Latest Car Insurance News
Welcome to Expert Car Insurance News. Here you will find all the latest information concerning the motor insurance industry.
Posted August 2007
Blame the humble insect for 650 thousand car accidents a year
The car insurance bill for the damage caused through various creepy-crawlies and flying insects invading our vehicles is estimated at a staggering £44 million claims fresh research from the leading insurer esure.
The study found that three out of four drivers became preoccupied by the actions of the insect and as a result, distracted from the task of driving. This resulted in 4% of those drivers questioned slamming on the brakes in order to bring the car to a halt and try to rid the car of the offending bug. Over 20% of drivers owned up to taking their hands off the wheel in their attempts to swat an insect or swipe it out of a window.
The most distracting insect was the wasp with over half the drivers questioned reporting that they had been distracted by them. And women drivers were marginally more diverted than men, although men admitted to more accidents where distraction by bugs was the cause.
A spokesman for esure said that it was very concerning that up to 75% of motorists lost focus on their driving because of the simple appearance of an insect in the vehicle, and that they were putting their and other road users lives at risk by becoming absorbed in the antics of what in the main are harmless creatures. A psychologist explained that many of us have phobias related to insects, especially those that sting, like wasps and bees, and these fears can bring about a stronger reaction than the fear of having an accident. We feel trapped in the enclosed apace of the car and have a strong need to escape.
Posted August 2007
Driving Theory Test to be more challenging, with more questions
Good news for the car insurance industry and our car insurance premiums in the long run is the announcement from the Driving Standards Agency that the theory test is to get tougher. It is hoped that the increased difficulty of the test and the more in-depth learning that learner drivers will have to undertake will make for better informed, safer drivers.
Both car and motorcycle drivers will have to pass the stiffer test from 3rd September 2007. The number of questions that motorists will now have to answer will increase from the current 35 to 50 and the pass mark will be 43. The percentage pass mark remains at 86%, but because of the number of questions the student will have to show a broader understanding of the rules of the road in order to achieve that coveted pass. To accommodate the increase, learners will have longer to answer them, they will have 57 minutes to consider the 50 multi-choice questions. The fee will also rise from £21.50 to £28.50 to pay for the extra time.
The DVA’s Head of Lifelong Learning said that making the test harder means that it’s more important than ever that every learner prepares as thoroughly for this test as they would for any other exam. Increasing the amount of topics that the successful candidate must answer correctly will have the effect of making people more knowledgeable and better prepared for the challenges that modern motoring presents you with every day, which will hopefully make our roads a safer place.
Posted August 2007
Breaking down in a holiday hire car can be a bit of a lottery
Many of us have breakdown insurance for our own vehicles and have the warm feeling of confidence that, if the worst happened we would be able to make that call and be attended to within a reasonable time frame. But what about the hire car you take out on a whim on the annual pilgrimage to the sun in, say, Turkey or Greece?
The AA has published worrying research that shows that around a third of international car hire companies throughout Europe don’t provide the basics should you have a problem with the vehicle. The 57 hire companies which were chosen for their service cover in the Mediterranean, were considered in terms of the provision of safety equipment for the country of hire and the access given to a breakdown service as part of the package.
In terms of safe travel they found that a mere 25% of hire cars were equipped to satisfy the emergency requirements that the law imposed in the country of hire. The worst nation of those tested was Greece where none of the cars hired had the required warning triangles or first-aid kits.
This may not seem too beg a deal, but consider that there are on-the-spot fines that the police in many countries can charge for failing to use safety items in the case of a breakdown or not carrying the proper equipment. Even worse some police forces are empowered to levy a "deposit" which is a much higher charge, equivalent to the maximum fine, until a court hears the case. These road-side fines can vary including £24 in Italy for not wearing a reflective jacket at the scene while standing on the road to £408 in Portugal for failing to use a reflective jacket and warning triangle.
Greece also fared badly in terms of breakdown assistance by failing to provide the phone number for use in emergencies in 45% of cases.
AA Breakdown Insurance offered the following guidance:
- When booking in advance make sure the car will be fully equipped to cover the minimum requirements of the countries of use and that a breakdown service with 24 hour contact number is included.
- See, read and acquaint yourself with the terms of the hire.
Make sure you understand the driving rules of countries that you intend to drive through. - Ensure that the emergency equipment is there before you take possession of the vehicle and the check for existing damage that you could be accused of at a later date.
- Check the controls and indicators work.
- You would be well advised to ensure that you have a phrasebook that contains instances useful in conversations with breakdown staff, the police or a local garage should you not be competent in the local language.
Posted August 2007
Car insurance company backs moves to crack down on drug drivers
Major insurer More Th>n has put its weight behind the calls for stricter police targeting of motorists who take wheel while impaired by illegal drugs. They believe that there should be the earliest possible introduction of roadside testing using equipment that is currently in use on mainland Europe e.g. Germany and further a field in Australia, and is achieving good rates of deterrence.
Their research indicates that many drivers do not understand that the effects of illegal drugs can be extreme on their inability to concentrate and drive safely as drink with 38% of drug taking drivers feeling that their driving was not influenced at all by the drugs they take.
A staggering 21% of motorists admitted to driving shortly after having taken illegal drugs showing an increasingly chevalier attitude to the risk they are imposing on other road users and pedestrians alike.
The car insurers Managing Director said that we are heading to a time when drug driving is just as large a problem as drink driving and that Britain is amongst the worst in Europe. Drivers don’t have the same appreciation of the dangers of drug driving and it’s probably this that contributes numbers of drivers that continue to be happy behind the wheel soon after imbibing illegal drugs.
He said further that if we are going to avoid many unnecessary deaths, the profile of the problem of drug driving must be raised and the drug driving equivalent of the breathalyzer should be introduced as soon as possible.
There are currently a range of coordination tests that drivers can be required to take, and if considered to have failed the driver required to undertake a ‘sample’ test at the police station, but a mobile test considered sufficiently reliable is still around two years away.
Posted August 2007
The True Cost of Speeding Fines
For the first time a motor insurer has estimated what the cost is to UK motorists in car insurance premiums following speeding convictions.
It is a fact that following a speeding fine, some insurers increase the cost of their car insurance. Why? A speeding offence is deemed as a risk factor by the underwriters. More recently, however, some well known insurance companies have publicly stated that minor speeding convictions such as SP30's or first time offences will not influence their calculations of car insurance premiums because these speeding convictions are so widespread with the proliferation of fixed and mobile speed cameras across the UK.
According to Swiftcover the additional cost of car insurance premiums for those UK motorists caught by speed cameras is estimated to be in the region of £30 million pounds.
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