British Motorists are Easy Pickings for Thieves

British motorists are easy picking for thieves, with a careless attitude towards leaving gadgets in their cars, according to online car insurer, swiftcover.com.

A recent survey of motorists found that despite the well-documented risks, a massive 96 per cent of British motorists regularly leave gadgets such as iPods in their cars, with one in three leaving them in full view on the seat or dashboard.  As a result, more than a fifth (21%) have had their cars broken into and their gadgets stolen.

In response, swiftcover.com, the UK’s only dedicated online car insurance company, has today launched a new insurance cover, offering motorists the option to cover their in-car gadgets when they buy car insurance.

“Sat navs, MP3 players, mobile phones and digital cameras are a thief’s dream,” says Tina Shortle, marketing director of swiftcover.com. “They are easy to snatch, easy to conceal and because they are desirable items, easy to sell on. A thief could be in a car and away with a pocketful of expensive kit within seconds. It’s a bonanza for our light-fingered foes.”

“We strongly urge drivers to take 30 seconds to check their vehicle and to lock their gadgets in the glove box or boot when parking, even when leaving their car unattended at a petrol station.  This little routine will ensure no gadget is visible,” Shortle said.

The research mirrors official police statistics which reveal a huge rise in gadget theft from cars.  According to the Metropolitan Police, the theft of sat navs from cars in London alone more than doubled (up 154%) between April 2006 and April 2007. Nationally, the British Crime Survey showed that there were over 1.2 million reported thefts from vehicles in 2005-6 and over seven per cent of vehicle-owning households experienced some type of vehicle-related theft.

For £28.50 for a year, swiftcover.com’s gadget cover includes theft and damage to gadgets in vehicles, providing a replacement if the item is stolen or damaged accidentally whilst within a car.  Items covered include mobile phones, PDAs, satellite navigation systems, MP3 players, safety camera locators, portable games consoles, digital cameras, camcorders and portable DVD players.

Traditional insurers which cover gadgets require proof of purchase prior to insuring an item, however swiftcover.com covers an unlimited number of gadgets, with customers only requiring proof of purchase when making a claim.  Therefore it is vital to keep receipts, especially as swiftcover.com’s survey found that only 26 per cent of British consumers keep proof of purchase of their gadgets.

Unsurprisingly, the theft of gadgets from cars is proving to be a costly business for consumers. Britons are Europe’s biggest spenders on gadgets, splashing out more than £11 billion (or £230 per adult) per year. With the latest iphone costing around £270, a basic TomTom costing £120 and a Palm Pilot costing around £230, just one opportunistic break-in can set consumers back by hundreds of pounds.

The survey found that mobile phones are the most popular in-car gadget (98%), while 35% regularly keep an MP3 player in their car; 38% have a satellite navigation system, 42% keep a digital camera and 15% keep a DVD player in their car.

The research also identified that people are confused when it comes to insurance for their gadgets.  40 per cent of UK drivers said they were unsure if their home or car insurance covers them for gadget theft or damage.
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10.54  1 comment

When Driving Abroad will Sure You're Fully Insured

By Michael Challiner

Around three million British drivers head off abroad each summer to experience first hand the beautiful countries in Europe but regularly mistakenly assume that because they have fully comprehensive at home that they will outside the UK too.

Car insurance providers in the UK offer the minimal protection required by law in some EU countries, and that is road traffic accident cover. You may have fully comprehensive cover at home with top insurers like Admiral, Swiftcover, Direct Line, Barclays or Esure but your cover abroad is only third party, therefore any accidents costs will cover the third party not yours.

Head of insurance at Moneysupermarket.com, Peter Gerrard says that British motorists just presume they are covered. "Never assume you are covered abroad – always check your policy. It's very easy to think that because you have paid your premium, your insurance will be valid overseas."

All that is needed is a simple policy upgrade so that you have the same UK coverage whilst abroad. To cover a year, for all trips less than 90 days, Norwich Union charge £25, and Direct Line charge £19 for a 36 year old driving a Ford Fiesta. The RAC also charge £25 to increase cover per year.

Supermarket giant, Tesco, also do comprehensive add-on’s to UK insurance and also include legal advice and expenses, delivery of replacement parts, roadside assistance and recovery, a replacement vehicle while the car is off the road and help if the driver is ill. This costs £45 for up to 8 days, rising to £65 for up to 22 days. The larger insurers Barclays, Swiftcover, Direct Line and Esure will cover for up to 90 days for up to £23 and Admiral will do it for 30 days.

Other insurers, the AA, Churchill, Marks & Spencer, Endsleigh and the Post Office will all automatically upgrade your cover when you drive in Europe.

When you go on holiday you must always take your insurers details with you just in case you have an emergency and need to contact them.

You will need a green card from your insurer if your travels take you outside the EU. This is an internationally recognised document that proves that you are covered to comply with local legislation. There may be a nominal fee for issuing this card.

If you hire a car whilst abroad the cost will include fully comprehensive insurance cover but check the excess charge – it varies in all countries and can be as high as £1000. Insurance-4hire.com, specialists in this field, says that 4 out of 10 holidaymakers do not realise that they could be liable for these costs should they have an accident.

"If you rent a car you will automatically get insurance, but you should be wary of excesses. You might want to buy an excess waiver policy, where you pay a bit extra but then will not face an excess if you make a claim," says Mr Gerrard at Moneysupermarket.com.

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10.19  No comments

Motor insurance customers input false information when applying for cover online

Author : Victor Popescu

A study conducted by DVLA in collaboration with ABI revealed that  at least 17% of motor insurance customers produced false driving license information when applying for cover online. Their research concluded that 1% of those customers don't even hold  a valid driving license.

This fact influences other honest customers which have to pay higher premiums as a consequence. This research comes hand by hand with the initiative from regulatory bodies to grant insurers more access to their customer's driving licence data.

The new proposals will change significantly the on-line quote system as customers will no longer have to input their driving record details but will only provide their licence number instead. The insurers will then be able to obtain the customer's driving records,  prior to giving a quote , directly from DVLA database.

The move suppose to cut down fraud levels and as a result will lead to a decrease in insurance premiums.

Nigel Bartram, Aviva UK insurance motor underwriting manager , advises  that  it is crucial to keep the initiative moving faster as  the problem will become more acute when it becomes an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle next year.

According to the news of the initiative, around 10 % of applicants for Swiftcover insurance do not divulge all of their previous claims and that 60 % of the those customers do not renew their policies.

Because there was no real progress since the change of government in May, Trudgill will meet during this month with junior transport minister Mark Penning, who oversees DVLA, and will be trying to put pressure on him in order to be more dynamic in the project.

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09.53  No comments

UK Motor Insurance First

For the first time in the UK, well certainly the first time I've heard this, there is a motor insurance company offering new customers the chance to cap their motor insurance premium for the next year so it's the same as they pay the first year.

Funny enough my car insurance is up for renewal in March and I've been sent an email from my current insurer. I've got 5 years no claims discount and I'm 31, I drive a 7 year old , 1.9 Diesel car and my renewal price Is £281.00, not bad I thought...

I decided to try a comparison web site and after completing my details I found a few quotes around £200, so I could in theory save around £80. The problem is can I really be bothered to go through the hassle of changing everything to a new insurer just to save myself less than £8 per month?! I suppose this is what insurers rely on; customer apathy...The thing for me is that I've got enough to do without having the hassle, and to be honest complete boredom, of changing car insurance!

With my current insurer everything renews automatically, I don't have to do anything, apart from read the emails they send me. On the other hand a friend has just said that he'd never deal with them again because they were awful when his car was written off...I guess we all just hoping that we never have to deal with that situation.

I think I'll get a few different quotes from other comparison sites, maybe a few insurance specialist sites. If I can't save a decent amount then I'll just leave my policy with Swiftcover, after all insurance can only get so cheap they're not going to give it away!

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04.12  No comments