Car modifications can increase insurance by 139%
March 27, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Modifications to cars can increase insurance premiums by as much as 139 per cent, according to new research. 
Findings from Confused.com revealed that for a 20 year-old male driving a VW Golf GTI 1.5 litre with no claims or convictions, a quote could differ by up to £1026.42 – or 182 per cent – depending on whether the vehicle was modified or not.
Among the most common modifications are spoilers, alloy wheels, tinted windows, lower suspension and strip under-lighting.
Will Thomas, head of car insurance at Confused.com, said that as modifications become more popular with young drivers, it is important that they are made aware of the ensuing cost of car insurance.
“Adding spoilers and tinted windows, for example, can not only dramatically increase car insurance premiums, but they can render car insurance void in some instances, especially when the driver fails to inform the insurer of any changes,” he continued.
Meanwhile, research from swiftcover.com shows that 96 per cent of British motorists leave gadgets on display in their vehicles, making their cars targets for thieves.
Huge difference in car insurance premiums based on jobs
November 5, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
A recent survey has shown that there is a huge difference in the amount of money drivers have to pay for their car insurance based on their job – even in cases where their jobs do not involve driving in many cases.
As part of the research thirteen insurance companies were used and quotes compared for 465 different professions. The results of the research showed that there was a difference of around £850 between the premiums paid by those in the highest bracket professions and the amount paid by those in the lowest bracket professions.
At the top of the league tables and paying the highest in terms of insurance premiums are footballers, who are charged an average of £1348 a year for fully comprehensive car insurance. Other professions in the top ten included comedians, who were charged the second highest premiums, stuntmen, circus employees, cab drivers, fortune tellers, builders, and national press journalists. Other professions made up the top fifteen highest paying policyholders, including bin men, driving instructors, mechanics, telephone salesmen, and bizarrely beekeepers.
Amongst those paying the lowest premiums on their car insurance cover were secretaries, who enjoyed the lowest premiums of all the professions included in the research, police officers, paramedics, doctors, lawyers, bank managers, teachers, firemen, and computer consultants. One insurance professional stated: “Insurers assess risk in many different ways — one of which is profession.”
However, she added that it was still important for people to compare quotes despite their profession, as many insurance companies also base premiums on their own claims experience of different professions.
The research was carried out by insurance price comparison website confused.com, and in order to get the different quotes the company used the character of a man aged 32, living in the London area, driving a Ford Mondeo, and enjoying maximum no claims bonus.
Tom Smith
5th November 2007
Consumer fail to shop around for car insurance
October 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
According to a recent survey carried out by Sainsbury’s, many consumers in the UK are failing to take the time to shop around for their car insurance, and in many cases end up paying considerably more than they have to for their vehicle insurance by going with the first quote that the get.
Sainsbury’s officials state that the cost of insuring a vehicle has been rising over the years, but an alarming number of consumers still won’t take the time to compare premiums in order to cut back on the cost of car insurance.
According to the research carried out by Sainsbury’s 20% of drivers in the UK obtained just one quote when they last bought vehicle insurance. It is advisable for consumers to obtain at least three quotes before making a decision on car insurance, as the cost of cover can vary dramatically from one insurance provider to another, and can make a big difference to drivers’ monthly instalments or total premium costs.
There are also a number of other factors that affect the cost of vehicle insurance, and some insurance professionals have been offering advice to consumers on how they can cut the cost of cover. In addition to shopping around for insurance cover, consumers can save money by opting for a smaller engine size and by cutting down on mileage.
For younger drivers the Pass Plus scheme is a good way to cut back on the cost of cover – car insurance for younger drivers has rocketed in price over recent years and can be extremely expensive, even at the more basic levels.
According to officials from Direct Line younger drivers that take the Pass Plus course after passing their initial driving test could benefit from around 35% off the cost of their insurance premiums, which could amount to a substantial sum based on the average premium for a younger make driver of £2000.
Tom Smith
25th October 2007
Fierce Competition Likely to Push Car Insurance Premiums Down
November 2, 2006 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
Comments Off
Despite the recent announcement by Norwich Union that it is to increase premiums on its UK motor insurance policies by up to 16 per cent. in the coming year, recent research undertaken by Defaqto indicates that fierce competition among UK car insurance providers is likely going to result in car insurance premiums falling in the coming months.
According to the findings in Defaqto’s recently released report, “Motor Insurance in the UK – Adapting to Survive”, many of the UK’ leading car insurance providers are either electing to keep their car insurance premiums frozen this year or are looking to reduce premium burdens on their customers. With UK car insurance premiums constituting £7.4 billion in sector revenues for 2006, many of the UK’s leading car insurance policy providers now acknowledge that intense market competition is stopping them from following Norwich Union’s lead and increasing premiums.
To a large extent, most of the competitive pressure on car insurance premiums in the UK is coming from savvy motorist who have now learnt that looking online for discounted car insurance is the easiest and quickest way of finding cheap UK car insurance. Brian Brown, Defaqto’s head of general insurance research commented that “With the Internet, it is now easy for customers to shop around and so many insurers are still giving introductory discounts, cash-back or guarantees to beat other quotes, that there is little, if any, need for customers to stick with their existing insurer when faced with premium increases”.
The question of whether or not UK motorist can look forward to reduced car insurance premiums is still, however, subject to whether or not large UK motor insurance providers, such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, decide on price freezes. If RBS were to decide that now is not the right time to push through a price hike, then joint competition from RBS and alternative discount UK car insurance available on the Internet will almost certainly result in premium freezes or reductions in the coming year.
Nonetheless, UK motorist still need to be careful they read their UK motor insurance policy carefully as over 60 per cent. of motor insurance providers in the UK now recoup lost revenue from premium reductions in the form of policy adjustment charges. Here, Defaqto’s report found that the fee to cancel a UK car insurance policy can cost the policyholder as much as £75. However, Defaqto are also quick to point out that following the Office of Fair Trading move to reduce late payment fees on UK credit cards, it is likely that these high additional fees will not be round for long – with or without the OFT’s intervention.
