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UK Car Insurance Industry Watch, September 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. HomeApproved
launches new Weblog ENDS Expected
motor premium hike to reflect true cost of cover The predicted motor premiums increase - attributed to increased premiums within the wider insurance market and a high volume of weather-related claims in the coming months - is set to trigger increased competition in the aggregation and broker market. Motor insurance premiums have long been lagging behind other personal insurance lines such as home or travel insurance and the industry consensus is that low-cost motor insurance rates are not sustainable in the long run. Ian Hall, head of personal lines at Onlyinsurance.com said: "An accurate representation of motor premiums is not only vital to our consumers who will get a fairer insurance deal but also to our business partners, who expect first-rate product offerings. "With swelling premium costs many brokers and aggregators will no longer be able to offer low cost products which often involve poor deals with high excesses and limited cover," he added. "Our partners agree that the prices need to increase in order to propose motor insurance covers that are reasonable deals for the consumer with no hidden excess costs and restricted arrangements," said Hall. "In the past we’ve proved to our consumers and partners that cover and costs can be compatible by employing an advanced quote to conversion system. We consider any motor premium rise as an opportunity to develop our consumer offering," he concluded. ENDS New
Eco-Friendly Car Insurance Provider Launches The Green Insurance Company will offer eco-friendly car insurance without, it claims, charging more for the privilege. It promises to offset 100% of a car's carbon emissions at no extra cost and has pledged to invest 5% of its annual profits into sustainable environmental projects. The company also promises discounts for low-emissions, and will offer reconditioned car parts where available. Andrew Mcmillan, managing director said: "Insuring with us will not save the world alone but it is a step in the right direction." ENDS Aviva:
Perilous passengers put roads at risk The research highlights the effect dangerous passengers can have on the nation's driving skills, with 19% saying that one annoying passenger is enough to cause them to lose concentration. Other highlights from the report include:
Nigel Bartram, motor underwriting manager, Norwich Union says: :“Many drivers don't realise the impact passengers can have on their driving skills and concentration. Not only can these distractions be a cause of annoyance, they also have the potential to cause a road accident.” The study identifies British motorists' most "perilous passengers": Screaming children and crying babies, children fighting, backseat drivers, barking and/or excited dogs, and passengers who constantly change the music, or fiddle with the temperature controls. ENDS Online
car insurance costs rise People arranging their car insurance over the internet in July paid an average of £486.43, nearly 3% more than they paid in December and 4.2% more than in July last year, according to Sainsbury's bank. The increase seen during the past 12 months has added an average of £19.80 to annual premiums. ENDS Tesco
joins crowd with price comparison site Tesco Compare.com is a venture between Tesco and Royal Bank of Scotland, the country's biggest motor insurer and the supermarket's partner for financial services products. Tesco said on Wednesday the site, an extension of its existing personal finance products, would be available from September 14 and would list details of around 20 products, including some from the RBS stable, such as Churchill, but also others. Tesco joins an increasingly busy sector which already includes motor insurer Admiral's Confused.com and Moneysupermarket.com, which dominates financial price comparison and listed in July. Bankers and analysts say early movers have some advantage, though the arrival of a large-scale provider like Tesco could shake up the segment and eat away at margins for established players. ENDS Allianz
Increases motor fraud investigations panel The panel was last reviewed in 2004, when five firms were selected. The latest review, which began in 2006, was based on general motor investigation work. Surveillance was not part of the review. The review was scored against adherence to Allianz Insurance’s own service level agreement and also used qualitative measures. Mihir Pandya, Allianz Insurance fraud manager, said: "This review is part of a regular review of our fraud panels. In view of the nature of the often very different skill sets and experience within the fraud investigations industry, rather than reduce the panel, we have increased to six firms to ensure that our needs are met across all of our motor fraud work and to enable the appropriate focus in the right areas. "We will have a rolling six month review of these firms and we are introducing an incentivisation scheme whereby the top performer in any six month period will be guaranteed the larger percentage of instructions." ENDS AXA
splits broker division in major restructure AXA head of distribution Keith Hector said the move would allow for more expertise in its personal lines business. “What we had in the past was people dealing across all those disciplines and it meant we had jacks of all trades.” AXA’s personal lines division had a gross written premium of £300m in 2004. It is expected to grow to £550m by the end of 2007. Hector said the restructuring would play an important role in growing AXA’s motor business. AXA is looking to become a major player in the sector, having languished at the bottom of the top 20 in recent years. The insurer’s motor business is carried out predominantly through aggregators and major broker panels. Hector said Karen Hogg would focus on growing this part of the business through her role in overseeing the insurer’s position on broker panels which included those of Budget, Swinton, Kwik-Fit and the AA. ENDS Europ
Assistance wins Quinn Direct motor breakdown contract Quinn Direct will now include roadside assistance automatically in all its private motor insurance policies. The new service commenced in September 2007 for all policy renewals and new business. Customers will benefit from breakdown cover at the roadside and at home whilst in the UK or Northern Ireland with 24 hour access to Europ Assistance’s network of approved recovery agents. ENDS Roadsure
sold in restructure Roadsure, a specialist motor insurer, will join Premium Choice in moving to Birmingham and will continue to trade as normal. Customers will not be affected by these changes, the company said. Director, Neil Beckingham, said the news was good for the group as a whole. He said: “Centralising the business enables us to work more closely with Premium Choice and build a stronger insurance offering whilst increasing profits”. ENDS |
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