Ooh Yes! Churchill The Car Insurance Dog Soft Toy Outsells The Meerkat
The holding company of Churchill Insurance, RBS, whose future remains in doubt, must be pleased as punch to learn that sales of the Churchill nodding dog soft toy were ten percent higher than those of rival car insurance comparison website Compare the Market over the christmas period, according to figures released today from the Association of British Toy Distributors.
Before they all go barking mad down at Churchill, it should be pointed out that the figures relate to sales of the bulldog stuffed toy against those of Alexsandr Orlov the Compare The Meerkat main character.
Alexsandr Meerkat was only available through Harrods and supplies were restricted according to Benja Katya who runs the online Meerkat Toy Store in partnership with Amazon.
She told Insurance Blogger. "The dog is now a part of British Culture and sales of the toy will enjoy longevity despite who owns the brand."
"Meerkat Toys are becoming more popular everyday and the interest is spreading globally. Much of this must be attributed to the success of the Compare The Meerkat TV and Internet Social Media Marketing Campaign. Ironically the Meerkat phenomena which started out as peculiarly British thing has spread as far as Namibia!"
The idea is seemple and not a new one either!
Remember the Nat West piggies?
With Social media here to stay as part of the Insurance Marketing mix, it looks like the Insurance logo soft toy spinoff market is a very lucrative source of extra income for cash strapped Insurance Marketing departments.
Insurance Blogger wonders what furry animal will be next to capture the hearts of the Britsh Car Insurance buying public?
Don't Renew Your Car Insurance Until You've Read This!
If like me you've recently had you car insurance renewal documents land on your doormat, you might be in for a very unpleasant financial surprise!
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....
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!
UK Car Insurance Rates Must Harden As Loss Making Companies Claims Reserves Run Dry!
Incredibly Car Insurance companies in the UK are struggling to make a profit and 2010 is likely to see a large reduction in the supply of car insurance, with many famous brands and suppliers predicted to disappear from the high street and our television screens as the market adjusts to cater for the massive losses, according to analysts from car insurance comparison website Car-Insurance.tv.
Recently released figures show that the UK Motor Insurance market has been consistently losing money since 2004 when the total UK profit from underwriting car insurance policies was £77 million.
In 2007 the UK car insurance market made a £1.1 billion underwriting loss, last year the loss was £1.3 billion and the figures for 2009 are expected to be worse........
Very few car insurance providers have escaped the losses and are profitable, whilst many have released claims reserves held from previous profitable years to disguise the 'actual ' loss.
So what is causing such massive losses in a large compulsory market that not so long ago was the most aggressive in the world?
On the face of it the answer appears to be simple ...... The Cost of Claims!
Claims are the problem not because the Car Insurance Companies have failed to include the rising costs of claims into their pricing structures; but because they have failed to cover the true costs in the retail price!
Car Insurance underwriters seem to have forgotten the basic rules of betting when setting their prices - and that is, that the Bookie never loses.......
To understand where the car insurance underwriting companies have gone wrong you first need to examine how they arrive at the price of a car insurance policy premium.
The cost of your car insurance premium is basically made up of three components:
1. The costs of production - Staff, Systems, Distribution etc
2. The costs of losses - known claims ratios ( the proportion of a policy premium pool that gets eaten up in claims)
3. Profit
The cost of all these components can be calculated by clever people called actuaries who work for the insurance companies and the rates set accordingly.
So what's gone wrong?
Well naturally it is obvious to first look at claims as the cause of the losses - but the truth is far from this end of the life of a car insurance policy......
The frequency of claims has either fallen or remained fairly constant over the period of losses and the actual cost of claims has only risen by 1 percent.
Despite all the noise made about gangs of car insurance claims fraudsters roaming the streets of the UK, the fact of the matter is that most of this is propoganda aimed at deterring fraud which naturally rises during a recession/depression. The number of fraud cases are really insignificant in the true scale of the market to affect pricing.
Admittedly there has been a significant increase in the number of personal injury related claims, egged on by claims farming companies, which would affect long term pricing, however the losses experienced by Car Insurance companies are nothing to do with claims and claims pricing.
These type of claims fluctuations have always been dealt with successfully in the past by car insurance companies by adjusting reserve ratios or negotiating better re-insurance ( laying the risk off), or more importantly by adjusting price ........
But this time something is different....
Car Insurance Companies can no longer set the price! Not if they want to win the business anyway!
And they certainly cannot sell policies at the premium levels that the Actuaries suggest!
Why? Seemple .......The Internet!
And more importantly Car Insurance Price Comparison websites or aggregators as they are known in the industry, which account for around 90 percent of the Car Insurance sold online. Since around 2004 it has been possible to easily compare car insurance quotes online from numerous suppliers, and invariably the cheapest premium wins the business.
Car Insurance companies not longer set their own prices! And this is the problem!
In a race to achieve enough volume to make a book of car insurance business profitable the car insurance companies have been selling their car insurance polices too cheap and covering their losses with their claims reserves........time is running out!
Government Transport Policy set to increase Car Insurance Rates
The British Government although to be applauded in some social areas, seems to have totally got things wrong with it's policies towards infrastructure, and those policy relationships with transportation, movement of goods and people and subsequent business development and economic growth.
Anybody who has been stuck in a gridlocked traffic jam on the M25 while trying to get to a work meeting...will know exactly what I mean. Yeah and they don't exactly provide roadside toilets (latrines to you guys over there), and what with all the closed circuit TV cameras covering every bush....!
Now I'm not one of those who would like to see less cars on the road, in fact, like J Clarkson I'd like to see more - on a lot more, better built roads and motorways. And I'm certainly not advocating that you vote for Cameron and his policy less party!
The man would have us all on pushbikes!
But the latest announcement of UK Government transportation policy in mid week, borders on economic and social lunacy and demonstrates that the mandarins in Whitehall have little understanding of causality and it's consequences, and it logically follows that their plans, if they actually have any, lack any inherent vision.
What am I talking about? Why? the stupid decision to slap a minimum £22 tax on every seat on most domestic flights within the UK! In some places like Cornwall this is in addition to an Airport development tax that all departing passengers must pay. With all the additional charges like parking or taxis the combined effect will obviously be to push traffic back onto the roads, increasing risk and ultimately Your car insurance premiums.
It's not like it's easy to travel domestically anyway, with the ridiculous security checks and the threat of fifth columnists, you can't even get a decent cup of tea or have a smoke in the modern departure lounge that mostly resembles a scene from Phillip K Dick's BladeRunner.
If you restrict the movement of people and goods you are restricting economic growth!
There are some exceptions to the ludicrous tax! if you live in the Outer Hebrides you won't have to pay the tax. This is obviously an area where the Scottish run UK Government wants to see some development!
If you've just bought your first classic car you will need to consider not just where, but also how you are going to insure it. If you are new to classic cars you will probably not even be aware that specialist car insurance policies for classics exist, which are peculiarly different from standard car insurance policy covers as offered by those seen on TV.
As a classic car owner it matters not if you drive a perfect condition Ford Capri 3 litre from 1970, a beat up old Morris Minor from the Sixties or a sleek E-type Jaguar in British racing green, it is essential that you find the best classic car insurance cover for your cherished motor, that covers your individual risks at prices that won't break the bank!
If you have not owned a classic car before it is important to realise that there are basic differences between what is known as a standard car insurance policy and the cover offered under one defined as classic, from a specialist car insurer.
The first thing to establish is whether your car is eligible for cover under a classic policy. One way you could do this is ask the previous owner whether it was covered under a classic car insurance policy and with which insurance company.
Different car insurance companies have different definitions of the age and type of vehicles that can be covered under this type of cover.
What might be easily covered with one provider may be excluded by another. Fortunately most online classic car cover providers provide this information on the first page of their websites, so it is fairly easy to surf around and check your eligibility with different insurance companies.
You should check that both the eligibility of the age of the car in question and also whether there are policy restrictions for your individual driving circumstances, such as your age that would prevent you from applying for cover.
The major variation between a standard policy and those offered by the classic car specialists is in the way that you use your classic vehicle, and in particular, how much you drive it. The large mainstream insurers and price comparison sites will offer cover for older cars but will charge an additional premium because of its age. They will also load the premium if replacement parts for the vehicle type are known to be expensive.
More importantly you will only be offered the current market value replacement if the car is covered under a mainstream policy and is deemed to be a write-off when you claim.
With a standard car insurance policy on a replacement like for like basis, the value of the car is often set by the market value at the time of a claim, typically taken from one of the car price magazines such as the UK's Glasses Guide. The amount you will be probably receive for a write-off will be at the current market value of your car which is an annual depreciating amount. Inevitably, if you own a classic car and insure it under a standard policy contract, this leads to under valuation and under insurance of the true value of the car. You will also probably not be offered the salvage and a repairable classic car may often be deemed a write-off because the cost of repair is uneconomic to the Insurer.
If you purchase a specialist classic car insurance policy you will be offered a choice of either an agreed valuation of the classic cars worth or a policy based on market value.
An agreed valuation amount is the amount that the insurance company will pay out in the event of a claim that results in a write off. This is a major benefit of insuring classics under specialist policies because it ensures that you are not just properly covered but will also receive the specialist repair services that your classic will require should you claim. It should be noted that even agreed valuation polices can change and you should ensure that the value is guaranteed for a certain period of time to avoid fluctuations in market values.
Classic Car insurance polices are therefore tailored to the needs of cars considered to be collectable and effectively the valuation is a rating factor for the condition of the car.
The other major difference between standard and classic policies is in the way that you are allowed to use your car under the terms of the agreement. Originally this type of vehicle insurance was designed for drivers who do not use their classic cars much.
All classic car policies have a limited mileage clause which only covers the vehicle for an agreed amount of miles per year. Depending upon which specialist car insurance company you use, there will be a limit to how far you can drive your classic. Some providers will only cover a couple of thousand miles per year under the policy, but many specialist providers are now offering cover up to ten thousand miles per year. These policies reflect the fact that many drivers now use modern day classic cars as their main form of transport.
As with all car insurance it is important to compare both covers and prices when shopping around. There are many specialist classic insurance providers available online today and many specialist schemes that are targeted at particular classic owners. Compare the premiums offered by these with those from the price comparison sites, but if you want to avoid disappointment if you need to make a claim, be sure to understand the difference in policy covers.
The Internet has made it very easy to Compare Car Insurance that was previously only available from specialist car insurance brokers on the high street. You can find those offering special deals and bespoke schemes for your particular classic by searching for schemes to compare for your particular model or vehicle type classic car insurance.
UK TV Ad Revenue Underwritten by Car Insurance Price Comparison War!
When Insurance Blogger was a nipper.....
Back in the 1960's if you were lucky you had a black and white televison - the box! with an aerial that looked like a sea mine or something out of Doctor Who sitting on top of it.
There were 2 UK TV Channels:
The BBC - Mother of the Nation and voice of the world......
& ITV - which was a loose consortium of regional independent television companies that broadcast on their own frequency AND network distribution relay.
This meant that every time you changed channel, which was a process of turning a huge dial until you got a fuzzy ghost image - you had to turn the aerial as well to switch to a different signal supplier.
This caused much distress in every UK Household with people arguing over aerial placement whilst trying to watch fuzzy images of man supposedly walking on the Moon.
The Independent Television Companies were funded by advertising revenue for commercials placed in programme 'intermissions' known in the UK as 'Commercial Breaks'. This allowed companies like Granada to fund their own programmes and make 'soaps' like Coronation Street. Product placement was banned on The BBC and was also severely limited as to the acceptable use of on screen products, within ITV programme drama of the day.
This ban has very recently been lifted and you might soon even see the BBC's Phil Mitchell on Eastenders popping down to his local Post Office TM for some Travel Insurance or visiting a car insurance comparison website for his Jaguar insurance, coming to our screens as desperate TV production companies try to raise additional funding in hard times.
Even the BBC will not remain immune in the face of falling TV viewing figures and the rise of integrated digital services.
Today ITV is still reliant upon revenue sourced from intermission commercials, however with global distribution opportunities for selling programmes abroad they are now able to find sponsors for most popular shows.
According to a recent survey by business intelligence group DataWatch Monitor UK, Insurance adverts account for 52% of the total advertising revenue spend on UK TV commercials and specifically car insurance which accounts for 63% of that.
So Who is spending all this money, millions of pounds that is underwriting some great UK independent TV productions?
Well unless you live under a rock or don't own a screen (Boxes are consigned to pre-history along with the Dodo and the Betamax by the way!), you can't have failed to notice that there is a car insurance price comparison site war going on out there at the moment with the BIG 4 all trying to outdo each other on spend and it's getting dirty..........
So who are the big 4? Well in no particular order , though Google has one....
Money Supermarket.com Confused.com Compare The Market.com Go Compare.com
So who is winning this war?
Well it's hard to give a definitive answer because campaigns are in a constant state of flux and one month it might be the furry meerkat toy rodent or the next month, the fat opera singer at No.1 in the Sales Charts. It is difficult to COMPARE!
The TV ads always tell the prospect car insurance purchasers to visit their website, so a fairly accurate measure of website usage over time by website name search, can be extracted from Google and here are the results....
WACKY RACES As you can see, that annoying pompous man from the Dragons Den is leading the way by far at the moment with the furry rodent bringing up the rear. This is likely to change at Christmas when Compare The Market bring out the talkng meerkat. Looks like the fat annoying tenor over there Ad is working!!! For Now!
You've got to admire the marketing people behind the Compare the Market - Compare the MeerKat campaign. They've tapped into a vein of the British love of wildlife, first made popular by the BBC's 'Meerkat Manor' programme, and made it their own. I am still amazed how the TV adverts turn the heads of all kids present every time the 'cuddly' little creatures appear on our screens.
However even with the long term success of the TV campaign and both the Compare the Market and Compare the Meerkat websites sitting in the top 50 of Google for car insurance, even the people at BISL, usually ahead of the game appear to have missed out on this one.......
You can now buy lovable Meerkat toys and dress them up like the famous Alexsandr Meerkat and play compare the meerkat all day long! Sure to be a massive hit with kids all over the UK this Christmas it looks like BISL may have missed the boat on this one!
With the number of meerkat characters created on Compare the Meerkat you would think this would be a massive opportunity to extend the marketing campaign by doing a joint venture with a soft toy manufacturer like TY! What's more http://twitter.com/Aleksandr_Orlov has over 29000 followers who they could immediately meerkat, sorry market to!!
So are BISL planning to bring out a branded Meerkat Insurance version of the soft toy!
They Sure are. Apparently an exclusive deal has been done with Harrods who will release a limited edition of 5000 Talking Aleksandr Meerkat soft toys and dolls this December. Latest word has it that pre-sales have already accounted for every meerkat soft toy they can produce! Meekat Mania is sweeping Britain!
The soft toy market is hardly 'soft', especially at Christmas, and incredibly these things become very collectible quickly and command huge prices on auction sites such as Ebay.
They could even give away a set of meerkat toys with every car insurance policy sold!
Cheap Classic Car Insurance Cover By car insurance specialist blogger and expert Dave Healey
Do you own a car over fifteen years old? Do you own a car which could be considered a classic? If you do you may well be entitled to cover it under what is known in the industry as a classic car insurance policy. In the past there were many more restrictions on cover under this type of policy and specialist motor insurance brokers and insurance companies were very particular about the type, age make and models of the cars they wished to cover on their books.
Times have changed and technology has led to many more cars now fitting into a bracket that was once reserved for the glamourous, collector and vintage car owners. It is now possible to obtain both cheap quotes and classic car covers online from many providers including the majority of those famous high street brands, who have realised that nearly fifty percent of the cars on the road now fall within the strict underwriting parameters for classic car policies. Consequently premiums in this market, which were always cheaper than standard cover, have become much more competitive in recent years, with the entry into the market of many of the larger insurance companies.
When searching for the right covers it is wise to get a range of classic car insurance online quotes from various different sources. Not all motor companies are the same, and neither are all classic policy conditions.
When applying for a classic quote you should be aware of the varying limits of cover and restrictions that may be put on driving the vehicle. For example many of these policies will only allow you very limited road mileage each year, sometimes as little as 3000 miles per annum. This is fine if you have an expensive collectors car that is garaged throughout the year and only taken out for the odd cruise or rally. The problems occur much more frequently when non valuable classic cars are insured under this type of policy when they should really be covered under a more embracing standard motor insurance. Unfortunately, restrictive policy conditions often only come to light after an accident and a claim is made, rejected by the insurer and leaves the policyholder feeling missold and abandoned.
If you have decided that a classic car policy is right for your car, then when applying for quotes online always check that the policy is right for you, the owner as well. Many policies are designed to charge by the lifestyle of the insured and as with all car insurance there is a tendency for cover to be cheaper for older persons and women drivers. Many companies will not issue classic motor insurance to persons under the age of twenty five, although this is changing as well, and there are some very good providers out there who will cover drivers as young as twenty one.
If the value of the car is not particularly high and the replacement costs of parts and repairs does not warrant a specialist policy, you may well be better advised to seek out quotes from a mainstream insurance company. They often have additional online discounts and offers which the classic policy providers are not in a position to offer.
As with all car insurance, what may initially appear cheap at policy inception could cause some unpleasant surprises when it comes to making a claim. After all you only buy car insurance to protect yourself in the event of a claim and a policy is only as gfood as it's claims service!
Shop around for specialist car insurance and Compare Classic Car Insurance. Compare prices and insurance covers from both major high street brands and the smaller insurance specialists to ensure you not only get a good deal, but get the adequate levels of cover you require for your classic car, as well.
Classic Car Insurance - A 20p Tyre Check could save £££’s
20p Tyre Check could save £££’s by Kris Oldland
A recent survey by classic car specialist dealership Motorpoint has revealed that the majority of classic car owners feel that they are footing the bill for those who refuse to get insurance. Over 80 percent of the recipients confirmed that they believe those caught without adequate specialist classic car insurance cover should have their vehicles destroyed.
This rather satisfactory solution (considering the additional cost these cheats have added to your latest premium,) could soon become a reality as Paul Clark, road safety minister, included this suggestion in proposals he outlined recently.
It comes as part of the new government plans to further enforce the compulsory insurance of all motor cars within the UK. New measures mean that any owner of a vehicle which is taken onto a public road and caught without insurance will at the very least face fines and should they persist in breaking the law their vehicle could well be impounded and destroyed.
In response to the survey results David Shelton, Managing director of Motorpoint commented: "It is clear from our poll that the vast majority of people want something to be done to stop them having to foot the bill for uninsured drivers."
In other news Which? Car has recently recommended that taking the time to refresh your classic car safety knowledge is a vital way of staying safe, as well as avoiding avoid unnecessary insurance claims – adding that at this time of year ensuring the grip on your tires meets the necessary standards is a good starting point.
According to industry experts TyreSafe, as the weather starts to get wetter and the chances of losing traction and skidding increase, a particularly important test to ascertain the safety of your tyres is to insert a 20p piece into the main grooves of your tyres. If you are unable to see the outer band of the coin the tread is sufficient. If the outer band is visible then it is high time you replaced these often overlooked, yet crucial elements of your car.
Chairman of TyreSafe, Stuart Jackson also added : "Tyres are the only part of the vehicle in contact with the road surface so it is essential that they are in a condition that allows them to perform properly."
Meanwhile, the IAM, (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has highlighted the importance of ensuring that head restraints are correctly fitted - particularly within a classic car. An insurance claim could be the least of a drivers concerns if they are involved in an accident during which their head restraint wasn’t fitted correctly.
Figures released by road safety company Brake earlier this year show that when fitted properly this often overlooked safety device can reduce the chance of whiplash by nearly 24 percent. Alarmingly though this same study showed that nearly three quarters of drivers surveyed had no idea how to adjust the head rests themselves.
Brake''s Fleet Safety Forum has recently launched the Move Up campaign to try and encourage more employers to ensure their workers know what they can do to avoid whiplash injuries.
One of the easiest ways to ensure you have the correct classic car insurance cover is to find a scheme suitable for your particlar model. It's easiest to use a specialist product and price comparison website to compare classic car insurance such as that provided by Car Insurance TV
Vauxhall Insurance not to become a classic - Thanks to Peter Mandelson
Working in Car insurance it's really quite sad when a famous marque goes to the wall.
It's even sadder when it's a British one!
So it's great news that Vauxhall Motors will not just be appearing on the classic car insurance list in the future!
As a kid I remember my first ride in a vauxhall viva and later buzzing around in my mate's Astra sri and later still in an excellent Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 company car provided by General Accident. I've never actually owned owned one... hey! but I love Aston Martin's as well....
And it's good news for Bedfordshire too!
The company and it's 5000 workers, whose long term future has been in doubt since General Motors sold off the European Division to Canadian Company Magna earleir this year, appears finally to received the assurances that the German Division Opel Motors received on day one of the deal! The jobs are safe for now!
As late as Monday, the future of the deal was still hanging in the balance as the British and Spanish governments threatened to wreck the sale because it favoured GM Europe's Opel plants and workers in Germany.
The outcome appears to be a triumph for ministers, led by Lord Mandelson, the UK Business Secretary, in the face of what seemed to be a done deal between the government of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vauxhall/Opel's US parent company, which was itself recently restructured. Such an arrangement would have fallen foul of EU competition rules.
Yesterday, the GM chief executive Fritz Henderson said it was "quite possible" that the deal would be signed this week.
Dark Lord Peter Mandelson said: "We now have a much better outcome than we originally had, but we still have some way to go in agreeing the financing of this and that's what talks will be continuing about."
GM will sell a 55 per cent stake in its former European operations to Magna, with €4.5bn in loan guarantee from the German government.
Maybe Peter Mandelson does carry as much clout as Angela Merckel?
Since his early summer Sunday morning trashing of that Andrew Marr bloke, Lord M has gone from strength to strength....
PM would make a great PM.....
And we might actually have somebody English leading England's 2018 Football World Cup Bid!
Never renew your insurance with the same car insurance company!
Like me you are probably sick to death of the so called great offers being punted around every night on our TV screens by multi-national insurance companies, for car insurance and recently home insurance....
BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY
FREE CONTENTS INSURANCE
AND (beat this) YOU WON'T FIND US ON ANY COMPARISON SITES!
So lets look at these claims individually and in particular Aviva whose marketing department think they are being clever but whose tactics should actually see their book of business decrease!
BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY Anybody who sees this despicable tactic (first used by that horrible fat bloke advertising Abbey National or whatever stupid name it is called now) used by their current insurance company should NOT RENEW their existing policy!
Why? Because they don't give two figs about you or your business. They fail to realise that their existing customers are worth a lot more than 'New business' and quite frankly they don't deserve you as a customer! You will end up paying much higher premiums at renewal than the 'new' policies and guess how they can afford these offers?
Yep! By overcharging their existing customers!
At Renewal MOVE!
FREE CONTENTS INSURANCE
Another joke! Firstly they will overcharge you for your buildings insurance to cover the costs of the so called free cover, and you are only eligible if you pay the over inflated buildings cover as Minimum Premiums apply (in the small print at the bottom of the screen). Thers no such thing as a free lunch or contents insurance for that matter!
YOU WON'T FIND US ON ANY COMPARISON SITES!
Why? because you know as well as we do that your premiums and levels of cover will not stand up to the competition!
And finally while we are on the matter of Insurance Advertising, what the hell do those people? at AVIVA think they are doing by caricaturing with stereotypic mimicary certain elements of British society or in street parlance - taking the piss out of the Welsh, Plymouth Argyle Supporters and all those other stereotypes that are probably appearing in adverts, regionally up and down the country with those pathetic Bob Mortimer sketches.
Oi! Aviva! Don't you realise the negative passions that are envoked every time an Exeter City FC or Torquay United fan sees that awful advert featuring yokels from Plymouth Argyle, will lead them to cancel their policies. Mind you what would you expect from a bunch of carrot crunching Delia Smith Supporters!
For both home insurance and car insurance, shop around and visit a comparison site if you want to save money! Up the Gunners!
Recession still to bottom out as UK Insurance Industry Suffers
The pundits in the housing markets often seem to be singing from a different songsheet when it comes to what's really happening in the UK economy. One minute we hear that repossessions have dropped in comparison to the first quarter of 2009, and that house prices are rising, but this is surely industry sales talk. Fact of the matter is house prices haven't reached anything like the levels needed to stimulate a National recovery and movement in the market. Mortgages are very difficult to come by and often require up to a thirty percent deposit. Those lucky ones on tracker mortgages are praying every month that the Bank of England doesn't put up interest rates, otherwise many of them would bejoining the ranks of the reposessed! Credit in general is non-existant, particularly in the Car Finance sector, and the credit card companies with their extortionate rates are only interested in recuoperating lending and tightening the national screw further!
Unemployment is rising and you only have to drive a short distance to see hundreds of towns that relied upon local industries that have gone to the wall, with the ranks of unemployed growing on a daily basis!
We as a Nation are in the proverbial big time, the good news is so is everybody else!
Insurance in the UK is suffering big time in many ways too. Households are cutting back on items seen as luxuries and Insurance is often perceived this way. In particular home insurance and personal finance insurances such as income protection have seen their markets decimated. As no mortgages are being given away and the recent furore over miselling, mortgage protection insurance has virtually disappeared as a product to be replaced by a more encompassing lifestyle protection insurance policy.
Car insurance is in trouble too, despite the fact that it is compulsory. Many underwriters have been asking for rate rises for nearly two years but the prices have been artificially kept down by the levels of competition brought in by the Internet insurance comparison sites or aggregators as they are known. Many major players have made substantial losses in the Motor market over the last few years and many have had to cut deeply into their reserves. This cannot go on ad infinitum, and prices must harden. This will inevitably lead to many suppliers leaving the market. As for the car scrappage scheme - did that generate demand? Yeah for a couple of thousand Hyundais built in India and imported into the UK - Sheer and utter madness!
Commercial Insurance is the one area which has obviously taken a massive reduction in premium volumes as businesses go to the wall and very few new startups enter the market.
One thing we can be sure of it's going to be a long cold winter, a change of UK Government won't make the slightest bit of difference and by the noises coming out on ABC and CBS News recently is going to kick of Stateside long before it does here!
Cheap Car Insurance Could Land You In Jail! or Banned for Life!
LONDON - UK Car Insurance comparison website Car-Insurance.tv is warning drivers to be very careful when applying for cheap car insurance.......
Car Insurance Fraud has been on the rise in the UK for the last few years. One could argue disproportionately due to the influx of Eastern European criminal gangs staging road accidents, however the current recession has seen suspected cases of car insurance fraud rise to unprecedented levels, sometimes in very unusual areas.
One worrying factor is the trend to obtain cheap car insurance by 'lying' on the online proposal form or over the phone. Much cheaper car insurance premiums can be obtained by those who lie, omit, or deliberately falsely declare information when applying for cover.
Insurance Blogger has even seen some websites encouraging this type of behaviour!
The savvy public looking to save a few pounds will bend the truth to obtain cheaper premiums as a recent case that appeared before Bridlington Magistrates in Yorkshire demonstrates..
A driver of green Ford Fiesta, a Mr Pears aged 24 of Bridlington was found to have been behind the wheel of his car without valid business insurance and was using the vehicle for business purposes without the appropriate insurance cover in place.
The court heard that when police routinely stopped the vehicle, they noticed that Pears had a number of insulated pizza bags on the front passenger seat. He explained he had just begun working as a pizza delivery driver on a trial basis that day.
Although he was able to produce a valid insurance policy for the car, a quick search of the Motor Insurance Database by the police officers at the scene revealed that the policy had a usage type of SDP and only covered him for social, domestic and pleasure use of the car and excluded business use, the bench heard.
Pears was fined £525 and had his driving licence endorsed with six penalty points. Costs of £40 and a £15 victim surcharge were also imposed.
What this goes to show is that if you are caught.. and you will be! Your car insurance for the future will never be Cheap! Indeed you may not even be able to get cover again once you have commited Insurance Fraud!
It could amount to a lifetime Driving Ban!
Cheap car insurance can be obtained legally by comparing car insurance quotes from many suppliers and by answering the questions truthfully, on one form.
With the rise in the number of customised and modified vehicles on the UK roads a whole new division of car and specialist motor insurance is rapidly growing to fill the cover needs of hot hatch owners and modified cars. You will be surprised but the majority of these cars are not owned by boy racers - more like middle aged life crisis racers! Today we look at the UK market for modified car insurance....
Owners of modified cars by their very nature appreciate personalisation and providers of modified car insurance realise this. It is surprising how few of these owners have omitted to plan for the additional insurance cost when first contemplating making modifications to the car, showing what is quite often meticulous interest in the detail that the majority of us would overlook when thinking about how to cover our car.
Car Insurers have therefore had to be equally ingenious in their underwriting methods to be flexible enough in modifying their rating structures to accommodate the varying needs of modified car insurance.
It is one area of the specialist car insurance sector which is constantly evolving. Whilst classic car insurance gets larger in its risk pool as each year more cars join the classification, modifications could today mean a thousand more different things than it did even ten years ago with the advance of technology and the use of components that didn't exist before.
Modified vehicle insurance has had to be able to adapt to the ever increasing demands of twenty first century living.
Out of this need for flexibility while retaining competitive prices have arisen many modified specialist car insurers who actively seek out the hot hatch or boy-racer type risk that the main stream car insurance supermarkets would turn away as soon as they had discovered either the prospects car model, age or modification requirements.
Modified car owners are also by nature not as risk averse as the standard saloon driver with 2.4 children. Car Insurance has had to adapt to allow policy level underwriting for modified owners as individuals, to set their preferred levels of cover, rather than standard rating which takes an en mass approach. Insurance companies have had to realise that if they want the specialist car insurance market business, that they must take into consideration that as modified vehicle owners take pride in their vehicle and maintain their cars to the highest standards, they would expect nothing less from an insurance policy.
There are now many online modified car insurance specialists who offer instant cover online for straight forward modifications such as alloy wheels and in-car hi-fi or security devices. Some of the better ones can even cover you for certain engine and power modifications online. All of them should have a helpline where if you get stuck and cannot continue with an online quote, you should be able to talk to an expert who will help you with your specific modifications and insurance enquiry. Remember to keep the quote reference number if telephoning a company or broker to discuss your modifications. This will save a lot of time repeating what you have already told them about yourself and your car.
You can compare quotes for modified car insurance from the UK's largest online specialist car insurance comparison providers Insuretec & Lancaster Insurance. If you get stuck at any point in the quote process they have very friendly staff who will talk through the pricing of your cars modifications.
Consider Repairers When Getting a Classic Car Insurance Quote Online
Dave Healey of our resident classic car insurance specialists panel has warned of the dangers of getting a classic car insurance quote online without taking into account who might be repairing your classic car if you have an accident or claim. Dave points out that not all car insurance companies are the same and you pay for what you get!
Does Your Car Require Specialist Car Insurance and Repair Services? By Classic Car Insurance specialist Dave Healey
When choosing a car insurance policy it is wise to consider what is offered in the event of a claim. After all, you are only insuring the car to have the potential to make a claim and the cover is only as good as the insuring company's claims department.
Although price is most peoples consideration when purchasing car insurance, one of things you should not overlook is who is going to repair your car if it is damaged? Do you own a non-standard car? Surprisingly a large number of vehicles fall into categories that the majority of mainstream insurance companies do not want to cover!
Such examples that may struggle to obtain motor insurance at reasonable rates are owners of performance,prestige, expensive, luxury, foreign, sports, convertibles, modified, veteran, collectors and classic cars. More importantly if you are the owner, if something happens and you need to make a claim on your policy, it is important that your car gets fixed by specialist professionals, using the correct parts. More often than not these type of car repairs require unique tools that are only available through specialist engineers and motor repair shops.
So it is most important when comparing car insurance to also compare the services that a car insurer offers in the event of a claim, especially those regarding choice of repairer.
All specialist car insurers and many insurance companies will offer a choice of repairer - many others will not as they have existing arrangements with so called approved repairers.
Trouble arises when an insurance company insists on employing a particular firm to fix the car against the policyholder's wishes, and it is not uncommon for major disputes to arise at this point.
For example, the insured may have an expensive Italian sports car bought from an exclusive importer and specialist firm of dealers who added a number of accessories and or modifications to the car at the insured's request at the time of sale; the same firm may have performed all the routine servicing since the sale and the insured may genuinely feel that they 'know' his car better than anyone else could, and that only they, in consequence, should be entrusted to carry out the repairs.
If the repair work quoted in an estimate by the specialist firm is substantially higher than that expected from the approved repairer and the car insurance claims department consider that the approved repairers are capable of carrying out the work to the same standard as the specialists , then the only way out of this impasse is usually for the insurance company to suggest that the insured pays the difference!
Clearly then it is very important to understand what you are buying with your policy when it comes to claims and repairs. Specialist car insurance policies always offer unique claims repair services and if you own an unusual, expensive, classic car or performance motor, then it would be sensible to opt for a policy that includes these repair services to avoid the above situations. What might look like a cheap policy might turn into fools gold in the event of a claim!
Doomsday UK – Swine fever pandemic ravages British Economy
Within days of the closure of the last schools, the final tube train stopped signalling the immediate closure of the UK’s public transport network for the foreseeable future. Snakes of lorry convoys with armed police motorcycle outriders have been seen moving around the country’s motorways, ensuring vital supplies are getting delivered. The halt of Petrol (Gasoline) sales has prevented the movement of most private individuals. What’s vital? If the newspaper shop on the corner doesn’t get any cigarettes in soon he’ll probably get burnt out! Most businesses have been shut for over a month now under local community orders. Around the country local authority disaster action plans are in full swing and restrictions of movement of goods and people, are in place. Rioting is reported in some urban centres up and down the country by the major British TV networks, although the coverage is poor with outside broadcasts rare. Rubbish piling up in the streets and rats are not helping the problem, as victims of swine fever as it is now known succumb to other diseases. Everyone calls it Swine Fever since the H1N1 swine influenza virus mutated into the deadly strain. Bodies are going uncollected and unburied as the number of fatalities rises. The most up to date information can be found on remote UK Internet TV stations such as YouTube or Ustream. It looks well bad in India………Even worse in Cornwall...
No seriously we really do think it just media hype! Although a major viral crisis would damge the UK economy. Uncertainty and fear have been jamming the enquiry lines of call centres of UK insurance companies and brokers, up and down the country this week, following the sporadic outbursts of Swine Flu, influenza variant strain H1N1, associated with travellers returning home after vacation in Mexico. Unlike the questions regarding travel insurance which have been covered extensively in the national press, it appears the UK public are more concerned about their individual personal covers, should Swine Flu become pandemic. We asked some of the UK’s leading Insurance Business characters for their thougfhts on how Swine flu in the UK, was going to affect their insurance products and claims.
Hayden Powers, Customer Services Manager at Burgesses Ltd the UK’s largest online supplier of independent income protection insurance and mortgage protection insurance for Sickness and ASU products http://www.burgesses.com explained, “The majority of sickness insurance protection products sold by online independent providers such as ourselves in the UK, cover Flu and it’s associated sickness, and we can assure all our clients and direct customers that they are covered ‘back to day one’ of a period of sickness caused by swine flu. It is important that a sickness insurance policy includes the back to day one cover, as most income insurance and mortgage payment protection policies for sickness have a thirty day excess period before you can claim. If your swine flu sickness period only lasts three weeks and you have a thirty day excess period with no back to day one of your sickness cover, then you will not be able to claim.”
Robin Rankin of UK Commercial Ltd http://www.uk-commercial-insurance.com the online UK Commercial Insurance broker network, confirms that many small business owners are very concerned about the effects of swine flu on their business. He said, “They are concerned about the interruption to their business that widespread Swine Flu might bring. We have had enquiries as diverse as from freight forwarder insurance customers that do business in Mexico with imported goods, through to clients who have Keyman insurance who are concerned about business continuity if these key players fall victim to the flu. However most enquiries have been from small businessmen concerned about additional pressures on their already struggling businesses that swine flu might bring, in particular business insurance coverage under the contingency sections of business interruption. A major problem will arise if companies are forced to close due to a swine flu pandemic, and the nature of the risk becomes fundamental. In this scenario the UK Government will have to step in to rescue falling businesses.”
Dave Healey underwriting expert at online specialist car insurance comparison site http://www.car-insurance.tv warns of the dangers of driving with swine flu. He said, “We are warning our clients against driving if they are suffering the effects of flu or on medication prescribed due to having contracted swine flu. Aside from any legal obligations, persons doing so are at a much higher risk of having an accident”
It’s apparent that the UK insurance industry is bracing itself against the Swine flu outbreak as the situation worsens, but it is as yet unclear whether they are in a proper position to deal with a full scale influenza pandemic, as seen in 1918 with Spanish flu.
Good news is that despite all the bad economic news and the credit crunch, productivity is up. There has been a hundred per cent drop in the number of employees calling in sick saying they have the flu!
We are constantly reminded that the cost of our car insurance premiums are inflated because of insurance fraud and exacerbated by the number of uninsured drivers on the roads! It is certainly true that in the United Kingdom all car insurance companies are required by law to pay into the Motor Insurance Fund (MIF).
This pool of money was designed to protect and recompense the innocent British public, from damage or injury caused by an increasingly large number of uninsured drivers. and accidents involving untraceable hit and run drivers.
The Motor Insurance fund was set up over sixty years ago, immediately following WW2 when the licensing laws and car insurance regulations were still being formulated and yet many of our modern laws were yet to be put onto the UK statute books.
The war years had seen the number of cars and vehicles in the UK rise exponentially, particularly towards the end of the war after the USA joined in, and for the first time British women were systematically taught to drive in their thousands, and indeed even the Queen, Princess Elizabeth as she was at the time, mucked in with driving vehicles of all shapes and sizes and women drove the domestic war effort.
At the end of the war Britain's roads were beginning to become cluttered and returning troops and foreign bases exacerbated the number of unlicensed cars and drivers on UK roads without car insurance to record levels.
As the number of accidents involving uninsured drivers rose steadily, public outcry forced the government to act and in 1946 a Government 'Quango' called the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) was established to oversee the whole operation of public compensation for damage, where no car insurance covered the costs.
The MID is to this day funded by a proportion of every policy sold, and to date has paid out over £2 billion in total. The MID have calculated that the cost to each of us when we purchase car insurance is an additional £15 to £30 per policy to cover uninsured drivers, which amounts to more than £200 million every year.
Furthermore, recent statistics from the Bureau indicate the problem of driving without car insurance has not declined over the intervening years since its foundation, and show that the UK continues to have a very poor record, with one in every twenty cars on the road being driven without proper car insurance cover.
Breaking down the statistics further, reveals that the amount of damage caused by drivers without car insurance each year far exceeds the amount paid out in claims every year through the risk fund.
It is often difficult to receive full compensation even if you have identified the uninsured driver, who may well have been prosecuted by the police, and you make a claim through the MIB.
A satisfied claim, that is those claims that are paid out, usually only occur when a particular claim has run the full course of the law and a judgement handed down.
In a case of a hit and run driver without car insurance who is unidentified, the MIB does not pay all legal costs, which can quickly run into thousands, but merely makes a contribution with a deduction to cover the balance of legal costs and expenses.
Thus the hidden costs and misery caused by the actions of those who choose to drive without car insurance is far greater than the official statistics of two hundred million pounds every year.
It is with these figures in mind that the MIB became the centralised point of a new database, the Motor Insurance Database, created at the turn of the century. The database is updated daily with details of every person and their car, who buys a car insurance policy. This information is now immediately available to all police forces throughout the Country, who through automatic number plate recognition systems, can instantly send a car registration number to the MID.
This allows the system to immediately indicate to a police office in the field, cars that are being driven and the driver has valid car insurance in force.
Systems geniuses Insuretec Ltd, the brains behind the car insurance comparison portal Car-Insurance.TV, have really excelled themselves this time with the launch today of a new method of Insurance Advertising.
The company has developed software that converts documents to speech and video for the purposes of offering clients and prospects information about car insurance.
Heres a prototype. I don't think those old brokers who sat around in Lloyds coffee house a few hundred years ago would ever have beleived the 'cybervoice from hell' and certainly wouldn't have insured it!
As spokesman for the company said, "the system it allows us to disseminate globally, information and marketing materials which were formerly considered legacy, in totally new ways, for example, videos and podcasts of text documents and content."
According to our friends over at specialist car insurance comparison website Car-Insurance.tv, there has been a large surge in demand for insurance of classic cars and requests for high performance car insurance. The statistics appear to show people are moving away from the stock market and buying tangible goods that should appreciate over time. Similar surges in high net worth physical investments have been noticed by antique insurance underwriters
A surge in the number of enquires for both specialist high performance car insurance and classic car insurance cover has been steadily increasing since Mid November last year around the time of the banking crisis and subsequent stock market crash. It appears that many speculators are using luxury and classic cars in particular as investment vehicles.
Car Sharing for reward and your car insurance policy
In the credit crunch we are all always looking to save money. With journey to work costs constantly rising, you may be tempted into cutting your transportation costs by entering into a car sharing scheme. Read this article by our resident car insurance expert before you go jumping into any agreements!
If you have ever been tempted to reduce your travel costs by entering into a car sharing scheme where you pick up friends or colleagues on a trip to work for example, you must ensure that your existing car insurance covers you and your passengers.
Car Sharing has become much more common in recent years as we all try to reduce our transportation and travel costs, particularly for our journey to work. Certain large employers are now encouraging the use of car sharing in a bid to appear more 'green' and are even providing the facility in the workplace where you can meet and arrange car sharing with other like minded employees in your locality.
Before you enter into any such agreements with others it would be very prudent to check the policy wording of your car insurance to ensure that you are not breaking the law.There is usually a clause or endorsement or wording within your policy documents which excludes driving for hire or reward.
Check carefully the conditions of the policy wording and the exclusions. Make sure that the criterion of the policy offered is suitable for you.
If you are not sure about whether you are covered or might be breaking the law, always discuss this with your car insurance company or FSA regulated broker as they will be able to provide advice for your particular situation. If they say that you are covered to drive your work colleague to your place of employment, ensure that they are aware of an exchange of money has or has not taken place for the service.
Always keep a note of the name of the person at the Car Insurer or Brokerage who provided the clarification of whether your car insurance policy covers you or not. Keep a note as well, of the time and date that the conversation took place.
If possible find out what position they hold within the car insurance company and their level of authority.
If they say that charging your work colleagues for journeys to work are acceptable under your current car insurance conditions, it would be prudent to ask them to provide in writing a clarification of the cover limits of your car insurance policy.
When you receive notification from your car insurance brokers or company that the driving for hire or reward exclusion is not in effect on your policy, you are able to provide documentary evidence to your employer or work colleague that you are indeed covered to carry them in your car.
Indeed you are in certain cases allowed to accept payment for driving them on a journey you would have had to make anyway to your workplace, with capital depreciation on your car being the same anyway no matter how many number of passengers, and payment for your traveling time. The money you collect can help towards the cost of next year's car insurance.
So if your Car Insurance Company permits it, maybe car sharing can become green and economical.
Thinking of renewing your car insurance policy - read this first!
With the exception of the fairly new practice of issuing pay as you go car insurance policies, when you purchase car insurance you are entering into, and bound by the conditions of, a fixed term contract with the car insurance company. In the vast majority of cases this fixed term is for exactly one year since the date of the policy's inception or beginning.
As you near the end of the period of cover, your insurance company will invite or tender you to renew the contract. These days the systems employed by large car insurance companies will trigger the renewal procedure which initially means the production and posting of a set of renewal documents to the policyholder. This is usually timed so that the invite to renew pack is produced automatically around fifteen days prior to the termination of the existing car insurance contract, giving the prospective renewal policyholder time to correspond with the car insurance company and inform them of any changes that may have occurred during the term of the contract which are not reflected in the renewal documents.
If you intend to renew with the same cheap car insurance company you are legally bound to inform this company of any alterations to the statement of fact that you originally made when you first took out the policy. Likewise you may wish to add or remove elements of cover from the current status of the car insurance policy, as your requirements may well have changed over the previous year.
Because of the compulsory nature of third party car insurance, no 'days of grace' are allowed after the renewal date of the policy. This can cause problems for car insurance companies as for practical purposes renewal documents and certificates have to be produced and dispatched to the prospective renewal policyholder in advance, which will become operative from the first day of the new period of insurance.
The renewal certificate, required by law to tax a motor vehicle, in theory cannot be issued until the renewal premium is paid. If payment was received subsequent to the expiry date of the existing car insurance policy, then the certificate would have to be re-written with the operative time and date matched to the time of payment. This could cause a major problem for the car insurance companies, as to issue an unaltered certificate would be equivalent to ante-dating it, which is a criminal offence, whilst re-writing the renewal documents would result in additional costs and expenditure to the car insurer, and more importantly would leave gaps in cover for the policyholder, which would leave a driver exposed to risks and legal action for driving without car insurance.
In order to overcome these practical difficulties of renewals, car insurers have developed a practice of incorporating into the renewal documents a certificate of insurance that is valid for an extended period of seven to fifteen days. This benefits both the prospective renewal and the insurance company by extending the period during which the insured has time to pay the renewal premium, yet still receive a certificate dated from the first day of the new contract period.
Car Insurers are particularly sensitive to what is known as the 'renewal retention ratio' , the number of renewals expressed as a percentage of the previous years total policies issued, especially since the introduction of online car insurance underwriting which has enabled a prospective renewal to shop around much easier and perhaps to change supplier.
The issue of this temporary certificate of cover in effect and contract law, constitutes an offer by the car insurance company, which the insured must either accept expressly, by paying the renewal premium, or by implication by doing nothing and having the premium taken from the payment source of the previous year's policy.
If however the prospective renewal obtains car insurance cover elsewhere or by some action, such as a telephone call, implies that he does not intend to renew and thereby not accept the offer, then this temporary cover would be deemed invalid. If a policyholder does not for some reason receive the renewal quote and certificate, or was unaware of the wording of the renewal notice, he cannot accept an offer and is therefore entitled to a full refund if the money has been debited from his account.
With the vast amount of choice available with online car insurance today, ranging from specialist car insurance schemes targeted at a particular group to the aggregator comparison websites, huge savings can be made by a policyholder at renewal if they are prepared to shop around for equivalent cover. It may not be in the best interests of a policyholder to blindly accept an offer to renew a car insurance contract without recourse to other offerings in the market which may be more suitable for their particular circumstances. Car Insurance rates vary immensely and it is not unheard of for companies to match or better a renewal offer from a competitor if you pick up the phone and give them a ring.
People looking for cheaper car insurance can save a considerable amount of time and money by getting cover from a scheme designed for their particular personal insurance needs or type of car. Car insurance schemes offer bespoke policies tailored to an individuals needs and are cheaper due to the power of bulk buying and economies of scale. These overhead savings are passed onto the customers of http://www.car-insurance.tv in the form of cheaper premiums. (PRWeb Mar 13, 2009)
America joins the car insurance quote comparison frenzy
At Insurance Blog we keep an eye on what is happening over the pond in the United States. Historically the US has always lagged behind the UK in both it's range of Insurance products and due to varying state laws, its ability to offer a homogenised version of our many car insurance comparison sites, across state boundaries.
So it was interesting to learn today from the press wires that a new website CarInsurance.org has managed to overcome these problems and offer comparitive car insurance quotes to US citizens.
"Visitors to CarInsurance.org can get free auto insurance quotes by simply typing in their zip code and then answering a few quick questions. The user is then presented with custom auto insurance quotes from select auto insurance companies, and can apply for insurance with the company of their choice. These are established companies with a long-record of customer satisfaction, and able to provide all levels of auto insurance to drivers in any of the United States."
It's that time of year again when Surf dudes from all over the world start thinking about those tubes and breaks. A little bit of warmer air and they all want to Run to the Sun
But before you all start to descend to Cornwall in your VW camper vans, theres three essential pieces of Insurance kit you should take with you.
1. VW Breakdown Cover - although fairly reliable, VW Camper Vans are not the easiest engine to get to and work on if you should breakdown on your way to the Sun (rain). Make sure you've got good breakdown cover with roadside assistance.
2. VW Camper Van Insurance - an essential part of your toolkit. If you purchase it from Lancaster you could save yourself enough for a new wetsuit!
3. Surfing Insurance - Although we haven't seen any Great Whites down Cornwall recently, surfing accident are only too frequent and you should take out adequate sports accident insurance to cover you should you need some recovery time off work! Personal Accident do a sports accident travel policy which is specifically designed for weekend surfers.
The VW camper van 'Run to the Sun' event is being held at Trevelgue Holiday Park in Newquay on the weekend 22 -25th May 2009. See you in Cornwall Surfers - and don't forget your insurance!
Unless you've been living in the Kalahari Desert since Xmas you could not have missed the Meerkat madness started over at Budget Insurance Services Ltd with their Compare the Meerkat TV Ad and marketing campaign.
While you've certainly got to admire the synchronicity of the Ad presentation and the trouble they went to set up the Meerkat site, what was once a rather endearing furry little creature from the plains of Namibia, that stood communally up to alert one another of danger - has been turned into a Gaylord, Narnian, Russian Mafia / Aristocratic rat in a dinner jacket selling car insurance.
To make matters worse, our three year old daughter 'Insurance Bloggette' has named the new kitten Meerkat, and I'm constantly bombarded with 'Daddy, Have you seen Meerkat?'
Yes I've seen the bloody Meerkat .... at least that pointy nosed Russian thing.... And that horrible thing that leaves me presents in the corner...
Anyway congratulations to Bex over at Bisl for a succesful campaign. We know its been successful because of the Alexa traffic ranking and the Google trends scores it has received. Oh yeah and we love Channel 4's 'Shameless' which it sponsors. Keep up the good work!
But take a look at this......
These are the Google Adwords served up for the query 'Meerkat'
It seeems those plagarising pariahs over at the other agglomerates and comparison sites, and the main rivals of Compare the Market, just couldn't keep their bidding hands off the keyword 'Meerkat'
Just how ridiculous has the world got when car insurance companies are spending millions on marketing to such keywords as MeerKat!
How to save money on Car Insurance without reducing cover
According to the Times Online the credit-crunched British public plan to cut back on insurance policies this year in a bid to limit spending.....
More than a million customers have already reduced their insurance cover, saying they simply cannot afford it, according to a survey by insurer LV, until recently known as Liverpool Victoria.
Insurance Blogger wonders if the public are just becoming more savvy and shopping around online. It's an easy excuse to use in the current economic climate and nobody questions it when they get put on the spot by a phone call out of the blue asking them why they didn't renew!
Another five million Britons plan to cut their cover to try to save money over the coming 12 months, the LV poll of just 2,141 clients reveals, say the Times.
Surprisingly they beleive that 37 per cent of people are considering downgrading their car insurance. LV state that on average, those planning to cut their insurance cover this year believe they will save £125 over the course of the year, or £10.41 a month.
Come On! we know money is tight but do households really do the sums to the n'th degree, or maybe their current insurer is overcharging by that amount!
LV= properly point out that "cancelling or reducing essential insurance cover could result in many people finding themselves seriously out of pocket if something untoward happens. It is at time likes these, when money is short, that insurance becomes evermore important.”
There are legitimate ways of reducing your car insurance costs, such as increasing your excess or making lifestyle changes such as increasing your security or decreasing your annual mileage, which will save money by reducing premiums without reducing your levels of cover.
Shop around on the Internet and check out specialist car insurance schemes that offer cover tailormade to your lifestyle and / or motor, which is more than not often cheaper than the standrard offering to everyone available through the large comparison sites.
Motorists found driving without car insurance could risk a fine of £5,000, disqualification and the car being seized and crushed by the police.
Well done Sky news for reporting on the rise in the number of fraudulent claims for car insurance some of which are putting lives at risk. They were however two months behind the times as we were reporting the effects of the recession on increased fraud over two months ago! Car Insurance Fraud.
The report by Sky news dealt mostly with organised gangs of east europeans arranging accidents, usually rear end shunts from braking. They also featured a very dubious character who said he was a professional 'car torcher', who sets fire to expensive cars so that their owners can collect on a claim.
One of the biggest challenges facing young drivers is getting car insurance and not paying through the roof.
Before they even start their engines, men and women aged 17 to 25 face an uphill struggle to obtain cover for several reasons.
Car insurance quotes for young drivers are often difficult to get, with many insurance companies not even wishing to provide a quote to people under a certain age, quite often as high as 25. Those that do provide a quote often require a rate so high that many young drivers find themselves paying more for insurance each year than the car originally cost!
Being branded with the same brush as ‘boy racers’ has had an adverse effect on the insurance quotes of the majority of responsible young drivers , the are statistics weigh heavily to suggest that such high rates for those in the 18-25 age group are justified, especially those for young men.
A teenage driver is three times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than a driver aged 25-64, and is nine times more likely t be at fault in a road accident than a 31-40 year old driver with similar experience. Furthermore, if a young driver has a passenger – probable given the relatively low ratio of teenagers who can drive, thus giving lifts to their friends – they are twice as likely to have an accident, increasing to five times if there are two or more passengers.
While such statistics cannot be denied, it is not just so called ‘irresponsibility’ that results in such high insurance premiums.
Lack of experience plays a part as well. When you consider that two of the biggest challenges a new driver can face – motorways and driving at night – are not covered by the standard driving test, it is evident that there is a major problem. When it is also considered that young people aged 17-25 are socially active, often going out in the evenings, or are at university, thus driving to and from home along motorways on regular occasions, it becomes clear that two of the biggest challenges a young driver can face are also two that they would encounter most often, yet are least prepared for. Subsequently, the above accident figures are slightly more accountable, as are the high insurance premiums companies subsequently quote.
Fortunately in the UK a test called Pass Plus, taken after the basic driving exam, provides valuable experience in both these areas, and can have an immediate effect on insurance rates: some companies lower their quotes by up to 35% if a driver has taken the Pass Plus exam.
Another problem that young drivers face in gaining insurance is the type of car they drive. Because of their age, many young drivers cannot afford a moderately new, reliable car, so have to settle for an older, less environmentally clean and less well maintained first car. This ironically leads to them having to pay higher insurance premiums. An older, less well maintained car may, for example, have a poorer than average braking ability, leading to a higher accident frequency and higher claims. To counter this, and the increased likelihood of breakdowns due to poor reliability, the insurance companies quote higher premiums for old cars. Conversely, those young drivers that can afford a newer car need to be careful of which model they select: a car with high performance or too big an engine will worry insurance companies, with the ‘boy racer’ image in mind, and will lead to a bigger premium to counter the likelihood of accidents caused by aggressive driving.
Insurance quotes are also affected by statistics that show that young drivers not only have more accidents, but more theft, fire and vandalism claims as well. While newer cars are more reliable and have better security systems, perhaps lowering the risks of the first two claims, there is little that can be done to prevent vandalism. It relates to the next major issue: location. The majority of young drivers in the 17-25 age group will be attending university, often a long way from home. This may be one of the major reasons they have a car; to make life easier getting between home and university. Unfortunately, such distance between their term-time home and where they come from originally may make motorway driving a necessity, thus increasing the premiums they are quoted.
Furthermore, student housing in UK university towns are often cheap accommodation in worse-off areas. This may have a direct effect on the level of crime and vandalism in the area, thus putting the driver’s car at increased risk. This is something the insurers will take into account when calculating a premium, so may significantly increase the quote. Also, young drivers who are not attending university may instead be entering a new job, many of which provide a company car. It is important to check premiums for specific cars, as too powerful an engine or too high value a car may result in an excess to the quote, which may have to be paid by the young driver themselves. This excess is also due in part to the lack of experience of the driver, as outlined below.
Another disadvantage young drivers face is that the majority of car insurance firms operate on a rolling scale: the longer a driver goes without accident or claim, the better their status as a driver becomes, leading to lower quotes as time goes on. As young drivers have to start with no experience, they effectively start at the bottom of the ladder. It could be several years of careful driving before a no claims bonus improves their standing and lowers their rates. However, it is important to examine closely the options different insurance companies provide. For example, some offer a quicker track to no-claims bonuses than others, making it slightly easier to lower premiums quicker.
In an effort to lower costs of insurance, many young drivers opt to drive under third party cover, from their parents’ insurance. Though this may reduce the initial quote, there are severe drawbacks. Many companies cover only an accident caused by someone else, leaving out fire, theft, etc, and driving with such cover often does not count towards a no-claims bonus. Furthermore, third party with fire and theft cover included may not be cheaper than fully comprehensive insurance, depending on the company: it is important to get quotes from several different companies, and carefully consider which type of insurance is best for you.
Finally, and unavoidably, there is the problem of gender or sex. Young male drivers face a much harder job getting decent cover, due in part to the ‘boy racer’ image, and the fact that a naturally more aggressive driving approach results in a higher claim rate: average losses for insurers are 120%, making them a highly unattractive proposition to cover.
Young female drivers, however, are a much better insurance risk, as their accidents are usually much smaller and less costly, often involving minor knocks from parking rather than more major accidents.
We advise you to obtain multiple quotes from a young driver specialist car insurance quote website such as Car-Insurance.tv - the UK specialist driver insurance hub.
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