LV= has added its ABC Insurance private car product to a number of BGL Group car insurance panels.

Initially, the product will appear on the Budget, Dial Direct and QuoteMart panels and is expected to go live on other panels during the course of 2009.

BGL has more than two million existing customers and Phil Bunker, managing director of LV=’s broker business, said:
 
“I’m very pleased that ABC is now trading with BGL. I know the group well and I have been very impressed at the way they have grown their business over the years. They are one of the strongest intermediaries in the market and I am pleased ABC will now be able to play a part in their success story.”

This annoucement follows closely on the heels of LV’s announcement that it’s broker division is expanding into Scotland.

The expansion will be led from a new office based in Glasgow. Much of Scotland’s insurance business is dealt with by companies based in the city and LV= strongly believes that the opening of an office in Scotland, will leave it in a good position to  offer a first class service to local brokers.

Jim Rennie will be Branch Manager with 30 years experience including sales and management roles at both AXA, Independent Insurance and most recently as branch manager for Zurich’s broker business in Scotland.

Margaret Alexander is the Senior Underwriter with over 20 years’ experience in the local market, previously holding sales and underwriting roles with both Norwich Union and Chubb ably supported by Alison McDowell who has over 20 years’ experience in the local market, working most recently as a commercial underwriter with RSA.

Alan Blair is the Regional Sales Executive having worked for both Norwich Union and Fusion in sales roles for 20 years.

Following LV=’s acquisition of Highway Insurance in October 2008, Sandra Inglis, Regional Account Manager for Highway in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England, will also be based in the new Glasgow office.

It doesn’t happen very often but when a person’s car is hit by a vehicle being pursued by Police, where do you stand with regards to claiming for damages and personal injuries?

In all likelihood, you will be able to claim against the insurer of the vehicle, irrespective of whether it was in fact a stolen vehicle, or being driven by a legitimate permitted driver. The fact that it was being pursued by Police at the time is irrelevant.

There are however, some complex legal issues involved and you would be well advised to seek legal advice.

If you are unable to identify the vehicle involved or there was in fact no insurance at all in place, you can submit a claim through the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) who will in essence, act as the third party insurer to compensate you but, if the incident occurred after 1 October 1999, this will be subject to you having to pay the first £300.

You should note that responsibility for the accident has to be agreed, or decided by a Court and on the evidence, your claim could possibly be reduced by a proportion, or possibly rejected if there is evidence that you, or the person driving your car at the time, is considered partly or wholly responsible.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) attacked the insurance industry and the FSA over the practice known as third party capture.

It is a rapidly growing, controversial approach by insurers of approaching injured parties directly in order to settle the claim before a lawyer becomes involved.

The technique is used in order to speed up the claims settlement process and cut out costly legal actions and keep down claimant lawyers costs.

Claims by the APIL president, Amanda Stevens infers that insurers attempt to bully claimants into accepting lower compensation than they should be entitled to and that the FSA (Financial Services Authority) is not taking action against this activity.

Insurers insist that they deal fairly with the injured party and that the compensation offered is fair.

The FSA began an investigation into third party capture at the end of 2007, calling for evidence of bad practice from claimant lawyers and trade unions but has not, as yet,  publish any findings.

With the economic downturn taking a real hold, the arguments around third party capture is set to intensify with the practice likely to become more prevalent with insurers looking to reduce the cost of claims by offering speedy settlements, and legal costs.

In these times of credit and financial instability, the pressure is on, not only for customers, but for businesses as well.

Not a day goes by where you don’t hear/read about some business having gone into administration or ceased trading.

The insurance industry is no different to any other, and just as susceptible.

Throughout the year, the  Financial Services Authority (FSA) an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 monitor the trading activities of financial bodies and enforce breaches in the fight against money laundering and inpropriety etc. It will, if the need arises, issue health warnings etc. to consumers.

The latest warning was issued about A Razzaq Insurance Brokers, based in Oldbury, West Midlands, over concerns that there was  a risk that the company had not passed on all insurance premiums collected to the insurers, and was alerting customers to check the validity of cover arranged through the company.

The FSA said: “If you took out a motor insurance policy through A Razzaq Insurance Brokers then, without valid third-party insurance, you may be committing an offence if you use a vehicle on the public highway under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988. If you are a customer of A Razzaq Insurance Brokers and are in any doubt as to whether you have valid insurance, you are strongly advised to contact the insurance company with whom you believe your policy is held, to check. If you discover you are not covered, you should take immediate steps to arrange new cover.”

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.

Although having had its troubles with the regulator in Ireland, Quinn Insurance is confident about its future in the UK and has big plans for the UK broker market.

This is in spite of being fined €3.25m (£2.7m) last October after breaches of regulatory requirements and its owner and chairman Sean Quinn facing a €200,000 personal penalty and  forced to step down from the insurer’s board.

Colin Morgan, chief executive of Quinn Insurance, is to hold detailed talks with UK brokers next month, scheduling meetings with it’s broker partners in its London offices in early March.

Quinn is the second largest insurer in Ireland, having more than 700 broker agencies around the UK and is looking to increase it’s market share, particularly in comercial lines insurance.

Quinn-direct Insurance was established in Ireland in 1996 and has gained a reputation for offering value for money products and good customer service.

More than 1milllion customers hold a variety of general insurance products such as private and commercial motor insurance, motorcycle insurance & home insurance purchased through their purpose built call centres in Ireland and the UK, broker agents, and the company’s internet site which allows customers to obtain immediate cover online.

“We are very optimistic about the UK market,” said Quinn Insurance commercial director Richard Stafford.

“Our focus for 2009 is to grow there.”

Sometimes, thieves don’t bother to pinch the car, they just steal the number plates, causing other damage in the process for some reason which has to be claimed for from your insurance policy.

If you want to protect your vehicle registration plate from theft, consider fitting the plates with security screws.

In some parts of the country, local garages are setting up agreements with their Community Safety Partnerships to fit the special screws in order to help prevent thieves stealing your number plate, fitting them to another car, and then going on to complete other criminal activities.

It is a scam particularly popular amongst people that steal fuel from petrol stations and legitimate owners of the registration number can find themselves having to jump through quite a few hoops to get the plate back.

It isn’t too much of a problem for the average car owner but if you have personalised plates, it can be more frustrating.

It will be unlikely that garages will fit these screws for free, but they might, if you are say getting your car serviced or MOT’d at the same time.

It’s certainly worth asking and for your own protection, make sure you notify your car insurance provider if you find you end up changing your registration number.

Remember, it could also involve you in having to pay an admin fee to your insurer.

Importing vehicles from markets such as Japan is increasing in popularity.

There is a tendency for these types of car to have lower mileages and higher specifications than the equivalent UK models, and because they are imports, they are frequently available at good prices.

These types of car are usually known as “Grey Imports”.

Grey Import cars are not as popular with insurers however so it is unlikely that the usual insurance providers would be prepared to offer cover. You would be best advised therefore to consult a specialist insurance provider.

When you bought your grey import car, you more than likely went to a specialist dealer. To purchase parts, you will probably need to consult a specialist as well. The same applies when you are looking for imported vehicle insurance.

These providers will be used to finding policies to suit unusual and even completely unique cars. They will know which insurers offer the best policies and at prices to suit most budgets.

You will be assured of speaking to knowledgeable staff with access to underwriters prepared to develop bespoke policies if necessary.

There are specialists out there with exceptional expertise in the provision of insurance for:-

• Japanese and other Grey Imports
• Specialist American cars
• Modified imported vehicles
• Q plated imports
 
Finally, keep your car garaged if at all possible, install the best alarm system you can afford and you will, in all likelihood pay less for your insurance.

Whether you have bought your off road kit car as a ‘project’, hobby or simply for the fun of driving it through some mud, you’re going to have some very clear ideas on how you can personalise that car making it completely unique whilst ticking every box for you.

Before insuring the vehicle, you need to be clear on what you are going to use the car for as not all insurers will necessarily provide suitable cover whilst it is being driven say off-road.

So, before making that call to insurers:-

• Get it valued by a specialist – many insurers pay the ‘market value’ only if you suffered a total loss. Kit cars are notoriously difficult to value and often undervalued by non-specialists. You don’t want to get a nasty surprise if you need to make a claim.

• Goods In Transit cover – do you need to insure the parts etc. whilst on route to you?

• Build Up Cover – so your kit car and its parts are fully protected from theft or mishap during assembly.

• Limited Mileage discounts – the fewer miles you drive, the more you can save, from as little as 1,500 miles.

• Use of vehicle - Track Day / Rally cover can be arranged on some policies so make sure your policy does/can be extended to cover attendance or participation if you think you may use it for that purpose at some stage during the period of insurance.
 
• Owner’s Club Discounts – If you belong to a recognised owners club or enthusiasts’ forum, you could receive a discount of up to 15%, depending on the policy taken.

We all know that if you can avoid being involved in any car accident, then:

1) We are extremely lucky and;
2) No claims bonus builds up and insurance premiums will be as low as one can reasonably expect.

Most people sit back, daydream or just switch off whenever something is being discussed which is of no interest in their workplace. If it’s on the TV, they simply change channels.

But for some, the decision making process, and the way those decisions are formulated, can be interesting.

In this article I am to try and provide a brief insight into the work undertaken by expert analysts which helped the Government decide on the strategies to bring the number of road deaths down on UK roads by 2010.

Like all strategies, it must first establish a baseline to measure performance against. This is usually done by research and analysis of data/information. In this instance, it was data from 1994-98.

The Department for Transport laid out its objectives and commissioned expert analysts to conduct the independent review.

In order to develop effective strategies for reducing Road Traffic Accidents, experts needed to gain a better understanding of the causes of accidents and the likely injury outcomes of certain specific type of accident.

To achieve this, an “On the Spot” (OTS) project was commissioned to gather in-depth information at the scene of accidents.

Data was collected by expert investigators (who typically attended within 15 minutes of an accident occurring) in two geographical locations, namely; the Thames Valley and the Midlands. Their prompt attendance enabled them to collect vital data that might otherwise have been lost.

The data collection began in 2000 and more than 2,000 accidents were recorded on the database at the time the experts report was submitted.

To enable them to offer recommendations to help reduce the number of accidents, the database included some very specific causal data such as:-

• The road and environmental conditions at the time of the accident
• Examination of causes and resultant injuries
• The severity of any accident and injuries
• Types of accident
• Types of injury

The report runs to some 70+ pages and must have involved thousands of man hours to collate and put together.

 If you would like to learn more, further information can be found on the dft website by clicking here

The introduction/promotion of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is claimed to be able to help reduce the number of accidents involving injury by up to 29%.

Or so the Government says!

This apparent relentless over-regulation of drivers and road users ignores the fact that driving continues to be safe as long as drivers behave sensibly and responsibly by sticking to the applicable speed limits and of course, making an allowance for the prevailing driving and road conditions.

Most drivers do indeed adhere to road regulations, the Highway code and the Road Traffic Act so is it really necessary for the Government and car manufacturers to be considering fitting ISA as standard to new vehicles.

There is some question surrounding the data used to support the 29% potential reduction suggested. It is suggested that 17% of those fatal accidents reported indicated the vehicle involved was driving at excessive speed considering the road conditions at the time – they were not however breaking the speed limit.

An ISA would not have made any difference in those circumstances.

Perhaps, an alternative would be for courts to insist that certain drivers prosecuted for speeding should only be allowed to drive vehicles fitted with an ISA unit for the period the conviction remains on their licence.