Save on Your Car Insurance by Taking Your Car Out for a Date!

Budget Travel Updates February 9, 2012
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car insuranceValentines Day is just around the corner. And since this season usually calls for expensive dinner dates and gigantic bouquets of flowers, it can be said that there is plenty of love in the air indeed. However, before you set about planning that date with your partner, wouldn’t Valentines Day be a good day to show some love to your vehicle too?

According to a road safety and breakdown recovery organization based in the United Kingdom, Valentines Day would be the perfect time to show your cars a little love. By treating your car to a ‘date’, you can ensure that your car will keep on running smoothly and safely.

According to the chief executive of the safety and breakdown organization, “People go through a lot of effort and a lot of cost just to treat their better half. And since we would be completely devastated if our vehicle broke down, why not use Cupid’s day to show a little love to our vehicles. After all, through rainy and stormy weathers, our cars are always there to get us through”.

The UK road safety and breakdown recovery organization recommends a good spa treatment for your car. This treatment would include a good wash, polish and wax. Also, the organization recommends all motorists to stock up on screen wash. This way, drivers can maintain the clarity of their windshields at any time.

Another way of showing your vehicle some love is by giving it a full tank. By topping up your engine with engine oil, you can be assured that your car will retain to run smoothly. Another factor to check upon would be the car’s tyres. Make sure that each tyre has the right pressure in it so that you can avoid any possible tear and wear. This would be a driver’s equivalent to a delicious gourmet meal.

Lastly, the organization recommends drivers to arrange a special date with their cars. By going for a quick round around town, those winter cobwebs will all be blown away.

Maintaining a car is one of the most important factors of being a driver. One cannot merely be a good driver; one also needs to be a good car lover. By ensuring the maintenance of your car, you can rest assured that you will be less likely to get into any accidents. Also, the less likely you are to be involved in an accident, the less likely you are to receive exorbitant increases on your car insurance premium. And since no one wants to get an expensive car insurance premium, go ahead and take your car out for that special Valentines Day date!

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Cheaper Car Insurance Quotes for Men and Women with the Help of a Black Box

Budget Travel Updates January 28, 2012
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Car Insurance QuotesLast year, car insurance premiums have risen significantly, bringing an average insurance policy up by more than 15 %. This means that the average annual cost of a car insurance policy in 2011 being at £840 was then raised to a hefty £970. The Automobile Association revealed that the 5.4% increase alone, was risen during the last three months of the said year. With young motorists incurring exorbitant quotes, the average young driver aged under the age of 22 would be expecting to pay close to £2,500 for a car insurance coverage. That is also equal to an 11% rise within the year.

Young male drivers, within the 21 and below age range, are the drivers which have the most for an average in car insurance quotes. With an expected average of around £3,100, this is significantly higher than the average for a female driver which is at £1,700. On the other hand, for male driver aged 30-39, the cost of car insurance is averaged at £820. And female motorists in their sixties are the drivers paying the least car insurance, being averaged at £420.

Late last year, the European Court of Justice set out a ruling which stated that insurance providers could not use gender as a factor in considering the exact car insurance premium of a driver. This is because of the belief that the insurance practice is deemed discriminative. Nevertheless, the Court of Justice also ruled that this mandate will take effect in the last month of this year (2012). With this mandate to be taken into effect this December, female drivers must brace themselves for the same insurance quotes that young male drivers have been receiving over the last few years.

On the bright side, if the court of justice closed a door with the gender ruling, car insurance companies have opened a window of opportunity with their ‘black-box technology’. This black box is based on telematics technology which will be able to observe record and report the driving skills and habits of a driver. With car insurance companies being able to see for themselves the driving performance of a policyholder, they will be able to gage the risk that these drivers present while driving. The better the driving performance of a motorist, the lower the car insurance premiums will be. And what is best about this is that, the black box will record data based on their performance alone, and not on the fact that they are female or male. Hence, both male and female drivers will be able to see better insurance quotes with the use of this technology.

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Drivers Blame Met Office for their Car Insurance Claims

Budget Travel Updates January 11, 2012
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car insurance claimAs the New Year entered and people started going back to work, Brits have been enduring forceful gale winds and torrential rain. And with this storm that has descended upon the United Kingdom, it has brought about considerable increases in home and car insurance claims. According to a significant car insurance provider in the UK, the insurance claims during the first week of January 2012 are higher by 28 % compared to the insurance claims made on the same period of January 2011.

According to the car insurance company’s survey, during the first five days of January this year, there were almost 1,200 car insurance claims made on a daily basis. If the insurance claims made on the previous year would be taken into consideration, it would be seen that the number in current insurance claims have indeed increased significantly.

A certain broker has taken note of all insurance claims made on the first five days of this year. The recorded data has shown results of up to 991 car insurance claims. Nationally, there are an estimated number of more than 5,600 insurance claims made in relation to the awful weather.

Scotland has also endured strong gales and bad weather. This is why car insurance policyholders have also called in to their insurers to make an insurance claim.  According to the recorded statistics, around 65 % of calls made within the first five days of 2012 were all weather related. This means that 1 out of every 5 calls is a weather-related insurance claim.

Director and Car insurance expert at the insurance company said that, “The most common cause of damages was roof tiles and tree branches that have been dislodged due to the forceful winds. Other claims were made due to items that were not fixed to the floor. An example of such is the case where eight vehicles were damaged due to a garden trampoline. Other items include garbage bins, garden sheds, TV aerials, a roof of a church hall and also a dinghy.”

“Other customers have also had their vehicle doors ripped off due to the great gusts of wind that have caused the door to unhinge and damage other vehicles and items in its way.”

“Some other weather-related insurance claims during the same time period include vehicles that have been stranded in floods, being hit by other vehicles that were blown away by the wind and drivers that have simply lost control of their cars due to the strong gales.”

Drivers have recently complained to the Met Office for not predicting the severity of the gales. According to them, they were not properly prepared because they did not expect the winds to reach 100 mph.

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Car Insurance Company Highlights Increasing Cases of Petrol Theft

Budget Travel Updates December 28, 2011
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Car Insurance CompanyCar insurance providers and car rescue service companies are reporting a small but significant statistic of thefts; most of these are commercial vehicles but there are also a lot of involved domestic cars. Car insurance company, AA Insurance says that its officers are called out once in each week to vehicles that went through a fuel theft case, while the police department inNorth Lincolnshirehas warned drivers to keep their cars safe after a consecutive number of thefts that happened this December. In some other areas of theUnited Kingdom, motorists have been told to get their converters permanently marked so that theft may be prevented.

Thieves steal fuel or petrol by cutting through the fuel lines and smashing open the fuel caps. They follow this by removing the petrol tanks or, in some noted instances, drilling into the petrol tanks and pumping out the contents. Big vehicles, such as buses and 4x4s, are especially vulnerable due to the fact that they are higher off the ground. This elevation gives fuel thieves easier access. Of course, the motive as to why these vehicles are hit is due to the simple fact that these vehicles have bigger petrol tanks.

Some figures gathered by the NFU Mutual, a car insurance provider that specializes in farm insurance, show that the value of insurance claims for increasing oil theft has reached a staggering 153% in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period of the previous year.Eastern Englandwas the noted reign that has been affected the most.

These costs were due to a rise in the number of criminal activities, which has grown twice as many as those in the previous year, yet it is also due to the expenses of cleaning up the environmental damage that can be caused by these petrol thieves.

The most expensive insurance claim that has been noted by the NFU Mutual for this year in regards with clean-up costs has been set at £30,000. This has been due to a damaged tank that has resulted in an enormous mess.

Catalytic converters are usually stolen because they do contain significant metals such as platinum, rhodium and palladium. In addition to this, all of these mentioned metals can be recycled. Car insurance company, AA Insurance says that they have seen a rise in petrol thefts during the beginning of the credit crunch which commenced in 2008. This was also the same period that the price for precious metals such as palladium and others started going up.

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Car Insurance Firms Warn Policy Holders of Expected Traffic This Christmas

Budget Travel Updates December 23, 2011
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Car Insurance FirmsLast minute shoppers have decided to swamp the streets for some last minute Christmas shopping due to this somewhat balmy weather. According to a car insurance giant, AA Insurance, there will be an estimated 19 million cars to drive on our roads this Friday. Another car insurance firm, Esure, estimated to be much higher than AA’s prediction. According to the representative for Esure, there will an estimated 21 million motorists swarming the roads.

Considering all of the changes during this past year, the figures might even be estimated to be higher than 21 million. With the prices of petrol gradually increasing as each month passes by, it would come as no surprise to find out that some motorists would prefer to stay at home. Petrol is now 9.31 pence more per liter. Thus, if a 50-liter tank would be filled, almost £7 would be added to the overall bill.

According to AA Insurance, near 70 % of its members are planning on staying home this Christmas Holiday. In contrast with the previous year, this rate is 10 % more than the current percentage.

Highway’s Agency is an organization that is responsible for theUK’s major roads. They have been planning on extending the roads by adding 120 sets of road works.

A few major plans will stay in place including the 32-mile stretch of highway M1 in between the junction 10-13 which is located on the outskirts ofLuton. The M25, on the other hand, expect to endure some delays on the Hertfordshire stretch and on theEssexstretch. This is due to the on-going work on the 21-23 and 29-30.

Over all, AA Insurance predicted traffic to be very heavy on major highways and motorways starting on Thursday. The congestion is expected to be severe on the M4, M25 and also on the M1. Other traffic hotspots include the M3 onWinchesterand the M27 on Southampton.

Nevertheless, for the first time in ten consecutive years, the big four rail routes –Midland, Great Western, West Coast and East Coast – will be cleared of any on-going construction engineering and will be free to use normally.

Unfortunately, there will be a lot of expected diversions and alternative routes set up for the buses. Yet this will only be for a certain part of the Christmas holidays. Buses are expected to operate on Bank Holidays and also on weekends. Train services are also going to operate normally on working days.

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NCIC: New Year’s Day, Car Thieves and Your Car Insurance Coverage

Budget Travel Updates December 10, 2011
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Car Insurance CoverageDespite all of the excitement and merriment that the Christmas season brings, this season is also the time to keep our garages closed shut and call a cab. This is mainly because of the car theft statistics that have been revealed recently by an online car insurance company and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

According to the NICB, car thieves are not the only one’s who are fond of New Year’s Day. Yet, it is the quietest and coldest time of day that they prefer. This is because of the number of people oversleeping due to a late night, hangovers and bowl games. Car thieves just love the opportunity of stealing a 1996 Honda Accord with little to non-existent risk of getting caught.

According to the analysis of the past year (2010), there have been as many as 21,000 cars stolen from their untended parking space. Based on the findings of theNationalCrimeInformationCenter, car thieves are busiest during this time of year. Also, around 2,400 people were recorded to have called the police and their car insurance providers on New Year’s Day itself.

In accordance with this analysis, the National Crime Information Center has stated that New Year’s Day seems to be the only ‘regular work day’ for car theft experts. On other noted holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving Day, the number of stolen cars comes under the daily car theft average which is over 2,100.

Here are the top 5 car theft statistics provided by theNationalCrimeInformationCenter;

  1. New Year’s Day  (2,340)
  2. Memorial Day  (2,120)
  3. Halloween  (2,060)
  4. Labor Day  (2,020)
  5. New Year’s Eve  (1,980)

In addition to this problem, a lot of motorists are also fearful of car window smashing. This is highly due to the fact that most people prefer to place their belongings and shopping bags in the backseat of the car. Hence, a lot of thieves are tempted into smashing the window of the car in order to grab the mentioned belongings. If this would turn out to be the case, then it would be high time to call your car insurance provider.

In terms with car insurance, gifts and other personal belongings in your car like a laptop, mobile phone or other expensive gadgets are not covered by any car insurance coverage. However, if the car window was smashed and you are a comprehensive car insurance policy holder, all repairs will be covered.

During this merry yet dangerous season, it is best to be careful. Hence, keep those cars locked and if you have a garage, this is the perfect time to use it. After all, this is the season to be merry and not the season to be calling your insurance provider on a daily basis.

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Former Footballer, Gary Lineker Supports Campaign to Lower Premiums for Young Drivers

Budget Travel Updates November 28, 2011
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Lower Premiums for Young DriversCar insurance companies the world round have been demanding staggering car insurance costs which have been rendering motorists strapped for cash. In theUK, there have already been numerous calls to the government to lend a helping hand. However, these governmental debates seem to be never ending. Even car insurance companies have been struggling to find a solution to this widespread problem. Just recently, it has been decided on that awareness is the key. If motorists were aware of the factors to take not of and to ignore, then everyone could enjoy a reasonable car insurance premium.

In lieu to this awareness program, English ex-football player and current sports broadcaster Gary Lineker has been urged to help spread this insurance and driving awareness campaign. Gary Lineker has been announced to team up with certain car insurance stalwarts to support this program. Sir martin Broughton, British Airways chairman, is also one of the people supporting the insurance industry in its comprehensive program.

Since the motorists who are affected with the most extravagant car insurance premiums are young drivers, it is these motorists who are made the focal point of this program. With an average annual car insurance premium of at least £ 2,400 for drivers aged 17-22, it is only necessary to target these drivers who are in the most need of help.

In lieu with this awareness program, Gary Lineker together with the participating car insurance companies will offer the black box telematics system to young drivers to encourage good driving. Since this telematics invention has the capacity to send signals and transmit certain riving behaviors, there are high hopes for this ‘black box’ to be the solution to young driver’s insurance problems. With good driving, car insurance providers will lessen the premium until it becomes more appropriate. However, if a driver has bad driving habits, there is a possibility that the premiums would be increased. These premiums will be adjusted every three months to keep the insurance providers up to date on a motorist’s driving skills.

Being a father of four children, Gary Lineker stated, “What this campaign is offering motorists is an amazing alternative to avoid exorbitant car insurance premiums. It is all based on the concept that if you are a good driver, you will pay less.”

Another supporter of this car insurance campaign is the ex-managing director of RS Insurance and brother to British Airways chairman, Steve Broughton.

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New Vehicle Plates for Novice Drivers Called For By MP

Budget Travel Updates November 12, 2011
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Recently, there have been a lot of changes being called upon by the British government in regards with car insurance policies. Among these recent changes is the banning of referral fees from solicitors to car insurance providers. Although the main aim is to ease car insurance costs, it seems like there are simply too many changes being made at once.

The newest change that has been called upon by Bolton MP, Julie Hilling, is to add a new vehicle plate to the roster of new car insurance regulations. This new plate will be able to help motorists in theUnited Kingdomto pinpoint who are ‘newly qualified’ in their driving. Hence, young drivers and drivers who are fairly new to driving will have to carry a different set of plates on their car to identify them from veteran drivers.

It has been stated by MP Julie Hilling that once a motorist passes their driving test, a newly-qualified plate will them be administered.

Julie Hilling is a member of Transport Select Committee and having been present during the latest ‘Cost of Car Insurance’ debate, she has raised this possibility to the other MP’s present during the debate. She also added that more regulations should be established in terms of new drivers because they are the motorists that pose the greater risk compared to veteran drivers.

Boston MP also made it point to call for stricter restrictions when it comes to novice drivers. She said that it would be best if newly qualified drivers were not allowed to transport additional passengers during the first crucial months driving. Since novice drivers need time to get used to maneuvering the wheel, it would be best if these new drivers were not to carry backseat passengers.

Boston MP Julie Hilling recently told parliament, “This should be made possible all over theUnited Kingdom, or else British law-abiding citizens will be forced to break the law in order to find cheap car insurance premiums”.

Hilling also stated an example of a 28-year old driver fromBoltonwho was given a car insurance quote of £ 17, 800 to insure his VW Polo. This young driver later opted for a Fordson Major Tractor because the insurance was infinitely cheaper.

The Transport Select Committee, together with the support of MP Julie Hilling, is calling upon the government to set up a cross-departmental committee to focus on the staggering car insurance premium costs.

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Car Insurance Company Administers Survey on Road Rage among British Drivers

Budget Travel Updates October 28, 2011
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car insuranceAccording to a new motorist survey, one out of every seven British motorists have experienced road rage while one quarter of the population have experienced assaults or threats from an outraged driver. This recent study has shown thatUKdrivers are more easily flared up while on the road. Also, it has been stated that women drivers and men drivers are both prone to road rage violence and disputes. On another note, drivers fromScotlandhave been found out to be more complacent compared British motorists because they are less likely to do anything concerning their road rage. With statistics that come up 5 % short to the findings on British motorists, there are less rude gestures and obscene names being called inScotland.

Managing director of Admiral Car Insurance Company, Sue Longthorn, was the person behind this revealing survey.  According to her, “Both genders are affected by road rage and, unfortunately, it doesn’t come up short with mere shouting and sign language.” It was even discovered that people who were more complacent and easy mannered were also somehow easily affected by other motorist’s slight mishaps. Being confined in a car while driving seems to bring about a more atrocious side of us yet this is not necessary emotions to have while on the road.

Overall, around 76 % of lady drivers admit to feel angry while driving. On the other hand, only 69 % of men admit to be enraged while driving despite the fact that male drivers are most likely involved in physical assaults, gesticulating and obscene shouting due to road rage. In relation to this, the survey also revealed that 10 % of male drivers admit to having been involved in physical assault while 4 % of male drivers confessed to hitting out at cars. And male drivers whom have threatened other motorists while in a heated roadside argument have been estimated to be around 8 %.

In comparison, women drivers who have been involved in assault are at 7 % while those who have thrashed cars are at 2 %. And, a further 5 % admit to have threatened other drivers while driving.

The survey was conducted with 3,000 participants wherein 50 % were male and the other half was female. During this poll, the car insurance company also found out that around 16 % of men and 10 % of women have tried to intimidate or scare off another driver by stalking them. Despite these findings, three drivers out of five realize that road rage is wrong while one motorist out of every seven say that they often feel guilty after they have vented out their flared up emotions.

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Car Insurance Price Hikes of Almost 28 % Defer the 1.6 % Decrease

Budget Travel Updates October 14, 2011
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Car Insurance Price HikesMotorists are becoming even more hard-pressed because of the continuous increase in car premiums. According to research, the increase has equated to nearly £100. On the other hand, there is also good news for British motorists because the soaring rates have seemed to stop soaring. Average prices have been noticed to have dropped by 1.6 % in the third quarter of this year.

According to Towers Car Insurance Price Index, it has been noted that the highest price increases are within the North of England. Within the third quarter of this year (June-September 2011), the highest car insurance premium rise has climbed to almost 28 % which affected the town of Oldham. Bradford suffered increases of up to 27 % while Liverpool has felt increases of almost 27 %. Now, car insurance premiums are at an average of almost £1,500.

On another note, Northern Scotland has incurred the lowest yearly price increases. The top 5 areas within the United Kingdom that have acquired the lowest annual premiums are Perth, Kirkwall, Motherwell, Dumfries and Edinburgh. The lowest percentage was 0.3 %.

The rises in car premiums are almost three times as high as the inflation in the United Kingdom. If the rises are compared to the Consumer Price Index, it can be seen that the annual increases have doubled.

With all of these increases in premiums, the young drivers are those motorists who are most hard-pressed. A research has shown that motorists, especially young motorists, are willing to oversee their car insurance. On a separate survey, 21 % of young drivers were prepared to skip their car insurance while one-third were prepared to modify their information to desperately bring down their rates.

With all of these increases, motoring is becoming quite an expensive luxury that average people cannot afford. Apart from the moral pressures set by the government to insure a car, other costs like fuel and parking are making driving exorbitance. More than a year ago, the cost of filling a car tank with fuel cost £ 10 less. In addition to this, car repair has also increased in accordance to the premiums. According to Warranty Direct who conducted a research on car repairs, they found out that the average hourly rate of a garage laborer has risen by almost 8 %.

Despite all of this doom and gloom, there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. According to an online car insurance company, the average price of a comprehensive car insurance policy has lowered by almost 2 %. This is the first sign of a decrease for more than three years. If this trend will go on, there just might be additional decreases within the final quarter of 2011.

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Car Insurance Claim Fraudster Jailed for Six Years

Budget Travel Updates October 1, 2011
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car accident lawyerCar insurance fraudsters are known to be one of the reasons why our car insurance premiums are on the rise. Recently, there was a man who tried to fake his own death in an attempt to make a car insurance claim. The claim was attested to be at more than half a million British pounds. Instead, he is going to go to jail for six years because of this fraudulent action.

This car insurance fraudster has been identified as Anthony McErlean. McErlean staged a fake accident within Honduras. Later on, he pretended to be the spouse of the ‘late’ Anthony McErlean.

The insurance company was informed that McErlean had died after he got hit by a truck while he was fixing his tyre on the side of the road. The ‘witness’ claimed that the truck that hit McErlean was loaded with farm workers. After the impact, the farmers got down to retrieve the body and brought it to the nearest village which was Santa Rosa Aguan. The fake witness also stated that he was accompanying McErlean to the rural areas in order to take wildlife photographs.

The claim that McErlean was trying to acquire was valued at £520,000. However, the insurance company grew suspicious and deemed it proper to hold out on paying out the claim.

At a prior hearing, McErlean admitted to charges of fraud and theft. This 66-year-old man fromPentham,Kenthas been has given in to four counts of fraud and theft. And upon further instigating and investigation, Anthony McErlean also admitted to have claimed a pension for his father-in-law who passed away a few years back.

Anthony McErlean was arrested after admitting his frauds. And upon the arrest, Anthony McErlean told the investigative police that the motive behind this fraudulent act was because of the fact that he did not want to become destitute during his twilight years.

During the time when McErlean was trying to make a car insurance claim, he admitted to supplicating a fake death certificate to the insurance company. Also, together with the death certificate was a bogus police report that stated the details of the fake incident. And upon further investigation of the police, they had found several fingerprints of McErlean on the certificates. McErlean explained that the certificates were easy to come by inHondurasbecause most of the officers there are corrupt. The acquired fake documents were attained by plain bribery.

On the day that McErlean was charged and had to surrender his passport, the court found out that on the same day McErlean tried to apply for a replacement passport, claiming that he lost his original passport.

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