comparison War!
2. Compare Caravan Insurance with new quote comparison website
3. Don’t Renew Your Car Insurance Until You’ve Read This!

300,000 Young Drivers without Insurance on UK roads

According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau in a report released today, there has been a twenty percent drop in the number of people driving without car insurance in the UK.
However, there are still a third of a million uninsured drivers on the roads in the UK without adequate car insurance cover.
And it’s young drivers who are the biggest culprits when it comes to breaking the law and putting other road users at risk of loss.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) reports:

Young drivers are the least likely to be insured with new figures suggesting the problem is worse in Britain than any country in Western Europe.

One in five uninsured drivers is aged between 17 and 20.

300,000 young drivers in that age group breaking the law when they get behind the wheel of a car. Many have taken their driving test and hold a full licence but claim they cannot afford the rates charged by Car Insurance Companies

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau Chief executive Ashton West said

“We’ve made significant progress and seen a 20% reduction but we’ve still got a pretty embarrassing record in the UK and there’s a lot more that we need to do to rid the country of this problem.

“Young drivers present a higher risk so they end up paying more.

“The cost of insurance is higher, therefore some of them see that as beyond what they’re prepared to pay and they take the risk.”

Uninsured driving is not helped by the courts who typically hand out  a £200 fine and six points on your licence.
When you consider that the average young drivers car insurance premium is in the region of £2000 per year, and that the car may only be worth £500 and the fine £200  – you can see why taking a risk with uninsured driving is attractive to a certain type of young driver.

However what they fail to realise is that when they are caught they will be paying for this in high premiums for rest of their lives.

Cheap Young Drivers Car Insurance is available from a variety of providers at Car Insurance TV. Compare car insurance prices and shop around for cheaper quotes!

So on my way over to the Insurance Blog offices what do I hear on the BBC Radio One lunchtime news program for young people – Newsbeat – a very interesting  programme about the outrageous costs of car insurance for young drivers.

Being the BBC they have gone all multi media and you can follow the show at BBC Newsbeat  Facebook and listen to and download the podcast at http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat

Listening to many of the comments and reading posts like this….

From Facebook

Chris Kidwell
I’m 22. I’ve been driving for 5 years. I’ve never had an accident. 2 weeks ago a 60 year old man crashed into my car while it was parked. He’s probably got protected insurance cover, and his premium will hardly go up even though he wrote my car off and damaged 2 other cars. I’ve never even come close to an accident in my 5 years, but my high … See moreinsurance policies have probably totalled enough to cover the damage to the other two vehicles, my written off car, and all the hire cars involved… So even though I’m the driver that is least likely to have an accident, my money is more likely to have paid for his irresponsible action. I do feel that young drivers are all tarred with the same brush. There should be a standard amount that all drivers start on (say £900-£1000) a year. Then the premium can increase/decrease accordingly depending on how the driver fares on the road. To charge anyone £3000 a year without knowing whether they are actually a bad driver is wrong.

………………

You’ve got to agree…hey, maybe the kids do have a serious point!

Related posts:

1. The Hidden Costs of Uninsured Drivers in Your Car Insurance Premiums
2. RBS Churchill Car Insurance offers named Young Drivers No claims bonus
3. How to get Car Insurance if your are under 25

How Much!! You’ve got to be joking!!

Nothing had changed as far as I was concerned, the car is the same, the road I live in is the same, I still do the same job – the risk hasn’t changed at all.
The only difference is that I’m one year older and I thought cover was supposed to get cheaper the older you got!

So what can you do to avoid the rate hikes?

I asked my friend and underwriting expert Dave Healey for some advice. Here’s what he said….

Compare Car Insurance Quotes Online Before You Renew Your Policy

The cost of car insurance premiums are expected to rise dramatically in 2010 with some major insurance news sites predicting up to 20% in premium hikes as the industry adjusts to large losses and claims in recent years

However the competition remains fierce and those who bother to take the time shopping around and comparing prices from different companies will benefit while those who cannot be bothered will pay the price at renewal.

You have probably heard the phrase ‘brand new customers only’ applied to the television adverts that constantly bombard us with deals and offers for cheaper cover.

Nearly all the major car insurance providers in the United Kingdom are offering incentives to get you to move from your current insurer and take out a policy with them. You will need to check out these offers carefully and be prepared to take the time and effort to understand the ‘catches’ if you want to successfully reduce your premium each year.

There is no logical reason why your premiums should rise at renewal unless you have had claims, but if you stay with the same insurance company year on year out of inertia, you can virtually guarantee that you will be paying more to cover the costs of the incentives offered to the ‘new business or the claims of other people who are insured with the same company.

In the UK car insurance companies seem only concerned with how much volume of new customers they can attract and once they have your premiums you are no longer of interest to them. So if you want to save money on your car insurance it is necessary to change insurer every year!

About a month before your renewal date you should receive from your existing company an invite to renew, which in most cases will be automatic unless you cancel the policy. This is the time to start looking elsewhere for cheaper quotes for the same level of cover. Most quotes are legally valid for thirty days from the date they were given, which will allow you plenty of time to compare the car insurance market before cancelling your policy and obtaining cover elsewhere. The invite to renew document will also contain proof of your no claims driving history and the number of years discount you are entitled to. Keep this document safe as you will be required to produce it when moving to another insurance company as proof of no claims.

Compare and Move!

The best place to start looking for cheaper car insurance is on the Internet Car Insurance comparison sites of which there are many. Choose at least three different price comparison websites to get quotes from; they usually only take a few minutes to complete all your details to get a range of quotes.

Be aware that the number of comparisons they make and the premiums quoted often vary dramatically from one car insurance comparison website to another.

Often the comparison sites may have negotiated different rates with the insurance companies for certain types of customer or car as all car insurance companies have target markets.

To find one which may be more suitable for your needs it is advisable to search online for compare car insurance for your particular make of vehicle. If you have a poor driving history, drive an unusual or classic car or need specialist cover there are now many smaller specialist comparison sites that cater for all these needs.

Once you have found an alternative cheaper provider, make a note of the quote and return to the website just prior to when your existing cover runs out. Be sure to clear down the cookies on your computer’s browser, otherwise the company will know you have been quoted before and only offer you the same deal. That way you ensure that you will get any of the latest incentives and discounts when you purchase the cover.

Car insurance can be bought to start from your renewal date and you should return your certificate of insurance to the old insurer once you have found alternative cover. Telephone your existing Insurance company and tell them you are cancelling the cover and will not be renewing. Without doubt they will ask for your reasons. Tell them that they are too expensive and that you have found cheaper cover elsewhere. If you have been a good customer and not claimed, you may be surprised that many will offer to beat or at least match the premium you have been offered elsewhere, which would save you the trouble of moving and cut your motoring costs!

Related posts:

1. Thinking of renewing your car insurance policy – read this first!
2. Never renew your insurance with the same car insurance company!
3. Surfs Up! Dont forget your Camper Insurance