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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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Car insurance premium doubles after policyholder moves 175 yards

January 12, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
postcode-lottery

One driver from Shropshire was astonished to find that her car insurance premium more than doubled after her address changed, despite the fact she’d only moved 175 yards away from her previous home, and was still living on the same street.

Hayley Fulton’s car insurance premium stood at £720 for the year prior to moving to a larger property in the same village of Highley in Shropshire with her family. However when the mother-of-two contacted her insurance company to change her home address, with a postcode that was one digit different to her former postcode, her new insurance premium was calculated at £1,600.

Recent Home Office statics revealed that there was a low level of crime throughout the Shropshire village, and no difference at all between the crime rates for both postcodes. However the insurance provider justified the increased premium by stating that the new postcode flagged up on their system as higher risk than the previous postcode Ms Fulton resided at.

Another reason for the increase in price of cover according to the 25-year-old’s insurer, was that the car was kept on the driveway of the family home at the previous address, but at the new home the car would be kept in a gated car park a few yards from the house.

Insurance companies use sophisticated systems to calculate insurance premiums that provide very detailed and specific information on a postcode including levels of fraud, crime and other factors that can affect the cost of a premium. In the case of Ms Fulton, the insurance provider found that the change of postcode and overnight location of the vehicle increased the risk factor of the policy, which resulted in a higher premium cost.

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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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Car insurance more expensive for singles and divorcees

October 24, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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In new research conducted by consumer watchdog, Which? it was revealed that 8 out of 12 of the leading car insurance providers questioned as part of the study charge couples less for their annual car insurance premiums, compared to single or divorced people.

In some cases, the difference in the cost an annual car insurance premium could be as much as a quarter, all through a change in the marital status of the policyholder.

One example highlighted by Which? showed that the price of car insurance for a 27-year-old man who stated he was divorced or dissolved on his policy was 28% higher than if he had stated himself as married or cohabiting in his policy details. The difference in the cost of other policies as a result of marital status averaged around 10% higher for single people.

The study also uncovered the importance of completing the questions set by the insurance company correctly as one provider was found to charge more to policyholders who ticked the box for “not disclosed” as their relationship status, compared to just ticking the box for “single”.

When Which? asked the car insurance companies why they charged couples less for their policies compared to single people, the answer they received was that their premiums were based on their company research and claims history.

Insurance experts say that the results of the Which? survey highlights again the importance of shopping around to ensure the lowest car insurance quote.

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Revealed! The cheapest car for young drivers to insure

September 29, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
Young-female-driver

A recent survey by an insurance price comparison website has revealed the cheapest cars for young drivers to insure in a bid to help first time motorists keep their driving costs to a minimum.

17-20 year old drivers pay the most for insurance on average as they are deemed a higher risk category to insure, and that, coupled with the spiralling cost of motor insurance which has seen premiums jump by as much as 30% in one year, is forcing many young drivers off the road as they simply can’t afford to run a vehicle.

In an attempt to help young drivers keep their costs down, price comparison website, Confused.com, carried out research across a range of insurance providers to determine which vehicles are the cheapest to insure for motorists aged between 17-20 years of age.

Out on top as the cheapest option for young drivers was the Ford Ka, followed by the Peugeot 107, both of which have small engine sizes and are not especially targeted by thieves, helping to lower the cost further. One of the most expensive vehicles for young drivers to get insurance on was found to be the Honda Civic which cost on average £4,006 to insure for the year.

The research also highlighted how the use of price comparison websites can help reduce premiums as young drivers who shop around can save as much as £594 on their annual premium.

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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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Scottish police stage crackdown on car insurance dodgers

August 31, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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The Scottish police forced staged a 3-day long intensive crackdown on car insurance dodgers over the August bank holiday weekend. The operation, which was coordinated in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), used the very latest technology, including sophisticated registration plate recognition systems, to help seek out drivers using the roads without legitimate car insurance on their vehicle.

With increased police powers, the authorities are able to dole out on-the-spot fines of £200 to anyone caught driving without motor insurance. However the heaviest penalty for anyone caught dodging insurance stands at a fine of £5,000 and also as the addition of 8 points on a licence. In the most serious cases, police can have the uninsured vehicle removed and even destroyed as a result of the driver not having taken out motor insurance.

The tougher penalties for uninsured drivers are part of a UK wide drive to stamp out the practice of driving a vehicle without cover. Recent statistics show that uninsured drivers pose a major safety risk as they are involved in accidents which have caused 160 deaths over the last year, and smashes which have caused 23,000 injuries. Drivers without insurance also cost the economy a whopping £500 million every year.

In addition to the worrying statistics mentioned above, the police have found that uncovering a driver with an uninsured vehicle is often the tip of the iceberg as these motorists are often involved in other criminal activities.

As more and more police forces stage clamp downs on uninsured drivers across the UK, the warning is clear, car insurance dodging will not be tolerated, and those caught doing so will face tough penalties.

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Drivers in US listing their sports cars as farm vehicles to save money on insurance

July 12, 2011 By Samantha Lewis Leave a Comment
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A recent investigation by a San Francisco company in the US uncovered a worrying trend of motorists declaring their sports cars as farm vehicles on their insurance policies in order to reap discounts of up to 20% on their annual motor insurance policy.

Quality Planning was called in to verify the details on thousands of car insurance policies, the LA Times reported, and found that out of 80,000 policies it investigated, 8% so some 6,382 vehicles, were registered for farm use and yet they were registered to an address where less than 1% of the population in that area are engaged in agriculture.

One of the examples flagged up by the investigation cited an Audi A4 model which was registered to an inner city address in Brooklyn, New York City, however the owner had claimed on the insurance document that the car was for farm-use, saving the driver $389 a year on the cost of cover.

Insurance providers offer concessionary rates on insurance policies for vehicles which are largely engaged in farm use as they are statistically less likely to be involved in accidents with other vehicles or to fall victim to theft compared to urban cars.

However this practice of wrongly claiming cars for farm use is costing the insurance industry £150 million a year in unpaid premiums and so insurers have decided to get tough on these unscrupulous drivers by bringing in outside companies to verify the data of their policy holders – so be warned, if your Porsche is registered for farm use to save you a few quid, now’s probably a good time to change it.

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More needs to be done to tackle car insurance scams warn MPs

March 14, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
car-rear-end-crash

A report conducted by the House of Commons Transport Committee has urged the insurance industry to do more to help reduce the number of bogus insurance claims being made, and so help stem the rise of personal injury claims which is adding extra cost onto insurance premiums year on year.

The MPs report recommended that the insurance industry funds a dedicated police unit to tackle cash for crash scams which are reported to be on the increase. The introduction of a police unit concentrating on combating this kind of crime would have a dramatic impact on reducing the number of illegal claims and staged accidents which are happening across the country, the report suggested.

The House of Commons report also urged the Government to make changes to the driving test to ensure only those with very good driving ability passed in order to reduce the number of serious accidents in which young drivers are involved in every year.

The rise in personal injury claims after a car accident were blamed on insurance company’s practice of receiving a referral fee from lawyers specialising in personal injury for putting them in touch with potential clients. The report found that 40% of insurance companies work in this way. However the Insurance companies blame the “compensation culture” in Britain for the rise in personal injury claims.

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