A third of drivers struggle to afford excess on insurance

As most drivers are only too well aware, the cost of operating and maintaining a vehicle has soared over recent years, with more and more drivers finding themselves struggling to meet the rising costs associated with driving. This includes everything from higher maintenance costs and soaring insurance costs to rocketing petrol prices. This is putting real financial strain on the many people who rely on their vehicles to get to work, ferry kids around, and for other purposes.

With regards to car insurance costs, many drivers look at a variety of ways to try and reduce the cost of their car insurance plan, one of which is to opt for a higher level of excess. With vehicle insurance the higher the excess level you choose the lower the premiums are likely to be. However, this means that in the event of a claim the amount of excess that you have selected is the amount that you will have to pay from your own pocket.

One recent report has urged consumers not to increase the excess levels in order to push vehicle insurance premiums down unless they are sure that they can cover the excess in the event of a claim. The report, which has been released by the insurance giant AXA, claims that almost one third of drivers in the UK are actually unable to actually afford the excess level that they choose when it comes to making a claim. This has led to many being left with vehicles that cannot be repaired and become unroadworthy.

An official from the insurance giant stated: “We appreciate that premiums have risen a lot in the last couple of years and we can understand consumers looking at ways of saving a bit of money. But if this means that they can’t afford their excess, it is a completely false economy.”

Tags: insurance plan, false economy, Automobile, official, AXA, variety

Drivers ‘failing to check cover for Europe’

More than 4.3 million Britons plan to drive their vehicles to Europe this summer but many fail to inform their insurer, a report has revealed.

Research published by car insurance supplier Sheila’s Wheels shows almost half of motorists now take their cars when holidaying in Europe, rather than choosing to catch an aeroplane.

Furthermore, 15 per cent of drivers admit simply assuming they are covered for driving overseas and would take their cars to Europe without checking.

It discovered that 18 per cent of people would check their documents before taking their cars abroad and only ten per cent would phone their insurance providers to check their cover was valid.

Jacky Brown at Sheila’s Wheels car insurance said: “When planning to take a car to Europe, it is crucial for motorists to call their insurer and tell them that they want to extend their level of cover for driving abroad.”

Sainsbury’s Bank also published research this week suggesting that 17 per cent of people plan to take their motors abroad during the next year.

Tags: Insurance, britons, plan, checking, Automobile, europe, published research

RAC says car contents targeted by thieves

Car insurers the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) revealed yesterday that thieves were increasingly targeting car contents as well as the vehicles themselves.

RAC spokesperson Liz Kennett said: “Cars now have sophisticated alarms and immobilisers so these days it’s actually really difficult to steal someone’s car unless you have got a pair of keys.

“Quite often it’s about the prestige cars, where people are stealing them to order, rather than your average family car. It’s much harder to steal the actual car itself which is why [thieves] are much more interested in the possessions inside the car.”

Ms Kennett added that increasing sophistication among the criminals had also been detected by the club: “More cars are now being stolen by thieves getting the keys before hand. They are actually stealing them to order.”

However, she added that “theft from vehicles probably won’t drive up car insurance premiums because people don’t claim for the items. They would only claim for the damage to the vehicle for example if the window had been smashed.”

Statistics from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau from 2006 show that a total of 36,000 uninsured claims were reported – a reduction of almost five per cent on the previous year.

Tags: car contents, uninsured claims, Business Finance, Automobile, car insurers, previous year, alarms

Save On Your Car Insurance Premiums

There are various ways to save money on your car insurance:

The first, which may be apparent to many people is to shop around. Read more

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