Kwik Fit reports strong sales
by Gill Montia
Story link: Kwik Fit reports strong sales
Kwik Fit Insurance has reported its strongest sales figures for a single day since the company was established in 1995.
The Lanarkshire-based firm saw more than 2,000 new policyholders signing up to the Kwik Fit Insurance brand in just 24 hours, with sales of new car insurance policies topping 1,600, alongside 400 new home insurance [...]
M&S promotes car insurance with free washes
by Gill Montia
Story link: M&S promotes car insurance with free washes
M&S Car Insurance is offering free car washes for one year to motorists buying insurance through moneysupermarket.com.
The deal is exclusive to the price comparison website which calculates the value of the offer at up to £84.
Qualifying customers will receive a booklet of 12 vouchers entitling them to one free car wash per month, redeemable at [...]
Is protecting your no-claims discount worth the money?
by David Masters
Story link: Is protecting your no-claims discount worth the money?
Motorists who fail to protect their no-claims discount (NCD) could find themselves paying up to 73% more on car insurance after a crash.
Research by moneysupermarket found that a driver with five year’s unprotected NCD would see their premiums hiked from £528 to £911, an increase of £383, or 73%.
Motorists who protected their five year’s NCD [...]
Wesleyan launches Private Clients service
by Gill Montia
Story link: Wesleyan launches Private Clients service
Wesleyan is launching a new service aimed at affluent professionals with busy lifestyles.
The mutual has developed a dedicated home, motor and travel insurance offering, promising a more personal approach and flexible cover.
Private Clients Insurance provides immediate cover on newly purchased items, a 24-hour customer call centre based in the UK and an advice service for [...]
AXA launch AXA Car Insurance
by Richard Kilner
Story link: AXA launch AXA Car Insurance
Experienced drivers can now take advantage of a new product from AXA designed to offer competitive and market-leading coverage.
The product, AXA Car Insurance, is intended to cater to the insurance needs of the UK’s 9m experienced drivers who have many years of motoring experience and few accidents/convictions.
Such drivers will be able to get comprehensive coverage [...]
Insurers win £300,000 in “crash for cash” compensation
by Gill Montia
Story link: Insurers win £300,000 in “crash for cash” compensation
A civil action brought by a consortium of seven UK motor insurers over a “crash for cash” scam has been successful.
The High Court case relates to a major criminal ring involving 57 fraudsters in the Greater Manchester area, who used ordinary members of the public to stage their accidents.
Last week, Mr Justice Holman awarded the [...]
Equalities Bill allows exception for insurers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Equalities Bill allows exception for insurers
Insurers suffering from anxiety over the Equality Bill currently before the House of Lords will be relieved to hear that Michael Foster, a junior minister in the Equalities Office, has announced a specific exception to allow financial services providers to treat people of different ages differently.
The Bill aims to put an end to age discrimination [...]
swiftcover best “Value for Money” car insurer
by Gill Montia
Story link: swiftcover best “Value for Money” car insurer
swiftcover.com has been named the UK’s best “Value for Money” car insurer for 2010, by visitors to Lovemoney.com.
The website’s insurance buyers vote in the winner and according to swiftcover marketing director, Tina Shortle, the accolade is “particularly special” because consumers have the last say.
She adds: “To be named the best ‘Value for Money’ car insurer [...]
Over-80s refused car insurance
by David Masters
Story link: Over-80s refused car insurance
Motorists over 80 years old are being denied car insurance quotes, according to new research by Age Concern and Help the Aged.
Half of motor insurance companies will not provide car insurance to drivers aged over 80, their investigation found.
A significant number of insurers refused to provide quotes for any driver over the age of 65.
The [...]
AXA Assistance and Complectus launch Lease Guard
by Richard Kilner
Story link: AXA Assistance and Complectus launch Lease Guard
AXA Assistance and Complectus Ltd have together created a new end of lease insurance product to cover the costs of refurbishing a returned vehicle, within reasonable wear and tear standards.
Lease Guard provides wider coverage than that offered by most car or van insurance, including scuffs, chips, scratches, small dents, alloy wheels and interior trim.
The new [...]
Young Marmalade backs road safety campaign
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Young Marmalade backs road safety campaign
Young Marmalade, the specialist car insurer catering to the needs of young motorists, has backed the Motor Insurers’ Bureau’s (MIB) Stay Insured campaign which has seen the MIB team up with the website of Top Gear.
The website offers a quiz regarding driving without insurance in a bid to raise awareness of the need for car [...]
2010 ushers in 15% hike in car premiums
by Gill Montia
Story link: 2010 ushers in 15% hike in car premiums
A 2009 rise of almost 20% in car insurance premiums could be followed by a further hike of 15% in 2010, according to Consumer Intelligence.
The market research firm puts the current average annual premium at £564.19, with 17 to 24-year-olds bearing the brunt of last year’s increase, at almost 25%.
For this age group a typical [...]
Speeding drivers pay double premiums
by David Masters
Story link: Speeding drivers pay double premiums
Drivers caught speeding pay an average of £100 extra on their car insurance, new research has discovered.
Getting caught out three times means paying up to double the amount on insurance premiums, moneysupermarket.com found.
A study by the price comparison site identified the UK’s worst speeding offenders.
Scotland, Swindon, and Sheffield were named as home to the worst [...]
Zurich warns of motor premium hike
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich warns of motor premium hike
Zurich will be increasing its motor insurance premiums in 2010 because of a rise of third party and personal injury claims.
The firm sees the current market as unsustainable and from March could be hiking broker premiums by as much as a fifth.
According to the company’s general insurance chief executive officer, Steve Lewis, inflation and higher [...]
Car hire excess insurance available worldwide
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Car hire excess insurance available worldwide
Wherever someone is in the world, they can acquire car hire excess insurance from insurance4carrental.com.
The website offers products such as insurance4carhire.com and Questor insurance and, subject to terms and conditions, can offer motorists insurance wherever they happen to be in the world.
When hiring a vehicle costs can be cut dramatically by acquiring excess for any [...]
MIB and Top Gear unite to promote car insurance
by Richard Kilner
Story link: MIB and Top Gear unite to promote car insurance
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) have teamed up with topgear.com to quiz visitors to the popular TV programme’s website about getting into uninsured vehicles.
The partnership is part of the MIB’s Stay Insured campaign, which is seeing the organisation emphasise the importance of insurance to motorists, particularly young drivers.
Young motorists are more likely to cause accidents, [...]
Learner drivers benefit from Provisional Marmalade
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Learner drivers benefit from Provisional Marmalade
The high cost of car insurance has led more than a million learner drivers to go without the prohibitively expensive coverage.
With costs of around £3,000 and a risk to the no claims bonus of the car owner, learner drivers are faced with a hefty cost for insurance.
Young Marmalade has partially attributed the high cost of [...]
Annual switching helps raise young driver premiums
by Gill Montia
Story link: Annual switching helps raise young driver premiums
Specialist insurer, Young Marmalade, claims that the Internet is partly responsible for the sharp rise in young drivers’ car insurance premiums seen in recent years.
Price comparison websites have meant that loyalty to a particular insurer has been replaced by regular switching.
According to Young Marmalade co-founder, Nigel Lacey, whilst the ability to compare quotes online [...]
Kwik Fit Insurance sees surge in breakdown calls
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Kwik Fit Insurance sees surge in breakdown calls
The prolonged cold spell affecting the UK has seen Kwik Fit Insurance experience a surge in calls of 57% from motorists whose vehicles have broken down due to the severe weather.
Record numbers have called the firm to report being unable to start their cars, or having suffered accidents due to the treacherous driving conditions.
Call Assist [...]
Aviva backs parental involvement for young drivers
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Aviva backs parental involvement for young drivers
Aviva has conducted research revealing that around a quarter of young drivers are completely lacking any parental instruction and are thus entirely reliant on paid driving instructors for their lessons.
In addition, one in three young drivers had less than ten hours of practice with their family prior to their driving test.
Young drivers are clearly the [...]
