Latest Car Insurance News
Welcome to Expert Car Insurance News. Here you will find all the latest information concerning the motor insurance industry.
Posted September 2007
Mothers on the school run should beware
From an investigation of their car insurance claims, leading women’s car insurer Diamond has made a startling discovery about the onset of the new school year. The recently released figures show that the number of parents claiming during September shows a massive increase of 46% over August accounting for over 25% of all claims, whilst by comparison, the increase for all drivers is just 18%. Worse still, if the numbers are compared for the school run times of 8 to 9 am and 3 to 4 pm the September claims of parents double those made in August.
Reasons for the accidents where frequently recorded as reduced consideration to driving due to lack of attention to the road, tiredness and emotional issues due to ‘stress’ and ‘being in a hurry’. Bizarrely Thursday is both the best and worst September day to ferry children to and from school with Thursday morning being the safest and the afternoon being the most likely to involve an accident.
A spokesperson for Diamond car insurance said that parents should try
to minimise distractions, especially those that are first time school
run drivers to be extra vigilant at the beginning of this new school
year.
Some tips for making the school run safer
1. Stay calm. If you are, your kids are likely to give you a
more peaceful journey.
2. Leave plenty of time. Be aware of the journey time in school
traffic, get the kids with all their equipment in the car in good time
and make sure you’ve got enough fuel before you set off.
3. Comfy kids are happy kids. Kids are happier if they’re
not too hot or too cold and they can sit comfortably, not hemmed in
by clutter.
4. Change the seating plan. Variety is the spice of life.
5. Stop the car to settle your passengers. If you are being
distracted by over boisterous or arguing kids, find a safe place to stop
and restore order. Only continue your journey when everyone is calm and
you can concentrate on your driving.
Posted September 2007
Britain’s car showrooms receive wake-up call about sexist behaviour
Leading women’s car insurance company Sheilas Wheels has published a damning report on the attitudes prevalent in the UK car sales industry. As the ’57 number plate encourages momentum in new car purchases, this study reveals that women are far from happy about the chauvinist manner adopted by many of the nation’s car salesmen. Over 40% of respondents said that their treatment had been so intimidating and unfriendly that they had walked out when they had been able to make a purchase if the approach had been more appropriate.
They spoke of the car sales areas being male-dominated and nearly 50% said that the male salesmen had been patronising, sexist and downright rude, so much so that almost 45% had walked out due to the threatening and unapproachable atmosphere.
In their study Sheila’s Wheels investigated 200 different dealerships and found that less than 15% of the sales staff were women whereas when it comes to buying, over 30% of women said that they would far prefer to discuss and settle a car purchase with female salesperson. Over 70% of women car buyers reported that they were so intimidated that they took a male friend, or partner. These women are predominantly still buying cars so it’s the salesmen with the sexist attitude who are loosing out on potential revenue to the tune of £900 million this year.
A spokesperson for Sheila’s Wheels car insurance said that when marking women sales executives they scored high on being ‘good communicators’ (56%), ‘confident’ (48%), ‘emotional responsiveness’ (39%) and ‘honesty’ (29%) whereas men scored highly on different characteristics of ‘target driven’ (86%) and ‘persistent’ (72%), and failed totally on ‘honesty’ (5%).
Posted September 2007
Brits prefer to stay in personal control in the car
Following a study involving some eight thousand drivers from 12 European countries carried out by leading car insurance provider, the AA, we in the UK are more likely to shun the proposed advantages of electronic safety equipment designed to reduce the likelihood of accidents.
From the safety gadgets included in the research four were head and
shoulders above the rest, these were:
- e-Call, an automated emergency call to the 999 system in the event
of an accident
- Real Time Traffic Information, providing up to the minute road and
traffic conditions on your prescribed route
- Pre Crash Systems which readies your car’s safety systems when
it senses an impending accident, i.e. taking up the slack in seat belts
- Electronic Stability Control, which can vary the speed of individual
wheels under braking, reducing the likelihood of loosing control of your
car, one step better that ABS.
Of the above safety systems, British motorists were 7% below the Europeans in either owning or wanting E-call at 82%. Pre-crash systems our score was more in line with around 83% in favour, just 3% below. But when it comes to a desire for electronic stability control we lagged 10% behind our European cousins at 74%. Though we were fractionally more in favour of real-time traffic information, in line with our wish to be in personal control.
We Brits also showed amongst the highest desire to be in control of automated safety devices. Only France exceeded us with 70% of drivers in favour of being able to switch off safety systems. And we definitely believe we can cope safety gadgetry, with just 41% in favour of some form of course to instruct us on the best use of such equipment.
A spokesperson for AA car insurance said that this demonstrates the preference of the British driver to remain in personal control of his vehicle, and their reluctance to and their fate over to automated systems, even where they have been proved to save lives. For instance reliable estimates predict that Electronic Stability Control alone could avoid up to 7,800 accidents each year in Britain alone.
Posted September 2007
Around the world in 80 days is nothing to the holidaying Brit.
According to leading insurer Halifax, British motorists will clock-up a staggering 15 billion miles each year just on holiday trips, that’s around the world 600,000 times. Whether it’s a romantic African adventure following the course of the Nile or towing the boat for a spot of ‘mucking about on the river’, we will take an average holiday road journey of just over 860 miles, that’s equivalent to, from our Capital to the South of France. Over half of our miles abroad are in hired vehicles.
Halifax say that many of us are relying on the hire car insurance alone as holiday insurance and this will obviously not cover the range of risks that can be met. Being involved in a road accident is just one of a vast range of things that can happen and holidaymakers should take out appropriate travel insurance.
Drivers abroad could also save themselves money in their choice of hire car. Selecting a hybrid powered car could save up to 53% on the fuel bill, and the saving could go a long way to paying for the travel insurance. Not only will it save you money it will also reduce the environmentally harming carbon footprint of your holiday, giving you the opportunity of feeling much ‘greener’.
Our favoured destination for road trip holidays remains Europe by far, with those seeking the wide open spaces of the USA and Australia in the second and third spots.
And the final suggestions from Halifax on hiring vehicles abroad: familiarise yourself with the rules of the road wherever you intend to drive, be aware that the roads account for around 20% of injuries to Brits abroad, always hire from a reputable firm and if you are travelling on two wheels always wear a crash helmet.
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