January 31st, 2010
Many young motorists struggle to understand why car insurance is important, an industry expert has claimed.
Young drivers feel ripped-off by car insurance firms because it is cheaper to be fined for not being insured than to pay for insurance, said Nigel Lacy of car insurance scheme Young Marmalade.
Teenage drivers can find themselves paying “horrendous” insurance premiums of up to £3,500, Lacy said.
According to Lacy, insurance companies need to make more of an effort to take care of young drivers and work with them to improve their driving skills.
“Insurance companies need to do a lot to look after their drivers and they are not doing that at the moment,” he said.
“There are too many claims being made by young, inexperienced drivers.
“The insurance companies, instead of trying to work with the young drivers, just move out of the market, which forces the premiums up.”
Young Marmalade was recently recognised with an award at the Road Safety Conference for its efforts to provide low-cost insurance to young drivers who pass a road safety test.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
Moneysupermarket.com has reported that insurance revenues increased 5% in the third quarter of 2009, compared to a year earlier.
The result was also more than 15% ahead of the quarterly rate in the first six months of the year.
Motor insurance revenues returned to growth, having declined over the first half of 2009, and home and travel business grew strongly.
However, revenues generated by the price comparison website’s money section were down 40% year-on-year, although showing a 10% uplift compared with the quarterly rate over the first half.
Commenting on the results, the group’s chief executive, Peter Plum, said: “Overall, we are pleased with the performance in the year to date which is in line with the board’s expectations and remain confident that our sharp focus on delivery and the customer means that moneysupermarket.com is better placed than ever to capitalise on its strengths when growth returns to our markets.”
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
Sainsbury’s Finance estimates that the annual cost of running a car has increased by around 11% when compared to 2007, with insurance the most significant element in the rise.
According to the research, the typical cost of insuring a car rose 13% in the 12 months to October 2009, having increased 23% since 2007, taking the average premium to £551.74.
Meanwhile, road tax is demanding an extra 8% from the average motorist and 22% when compared to two years ago.
However, fuel prices are slightly lower than in October 2008 with the average car owner shelling out around £1,266 per year to fill the tank.
Servicing costs are also estimated to have fallen marginally over the past year due to the deflationary effects of the recession.
Sainsbury’s therefore calculates that the average annual cost of motoring, excluding any interest repayments on loans taken out to purchase a vehicle, is now around £2,338, or 11% more than in 2007.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
Young Marmalade, the specialist insurer for young people, has selected Aston Merrygold of JLS as an ambassador for the firm.
Merrygold is an X Factor runner up, and comes from Peterborough, where Young Marmalade is based.
Due to the high insurance premiums, some 300,000 young drivers simply forego insurance, and those who do have it have less money to buy a reliable car.
Crispin Moger, managing director, has advocated cash incentives for young drivers to encourage scrapping old cars and purchasing new ones.
The average age of a car driven by someone aged 17-25 is 13 years, and driving around in vehicles almost as old as they are without all the modern safety features is a cause for concern.
The Institute of Advanced Motoring Trust has stated that one third of all those killed or injured in road accidents are aged 17-25, a figure that has prompted Young Marmalade to call on the Government to improve the situation.
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January 31st, 2010
Specialist young driver insurer Young Marmalade has won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award at the Road Safety GB Conference.
Over the last 22 years the award has been given to those who are deemed to have improved the UK’s road safety, and is usually given to non-profit organisations or public services, making Young Marmalade’s success quite remarkable.
The insurer provides young people with competitive car insurance, should basic safety requirements be passed, enabling underwriters Zenith to provide the coverage at lower prices than for other firms.
Adrian Walsh, Roadsafe’s director, has praised Young Marmalade for lowering car insurance premium’s for young motorists and working to enhance road safety.
Crispin Moger, MD of Young Marmalade, has explained that by providing both new, safe cars and insurance the firm has been able to offer a better, and safer, solution to young motorists.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
BGL Group has announced it is launching a new service catering to customers of its in-house brands (such as BUDGET, ibuyeco, Quotemart and Dial Direct).
From now on customers buying an annual motor insurance policy will also have the option of purchasing Guaranteed Replacement Car/Van service.
The optional extra has been introduced to assist those who rely upon their vehicle on a regular basis and would be put out if it were to be damaged or stolen.
The replacement vehicle will be available for longer than is typical with a standard policy, with a fortnight’s availability with standard coverage and four weeks with enhanced cover.
Andy Bord, in-house brand director, has said the new service is a significant development as so many people need their vehicles regularly for personal or business reasons and that the new service will help keep customers on the move.
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January 31st, 2010
The UK’s first Islamic insurance company has closed to new business.
The enterprise was launched by Principle Insurance Company, trading as Salaam Halal, in July of 2008 with a motor insurance offering aimed at the 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain.
One year later it branched out into business and home insurance.
The firm’s policies are Sharia-compliant meaning that the risk is spread between all policyholders registered with the company, whereas conventional insurers transfer the risk from the policyholder to the insurer.
Customers have paid their premiums into a fund invested in enterprises acceptable to Islamic law and any surplus accrued is returned to them.
However, the Daily Telegraph has reported that the business failed to raise enough capital to continue trading and its website now states: “We are sorry, Salaam Halal insurance is not accepting any new requests for insurance quotations or issuing new contracts.”
Contracts with existing customers will be honoured and Salaam Halal’s claims team is still available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
The Labour Finance and Industry Group’s chairman, Dr Peter Slowe, has lent his support to Young Marmalade’s efforts to persuade more young drivers to scrap their old bangers.
Young Marmalade, a specialist insurer for young motorists, has stated its belief that one of the biggest reasons behind one in three deaths and injuries on the road happening to 17-25 year olds is due to the age of the cars they drive.
The insurer offers a new car coupled with lower insurance costs, which has led to those who take up the offer being three times less likely to be involved in a crash than the average.
The new cars provided have better stopping speeds and at least a four star EuroNCAP safety rating.
Young Marmalade has called for more government action on scrapping old vehicles, in addition to its much-publicised scrappage scheme.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
Accident management firm Helphire has entered into a commercial partnership with Hastings Insurance Services.
Under the terms of the deal motor insurance customers will be offered replacement vehicle services should they suffer a non-fault accident.
Helphire Group Managing Director Martin Ward has expressed his pleasure at the agreement between the firm and Hastings Insurance, following a competitive tendering process.
Ward went on to say that customers would enjoy high quality accident managements services from the deal and that Helphire was committed to providing its customer base with high level service.
Hastings has also welcomed the agreement, stating that Helphire provides a product offering which caters to the needs of its customers and is adaptable to the market’s changing needs.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
Swiftcover.com is claiming that almost one in five UK drivers think car insurance policies are designed to be confusing.
In a recent survey, the firm found that 42% of motorist struggle to understand the terms used by their insurer, leaving them unaware of precise terms.
Surprisingly, 23% of respondents could not define “voluntary excess” despite being aware that raising an excess can reduce premiums.
In addition, 17% of drivers wrongly believed that “fully comprehensive” cover meant they are insured to drive any car, while 9% interpreted the term as meaning anybody could drive their car.
The research also revealed that 17% of motorists never read their car insurance policies.
By way of remedy, swiftcover.com has launched an online insurance jargon-buster which it claims makes insurance terms clearer and can help drivers get the right cover for their needs at the right price.
Last month, swiftcover alerted UK motorists to new research from the US suggesting that drivers with so-called “territorial markings”, such as stickers or fluffy dice, are more likely to be prone to anger behind the wheel.
However, the firm’s own research found that only 3% of UK drivers display car stickers, although almost 13% said they had an ornament hanging from their rear-view mirror.
Categories: Auto Insurance |
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January 31st, 2010
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has commissioned research by YouGov which shows that the public consider using a mobile phone whilst driving to be the greatest menace on UK roads.
In addition, there is strong public support for insurers taking strong measures to try and expose motorists who conceal offences such as using a mobile phone or exceeding the speed limit to try and acquire insurance for a lower cost.
More than seven in ten surveyed thought mobile-users to be a danger, followed by 45% who considered young male drivers to be a menace, and 34% who thought uninsured drivers were likely to cause an accident.
Director of General Insurance and Health Nick Starling has said that honest motorists are fed up with deceitful drivers lying to try and gain cheaper insurance.
Starling added that the ABI was in discussions with the Government to see whether they might be able to check relevant motoring convictions and endorsements.
The poll backs up one commissioned by moneysupermarket.com in September which found that 62% of motorists wanted harsher punishments for uninsured motorists.
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January 31st, 2010
Specialist insurer for young motorists Young Marmalade is aiming to reduce the number of young male drivers on the roads after 11pm.
Nick Moger, co-founder, has stated that 90% of accidents involve young men between 11pm and 5am and expressed his view that the best way to combat this is to provide incentives not to drive during the riskier times of day.
Young Marmalade also provides young people with cars, and is to introduce surcharges for those who drive after 11pm or before 5am.
Moger added that the firm was not preventing driving at these times, but making the safer times of day cheaper as an incentive.
He went on to say that the firm was considering bringing in reimbursement for taxi fares during the 11pm-5am window to help keep vulnerable drivers off the road at those times.
Earlier this month Young Marmalade won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award at the Road Safety GB Conference, earning praise from Roadsafe director Adrian Walsh for its efforts to improve road safety.
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