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AA launches new policy using black box technology

February 13, 2012 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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The AA has introduced a brand new car insurance policy using the latest black box technology. The insurance provider is the latest company to experiment with this new style policy as more and more insurers seek to offer options for younger drivers who are currently worst hit by the rising cost of car insurance.

The new policy known as AA Drive Safe, will require drivers to have a black box installed in their vehicle which uses satellite technology to monitor the car and the way it’s being driven

Data including the times of the day the car is on the road, also the driver’s behaviour behind the wheel including average speed and how frequently they accelerate, will all be collected via the black box which is then transmitted via the satellite to the AA who will monitor this information, using it to calculate the cost of that particular driver’s insurance. The safer you drive, the cheaper your insurance will become.

At the start of the policy, the driver is given an average quote for their insurance premium, which will also include the cost of having the tracking device installed. By paying for the insurance by monthly direct debit, the cost of insurance will be altered month by month in line with the results of the data collected via the black box.

This new style of car insurance is being championed as the best means by which young and inexperienced drivers can obtain affordable car insurance as those who are responsible behind the wheel will have the chance to prove their driving ability and will then be rewarded with cheaper insurance.

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Gender discrimination in car insurance most evident in under 20′s

February 10, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
Young-female-driver

Gender discrimination in car insurance is still very much evident, especially amongst drivers under 20 years of age, new research has suggested. While the new European court ruling which will prevent insurers from using gender as a determining factor in the cost of car insurance premium comes into force at the end of the year, the recent study shows that at the moment, the gap between the cost of insurance for males and females under 20 is wider than ever.

A new study undertaken by the price comparison website, Confused.com, looked into 4 million car insurance quotes to compile their results. They discovered that claims by young male drivers tend to be more costly to the insurer with the average cost of a car insurance claim for a male driver under the age of 20 standing at £4,400, while the average cost of a claim for a female driver under 20-years of age is just £2,770.

Statistically, male drivers have always been more likely to be involved in an accident which has caused death or serious bodily harm, and so the cost of car insurance for males has typically been higher in order to reflect this risk. However from December, the insurers will not be able to use gender as a means to calculate risk.   

When the new ruling comes into force making it illegal for insurers to discriminate on the basis of gender, insurance experts predict that the cost of cover will remain the same for male drivers, while females will be left out of pocket as their premium is likely to increase in line with the cost of a male driver’s policy.

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Benefits for customers taking out car insurance with Sainsbury’s

February 7, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
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If your car insurance policy is up for renewal in the next few weeks, then you could take advantage of a generous offer from Sainsbury’s car insurance. The insurance provider is offering Nectar cardholders the chance to receive up to £293 in rewards and benefits if they take out a car insurance policy before April 9th. Compared to the industry average for UK car insurance policies, the amount of savings available is the equivalent to 30% off the cost of an annual premium – a discount not to be sniffed at.

As part of the Sainsbury’s offer, customers who take up a policy before the deadline will save up to 15% off the cost of their annual cover, and will also receive double Nectar points on all shopping and petrol over the next two years.

In addition, Sainsbury’s are also offering free breakdown cover for 12 months, including free labour on roadside repairs and free recovery service to a garage within 10 miles of the breakdown.

An extra 5% discount is also available to any customer who purchases an insurance policy with Sainsbury’s before February 8th, bringing the total value of potential customer savings up to £341.

While many insurers are offering incentives at this time of year to attract new customers, Sainsbury’s believe their latest offer and extensive benefits package will appeal to a wide range of consumers and will prove difficult for other insurers to beat.

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Beat the rising cost of car insurance with our helpful tips

January 31, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
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With recent statistics from the AA estimating that car insurance premiums have risen by 15% in the last year, pushing the average cost of a comprehensive car insurance policy up by £128.71 a year to £971.40 for an annual policy, here are our top tips to help you get the very best quote for car insurance to help beat the rising cost of cover.

At the top of the list for tips for cheaper car insurance is, shopping around. Comparing quotes from a range of providers, as opposed to just letting your current policy renew automatically, is the first piece of advice an insurance expert will give you. Head to an insurance price comparison website to compare a range of quotes in one go.

If you know your premium is coming up for renewal, try to save up so you can pay it off in one lump sum as paying off your premium month by month through a direct debit can add approximately 11% to the overall cost of your cover compared to paying outright at the start.

Increasing your voluntary excess is another way to help lower your insurance quote, however don’t be tempted to set your excess at too high a rate as if you are involved in an accident, this is the amount you will have to pay before your insurance covers the cost.

If you’re a young driver, consider adding an older driver to your policy as a named driver if they also use your car, or look into taking out a telematics insurance policy. These policies work by placing a box in the car which records data that is then used to calculate the cost of the driver’s policy. If you’re a careful driver and you don’t use your car at peak hours and rack up high mileage, you could benefit from lower premiums with these types of policies.

Follow our top tips to find the very best rates on annual car insurance.

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Claims for whiplash pushing up the cost of car insurance

January 17, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
whiplash-neck-brace

The thousands of claims for whiplash following a road traffic accident are pushing up the cost of car insurance, according to a recent report by MPs, who are calling for a ban of insurance companies selling customer information to private injury lawyers, and also raising the threshold for payments for neck injury cases in a bid to curb this growing problem.

Often claims for whiplash injuries are not being contested by the insurance company as diagnosis of this type of injury can be subjective, the recent study by the MPs found, which deters insurers from fighting the claim as it is hard to defend this type of case.

While the MPs behind the study say they support justice, and those who have been seriously affected as a result of an accident that wasn’t their fault should not be put off seeking compensation. However there was concern that victims who are not seriously hurt or have suffered lasting injury, are being railroaded into making claims from cold calling personal injury companies who persuade them to pursue a claim.

The report from the transport select committee found that the spiralling number of uncontested whiplash claims in the UK is having a negative impact on the cost of car insurance, with premiums rising at a staggering rate in order to fund the claims for compensation. Curbing the number of whiplash claims, would help bring the cost of insurance back under control, it recommends.

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Warning on invalid insurance policies sold through Aston Midshires

January 17, 2012 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
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A warning has been issued to any drivers who have car insurance policies with Aston Midshires after it was announced that the company is under investigation for selling invalid insurance policies.

Aston Midshires targeted young drivers in particular, offering competitive prices on insurance policies for new drivers and learner drivers. However there are fears that thousands of drivers on UK road could be driving without any form of insurance as the policies sold by Aston Midshires have been brought into question after 30 complaints were received from drivers who’d discovered their policies were not legitimate.

The Financial Services Authority, the police and Trading Standards are all reported to be carrying out investigations into the insurance provider. So far, the authorities have discovered that the company is linked to a foreign address, however Aston Midshires have most recently pulled down their website and also stopped answering phone calls.

When the authorities visited the building listed as the UK address for the insurance company in Leicestershire, the owners of the building said they had no record of the company ever operating from the address.

The consequences for drivers who have invalid policies with Aston Midshires is far reaching as not only are they not covered should they have an accident in their vehicle, but the consequences will affect the other drivers if they have the misfortune to be involved in an accident with a driver who doesn’t have valid insurance.

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Losing your job could cause your car insurance to increase

December 19, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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When you’ve been made redundant, the first thing you will probably consider doing is tightening your belt, but unfortunately for some drivers, losing their job has had a negative effect on their car insurance as they’re hit with a rise in their premium.

In a case highlighted in The Mirror this week, 51-year-old Tony Costello revealed how his car insurance rocketed from £630 a year to £861 after he contacted his insurance company to inform them that he’d been made redundant.

After checking the small print on his insurance policy, Mr Costello found that his car insurer, Tesco, had stipulated that loss of employment can affect the cost of the premium.

The Association of British Insurers also reiterated this point, saying that many insurers increase the cost of cover after the policyholder loses their job as statistics there is an additional risk factor once a person becomes unemployed. There’s also an argument that the driver is likely to be on the road more as he or she is out looking for work and attending interviews.

The car insurance company in Tony’s case said that the additional £231 which had been added to the cost of his premium after he became unemployed would be refunded should he find work, although an admin cost of £15 would apply to each change made.

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Motor insurance app launched by price comparison website

November 22, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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Leading price comparison website, Moneysupermarket.com, have launched their very first app which will allows smartphone users to access their online service on the move.

The brand new app from Moneysupermarket.com is free to download from the Apple App store and can be used on iPhones and iPads and many other compatible mobile devices. Once the app has been successfully downloaded, users will be able to access the full service offered by the price comparison site on their mobile, requesting quotes for car insurance, home or travel insurance and viewing their tailored quotes all through a few easy clicks.

The brains behind the launch of the new app at Moneysupermarket.com believe that other price comparison sites and insurance companies will follow suit and start developing their own apps in order to offer their customers the same level of convenience and ease of use. The price comparison site has described the new app as a “leap forward” saying their customers can now access great savings with just a few clicks of their mobile phone.

As well as browsing their quotes from a range of insurance providers, users of the new app will also be able to buy their insurance through the application, saving yet more time and taking the hassle out of tracking down a competitive deal on insurance.

Check out the new app from Moneysupermarket.com and let us know your thoughts on the mobile application.

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50% rise in the number of drivers regularly switching their car insurer

November 18, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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According to new research conducted by price comparison website, GoCompare.com, the number of motorists switching their car insurance provider has increased significantly.

The results of the GoCompare.com poll found that in December 2009, only 22% of drivers were shopping about and switching their car insurance company after finding a better deal, however that figure has risen to 34% according to the most recent statistics taken in October 2011, which indicates a 50% increase in the number of people moving providers in the space of two years.

While more and more people seem to be getting the message that comparing providers can save you money on car insurance, the message doesn’t seem to be translating for other financial products with a third of Brits having never switched providers for any of the top 20 financial products such as their bank, energy supplier or their broadband.

Car insurance is by far the one financial product Brits are keen to shop around for, with 77% of us using a price comparison site in the last year to find a cheaper rate on our annual car insurance premium, followed closely by home insurance with 22% of homeowners comparing and then switching their policy in the last 12 months.

The experts who carried out the research at GoCompare.com say that people need to wake up to the savings that are available by comparing a range of providers for everything from their mortgage provider to their telecoms supplier.

According to GoCompare.com, people who use their comparison site to search for car insurance saved on average £393.67, and £125.33 on their home insurance and a massive £557.33 on their energy tariff, savings that are not to be sniffed at, especially in the current economic climate.

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Pink car gets thumbs down from insurance company

November 14, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
pink-citroen

27-year-old Tania Sansom had always dreamed of driving a pink car, however she had no idea her perfect pink car would lead her into disagreement with her insurance provider who decided her repainted candyfloss pink car would attract trouble and proceeded to cancel her policy.

Ms Sansom relayed her story to a local newspaper in North Tyneside to warn others about the repercussions of altering a vehicle. Although the 27-year-old informed her insurance company, Tesco, of her plans to have her Citroen C3 sprayed pink and thereby altering it from its original colour of blue, after the change had been made, she found her policy had been withdrawn.

Although the call centre staff had informed Ms Sansom, after checking with a senior staff member, that it would be acceptable for the colour change to be made and that this would be noted on her policy as a modification, Tesco later told the policyholder that this information was incorrect as they don’t provide insurance for vehicles which have been painted a different colour to the original manufacturers colour.

According to the car insurance company, a pink car is more likely to be vandalised and attract attention because of its eye-catching colour, and for this reason, they refused to provide Ms Sansom with a policy.

Tesco admitted that a mistake had been made as Ms Sansom had been given the wrong information by call centre staff initially. She was given £50 to compensate for this, and a refund on the car insurance premium paid to date.

The 27-year-old motorist was able to find competitively priced cover for her pink car elsewhere, although her story serves as a cautionary tale for any other drivers contemplating a colour change for their car.

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