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UK Car Insurance Industry Watch, June 2007 |
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This regularly updated section of the HomeApproved web site will cover the latest trends, research, opinion and developments in the UK car insurance sector. Tradex
Launch High Net Worth Policy ENDS Kwik-Fit
in the Frame for Express If the deal is agreed it would be the first real acquisition for Kwik-Fit Insurance Services, which was established in 1995 and has grown to become one of the UK's leading motor insurance intermediaries. ENDS Roadsure
Buys First Niche Motor Broker Roadsure intends to grow Premium Choice to £25m GWP within the next three to five years. The company is committed to the growth strategy of Premium Choice, which will remain as an independent brand. Roadsure, which now has a GWP of £15m, made its first acquisition two years ago when it bought Jardine Faber. The broker, which also launched a new SME unit at the end of 2006, set up its own holding company, Optimas, seven months ago to act as an acquisition vehicle. ENDS Third
Party Motor Insurance too Expensive? It says that drivers aged over 35 with cars worth less than £2,500 are paying on average between £500 and £700 for third party cover and only £400 - £500 on average for fully comprehensive cover. ENDS Motorists
Snubbing Car Insurance Companies by Going Private Of those who have claimed, one fifth stated that they were not happy with the service they received from the insurance company, and this made communications between customer and insurer stressful. Leading industry figure Jonathan Williams, commented that drivers should not finance the repairs themselves. "Motorists should not need to dip into their own pocket to fund repairs when an insurance claim could cover it. Insurance companies need to ensure the claims process is fast and efficient," he said. ENDS
ibuyeco, the 'Greener' Car Insurance One of the first schemes of its kind in the UK, ibuyeco is a competitively priced insurance offering inclusive of the carbon offsetting fee. A small additional amount is added to customers' insurance cost to counter the damage done by driving a car. This is calculated based on the type of vehicle and the estimated mileage details provided by customers. Emissions are calculated using guidelines from several key groups and bodies, including DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Despite the addition, ibueyco compares well against other insurance products on the market and research has shown that consumers can actually save money with the scheme, compared to other brands; up to GBP175.88! The additional amount contributes towards the funding of specific projects via The CarbonNeutral Company (TCNC), one of the world's leading full service carbon management businesses. The projects fall into different categories, including energy efficiency, reforestation and renewable energy, and are based both home and abroad. Web: www.ibuyeco.co.uk ibuyeco ENDS Insurers
Able to Price Motor Premiums According to Gender There had been fears that insurers would not be able to differentiate between customers based on age and gender. This was partly linked to the implementation of the EU Gender Directive. But following negotiations, insurers have successfully persuaded the government to allow insurers to be exempt from the proposed changes. Stephen Hadrill, director general of the ABI, said: "The government recognises that it is fair for insurance companies to use data on age and gender in setting premiums for some products. This is because different groups of people represent different levels of risk in some types of insurance." "We agree that specific legislation on insurance in the proposed Single Equality Bill is unnecessary and would be expensive for customers." The consultation period ends on 3 September. The deadline for implementation is 21 December (2007). ENDS MP's
call for staged accident strategy In the motion the ministers highlighted “the worrying increase in staged and induced motor incidents over the last seven years, especially in the North West,” and the “increasing danger that this fraudulent activity poses to public safety as well as its role in pushing up insurance premiums.” Both MP's welcomed the work of the Insurance Fraud Bureau and AXA UK in raising awareness of the crime's impact and accepted there were a number of Government initiatives designed to address this problem. But they raised concern that the lack of a national strategy, backed by targeted resources, was hindering adequate detection. The motion called on the Government to work with the police, the insurance industry and other appropriate authorities to draw up a UK-wide action plan to tackle this issue. IFB research findings indicate that since 1999, over 22,500 fraudulent staged and induced motor accidents have taken place across the country. Whilst the ‘crash for cash’ scam was first detected in the North West of England, the research conducted by the IFB indicates a significant growth in activity elsewhere in the country, particularly London and the South East. Typically, in ‘crash for cash’ scams, the fraudsters drive to busy road junctions and perform unexpected, unnecessary and dangerous emergency stops designed to cause innocent members of the public to crash into them. Claims are made to the innocent motorist’s insurer, often including several accounts of fictitious injuries from members of the criminal gang. For each successful scam, the criminals can net up to £30,000 and there is growing evidence to show that the proceeds from this type of fraud are used to fund other forms of serious crime including drugs trafficking and gun running. Fraudulent insurance claims meanwhile add 5% to the premiums paid by the honest public. ENDS Drivers
Get Tough on Drinkers
British motorists (98%) claim to be safe drivers, yet a fifth feel unsafe on the nation's roads. With over half (56%) believing that Britain's roads are less safe than they used to be, motorists are calling on the Government to introduce stronger safety initiatives in the battle to reduce road deaths and injuries. Although 29 per cent of drivers admit that they would not pass their driving test if they were to take it tomorrow, the majority still believe that it's the actions of others that make the roads unsafe. The RAC is calling for a minimum two-year ban for first drink-driving offences, permanent points after disqualification, a life ban after a third drink-driving offence, the urgent introduction of drugs testing devices and more publicity campaigns on the dangers of drug-driving, more use of "average speed" cameras, wider use of the 20mph speed limit after consultation with communities and greater use of long-term bans including life bans for causing death or serious injury while driving. ENDS Cornhill
Reports on High-Tech Gadget Theft An increasing number of mobile phones, laptop computers and portable satellite-navigation systems use Bluetooth technology, which means they can be located by other Bluetooth devices. The technology is based on short-range radio, so all a criminal has to do is to point an up-to-date mobile phone at your car to see what electronic items you have stowed in your boot or glove compartment - as long as they are bluetooth-enabled and you have left them switched on, which all too many of us do. They will then flash up on the thief's mobile so he - or she - knows which vehicles are worth breaking into. Police reckon this trick was used as many as seven times on just one night last month (May 2007) in Eastleigh, Hampshire (population 116,000). Best advice, then, is to alter the name of your gadget, usually by changing its service settings. And keep it locked away out of sight. See also: Home Office Vehicle Crime Avoidance Guide ENDS Norwich
Union Third Party Deal ENDS One
in Five DVLA Driver Details Wrong say Tories According to figures, uncovered by the Conservative Party, personal details held by the DVLA are wrong for 7.8 million people, which equates to 18% of drivers on Britain's roads. The Conservatives accused the government of failing to tackle the problem of uninsured drivers saying that if data is wrong there could be no definitive figure for how many (drivers) there are on UK roads. The Conservatives said the inaccuracies would jeopardise claims with wrong information being stored and could lead to many truthful drivers paying more in premiums after having no third party to claim from. As spokesperson for the DVLA said: "The result of the DVLA's accuracy for 2005 indicates that a vehicle keeper can be traced in 97.4% of cases. The current keeper name and address information is sufficiently accurate to enable 92.4% of vehicle keepers to be traced directly from the information on the record, with a further 5% able to be traced following further enquiries with neighbours. "This is a significant improvement in traceability compared to the results of the 2003 survey, when traceability was 90%. ENDS |
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