It’s drifting towards those summer months and the optimistic people, hoping for a hot, dry summer will soon start to bring out those cabriolet motors or start searching for such a car in preparation for soaking up the sun whilst out on the open road.

It’s the recent all too brief glimpse of the sun that manufacturers and garages are hoping will help boost the sales in new and second hand soft tops, cabriolets and T Bar design motors during the next few months.

Just like other motors however, the ladies are able to secure better insurance premiums than the men.

A 24 year old young lady with 4 years no claims bonus can expect to pay between £334 and £800 for comprehensive cover on a 1600cc, Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet built in 2002.

The poor 24 year old male can expect to pay between £360 up to as much as £1,100 for the same vehicle and cover.

Unfortunately gentlemen, until such time as you can clean up your act and bring the insurance claims costs etc. down to the same level as the female drivers, our lady friends are going to continue enjoying lower insurance premiums.

Realistically, this is unlikely to happen so unfortunately, premiums for men will remain higher than for the ladies for the foreseeable future so we may as well get used to it.

You are looking at buying that tidy little motor but have a tidy little problem – the cost of your insurance premium.

The reason is that your car insurance is due for renewal just before your birthday!

Consider waiting to renew your policy until after your birthday. For drivers under the age of 25 years old this can save you quite a bit of money.

Basically, the younger you are, the better the chance of saving more money.

So when your policy is next coming up for renewal or you are buying your first car, check out some of the aggregator websites. Have a look at comparethemarket/beatthatquote or moneysupermarket and get some insurance premium quotes based on your current age and another based on your age after you have had your birthday.

That said however, it is important to remember that it is illegal to drive a car on the public highway without a valid insurance certificate and anyone caught breaking the law can look forward to getting some penalty points on their licence, so please do not be tempted to drive your car whilst it is uninsured.

If need be, lay your car up from the date your current policy expires but remain disciplined and don’t use the car. If you are caught driving it without insurance, the loading your insurers will impose on your policy will, in all likelihood, absorb any saving you were expecting to make.

A new study by Admiral has revealed that men are likely to spend up to three times more time in their cars than in their homes.
It is not clear whether this has any impact on car insurance premiums for men but however unlikely, it could well be a contributory factor as roads become more congested and commuting takes longer.
This seems to be more of an issue for men in London than in other parts of the country with as many as one in five men in London are having to endure this but in Wales the ratio drops right down to one in twenty five men.
Admiral managing director, Sue Longthorn, said: “Perhaps men are taking some time out on the road to relax and get away from pressures at home. However, overall it’s a sad reflection that people are spending so much time away from their friends and family, whether by choice or not.”
The report polled 3,000 individuals and further suggested that nearly two thirds of people would rather drive on their own than travel with a passenger.
With the ever increasing demands of work related activities, it is important to remember that tiredness can kill so drivers are asked to ensure they take sufficient breaks whilst driving.

Just like in the UK, Americans have been looking at ways to cut their expenditure in these difficult times and one of the biggest casualties has been that of car insurance.

Even in the USA, the number of uninsured motorists nationwide has doubled in the past 12 months from 10% to 20%, according to the online agency Insurance.com.

It should be acknowledged that everyone would like to save money on their insurance premiums, but no one wants to be financially out of pocket should the unexpected happen.

Car insurance exists because accidents happen, and rather than driving around completely uninsured, risking prosecution and points on your licence, consider reducing your liability coverage and drop to Third Party Fire and Theft, or even, Third Party Only.

Accepted, there will no longer be any cover for damage to your own vehicle in the event of an accident or cover for goods stolen from your car in the event of a break in, but this risk has got to be better than driving around uninsured.

Dropping your cover is a bit of a gamble but it’s a decision you may find yourself needing to make. You never know, financial recovery may arrive soon, whereupon you can reinstate your comprehensive cover again.

Like everything else at the moment, finding cheaper car insurance is at the top of most peoples list. While there are plenty of savings to be had, it is worth taking a look at the free business gifts being given away with some of the deals out there.

The free items themselves come in a range of types and amounts, some simply offer you an immediate £50 cashback, others offer you actual business gifts as an incentive.

One insurance company was even giving away laptops with certain insurance policies, granted they were at a higher price tag, but it is certainly an enticing offer none-the-less.

Other companies try to push their own business gifts on you, like Tesco, regularly offer clubcard points or shopping discounts as an extra incentive. it is worth taking any included gifts or perks into account when you are searching through the different insurance quotes.

Sometimes you get things like free MOTs or free breakdown cover included, which you can actually then count as a deduction from the insurance price as you may have opted for these services anyway.

So, while you are shopping around for your car insurance make sure you keep your eyes peeled to get hold of some great bargains.

With the car industry struggling globally, and UK manufacturers cutting back in their production plants, the impact is resounding across many smaller businesses that rely on the associated anciliary work and helping to fuel the current increase in unemployement.

Even so, whilst sales in new cars has fallen dramatically, some may be surprised that the second hand market is experiencing a bit if a renaissance.

Prices for second hand motors have been dropping steadily, more or less in line with falling house prices ,which has not gone unnoticed by car insurance providers.

Whenever you watch a TV channel which is permitted to advertise, you will see one of the comparison websites maketing their products.

In response, direct car insurance companies appear to have stepped up their marketing activity to ensure they maintain their market share.

Some motor insurance markets however seem to continue ot be able to sustain growth; one of them being that of the Classic Car.

With cars as young as 10 years old now qualifying for classic car insurance rates, providing the mileage is limited, it is certainly worth having a look at some of these insurance providers when your car insurance policy comes up for renewal.

Classic car insurance policies often provide improved cover against a standard car insurance policy because they calculate price on the actual vehicle and against an agreed valuation, rather than the market rates.

It is pretty much everyone’s nightmare to find themself involved in an accident.

Today’s “living” pressures offers little room for time consuming unplanned events but to ensure any car insurance claims run smoothly, some of the following tips make be of use.

Firstly, remember, it’s only a car; the welfare of the people involved in the accident should take immediate priority.  Call the police and ambulance services if someone is injured.

Circumstances permitting, immediately after the accident, make sure you:-

• Remain calm
• Obtain full details of the other drivers involved including:-
• Their name(s), address and telephone details
• Their insurance company and policy number if it is available
• The make, model, colour and vehicle registration numbers
• Get the name, address and contact details of any witnesses
• Write down the circumstances surrounding the accident – the time,   weather conditions, road conditions (whether some traffic control system was faulty etc.)
• Get the name, address and contact details of any witnesses
• Notify your own insurer.

It may help your claim if you are able to get photographs of the accident and damage to any vehicles involved. This information could prove important if liability is disputed and possibly vital, if the claim ever went to court.

Nobody wants to be involved in car accidents and we all try to avoid them but periodically, car drivers find themselves caught up in accident of some kind. Hopefully they are only minor incidents involving minor damage to the vehicle or third party property.

But, in the event of a person meeting with the accident and incurring damages whereupon they have to lodge a claim with their own insurer or against the person at fault’s insurance company, the hassle can begin.

Not knowing how to proceed is the first and probably the hardest obstacle to overcome. After all, it takes time, and involves completing forms and pursuing insurers for progress. Everyone wants their claim resolved immediately. In fact, their claim is the only one they are concerned with – who cares about all the others feeling the same way. You want your car back.

So, first bit of advice is to recognise that you are not the only person the insurers are having to deal with – don’t be too impatient. Yes, it is fine to chase them for progress but if you are insured on a third party fire and theft basis, be aware that the other person’s insurance company is going to want you to jump through a few hoops and prove their customer was indeed at fault.

They will want their customer’s view of the accident before admitting liability and the police, if they were called to the scene.

A group of collision repair businesses around the UK is to shortly launch an independent  quality assured repairer network.

Membership of the Vizion Network will be aimed specifically at the prestige vehicle market and will be restricted to repair businesses that have prestige manufacturer approvals, BSI Kitemark accreditation and operate the same repair management systems.

All Vizion Network businesses will have specialist prestige vehicle manufacturer trained technicians and each business will have its own BSI Kitemark for vehicle body repairing assuring they all adhere to the same processes.

Qulaity of workmanship will be supported by thorough BSI audit and inspection processes.

By using the same repair management system, customers of Vizion members repairers  will be able to benefit from the improved operational efficiency, transparency, and consistent management information.

Vizion’s founding members are Eamonn Dunne of Brooklands, Paul Austin of Balgores, Trevor Barefoot of Exway, Gene Clark of Clarkes, Julian Allen of Motorvation, David Perkins and Graham Eyles of Apollo Motor Group and Gary Lindsay of Autoflow.

Eamonn Dunne of Brooklands will be chairman of the Vizion Network and has stated:

“Vizion has been created to meet a market need. We can no longer afford to have a fragmented, clouded approach to vehicle body repair. Now, owners, insurers and fleet managers can specify a Vizion Network repairer and be confident that their prestige vehicles will be repaired safely and effectively to a consistent high manufacturer standard.”

Anyone interested in keeping an eye on developments of this network can start y accessing the website currently under ocnstruction by clicking here. 

This is my second article on providing an insight into the history of a particular insurance provider.

You may have heard of RSA, you may not, and to most, it makes little difference as long as the cover they provide meets UK legal requirements.

It is important to note that many of the insurers I will provide information about have diverse portfolios and do not offer only car insurance.

RSA has a proud heritage dating back almost 300 years. Following the merger of 2 of the largest insurers in the UK, Royal Sun Alliance and Sun Alliance, in 1996, the company was restructured to that of the present day.

The Sun was established in 1710 and is the oldest insurance company still trading under its original name. The company developed an international presence in the 18th Century with business ventures in mainland Europe.

The Alliance was founded in 1824, closely followed by Royal in 1845.

In the 19th Century, overseas activity started to increase with operations established in the US, Canada, South America, Australia, and Africa (and even China until it was nationalised).

In 1919 Royal merged with Liverpool and London & Globe followed in 1959 by mergers between Sun and The Alliance which increased their presence in the insurance markets further.

1965 saw the formation of Sun Alliance and London.

It was not until 1996 that the merger of Royal Insurance and Sun Alliance created Royal & Sun Alliance, now one of the largest insurance companies in the UK.

In 2001 MORETH>N was launched in an effort to bring a new approach to the consumer financial services market in the UK.

In 2002, a strategic decision was made to focus the group’s attention on general insurance followed in 2006 with changes to their operational structure to reflect the new strategic focus of the business. The Group was subsequently reorganised into three main operational divisions, the UK, International and Emerging Markets.

In 2008, the name changed to RSA.