Insurance companies have issued stern warning to all drivers in the UK who drink and drive. Either motorists stop driving when they are under the influence of alcohol or face high premiums and in some cases can be denied insurance altogether. Drunken driving will force you to pay more premiums that you would pay otherwise. According to a latest study, leading insurance agencies like Budget, HSBC, Kwik Fit, and Post Office Insurance companies have taken steps to increase premiums by almost 82% if the motorist has a past record of drunken driving. In some instances, the premiums in such cases have been double than under normal circumstances. Insurance companies like HSBC Insurance have warned UK motorists not to cross the limit especially when the festive Christmas season is round the corner. It is not justified to be drunk and be behind the wheels risking thousands of lives on the streets. As many as 460 people died last year in the UK because of drunken driving.

Road safety is not only high on the minds of the government, but in the UK even insurance companies like Kwik Fit Insurance is making an effort to raise awareness on road safety among its people. Kwik Fit Insurance is organizing a week long awareness program among its 950 strong workforce for its Lanarkshire office. Among many activities, the company has installed a speed motoring sign on the main road leading to the office at Lanarkshire. Concerns of over-speeding by vehicles inside the business park where the office of the Kwik Fit is situated is of prime concern. This awareness program hopes to educate people on various dangers on the road. Read the rest of this entry »

Latest research has confirmed that more and more motorists have been victims of accidents with the number of Breakdown Insurance on the rise. Almost 80 percent of motorists leave their valuables in their cars which give rise to break-ins. Valuables which are mostly left behind in the cars include wallets, mobile phones and some other items which together make a worth about £380. Motor insurance companies have urged motorists to be very careful as most break-ins are by thieves looking for such opportunities where motorists have left behind valuables inside the car without hiding them. If valuables are at all left behind, then need to be covered and not visible from outside. Motorists should also ensure that the insurance covers all valuables inside the car as well. A motor insurance company removed “unfair admin charges” which implies that customers need not pay for changing address or cover levers.

A leading car insurance agency in a bid to encourage young drivers to install a black box in their cars, has announced that they would be providing discount to those youngsters who have a black box in their cars that would enable parents top trace them. The pilot project was started with 40 young drivers and now has become a permanent feature of the insurance company. These black boxes are nothing but size of a match box that enables a parent to track the journey details of their ward through a website. As much as 25% discount would be given to young drivers who install the black box in their cars. The black box is capable of registering the speed, turn of the car at different lights, corners, use of brakes and G force. This will help a parent to understand how smoothly a car is driven. Another insurance company in a notice said that some parents have cars insured in their names and have their child’s name as “named drivers” which is in fact illegal of the child is the actual motorist.

Drivers of Lothians be very careful as every month almost 150 motorbikes and cars have been seized by the police who are driving without a license or who do not own an Car Insurance cover. This has led to almost one-third of cars being converted to scrap or being sold after owners failed to turn up to claim their vehicles. Under laws introduced in June 2006, the police could impound vehicles, which are not driven by proper license holders or without a valid insurance.
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Are you responsible for an accident then see your Insurance premiums rise! Accidents could not only be fatal but could make a deep hole in your pocket as well. Drivers in the UK who meet with an accident because of their fault can see their insurance costs rise by more than 60%. A study conducted by a comparison website shows that more than 10 million users have faced such a rise in their premiums because of their own fault. According to an expert of the comparison website, a driver who has a past record of accidents will have to definitely pay more premium than others who are not at fault. The research also shows that GPs and bus conductors are more likely to face an accident but less than even 1.5 per cent of drivers are responsible for the crash. Au pairs and magistrates are also at a low risk.

After the drastic decline of twenty one percent in the car sales, the UK car industry faces a heavy shakeup. It has been recognized as the phase in the past seventeen years of the history of commercial vehicles and new car registrations.

The car makers were already warned regarding this eventual episode, which would turn out to be one of the worst economical phases faced the industry. There was a stupendous drop in the market with 88,995 units this September.

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According to reliable information received from AA Car Insurance, the ongoing credit crunch is transforming the perception of drivers of used and new cars. This has also remarkably affected the usability of these vehicles.

Though, the number of cars plying on roads has not faced a stupendous decline, the drivers are definitely adopting a more efficient and money saving strategy to efficiently face the financial crisis. Cars are not turning back into necessities rather than mere luxuries. This change has been bought about due to the high motoring costs. Thus, cost-cutting strategies need to be employed by the motorists.

The motors, at the same time, have not been entirely stopped for transport purposes, says another spokesperson representing the group. In spite of the evident fall in the petrol prices, the drivers continue to adopt the strategy, which has indeed caused a lot of savings at petrol pumps. But at the same time, the drop in the fuel price has at least lessened the psychological pressure from the minds of the motorists. Though, it’s quite evident that the motorists would not be switching back to their old ways after the recent drop.

It has been informed by the recent research that around 48 percent of UK motorists are downscaling to only one car per 1000 in an attempt to combat the mushrooming costs of running cars.

In the meantime, the recent statistics from Society of Motor Manufacturers and traders revealed that the registrations of new cars have faced heavy fall by around 21.2% this month, when compared with last year.

An interesting research made by an agency reveals that making a car insurance claim is determined partly by your date of birth. According to the report published, most unsafe motorists are those born in December while those drivers who are born on the first of the month are comparatively safer drivers. The “danger birthdays” which are accident prone are people with birthdays around September 16^th, December 24^th and February 29^th. May 31^st incidentally has been reported as the luckiest date. The report has been based upon two million car insurance claims and speeding and traffic defaulters have been cross checked with their date of birth. The agency stated that there is an interesting correlation exists between drivers who are accident prone with their date of birth. People with unusual birthdays like December 24^th and February 29^th are highly unsafe drivers while people born on the first of any month are careful and safe drivers. However, the agency was quick to add that claims are not rejected based on the unlucky date of birth of drivers. It is just mere coincidence that seems to exist between safe drivers and their lucky dates of birth. Their date of birth has nothing to do with motor insurance claims or refusal of claims by insurance agencies.

Do you know really how car insurance works? Have you ever given it a serious thought as to whether you are getting your cars’ worth when you approach your insuring agent for claims? Many fail to understand that when you purchase a car insurance, you are insuring the car for the value at the time of purchase keeping certain conditions in mind. But at the same time, you must have noticed that in most cases when you get involved in a crash accident, you do not receive the total value as mentioned in the insurance papers.

So it leaves us bewildered as to how the process actually works. However, there are very few answers on the working of the car insurance industry. They will provide you with the value of your car not more than the amount before being written off. Then if this is the case, why at all do they ask for a rough value. It is now understood that a part of the premiums which you pay are used for repayment for the loss incurred by uninsured drivers to the insurance industry. So, are we in the UK getting a good deal on car insurance? We still have to understand the variables which are used by the insurance companies to calculate the premiums.