Check your insurance if you’re heading to Ireland, says AA

Holidaymakers travelling to Ireland this summer need to make sure that their car insurance policy covers them for driving abroad, AA Ireland has advised.

Thomas Brosnan, spokesperson for the insurer, said that people planning a road trip to the Gaelic nation need to check that if they have comprehensive cover in the UK, they also have the same terms in other countries, otherwise they could be caught out and have a hefty bill to pay in the event of an accident.

Last year, nearly five million Brits visited the Emerald Isle, with most of them staying in Dublin (63 per cent), according to figures from Tourism Ireland.

For those thinking of taking their cars to discover the country by car, Mr Brosnan offered the following advice: “If a person is bringing their own vehicle here, certainly they should check with their own insurance company the level of cover they will have while here.”

Tags: planning a road trip, Types of insurance, The Automobile Association, trip, Insurance, hefty bill

Congestion charge behind increase in motorcycle registrations

The increase in motorcycle and moped registrations could be attributed to commuters leaving the car at home in a bid to avoid the congestion charge, one insurance expert has claimed.

According to a spokesperson for insurance provider Churchill, the driving force behind the
increase in moped and motorcycle registrations during 2007 could be “due to people commuting by bike rather than car and congestion charging.”

Motorbike insurance policies can vary from insurer to insurer in terms of what factors they take into account and may depend on personal circumstances such as driving history and area postcode, said the firm.

Although people can buy motorbike insurance specifically for women, as with cars, Churchill said it offers the same insurance for both male and female motorists.

According to the Motorcycle Industry Association SMART guide, scooters cut journey times in London by an average of 48 per cent.

New figures also show that more than 3.5 million people are now licensed to ride a bike.

Tags: commuters, insurance provider, smart guide, congestion, Insurance, provider, 5 million

Students urged to check cover

Students departing for university this month have been urged to check that their parent’s home insurance policy provides enough cover before buying their own specialist insurance policy.

Insurer Cornhill Direct explained that many parents do not realise that their home contents policy will usually offer sufficient cover for their children at university, making it unnecessary to buy a stand-alone student policy.

Mike Bishop, of Cornhill Direct, said: “We know from insurance claims we receive from parents that the university lifestyle can leave students vulnerable to theft from their rooms.

“These days, students take a lot of electrical kit to university such as laptops, Mp3 players and mobile phones, so they do need to be insured.”

A survey of 1,000 students also revealed that almost a third of students spend more time drinking and socialising than studying, although 41 per cent admitted that they do often feel guilty about this.

Home insurance policies from Cornhill Direct, Nationwide, HSBC, NatWest, More Than and Norwich Union direct all over cover for possessions in temporary student accommodation.

Tags: Mp3 players, lot, Than, Mike Bishop, union

Younger drivers ‘pay more for insurance’

Revealing that one in three male drivers writes off a car in the first year after passing their test, car insurance provider Direct Line has warned young males that they will always have to pay higher premiums because they pose a greater risk.

A spokeswoman for the insurer explained: “Young drivers present a greater risk than experienced drivers, and, as insurance is based on risk, they will pay a higher premium. They are much more likely to have an accident. Those who present higher risk pay a higher premium.”

She explained that newer drivers would always suffer higher premiums because of their inexperience on the road, but advised those looking to minimise the financial damages to invest in a smaller car and take advantage of the Pass Plus advanced driving scheme.

“It is a government run initiative and it is six one-hour sessions and it costs around £100 to take and you can do this and get 35 per cent off,” she added.

A recent survey from Churchill Car Insurance revealed it is not just new drivers who pose a risk on the roads. More than one million infrequent drivers suffer from “rusty driver syndrome” and forget basic rules of the road, the insurer found.

Tags: finance, Types of insurance, risk, greater risk.A spokeswoman, insurer

ABI survey urges insurers to “come clean” on customer comments

An independent panel has urged insurers to give “warts and all” accounts of their performance, as they publish results from Britain’s first nationwide insurers’ survey.

Run by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Customer Impact study – currently in its first year – asked 18,000 insurance holders to rate their provider on products, sales and service.

Many major insurers have already published their first reports on how customers have rated them.

The Consumer Impact Panel, however, has expressed concern as to whether results have been especially selected to cast the insurer in as favourable a light as possible.

Chairman of the panel, former Scottish Widows boss Mike Ross, said: “Firms should present a balanced assessment of what customers think, with no cherry picking and should have a comparison of their performance against the industry average.

“Companies should be honest about their areas of weakness and show what action they are taking to address these weaknesses.”

Tags: insurer, finance, widows boss mike, action, service.Many major insurers, economics

Flood claims ‘could total £1 billion’

Claims made by the thousands of Britons who have been affected by the recent floods and storms could total some £1 billion, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has commented.

The figure follows estimates by the ABI that 27,000 homes and 5,000 businesses experienced damage as a result of the recent inclement conditions.

Extra insurers are already being redeployed to visit properties as quickly as possible, the ABI’s director general Stephen Haddrill said, but even with these emergency measures “normal standards of service” could not be delivered.

Outlining how older customers, those with health difficulties and families were being supported first, Mr Haddrill added: “We hope that other people can bear with us as we work through the backlog. We will reach everyone as soon as we can.”

Insurer Zurich says it has received more than 2,600 claims in the last ten days as a result of the flooding and has flown in loss-adjusters from the Europe, US and Australia to cope with the problem.

Jon Cawley, UK property claims operations manager for Zurich, said: “This flooding is taking longer to clear than previous flooding, for example in Boscastle three years ago.”

Tags: claims operations, Types of insurance, operations manager, storms, Outlining

Savers are short-sighted

Millions of consumers are only saving money to achieve their short-term goals, new research has indicated.

An estimated 7.5 million Britons save cash just to meet their immediate needs, according to a report by website Unbiased.co.uk.

A further 3.8 million are thought to be “frivolous” spenders, driven to part with their cash because of their desire to acquire certain purchases, rather than their ability to afford them, according to the study.

The report, commissioned by IFA Promotion and based on official data and a YouGov survey of consumers, concludes that there are two frivolous spenders for every Briton who is financially aware.

Dividing the nation into five categories according to their spending habits, the study also suggests that even one in ten “bargain” spenders do not have any savings.

“This year’s research into the nation’s propensity to save shows some improvement, but it is disappointing that we still define ourselves as a nation of spenders rather than a nation of savers,” said Unbiased.co.uk chief executive David Elms.

News that many Britons are failing to save for a rainy day follows research published yesterday indicating that the majority of the nation’s wealth is now tied up in property rather than traditional financial assets such as savings.

Some 55 per cent of the UK’s wealth is now linked to equity in properties, the study commissioned by the insurer Prudential found.

Tags: rainy day, insurer, United Kingdom, spending habits, property, year, propensity

Insurance By Age and Experience

Mature beyond your years

Just as young people get penalised for being young by the insurance companies there can be disadvantages to being old too. But there are also some advantages. How do the insurance companies treat drivers of more advanced years? Read more

Tags: SAGA Driver, 14 days, motorists, heart, type, Debits, insurer, Clubs It