Story link: AA: High premiums punish responsible young drivers

Motor insurers should use more sophisticated methods to calculate premiums so conscientious young drivers no longer have to subsidise the 20% of young motorists who crash within a year of passing their test.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said companies should reward young motorists who drive carefully.
“I believe the industry must work together to find [...]

Car insurance premiums show unexpected first-quarter rise

by Gill Montia

Story link: Car insurance premiums show unexpected first-quarter rise

The AA’s latest British Insurance Premium Index shows a 1.3% rise in the average quoted premium for annual comprehensive car insurance over the first quarter of 2009.
Notably, premiums tend to fall during the first three months of the year as most car insurance renewals take place during this period and competition is therefore strong.
The index, [...]

Drivers warned of rusty springtime bikers

by David Masters

Story link: Drivers warned of rusty springtime bikers

AA Insurance has warned motorists to look out for motorcycles coming back on the roads after a winter in hibernation.
Most of Britain’s 1.6 million motorbikes will be back on the road over the next few weeks, and according to the AA, insurance claims relating to motorcycles increase 40% at this time of year.
Many bikers are [...]

AA expands car insurance panel with LV=’s ABC

by Gill Montia

Story link: AA expands car insurance panel with LV=’s ABC

ABC Insurance, part of the Liverpool Victoria group (LV=), has been added to the AA’s car insurance panel.
The private car brand, which was launched in 2007, takes its place alongside more than 20 other insurers quoted via the AA’s website or call centres, including sister LV= brand, Highway.
According to the AA, the addition of ABC [...]

AA launches “value” caravan policy

by Gill Montia

Story link: AA launches “value” caravan policy

AA Insurance has this month launched a new caravan insurance policy, aimed at UK tourers.
Caravan Essentials is a value policy that should be of interest to the average family with a caravan worth up to £10,000.
The Association’s head of caravan insurance, Karen Jakes, is expecting strong interest, explaining: “With the poor exchange rate, [...]

Icy roads are ‘death traps’, AA warns

by David Masters

Story link: Icy roads are ‘death traps’, AA warns

As the Met Office continues to issue severe weather warnings for heavy snow and icy roads, the AA has expressed concern that drivers braving the weather could be risking their lives as local authorities run low on salt for road gritting.
The car insurance and breakdown service provider called on the government to lead a co-ordinated [...]

Car insurers snowed under by crash claims

by David Masters

Story link: Car insurers snowed under by crash claims

Motor insurers have been inundated with claims this week following heavy snowfall across much of the UK.
AA’s call centres struggled to cope with the number of insurance claims, whilst esure reported a 100% increase in snow related claims.
AA said the increased number of claims were largely due to UK motorists being unfamiliar with driving in [...]

Car insurance premiums still rising

by David Masters

Story link: Car insurance premiums still rising

Car insurance premiums continued to rise over the fourth quarter of 2008, according to data released this week by the AA.
The cost of car insurance increased by an average of 1% per month over the three month period.
Since October, the average premium for annual comprehensive cover has risen 2.9% to a record £741.66.
This is an [...]

Sharp rise in car premiums forecast

by Gill Montia

Story link: Sharp rise in car premiums forecast

A leading broker has warned that car insurance premiums could rise by a record 20% during 2009.
Swinton Group’s chief executive, Patrick Smith, believes that premiums are seriously adrift and 20% lower than they should be.
He is expecting a significant correction this year, which could see the cost of the average motor policy rise by [...]

Morning-after drink driving rampant, AA discovers

by David Masters

Story link: Morning-after drink driving rampant, AA discovers

Four in five UK drivers believe they may have driven the morning after a night’s drinking when the level of alcohol in their blood was still too high for them to drive legally, a survey by the AA has discovered.
The online poll, conducted by Populus, also found that almost half of Brits know someone who [...]

Young male driver premiums continue to rise

by Gill Montia

Story link: Young male driver premiums continue to rise

Research from AA Insurance shows that young men are paying around twice as much for their car insurance as young women.
According to the study, premiums for newly qualified young male drivers have continued to rise, while for young women, they have declined.
For example, the average quote for a 17-year-old male driving a three-year-old [...]

Premium rises for car and buildings insurance

by Gill Montia

Story link: Premium rises for car and buildings insurance

The AA’s quarterly British Insurance Premium Index shows a marked rise in car insurance costs in the three months to the end of June.
During the period, the average premium quote rose by £20 for comprehensive insurance, taking the average cost of such cover to £700.
For young drivers, who typically buy third party, fire and theft [...]

AA: premiums not yet hit by flooding

by Richard Kilner

Story link: AA: premiums not yet hit by flooding

The widely tipped surge in cost of car and home insurance premiums has yet to appear, according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index.
Car insurance premiums rose by 6% over the course of a year, but most recently have recorded a modest decline.
The present average cost of comprehensive car insurance is £682, £37 higher than [...]

No profit in sight for private motor business

by Gill Montia

Story link: No profit in sight for private motor business

AA Insurance is not in agreement with a recent assessment of the profitability of private motor insurance business by market analyst, Datamonitor.
The latter is predicting that private motor insurance will show a profit in 2009, for the first time in 14 years.
However, AA Insurance thinks this is unlikely because of inflation and the strongly competitive [...]

U’dell appointed AA Warranty’s new commercial director

by Richard Kilner

Story link: U’dell appointed AA Warranty’s new commercial director

Chris U’dell has been appointed as AA Warranty’s new commercial director. He previously worked for Assurant for 14 years, covering a number of managerial positions in sales and business development.
U’dell’s new role will require him to continue the success of the firm and developing growth strategy for new and current markets.
He expressed his delight to [...]

AA And Saga Defend Mass Job Cull Claims

by Stewart Douglas

Story link: AA And Saga Defend Mass Job Cull Claims

Saga and the AA insurance have fiercely denied claims made today by the GMB that they could be poised to lay off around 2,000 staff in the coming months, as a result of slimming down from the recent multi-billion pound merger.
The claims made by the GMB put over 2,000 jobs at risk from a commitment [...]

Saga to dominate in AA merger

by Gill Montia

Story link: Saga to dominate in AA merger

Following the £6.15 billion merger of Saga and the AA, four senior AA executives are being replaced by senior managers from Saga.
The AA posts vacated are: financial director, human resources director, information systems director and head of insurance.
Saga’s Stuart Howard has been named group finance director, Janet Thompson will become director of human resources and [...]

AA Overhaul Management In Saga Merger

by Stewart Douglas

Story link: AA Overhaul Management In Saga Merger

The AA Insurance senior management structure has undergone a significant overhaul today following the completion of its merger with Saga worth approximately £6.2 billion, which will see the companies controlled by a single entity with establishing cross platform selling a priority.
The move is designed to allow easier integration of both Saga and the AA’s existing [...]

Saga/AA To Merge After Proposals Given Green Light

by Stewart Douglas

Story link: Saga/AA To Merge After Proposals Given Green Light

The merger of Saga financial services and the AA is on track to be completed next week after having received the green light from competition authorities, which would see the brands establishing a cross-selling platform for insurance and breakdown cover packages.
The deal, worth an estimated £6 billion (approximately $12 billion) will be concluded through the [...]

AA Index Shows Motor Insurance Hike

by Gill Montia

Story link: AA Index Shows Motor Insurance Hike

According to the AA’s British Insurance Premium Index, car insurance premiums increased to their highest level ever over the three months to July.
The average premium quoted for annual comprehensive motor insurance rose 2.5%, to over £822, a figure over double that quoted in 1994, when the Index was first established.
In the case of third party [...]