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. 

With consumer awareness regarding eco-friendly car insurers increasing, beatthatQuote.com have now added The Green Insurance Company to their panel of insurers.

beatthatQuote.com now have 62 motor insurers on their panel and a total of around 2 million visitors to their site per month. Their performance has so far managed to buck the commercial trends of many other businesses and has in fact managed to double the number of insurance policies sold since the beginning of 2008.

Part of that growth may indeed be attributed to the fact that they extended their insurance provisions to include motorcycle and commercial vehicle cover but even during good times, such growth is promising. 

Insurance providers are recognising that people want to be  ethically aware about their choices of provider and The Green Insurance Company will be a welcome addition to those people wishing to support eco-friendly initiatives.

The Green Insurance Company offers low emission discounts if you drive a greener car and/or do low mileage, donate 5% of their profits to charity and offer an online discount of up to 26%. They even offer you the opportunity to calculate your carbon footprint on their website.

The Green Insurance Company’s managing director Andrew McMillan added:

“ It is with great pleasure that I can confirm that The Green Insurance Company will now appear on the beatthatQuote.com website. We know this new partnership will greatly benefit both companies, and bring our environmentally friendly products to a wider audience.”

“The Green Insurance Company will always strive to find cheaper and greener solutions to the general public’s insurance needs, while keeping our unique promise to offset all of their car’s carbon emissions.”

Even the biggest are not immune to economic downturns.

Insurance companies, insurance providers, brokers, comparison websites and of course, the main Lloyds underwriters are as exposed to current economic downturn as much as the rest of us.

Some may even fall by the wayside eventually so it is important to ensure that the insurance premiums that you pay are indeed paid over to the actual insurance provider.

If your broker or representative, fails to pay the monies over, you could in fact find yourself driving around without valid insurance.

Henri de Castries, Chairman of one of the biggest UK insurers, AXA, the second largest insurance company in Europe said recently that 2009 would be a challenging year and warned against panicking about the economy. He went on to say to investors:

The 2008 financial market turmoil was unprecedented and had a significant impact upon our industry. In this adverse environment, AXA was not immune.

He further warned:

“2009 will be another challenging year, in light of the current global economic environment.’ Our confidence in the performance of AXA going forward is supported by the increasing engagement of our employees, the trust of our clients, the financial flexibility and diversification of the Group and our operating profit resilience through turbulent times.”

If you have any concerns about the validity of your insurance policy you can keep up to date with the latest warnings about firms that may be in financial difficulty etc.  by visiting the The FSA Money Made Clear section of their internet website.

Cullum Capital Ventures (CCV) has acquired Tamworth-based broker Brian Potter & Associates.

This is CCV’s 36th acquisition in the past two and a half years moving their total gross written premium to around £240m.

Established in 2006, CCV provides a range of solutions for both insurance brokers and underwriting agencies that are considering selling off all/part of their business portfolio and is one of the UK’s top 5 largest independently owned insurance intermediaries with more than 650 operational staff. 

CCV focuses on investing in regional brokers by providing specialist and non-specialist general insurance products by working in partnership with a core group of capacity providers who underwrite the risk. 

MD of Brian Potter & Associates, Stuart Potter, said:

“The CCV philosophy fits well with the needs of both our customers and staff. We considered a number of options for our business and felt that CCV was ideal for all parties and equally importantly the ongoing development of the company.”

CCV’s executive chairman, Peter Cullum, welcomed CCV’s latest acquisition. He said:

“Our strategy of acquiring and investing in good quality regional brokers continues at a pace, and we have a number of deals already undergoing due diligence or in our sights over the coming months. In spite of the uncertainties in the broader economic environment, CCV is well placed to continue its growth based on a profitable business model coupled with access to acquisition funding.”

Amlin, one of the leading Lloyd’s of London insurers is predicting that insurance premiums will rise to unprecedented levels rocket this year.

The cost of property, marine, aviation and other types of catastrophe insurance will soar as insurers err on the side of caution when considering and managing risk in the wake of the global financial crisis.

General insurers forecast their portfolio products such as car insurance is also predicted to rise in cost by up 20% this year.
With poor claims history following the battering of our homes and properties due to the adverse weather experienced in recent years combined with tumbling stock markets, only the strong will be able to survive.

Chief executive of Amlin, Charles Philipps believes this year will see a “cut-throat” approach to writing premiums suggesting very few (if any) will be chasing market share at the expense of profits in 2009.

Mr Phillips went on to say:

“We are through the bottom of the insurance cycle with strong prospects for hardening rates across our business. Commercial insurers could be winners from the credit crunch as financial companies look to protect balance sheets”.

Such comments from leading experts only go to reinforce recommendations that customers should carefully review insurance requirements and shop around to ensure they are securing the best possible deal for themselves before paying any renewal premium.

You never know, you may secure a better rate and indeed, get yourself a policy offering more benefits.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Going green and purchasing an “eco-friendly” car insurance policy could well leave the motorist paying more than they bargained for in their bid to become a protagonist for helping the environment.

The car itself may be a state of the art eco-friendly vehicle offering super eco-friendly driving with its combination of battery and petrol powered engine, but try to make a further contribution by purchasing an insurance policy with one of the green insurers and you could find yourself paying significantly more than that being quoted by your less eco-friendly  insurers.

Gocompare.com reports a 49 year old government office worker with no convictions or medical conditions and maximum no claims bonus will pay Swinton Insurance £199.89 for an annual insurance policy on an eco-friendly Toyota Prius whilst Ibuyeco offer a premium of £251.51, some 26% higher.

Whilst commendable that environmentally conscious insurers offer something back to the environment and yes, it is acknowledged that there are non eco-friendly insurers out the quoting more than Ibuyeco’s annual premium, but with the economic climate and financial pressures being experienced by most, there is little encouragement to drivers to switch and support the environment when they are being asked to pay around a quarter more for their policy if they want to be eco-friendly and put something back.

Shopping around for the best value motor insurance for your circumstances is more important than ever at the moment, and then if you can afford it, why not just donate the money you save to an eco-friendly charity of your choice. UK drivers are having to watch every penny at the moment and paying over the odds is unnecessary.

Drivers who break the laws of the road can expect to be fined and have penalty points added to their driving licence (if they have one yet).

It is also fairly certain that any potential or existing insurance provider is going to look closely at the conviction on the licence before offering any insurance premium. Remember, fail to disclose a conviction on your licence and you could invalidate your insurance policy, whereupon you could find yourself driving around without insurance thereby committing a further offence. 

In the event of being caught speeding at say 39 mph in a 30 mph area, one would attract 3-6 points penalty on a licence together with a fine of around £40 - £60 usually, depending whether it is the first offence.

Get caught speeding and not being licensed to drive, failing to have either the minimum insurance requirements or a valid MOT at the same time, and it can be treated differently.

In situations where a person committed more than one offence at the same time, such as speeding and not having a valid licence to drive, courts usually convict on the most serious offence. In the case of our speeding driver who did not possess a driving licence, it is also likely they therefore did not have any insurance either.

Driving without insurance usually attracts 6-8 points penalty and by far the most serious offence in this instance. The person should also expect a fine of a few hundred pounds.

In Devon for example, a man has just been jailed for 6 months for driving at over 120mph on his motorcycle with his son as a pillion passenger. He has also received a 6 month driving ban so the conviction and additional penalties can vary in exceptional circumstances.

For individuals convicted of driving without a licence, the penalty will be stored by DVLA and added to their licence when they apply for one, so there is no escape once convicted.

This could happen to any one of the millions of drivers whizzing around on UK roads.

In fact, 35% of all accidents were reportedly due to people failing to take care, look properly or concentrate.
 
Failing to look properly was the most frequently reported contributory factor.

Four of the five most frequently reported contributory factors included reference to driver/rider error or reaction.

When it comes to fatal accidents, the most frequently reported contributory factor (33%) was due to a loss of control.

Younger drivers, particularly males, are statistically more likely to have contributory factors related to speed and behaviour, whereas mature drivers are more likely to have factors related to vision and judgement.

It is clear from such statistics that certain driving behaviours are more often found in particular driver types and age bands making it difficult to argue with insurance providers when they quote higher premiums for the younger male drivers and those unfortunate enough to suffer from certain medical conditions.

Pedestrian casualties living in the most deprived areas were reported at a rate of 70 casualties per 100,000 population whilst only 21 casualties per 100,000 population in the least deprived areas.

Source: Department for Transport - Road Casualties Great Britain: 2007

Car insurance companies often feign surprise when customers complain about the wide range of costs and fees which are enforced should anyone wish to change or cancel a policy mid-term.

Insurers will refund some of your premium payment on a pro-rata basis (you only pay for the time the policy has been in force) if they are not prepared to insure your new vehicle, but if you cancel the policy mid-term because you have sold the car, or simply want to switch to another insurer, they will impose cancellation charges to cover administration.

Costs can vary enormously and although one would think that the insurance representative simply needs to press a button and the rest is done automatically. This task should take a matter of seconds yet insurers charge anything up to £50 for pressing this button!

It is not always easy to establish this element of the cancellation charges so you may need to ask your insurance company’s customer service representative when cancelling the policy.

Whilst most insurers do include reference to administration fees being charged in the event of cancellation, not all do. As an example, Elephant.co.uk do not mention that you will be required to pay an administration fee on cancellation of their policy.

It is always worth asking the insurer to provide you with a full breakdown of any cancellation charges including any administration fee charged. If the fee seems excessive and unjustifiable, then contact their complaints department and if you are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, consider taking the matter further.

Insurance premiums may be rising but some of the pain may be offset for people looking to buy new cars by manufacturers and car dealers offering some amazing deals at the moment.

There may opportunities for would be buyers to haggle with car dealers to negotiate better deals.

The bi-annual issue of new registrations is no longer a time for dealers to sit back on their laurels and wait for the money and purchasers to roll in through the doors in their droves. They are going to have to work hard to make those sales.

Discounts on the less favourable models, or those with larger engines are being heavily discounted. The price on the car window or roof is a starting point. Even of you don’t like to haggle, have a go. The time is right and you will have a very good chance of securing a deal that you will be more than happy with. It’s a buyers market at the moment.

Do your homework (just like you would with your insurance premium when it comes up for renewal). Don’t be afraid to play one dealer off against another.

Use the internet to research the prices on offer and extras that you may be able to get thrown in if you feel uncomfortable with negotiating the price.