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Worst area for uninsured drivers revealed

October 25, 2011 By Samantha Lewis Leave a Comment
uninsured-car

The area of the UK where uninsured drivers are most prevalent has been revealed as West Yorkshire as 17 of the most problematic postcodes in the country for drivers with no insurance are situated in the West Midlands or West Riding region.

Out of the 17 postcodes highlighted for having a high level of uninsured drivers, 5 of the postcodes are situated in Bradford where figures show there are 7 times more illegal drivers than the national average.

It’s estimated that 4% of cars on UK roads are being driven illegally with no insurance, which works out as 1.4 million cars out of the 34 million cars on British roads. Uninsured drivers have a negative impact on honest motorists, with £30 being added to each and every car insurance policy for insured motorists because of reckless drivers who take to the roads with no cover.

From June of this year, it became illegal to own a car without either taking out an insurance policy for the vehicle, or declaring it off the road. The authorities now have the power to seize any vehicle which does not comply with the new legislation.

Due to the high concentration of uninsured drivers in the Bradford region, the authorities are having to work extra hard to clamp down on these illegal motorists. Since the legislation came into force in June, 1,110 vehicles have been seized in Bradford, which averages at 6 vehicles per day, well above the national average.

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Drivers advised to provide more details to get best car insurance rate

October 3, 2011 By Samantha Lewis Leave a Comment
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Drivers are being advised to provide as many details as possible when obtaining a car insurance quote in order to receive the most accurate rate. Adding details such as marital status, occupation, and number of miles covered can help to reduce premiums for low risk drivers.

Car insurance providers are increasingly offering no claims bonus cover with a recent survey revealing that 17% of policies offer the assurance of safeguarding a driver’s no claims bonus even if they have a collision which has risen from 13% two years ago. The study was carried out by Defaqto and scrutinised some 5,000 policies in order to compile the results.

Separate research also found that the inclusion of extra personal details on an insurance policy can help lower the annual premium in some cases. Volunteering information such as where your vehicle is kept overnight, your marital status, and the area your car is most in use, can help to generate a quote which accurately reflects your driving habits and behaviour, which can lead to a reduced premium being quoted.

Car insurance experts are also urging drivers to double check their policy details before signing on the dotted line to ensure all of their needs are being met with the policy. Another key details to look for when taking out a new policy is that your vehicle is covered should you have an accident involving an uninsured vehicle.

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6% of accidents caused by lane changing

September 26, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
lane_change

According to recent statistics collected by the Accident Exchange, 6% of accidents which occur on UK roads come about as result of changing lanes, with the estimated cost of damage topping £437 million every year.

If this news wasn’t bad enough, it seems accidents arising as a result of poor awareness while changing lanes is on the rise as statistics show the figure has almost doubled in the space of the last two years.

Not checking driving blind spots properly and failing to indicate have both been highlighted as reasons for the high number of lane changing accidents, while some motoring experts have hinted that the increase in these kinds of accidents could be due to the extra safety features on new cars. These types of vehicles often have strengthened frames which can reduce visibility and increase the driver’s blind spot making it harder to check for traffic when changing lanes.

Poor visibility and driving without due care and attention were cited as the most common reasons for accidents involving lane changes. With the average cost of repairs following an accident as a result of a bad lane change costing £2,876, insurers are warning drivers to take extra care when carrying out risky driving manoeuvres such as lane changing.

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Young drivers pick up the bad driving habits of their parents

September 16, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
road-rage

A recent survey by car insurance provider, AXA has found that the way in which parents of young people conduct themselves when behind the wheel is likely to be replicated when their children take up driving as the study suggests we are more likely to pick up the bad driving habits of our mother or father.

The AXA Car Insurance survey discovered that drivers aged 18-30 and three times more likely to get banned from driving or to receive points on their licence if their parents have done either of the aforementioned. Also young drivers are seven times more likely to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol if they have witnessed their parents doing the same compared to a young person who has never seen their parents drive after drinking.

Young drivers are also more likely to be aggressive motorists if their mother or father have a tendency to display angry traits when driving such as swearing at other road users, beeping their horn and flashing their lights excessively.

The research highlights just how much young drivers are being influenced, whether consciously or subconsciously, by the driving actions of their parents. Years of watching how their mums and dads behave behind the wheel rubs off on youngsters and they are more likely to pick up their bad habits from what they’ve seen.

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Ban on injury claim referrals could lead to drop in cost of car insurance

September 12, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
car-insurance-keys

The government has revealed plans to investigate and possibly seek a ban on referral fees for personal injury claims in an attempt to curb the rising cost of car insurance.

Year on year annual car insurance premiums have been rising at a rate of as much a 40% every 12 months. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed plans to investigate car insurance in the UK with this in mind, and will reveal their findings in December. If they find the industry has been operating in a non competitive way, further action will be taken by the official body.

The most interesting development on late is the government’s plans to tackle referral costs which it feels is having a direct effect on the rising cost of car insurance. Often motorists who have been involved in an accident are encouraged to make a claim on a “no win no fee” basis. The claim is then passed between a management company, insurance company and lawyer who charge each other for the claim referral, with the lawyers recovering their costs from the losing defendant. The upshot being that honest motorists are being hit with higher premiums to cover the cost of the high number of personal injury claims being made.

If the government is successful in their bid to put a stop to “no win no fee” claims, this is likely to lead to a decrease in the number of personal injury claims being made, helping to put an end to the compensation culture and the year on year increases in the cost of car insurance.

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GoCompare.com survey highlights dangers of glove box stashing

August 9, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
Gocompare-Logo

A recent survey conducted by car insurance price comparison website, GoCompare.com highlighted the dangers of glove box stashing whereby drivers unwittingly cram their car glove box with their expensive devices in order to keep them out of sight of potential thieves.

The research by the price comparison website found that the average car has £278 worth of valuable stored inside of it with items being kept in the boot, as well as in glove boxes and concealed compartments. Although a high percentage of drivers admit to keeping valuable in their car, a staggering 72% admitted they had no idea if their insurance policy covered the expensive items stored in their car.

When it comes to the items we keep hidden in our car glove boxes, the GoCompare survey found that the average worth of these items totals £112, with SatNavs coming out as the most popular possession to keep in the glove box with 33% of these being stored in kept in there, followed by mobile phones 27%, and purses and wallets 18%.

Drivers aged between 18-24 years were found to be 50% more likely to leave valuables in their car as opposed to drivers aged over 45 years of age.

With such a high proportion of drivers using their car’s boot or glove box as a hiding place for valuable items, insurance experts are strongly advising drivers to check the terms of their policy to ensure they have adequate cover in place should the vehicle be broken into.

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Teen gets £17k insurance quote for car worth £400

May 27, 2011 By Fiona Clarke Leave a Comment
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A teenager from Lancashire who recently passed his test has had to leave his £400 Volkswagen Polo sitting on his driveway for the last few months as he simply can’t afford the hefty £17,800 needed to insure the vehicle.

18-year-old Chris Berry used a price comparison insurance website to request quotes for cover across a range of insurance companies and the cheapest quote he received came in at just shy of £5,000 however this was for the most basic level of insurance, third party, fire and theft. The same insurer then gave him a quote of £17,800 when he requested a quote for fully comprehensive cover, more than tripling the original quote for basic cover.

The youngster said he was astonished when you received the costly quote, saying he wasn’t asking to insure a Ferrari, merely a 1997 registration 1 litre Volkswagen Polo, a typical first car.

The extortionate rates of car insurance for young drivers have been the subject of discussion for some time. The fact is, with insurance quotes for an annual policy coming in at thousands of thousands of pounds, this is stopping many young drivers from getting behind the wheel. Chris Berry believes something needs to be done, and has even emailed the Prime Minister, David Cameron, with regards to the issue.

Insurance companies say that although the cost of car insurance for young drivers has risen, they say that the cost of cover has increased for all drivers because of increases in fraud and other factors affecting insurance quotes.

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Automatic car insurance renewals could be losing you money

May 11, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
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Automatic car insurance renewals could be costing you money, new research has suggested. A survey by car insurance price comparison website GoCompare.com has found that 9 million drivers would benefit from shopping around for car insurance as opposed to allowing their insurance to renew automatically.

Many drivers stay with their insurance company year after year as they believe their loyalty will be rewarded with a competitive rate on insurance. However very few drivers, in fact just 45% actually check their quote from the previous year’s cover before agreeing to a new premium from the same insurance company.

26% of UK drivers revealed that they stuck with their car insurance provider as they believed that they would still offer the cheapest rate for them the following year, but this isn’t always the case.

Many drivers stay with their usual insurance providers out of convenience, and many insurers rely on this in order to maintain healthy customer retention rates. Research has shown that 39% of drivers have been with their insurer for the last 3 years, while 5% have stayed with the same company for 10 years or more. However, in many instances, they’d be better off financially if they shopped around each year in order to get the most competitive rate on car insurance for their money.

To get the best deal on car insurance, shop around with the use of a price comparison website.

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Most car friendly UK town revealed

March 9, 2011 By Samantha Lewis Leave a Comment
reading

The UK’s most car friendly town has been revealed as St Helens, Merseyside, for the second year on the trot following the results of the annual poll run by Virgin Money Car Insurance.

A number of key factors were considered in order to compile the list which indexes 65 cities and towns across the UK from best to worst according to their ability to provide a pleasant environment for motorists. Factors such as the cost of fuel in a specific town, its levels of car crime and also parking charges were taken into consideration as the list was compiled.

Two Berkshire towns featured in the tail end of the list with Reading being named the least car-friendly town in the country, with Slough coming in equal 61st place out of the 65 strong list. Slough, Cardiff and Manchester were all found to have high levels of car crime, which lead to a poor scoring on the annual poll.

However West Midlands town, West Bromwich, experienced a turn in fortunes as they rose from 34th place in table last year, to second place in 2011, following St Helens as the most car friendly town in the country.

Virgin Money Car Insurance believe that motorists are becoming increasingly wary of driving in urban areas because of the increase in the cost of parking and speeding fines, and also the rising expense of fuel, which is something which is reflected in the findings of the study.

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Avoid potholes to avoid cars insurance claims

January 12, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
potholes

Following the freezing temperatures which have blighted Britain this winter, the AA is warning motorists to avoid the increasing number of potholes which are cropping up on UK roads as a result of the big freeze if they want to avoid causing damage to their vehicles.

The arctic weather conditions which hit the UK before Christmas are taking their toll on roads as the frozen temperatures have caused surfaces to crumble creating dangerous potholes.

The UK experienced a similarly harsh winter last year, the effect of which was felt by insurance companies who reported receiving three times as many claims between January and March of 2010 for damage caused by potholes when compared to the same time period the previous year.

Some of these car insurance claims have been for as much as £1,300. Problems which arise as a result of awkward collisions with potholes include damage to wheels, suspension, and exterior bodywork.

Experts believe the problem of potholes may be further exacerbated this year due to the backlog of roads waiting to have potholes repaired as the UK has now experienced two successive years of freezing weather conditions.

As a result, insurance companies are now bracing themselves for a flurry of car insurance claims relating to damage caused by potholes.

The advice being given to motorists is to avoid driving through potholes if possible as the after effect of doing so could prove costly.

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