Filed under: Motor Insurance — Alan @ 9:05 am
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.
Filed under: Motor Insurance — Alan @ 8:32 am
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.
Filed under: Motor Insurance — Alan @ 5:05 am
The cost of owning a vehicle that runs has risen by about 11% or about £250 in the past two years according to new data compiled by Sainsbury’s Finance.
The company estimates that that it now costs about £2,339 per year to run a car including insurance, servicing, tax, MOT, and fuel compared to the 2007 figure of £2,101. It is estimate that the price has increased about 3% in the last year.
Most of the increase cost is because of the rise in car insurance premiums, which has increased 15% since last year and approximately 24% in 2007.
After car insurance, the second largest increase in car ownership was tax, which has increased by about 7.5% over the last year.
Car insurance manager of Sainsbury, Bet Tyte, stated that although some costs of running a car have decreased over the past year when compared with figures from 2007, the cost of motoring still increased overall due to the rise in insurance premiums and road taxes.
Tyte recommended that the best way to find a car that fits into a tight budget is by shopping around and paying close attention to the average price of car servicing and insurance for a particular model before making a final purchase.
Interestingly enough, the data from the finance department at Sainsbury’s suggests that fuel has decreased in cost by about 1%. However, this good news is overcast by the fact that drivers are expected to have to pay up to five pounds per gallon this Christmas.
