Car Insurance. Uninsured Cars To Be Crushed
Are you one of the one in twenty motorists who regularly drive without insurance? You’d better watch out – your car could be heading for the crusher and shipped off to the world’s biggest scrap smelter in China!
New powers now allow the police to seize, impound and crush any car found on the road without insurance. A pilot scheme was introduced in Durham last spring. Since then, police have impounded more than 1,200 cars. Of those around half have been crushed into cubes and packed off for smelting.
Operation Takeaway as the pilot scheme was known, has been such a big success, that police forces throughout the UK are enthusiastically polishing up their tow trucks. The scheme is now supported by a new national police database that’s supported by the insurance industry. It enables the police to check the insurance status of every car in the UK whilst they’re sitting in their patrol car.
Now if you’re caught red handed without car insurance you’re forced to hand your keys to the police at the roadside. There are no exceptions – this applies to everyone; it doesn’t matter if it’s just a forgetful mistake or conscious driving without insurance.
Then you’ll have to get your skates on! You’ve just 14 days to produce a valid insurance policy to the police and collect your car. And other costs mount up. Before you can collect your car, you have to pay the cost of kerbside recovery (around 105) and the cost of secure storage – and that could easily amount to 15 a day. So, if you leave collecting your car to the 14th day, you could be in for a bill for 315.
And if you don’t reclaim your car, off to the crusher it goes!
During the pilot scheme, the cost of crushing the cars was partly funded by Direct Line. They have estimated that Operation Takeaway prevented up to 2,000 accidents. And many of the cars impounded by the police were found to be un-roadworthy.
A police spokesman said, Uninsured drivers are often guilty of many other offences. Such as having neither driving licence nor MOT certificate. We are doing everything in our power to get these dangerous and illegal drivers off our roads.
Indeed, uninsured drivers are much greater problem than many of us would expect. The Department of Transport recently reported that 1 in 20 motorists regularly drive without insurance. Furthermore, research from the Association of British Insurers discovered that uninsured drivers are amongst the most dangerous on the roads. On average they cause one accident every six months and are three times more likely to be convicted of driving without due care and attention.
And who pays for those uninsured accidents? We do! The average car insurance premium is loaded by 30 to cover the cost of damage caused by uninsured motorists. Across the UK that adds up to an extra 500 million paid out each year by the law-abiding motorists!
But that’s not the end of our financial pain. If an uninsured vehicle collides into your car, it’s still recorded as a fault claim on your policy. This means you’ll have to pay the excess when your car is repaired and unless you’ve got Claims Protection on your policy, your no-claims bonus will take a knocking. Over a two-year period, the reduction in your no claims bonus could easily cost 275 in higher premiums.
The move to take cars off the road and crush them has been warmly welcomed by the Association of British Insurers. The ABI has long criticised the leniency of punishment handed out by the courts to uninsured motorists but they still want tougher penalties. Offenders are typically fined just 150 to 200 – with time to pay – and this is much less than the average car insurance premium. Surely this cannot be true justice!
Tags: Car Crusher, Car Insurance, Driving Without Insurance, Insurance Industry, Insurance Policy, Insurance Status, Last Spring, Motorists, National Police, Patrol Car, Pilot Scheme, Police Database, Police Forces, Police Spokesman, Secure Storage, Skates, Smelter, Takeaway, Tow Trucks, Uninsured Drivers
Car Insurance. Surf The Net For A Better Deal
Is it coming round to the time to renew your car insurance? Do you, like 23% of car owners, just accept the quote and stay with your insurer? Does it matter that the premium is 5 or 10 per cent more expensive than last years? Maybe its just not worth the hassle of all those phone calls to goodness knows where, thumbing through the yellow pages or wearing out your shoe-leather down town. In addition to this, Insurance companies offer the best rates to new customers, in order to gain their custom. Existing clients generally stay with them anyway.
What about the internet? It really is worth giving it a try. Do you know that, if you shop around you could, on average, save around 55, plus the extra online discount? It is estimated that more than 2.25 million car owners purchase their car insurance on line now. The internet is speedy and simple to use and internet sales are generally growing amazingly fast.
Car insurers really want your business; they will be extremely competitive with pricing in order to win you over. There are around 100 of them in the UK and due to the strong competition in the industry; prices have held level for the past year or so. You can go to the individual insurers websites, comparison websites or use one that recommends specific insurers for different types of driver, whether they be the in the young, higher risk category or the experienced old driver with years of proven safe driving behind them. You will receive instant results and an unbelievable amount of advice and information. Youll be asked to fill in your relevant details, for example the number of years youve been driving, whether there are any convictions, number of years of no claims for your discount. All easily answered and your no claims details should be on your renewal notice.
Apart from the straightforward individual car insurance, new categories of insurance are coming on to the market. There are pay as you go options and multi-car policies. These used to be difficult to obtain unless you were in the car-trade. It certainly seems to be time to re-assess whats available in the car insurance line and get yourself up to date on whats on offer. A short time browsing the internet will get you thinking along the right lines.
A word of warning though; The AAs Ian Crowder says If we dont start to see modest price increases, then there could well be an unpleasant and sudden price hike. This will not be good for the industrys reputation or out customers. Insurers are beginning to show signs that they may not be able to continue to hold down prices for very much longer. Claims are accelerating. The average cost of accidental damage repair has risen, costing an additional 5% per year, despite the fact that there are fewer accidents. Claims for personal injury are rising fast and the cost of settling these is rising at around 12% per annum.
Dont give your insurer the chance to use this as an excuse for a rising premium, get on line and get sorted!
Tags: Car Insurance, Car Insurers, Car Owners, Car Policies, Convictions, Goodness, Hassle, Individual Insurance, Insurance, Insurance Companies, Insurance On Line, Insurance Rates, Insurer, Internet Sales, Relevant Details, Risk Category, Safe Driving, Shoe Leather, Surf The Net, Yellow Pages
Car Insurance. Optional Legal Expense Cover Is Well Worth The
Car Insurance. Optional Legal Expense Cover Is Well Worth The Extra.
Peter, our freelance journalists doesn’t take kindly to people driving into his beloved car. No, he doesn’t use his fourteen stone of gym-honed muscle to exact retribution nor is he into road rage. Of course he’s got his car comprehensively insured but he’s also covered another way. He’s got legal insurance. He included in his car insurance as an optional extra. This extra cover allows him to claim for costs and losses excluded covered from normal comprehensive and third party policies. So four months ago when his car was whacked from behind at the traffic lights, the legal profession swung into action! Not for free you understand, after all who’s heard of a solicitor labouring for free? No, but it was free to Peter his insurance company paid all his legal costs.
Whilst the garage appointed by his insurer made a beautiful job repairing his bent MX5, his comprehensive policy didn’t normally cover claims for personal injury or loss of earnings. So the extra 2 a month Peter forked out for legal expense cover, became money well spent. He’s already received compensation for the broken wrist he suffered and negotiations for his loss of earnings are well advanced. One-handed journalists aren’t much use in our office so he took a month off!
Legal expense insurance assists policyholders to claim back losses and compensation where the accident wasn’t their fault. The losses can include the cost of hiring a replacement car whilst yours is in the garage and, for those not comprehensively insured, the costs of having your car repaired. As in Peter’s case, legal expense insurance will also fund claims for personal injury and loss of earnings.
Cover for legal expense is one of those insurances that’s under rated until it’s called on. The insurer will run the claim for you and sends the settlement cheque at the end of the process. All you have to do is record the facts on the legal expense claim form, speak to the solicitor nominated by your insurer, be prepared to answer a few follow-up questions, and sit back. If the case goes to court, they’ll represent you and fight your corner although you may also have to attend.
Most car insurance policies sold on the Internet don’t automatically include legal expense cover it’s normally an optional extra. That’s because price competition on the net is so fierce that the insurers prefer to keep their headline premiums down as low as possible.
You’ll find that the optional cost of legal expense cover does vary from insurer to insurer. For example, More Than comes in at 17.85 per year, Direct Line 19.95, Churchill 21 and Budget 24 per year. Just a few insurance companies such as Admiral, include some legal expense cover for free.
So make sure you don’t forget legal expense cover when you buy car insurance. Complicated claims for compensation can drag on your years especially if severe injury is involved, and final settlements can end up in millions.
Tags: Beloved Car, Car Insurance, Four Months, Freelance Journalists, Insurance Company, Insurances, Insurer, Labouring, Legal Expense Insurance, Legal Insurance, Legal Profession, Loss Of Earnings, Party Policies, Personal Injury, Policyholders, Replacement Car, Retribution, Road Rage, Solicitor, Traffic Lights
Car Insurance. It’s Getting Increasingly Expensive When You’re Elderly.
There were 550 serious accidents last year where the driver was over aged 70 and where driver was either killed or badly hurt, reports the Institute of Advanced Motoring . That statistic represents 8% of the national total of 7,035 similar accidents. That means that the over 70’s’s have more, very serious accidents per mile than any other sector of the population. This view is supported by the Association of British Insurers whose research shows that drivers aged over 70 are 13% more likely claim on their insurance than the drivers aged between 40 and 50.
As the number of elderly drivers will double during the next ten years, this represents a problem for elderly drivers and their families – not to mention the insurance industry, police and indeed all of the emergency services!
You can probably predict the response from the insurance industry. Many insurance companies already reckon that drivers over 80 are as high a risk as the under 25’s – and charge premiums to match! Some are even progressively loading premiums once the driver reaches 60. Then at 70, you’ll find that many insurance simply refuse to offer cover. Norwich Union and Esure won’t quote after 70 and by the time the driver reaches 80, the field narrows to specialised insurers who insure elderly drivers. Help the Aged and Age Concern both market policies that have no upper maximum age. Cornhill only accepts new policyholders up to 84 but if you’ve been insured by them for a few years, there’s no upper age limit. RIAS and Saga are also pleased to consider older drivers.
As the price of car insurance is based on historical claims experience, a 75 year old male driver can expect to pay at least 33% more than if he were aged 50. By the time the driver reaches 80 the premiums hit boy racer levels! So if you’re in your early 50’s keep smiling at the lowest premiums you’ll ever experience they won’t last forever!
And the fairer sex fare even worse. Whilst younger women are renowned for their safe driving, they become more accident-prone as they get older. Whereas male drivers improve with age. (Where have we heard that before!) As a result, elderly women drivers pay the highest rates for car insurance.
It’s a biological fact that eyesight and reaction times worsen as age creeps on. And with traffic becoming heavier and road networks ever more complex, elderly drivers can more easily become disorientated and confused. Even a fraction of a second’s delay can make the difference between an accident and a near miss. Insurers are reacting by insisting that more elderly drivers take a medical before agreeing to provide insurance. The best advice is to build up a no claims record and as soon as possible and buy No Claims Protection. This protection cost a bit more but it’s well worth the money. Then make sure you pay for any small bumps yourself.
But there are some simple steps that older drivers, and indeed all drivers, can take to reduce the likelihood of them having an accident and thereby making themselves more insurable. It’s often more about those little things and being alert to likely problems. For example, car parks are a breeding ground for small accidents. Knowing that take more care. Before you get back into your car, walk round it to see how much room you’ve got. Then edge out carefully making sure that other drivers in the car park aren’t driving into the area you’re moving into. Then, if advancing years has stiffened you neck and all-round visibility is a bit more difficult, take special care at junctions and when reversing. Remember to move you head and swivel your shoulders – that way you’ll increase your sweep of vision.
Many of the policies for older motorists contain special provisions designed to assist them. On Saga’s policy for example, ex company car drivers can use any no claims record they’d built up and if a couple are insured and the main driver decides to quit driving, then the spouse can take over the no claims record. Other policies also provide full insurance cover for anyone who takes over driving in an emergency. Cornhill will even payout 250 if the DVLA stops you from driving for health isues associated with age.
In moves to diminish the numbers of accidents involving the elderly, the UK Government is investigating the issue of deteriorating health amongst elderly drivers. It seems to be considering the idea of obligatory health checks for elderly motorists. At the same time some local councils are introducing initiatives of their own. Torbay council has launched a scheme to encourage families and GP’s to take more responsibility for encouraging elderly drivers who are not really fit drive, to give up. A road safety spokesperson for Torbay council said, The problem is that the elderly can’t always see themselves when it’s really time to give up driving so those closest to them must take responsibility for that.
In the meantime, a survey carried out by the Institute of Advanced Motorists confirms that older motorists are aware that they represent an increased accident risk. Seven out of ten older drivers surveyed said they would like to take a refresher course for motorway driving skills and six out of ten wanted to improve their performance at junctions and on unlit roads. In response to these issues, the Institute has extended its advanced tests to older non-members to encourage them to improve and build up confidence. The tests also help spot any serious problems that should encourage the driver pack up driving.
Tags: Accidents, Age Concern, Association Of British Insurers, Car Insurance, Charge Premiums, Cornhill, Elderly Drivers, Emergency Services, Esure, Industry Police, Insurance Companies, Insurance Industry, Market Policies, Maximum Age, Norwich Union, Older Drivers, Policyholders, Rias, Saga, Statistic
Car Insurance. Bad Eyesight Threatens Your Insurance Cover.
If you have an accident and its found that youd failed to keep your car roadworthy, for example excessively worn tyres, and that was a contributory factor in the accident, your insurer will probably refuse to pay up. And the police may also show an interest too! Quite reasonable many of you will say. But what if its you thats un-roadworthy?
How many driving accidents are accompanied by the comment I didnt see the other vehicle? And what happens if the problem was your eyesight? Has it deteriorated to a dangerous extent?
Well all of us clearly know if we have an eyesight problem but there are opticians to help on every high street. Remember, if you need contact lenses or glasses for driving then you must wear them and if your eyesight deteriorates you should get a new prescription. Its the legal responsibility of all drivers to ensure that theyre safe to drive.
Only last week I drew up alongside an elderly driver who was clearly having trouble reading the junction signs. He was leaning forward trying to read the signs indicating towards Leeds and rolling forward at 10 mph all this at traffic lights that by this time had turned red and he clearly hadnt seen those! He was lucky that the cars coming across from the right saw him early. Im not even sure he saw them either!
The law is quite straightforward it states that any driving licence holder who cannot meet the minimum level of eyesight must not drive. They are also required to surrender their licence.
The eyesight test for drivers states that you must be able to read a number plate containing letters and figures 50 mm wide and 79mm high (thats a legal number plate) from a distance of 20 meters. But you can use your driving glasses.
Having said that theres no legal obligation for you to have regular eyesight tests but you are required to tell the DVLA if you develop any medical problem that affects your fitness to drive. If you dont tell them, its a criminal offence.
In some American states drivers have to take an eye test every five years but not in the UK. Here, driver aged 70 and over must complete a medical form every three years confirming their fitness to drive and the definition of fitness includes eyesight. If theses drivers fail to send in their medical form, they lose their driving licence. (I wonder what that elderly gentleman at the traffic lights said on his?)
On the insurance front, if you are involved in an accident where your defective eyesight was a contributory factor, your insurance company may well argue that you were negligent and refuse to pay out. This could be simply because you needed glasses to drive but werent wearing them at the time.
So drive carefully, and keep your eyes peeled elderly gentleman in Leeds please take note!
Tags: Americ, Bad Eyesight, Car Insurance, Contact Lenses, Contributory Factor, Criminal Offence, Driving Accidents, Driving Licence, Dvla, Elderly Driver, Eyesight Test, Eyesight Tests, Insurer, Junction Signs, Legal Obligation, Legal Responsibility, Licence Holder, Medical Problem, Roadworthy, Traffic Lights
