Volkswagen Insurance Service is introducing an impressive line-up of insurance products for owners of Volkswagen passenger cars and commercial vehicles. It will also include Audi, SEAT and Skoda customers.
The Volkswagen Group has signed a long-term contract with Allianz Insurance plc, effective January 1st this year. VIS director David Maloney said he feels that the partnership with Allianz will be highly beneficial to customers, and will support his company’s claim that they offer the best insurance in the industry.
VIS is now offering complimentary seven-day coverage to be introduced by the individual vehicle retailers, so that customers are insured and protected as they drive their new car off the lot. The annual insurance coverage is Defaqto rated with five stars, and will incorporate paint and body shops and parts stores that are approved by the Volkswagen Group.
Customers with this insurance package can be assured that fully trained technicians will be working on their car and that genuine Volkswagen Group parts are used in repairs, so a damaged vehicle will be returned to factory standards.
The seven-day drive away service has been on offer for the past three years and has been popular with customers and retailers. The annual coverage will be additionally promoted through new websites and telephone sales via a call centre in Bristol, operated by Allianz.
Both the Volkswagen Group and Allianz Insurance have expressed great confidence in the outcome of the partnership. Their feeling is that customers will be very pleased with the quality of service, and they are expecting to extend the relationship into other product areas.
Up to 36,000 parents that are strapped for cash are committing fraud by listing their children as a secondary driver on motor policies in order to reduce their car insurance premiums.
This scam, which is illegal, has become more popular in light of the economic downtown, and is hurting the insurance industry according to figures that were released today.
While most think of it as a ‘tiny white lie’ prompting the high number of offenders, it is actually a serious offence that is referred to by insurance companies as fronting.
Over the past two years the amount of fronting cases have almost doubled as drivers who need to save money have looked into drastic ways that they can reduce their monthly premiums. Ironically, as this action is actually insurance fraud it is tacking on average another £30 to the policies of drivers who do have properly issued insurance.
Insurers believe that up to 36,000 parents may participate in the fraud according to a survey and research completed by the Motor Insurance Bureau and Aviva.
Fronting is actually defined as an instance in which an older and more experienced driver is listed as the main driver of a vehicle, although the car actually belongs to a higher risk and younger driver that is only listed as a named driver on the insurance premium.
By listing the younger driver as a partner or spouse parents can knock down the overall costs of insurance even more.
According to highly respected breakdown and motor insurance company the AA, the number of times ordinary motorists are being pulled over by police in cases of mistaken identity is on a steep upward curve.
The motoring institution says that police are pulling people over to check if they are driving with a viable licence and are then subject to scrutiny about their identity. Not that these members of the motoring public are convicts on the run, simply that police number plate recognition technology is wrongly identifying the vehicles ID.
The AA say they are receiving approximately 20 calls a week from various police authorities asking for confirmation of insurance as quite often these drivers with mistaken identity and a genuine licence actually do not have insurance.
This techno slip is proving to be pretty successful in inadvertently catching those on the roads without proper insurance.
According to the Endsleigh Insurance motor theft index, Hull is the most dangerous place to park a car in Britain for the second year in a row.
In second place was Nottingham followed by the West Yorkshire town of Bradford, Manchester, and the South Yorkshire town of Doncaster.
However, Humberside Police denied that crime is rising in Hull, instead pointing to evidence that motor theft has actually reduced over the past year.
The Insurance company stated that there has been a national reduction in car theft over the last year although there are still some towns that pose more of a theft, especially cities found in North England and the Midlands.
On the flip side of the index, Swindon was found to be the safest place to leave a motor vehicle followed in second place by Cheltenham. Rounding out the top five safest places to leave a motor vehicle were Southampton, Solihull, and Bangor.
Endsleigh Insurance compiled the figures by looking over the last three years of motor claims from tens of thousands of British motor insurance policy holders.
Stuart Wartalsi, an employee of the company, stated that the risk of theft is the highest after the holidays when cars are targeted that have cameras, DVDS, satnavs, and laptops inside of them.
Wartalsi advised motorists that they should always hide any valuables under the seat, in the trunk, or out of sight somewhere within the vehicle and that a car should be outfit with an alarm even while parked in well lit areas.
It is tough to be a car owner in the current economy with the amount of congestion on the streets increasing, the price of petrol sky rocketing, and more road taxes on their way supposedly after the election.
Outside of these concerns, there is also new research from the AA watch group that shows that car insurance is at an all time high, with more increases on their way due to the costs of paying the NHS for accident injuries, fraud, and higher claims.
With these factors to consider, it would be odd for AXA one of the former largest insurers in the UK to re-enter the market after it left car insurance brokering in 2004, but it has offering its services to a key aspect of the driving population.
At the centre point of their campaigns is the average experienced motorist that has had at least eight years since their last claim.
In order to secure this market, AXA is offering a 90% discount on all premiums to those who have not filed a claim in the past eight years, which is a large increase from the industry’s normal ratio of a 60% discount.
Director of AXA Insurance, Tina Shortle, stated that their research shows that drivers largely feel that they are not given any breaks or acknowledgement for being excellent drivers, which led AXA to focus their attention on this group.
The most impressive part of AXA new insurance policy is coverage up to £1m that covers loss of earnings and medical costs if a driver is injured in an accident that they did not cause. According to Shortle, they are the first insurance company to offer this type of coverage although many people often believe that they are covered under their current premiums.
Over the last two years 74% of people have switched at least one insurance service or product, which is a problem for car insurance companies since people no longer simply choose a company and stick to it, they now make an effort to get the best deal.
In the research completed by WhiteConcierge, the leading B2B lifestyle management company, over 33% of people claimed to have switched motor insurance in the last two years making it the most affected business sector.
Oxford Brookes University Professor Merlin Stone stated that with these results in mind organizations now have to fight harder to keep customers, because consumers are becoming more discerning and demanding. He also cited price comparison websites as a cause since it is now easier than ever for people to figure out where the best deal on auto insurance really lies.
Managing director of WhiteConcierge, stated that the current economic conditions have forced companies to focus on customer retention instead of trying to get new customers. He also stated that while price is an important factor, the findings illustrate that customer service is playing a large role.
Currently, it is estimated that if customer loyalty increases by just one percent then a business experiences a 10% cost reduction, which means that auto insurance companies need to start thinking about what their customers really want if they want to keep their auto premiums low, a pertinent issue given the fact that experts predict that insurance premiums will continue to increase.
The AA found that the snow and ice storms that brushed across Britain last week also brought with it an additional rise in car insurance claims.
On Friday AA car insurance had about 100 claims for accidents by lunch time due to the icy and snowy conditions.
The most common claim for the day was a rear end accident, in which one car ran into the other due to ice on the roads. Second most common for the day was sliding into moving vehicles at junctions, roundabouts, and bends.
However, even staying off the roads did not assure that Brits made it through the day undamaged as some claims were caused by drivers losing control and hitting stationary parked cars on the side of the road.
In fact, one AA customer filed a claim for an accident that occurred in his driveway when his vehicle was struck and pushed through the garage door.
The AA warned also that failing to clean off the snow and ice from a car before taking off also places others at risk due to the fact that it can fall off while the car is moving hitting others on the road and pedestrians.
In one accident snow and ice flew off of a lorry causing a seven car pileup.
Other roadside items such as bollards, phone boxes, and lamp posts can also become obstacles since drivers can lose control on icy roads and slide into them resulting in damage to their vehicles.
Additionally, AA often sees claims from drivers that have slide into skips, ridden up on a kerb, or fell into a ditch.
A new report from the Post Office states that car owners who have avoided making minor repairs this year will have to spend their savings on higher car insurance premiums if they have an accident.
The study conducted by the Post Office discovered that almost half of all car owners have tightened their budget when it came to their car choosing to ignore cosmetic repairs, and even 13% admitting to letting their tyres get past acceptable wear.
Another 7% admitted they ignore the warning lights on their dashboard, 12% ignore any rattling or squeaking noises, and 8% are using poor windshield wipers instead of replacing them.
Head of car insurance at the Post Office, Richard Pennant-Jones, warned that ignoring these warning signs of problems may create awkward driving in the winter season, and may create more costly problems.
Pennant-Jones went on to say that with the UK predicted to experience heavy snow fall and many car owners that have ignored small service tasks will be placing themselves and others at risk.
He advised car owners that they should add on breakdown coverage this winter due to the high potential for problems during the coming season.
New research published today states that Scottish motorists pay less for their car insurance than English drivers.
The survey was completed by moneysupermarket.com and included about one million motor insurance quotes that were issued over the past 12 months. The quotes showed that Scotland is able to offer seven of the cheapest UK car insurance quotes out of the top ten cheapest quotes found in the survey.
Truro topped the list as the best place for cheap car insurance. The only two locations that were not in Scotland that made the list outside of Truro were Bury St. Edmunds and Penzance.
The most expensive places to purchase auto insurance were in Manchester and Birmingham. Areas within both of these cities make up six of the ten most expensive places in the survey to base your auto insurance premium with motorists in Manchester paying about £500 more than those that live in Scotland.
Liverpool which used to be considered the worst place to live for auto insurance only had one area make the list this year.
Head of motor insurance at the website Steve Sweeney said that there are a wide array of reasons that the price you are charged for may change based on where you live such as the population of the city to the crime in the area.
Sweeney continued to say that areas that are high risk often get blanket rates assigned to them making insurance rates much higher than if they were kept on a case by case basis.
We all know what it feels like to get your first car. Whether it’s an old banger or a sexy racer, suddenly you have the freedom to drive around whenever and wherever you want – without relying on a lift from your parents, or having to stand around waiting for the bus.
But before you can turn a wheel on the tarmac you need to think about car insurance. While going without it may seem like a great way to save on the pennies, it is a legal requirement and when the penalties involve an automatic fine, penalty points on your licence, having your car seized and possibly even having your licence revoked – at the end of the day it’s simply not worth the risk.
These days all the police have to do is check to see whether your vehicle is on the Motor Insurance Database. And if you’re not on there – you’ll get stopped. It’s that simple.
But there are ways you can get insurance that suits you. Shop around, take a ‘pass plus’ or advance driving test, or talk to a broker.
Natalie Pinkham – presenter of ‘You’re Nicked’ – has some tips on looking around for the best motor insurance … and she gives you a peek at what happens when you get caught by the police for going without it.
Volkswagen Insurance Service is introducing an impressive line-up of insurance products for owners of Volkswagen passenger cars and commercial vehicles. It will also include Audi, SEAT and Skoda customers.
Up to 36,000 parents that are strapped for cash are committing fraud by listing their children as a secondary driver on motor policies in order to reduce their car insurance premiums.
The AA say they are receiving approximately 20 calls a week from various police authorities asking for confirmation of insurance as quite often these drivers with mistaken identity and a genuine licence actually do not have insurance.
According to the Endsleigh Insurance motor theft index, Hull is the most dangerous place to park a car in Britain for the second year in a row.
It is tough to be a car owner in the current economy with the amount of congestion on the streets increasing, the price of petrol sky rocketing, and more road taxes on their way supposedly after the election.
Over the last two years 74% of people have switched at least one insurance service or product, which is a problem for car insurance companies since people no longer simply choose a company and stick to it, they now make an effort to get the best deal.
The AA found that the snow and ice storms that brushed across Britain last week also brought with it an additional rise in car insurance claims.
A new report from the Post Office states that car owners who have avoided making minor repairs this year will have to spend their savings on higher car insurance premiums if they have an accident.
New research published today states that Scottish motorists pay less for their car insurance than English drivers.