Author: News Desk

A rare victory for the White Van Man

Posted on by News Desk

Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 31 July  2013:

Anyone who drives a delivery van will know that the costs of keeping your vehicle are absolutely horrid – but now there’s some hope on the horizon!

It’s absolutely expensive to keep a van up and running nowadays, what with the costs of petrol and van insurance. Many a white van man has had to deal with the headaches of parking penalties as well, but I just discovered that there might finally be some help coming to all you van drivers out there – and from the Conservatives, believe it or not!

A new proposal could see drivers of all types given a 15 minute grace period when it comes to parking on double yellow lines in the future. The move is designed to breathe new life into the currently nearly-abandoned UK high street, since most people would rather just surf the internet and get their shop done online instead of going down to the corner and risking running afoul of parking enforcement.

Of course, couriers and delivery drivers don’t have the option of staying at home with their feet up; they’ve got a job to do. The knock-on effect of this new proposed plan could see the costs inherent in being a white van man go down, since there’ll be fewer parking penalties they’ll have to pay – so I think it’s a brilliant plan and I hope it gets pushed through quickly!

Even if it doesn’t though there’s still some hope for the lowly van owner, thanks to another story I read this week. Apparently the AA’s car insurance arm discovered that the cost of comprehensive insurance is dropping like a stone – in fact it’s going down at the fastest rate since 1994, when the AA started keeping track of such things.

Comprehensive quote averages hit £594.84 in July, the AA said, which is down 9.8 per cent from last year. This is fantastic news for everyone, whether they need car or commercial vehicle insurance, but we’re still not out of the woods yet.

Just remember, even though prices are falling they’re still too damn high when you think back to what you were paying back before the economic downturn in 2007. Still, if this keeps up maybe we’ll get back to a place where you don’t have to go down to your local pawnbroker and sell off a few body parts to afford annual cover; maybe we’ll get even luckier and the price of petrol will drop soon, as well!

That last one is probably not going to happen, but I can dream can’t I?

Is the van insurance market improving for drivers?

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 24 July 2013:

Now it might be too early to declare victory on this front, but signs are starting to emerge that van insurance is starting to become less costly. Fancy that!

I know it’s hard right now, what with motoring costs through the roof. If it isn’t the price of a litre of petrol making you pull your hair out you’re probably losing your mind trying to find the cheapest van insurance you can, but one major commercial van insurance broker recently said that it’s been tracking a welcome trend: premiums are starting to edge downwards.

Autonet said that, according to its own research (take that however you will), insurance costs are beginning to recede – especially for younger Brits who drive a van. Someone 21 years old or younger trying to secure van insurance today will pay an average of around £1260 to £1270 for a year’s worth of comprehensive cover, and while this seems a king’s fortune it’s decidedly much better than Autonet’s figure of £1646 from last year!

If these figures turn out to be accurate, this is some very welcome news. Of course you don’t need me to tell you that, considering how you’re down there in the trenches every day fighting tooth and nail, but it’s got to be good to read about this, right?

Well hold on to your hats because I’ve got a bit more good news – or potential good news, anyway. This will be of particular interest to van drivers who live in Northern Ireland, as there could finally be a review of the region’s insurance companies if the Consumer Council gets its way.

If you thought premium prices were bad in London, just be glad you don’t have an NI postcode – insurers are notorious for charging an absolute arm and a leg to anyone living in Northern Ireland that tries to get van or car insurance. Prices have gone up nearly 73 per cent on average from 2009, but again the young have borne the brunt of this, experiencing rate hikes well over double!

Well, if the Office of Fair Trading heeds the call of the Council, we could finally see the NI insurance market given some scrutiny – and if there’s any market that needs to be gone over very carefully, it’s there. I can’t believe how some insurers will simply try to squeeze every last bit of cash they can from people – don’t they care about how expensive it is for these poor bastards?

Things are about to get a lot more expensive for van drivers

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 17 July 2013:

I hope you’re prepared for some extra motoring costs coming your way, because the writing on the wall says we’re in for some price increases coming soon!

Driving a van for a living isn’t exactly a stress-free endeavour, you know. You’ve got all sorts of things to worry about, which is why I’m reticent to throw fuel on a fire that’s already burning hot enough to melt steel, but you should know that Norman Baker, the Transport Secretary, more or less admitted that parking fines are likely to increase outside of the capital before too long.

That’s right: the current £70 maximum you have to pay if your van is found parked in the wrong spot could go up by quite a bit. The main idea behind the rate hike is that London’s parking fine cap is somewhere around £130 and essentially the government is sore because it’s missing out on the opportunity to make some more cash on places outside of the capital.

All right, that might be a bit cynical of me to say so, but let’s face the facts: the government is bleeding cash right now and it’s looking for any way to generate revenue that it can right now. So is it any surprise that people like you and me have to pick up the tab?

Speaking of picking up the tab, you’re going to have to make sure you’re not overpaying for commercial van insurance if these new parking fines go into effect, just to make sure you’ve freed up some cash in case you need to suddenly pay off a massive penalty. There’s bad news for you here, too: it turns out that comparison websites are actually one of the worst places to look for a good deal on car or van insurance.

Consumer campaign group Which? conducted a recent survey that discovered that price quotes could differ by £1,500 or even more, depending on the circumstances of the driver. As if we didn’t have enough stress as it is – now we have to make sure we’re not getting taken to the cleaners by the same people who claim that they’re guaranteeing us the best deals!

Please, if you’re looking to renew your insurance policy soon, do yourself a favour and make sure to check not just one or two comparison websites before making a decision. Take your time and really look into as many comparison sites as you can so you can avoid being taken for a ride!

 

Drink driving raises everyone’s rates in more ways than one

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 10 July 2013:

There’s nothing wrong with a few pints now and again, but if you get into your van afterwards and go plowing into an elderly couple you’re part of the problem.

In fact, you’re going to see your van insurance costs rise by an average of 121 per cent. Yes, that’s more than double – and that’s only if your car insurance provider doesn’t drop you like a hot stone!

An insurance comparison site recently uncovered this new information this week, publishing the figures in a fanfare of warnings such as ‘drink driving is bad.’ Listen, it doesn’t take a genius to know that, but it’s not just because you’re going to end up with a massive fine and heightened insurance costs – if you end up damaging someone’s property or heavens forbid cause a serious injury to someone else, you’re going to be responsible for a massive insurance claim, which raises rates for everyone else as well because we have to pay for your idiot mistake, so just don’t do it mate.

Of course things are most likely going to get worse before they get better on this front, as another news story I read this week detailed how the number of traffic police on duty in the UK have been slashed by 12 per cent over the past five years. This means that with fewer police on the roads watching for drink drivers, more people are slipping through the cracks and potentially causing life-threatening harm to others.

Road safety charity Brake said in a recent statement that some police forces have seen reductions as high as 30 per cent to 40 per cent, believe it or not! Welsh traffic police figures are down 31 per cent for example, while the English average was 13 per cent – yet somehow Scotland’s traffic police figures actually increased by 4 per cent. I’m not sure if there’s a culturally insensitive drunken Scotsman quip in there or not, though.

Brake is quite concerned at these cuts, especially in locales such as Dfed Powys and South Wales where the average cuts stood at around 40 per cent. It’s even worse in Bedfordshire where traffic police presence has been scaled back by 44 per cent, so use that information to your advantage if you’re going to be in those areas any time soon, either because you live nearby or you’re making a delivery there in your commercial van.

This is a serious problem if you ask me. We need more police on the roads checking for bad motorists, not less – I would brace yourself for another insurance rate hike if I was you, because if these figures are accurate it’s almost guaranteed that accident figures are going to jump.

Better protect your firm’s fleet from insurance claims

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 3 July 2013:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week it’s that it’s never been more important to make sure you’ve got adequate van insurance cover in this day and age.

I know you may not necessarily believe me when I say it, but it’s true: it’s a bloody wasteland out there when it comers to legal liability, and if your firm has a large fleet of commercial vans or other vehicles you’re exposing yourself to risk every day one of your employees gets behind the wheel to deliver a parcel or respond to a client’s needs. In fact, new research from AXA found that all too many firms are lacking basic levels of commercial vehicle insurance cover and are exposing themselves to undue risk.

Around 45 per cent of firms surveyed by AXA admitted that they had no idea that there’s such a thing as corporate manslaughter, despite the fact it’s been five years since the new offence was introduced. Considering the charge carries no limits on the fine that can be levied on a guilty party, it is incredibly important to make sure your van insurance policy has specific cover for such an incident or you could end up shuttering your doors in the event of a bad accident!

And speaking of bad accidents, you’re likely to end up having to deal with one sooner or later – and that makes it even more important to have proper levels of commercial van insurance cover. Whiplash claims in particular are becoming increasingly popular, and if one of your drivers ends up involved in a rear-end shunt with another vehicle it’s almost a guarantee that the driver of the other car is going to claim for whiplash injury.

The Faculty of Actuaries recently said that whiplash figures have risen to absolutely epidemic levels resulting in some £1 billion in court costs and legal fees – and these costs get passed along to the average consumer. The worst part about this is that roads in the UK are actually safer than they’ve always been, yet still claims figures are mounting; this is sort of to be expected during the aftermath of a recession, as money is incredibly scarce for the majority of people, leading enterprising Brits to try to capitalise on a car accident by claiming injury where there is none.

This makes it even more important to have excellent van insurance cover if you want to avoid paying out on these spurious claims!

The travails of a younger van owner never cease

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 26 june 2013:

It’s no secret that the younger generation today has plenty of obstacles in their way when it comes to car insurance or van insurance, what with the economy.

Thinking about the financial stability of the UK, the eurozone, and in fact the entire world is most definitely not for the fainthearted at the moment. It’s getting harder to make ends meet, but there is a bit of good news on the horizon in the form of some very interesting information I uncovered this past week.

First off, a new research study from a major comparison site discovered that you can significantly impact your rate quotes by simply not waiting until the very last moment when it comes to policy renewal. This top tip applies to both car owners and those looking for commercial van insurance cover, so listen carefully: leaving your renewal until the day of will leave you between a rock and a hard place, and any insurer you go to will know this and raise their rates accordingly, so plan ahead!

Seems like a clear case of price-gouging doesn’t it? Well it is and it isn’t – according to insurers, anyone who is scatterbrained enough to wait until the day of renewal before getting their policy sorted is most likely the kind of person that is easily distracted or inattentive behind the wheel, so waiting to the last minute is just giving your insurer an excuse to charge you even more.

This is especially difficult for younger motorists, considering premium prices are too damn high to begin with. Still, I did run across a bit of good news on that front as well: according to Autonet, younger van drivers are experiencing lowered rates on their vehicles when compared to 2012’s figures.

The insurance broker discovered that prices for the first half of 2013 have declined by around 23 per cent from last year’s figures, which is quite a pleasant change for cash-strapped younger Brits. Of course, this still means the average premium price is well over £1,250, so while it’s a bit less expensive than it was in 2012 it’s still well nigh unaffordable – and in many cases might be more expensive than the vehicle you’re trying to insure!

Cut your costs however you can – fraud is driving prices up

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VAN INSURANCE NEWS ROUNDUP: 7 DAYS ENDING 19 june 2013:

If you’re looking for cheap van insurance, good luck to you: with fraud running rampant, your best bet to reduce your motoring costs is to find a cheap vehicle!

In fact, there’s been a movement lately in the news towards alerting consumers to ways in which they can save money by not necessarily finding cheaper insurance cover but by finding instead ways to reduce the cost of keeping a vehicle overall such as keeping your tyres inflated to increase your fuel efficiency. Honestly that will work but if you’re really looking to save cash, I think your best bet is to look instead for vehicles that are otherwise cheap to own and operate.

There are plenty of good choices when it comes to commercial vehicles as well as personal cars. With commercial van insurance being so damned expensive, choosing a vehicle such as a Vauxhall Combo Crew or a Fiat Fiorino will result in much less costs while still providing plenty of cargo space; for example the Fiorino has an ultra-low £20 annual road tax thanks to its minuscule CO2 emissions, and while the Vauxhall’s road tax might be much higher the vehicle boasts an incredibly high 58 mpg fuel efficiency, which means you’ll make fewer trips to the garage and feel less pain at the pump!

You really do need to make smart choices like this when it comes to your van, especially because everyone else in the UK seems to be making absolutely horrid ones. Can you believe that a new survey just revealed as many as 60 per cent of the whiplash claims made against insurance companies are made up or completely fraudulent?

Well, it’s true – the study found that if you’re not exaggerating how injured you were in a road traffic accident – especially one where whiplash is being claimed – you’re likely to be making it up altogether. There’s 1,500 or so whiplash claims made every single day in the UK – an eye-watering figure if you ask me – and if more than half of them are even slightly exaggerated, the nation’s insurers are over-paying on their injury claims; this generates shedloads of extra costs that the honest motorist has to end up eating in the form of higher and higher premium prices every year at renewal.

It makes me so cross to think these selfish bastards are ruining it for the rest of us. Yes I understand that the economy is in a shambles, but trying to extort extra cash from an insurer is the farthest thing from a victimless crime when my own premiums keep going up year on year!

Van owners run into trouble on both sides of law

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 7 Apr 2013:

Whether you’re motoring about without valid van insurance or you’re facing heightened premiums after your vehicle’s been broken into, van drivers can’t win.

There’s nothing worse than having your van broken into and your belongings pilfered, and Nottinghamshire Police are issuing warnings about a rash of can break-ins that are plaguing the Selston area. Work vans in particular seem to be targeted by thieves, police say, and items stolen from these vehicles include expensive tools that can be difficult to replace, even if you have third party fire and theft cover on your commercial van insurance policy.

Unfortunately there’s simply no way to secure a vehicle – even a van – as much as you could a building, so you need to take steps yourself to minimise the chances of some opportunistic berks come by looking to nick your valuables. Police recommend keeping anything expensive out of sight if you’re leaving your work van out on the street overnight; even better would be to take particularly popular items such as satnavs and high-end tools and remove them completely from your vehicle before leaving it for the night.

Of course, some van owners do more than just leave their valuables in their vehicles unattended – they apparently check their reason and conscience at the door when they climb behind the wheel! It’s rare, but occasionally you hear the story of how the police catch some bright bulb motoring about without proper van insurance cover or without a licence – which is exactly what 44 year old Damien Lannon was caught doing recently.

Mr Lannon, who owns a Citroen van, was caught red handed and now faces a six moth driving ban in addition to a fine of £360 after police stopped him for a routine traffic stop. Mr Lannon’s licence had apparently been expired for quite some time; to make matters even worse for the man, his van wasn’t insured either.

This wasn’t the first time the 44 year old had gotten himself into trouble, as according to court documents his licence already bore nine penalty points. The driving without proper cover awarded him an additional six points, putting him over the threshold for a six month ban, lucky bloke that he is.

If Mr Lannon thought it was expensive to secure cover for his van before this whole mess, imagine what a nasty shock he’s going to be in for in six months when he finds that the insurers willing to provide cover to someone with a track record of disobeying the law when it comes to compulsory insurance are few and far between!

Accidents drive up insurance costs for everyone

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 31 Mar 2013:

There’s a good reason your van insurance premiums keep going up: the number of accident claims have been soaring, which drive costs up for absolutely everyone.

Whether you’re a White Van Man or you just drive your Vauxhall Astra to work and back home every day, you’re sure to feel plenty of pain whenever it comes time to renew your van or car insurance. The driving force behind these massive premium hikes has been revealed to be largely tied to the number of accident claims being brought against the insurance industry.

The worst part is that there’s really no reason for these heightened number of claims, as roads in the UK are actually safer than they ever have been before according to the Office for National Statistics. Recently released figures from the ONS show how the number of accidents occurring on UK roadways has plummeted over even just the past few years, yet the number of claims arising from these accidents seem to be going up; some of this could be related to fraud, and the nation’s scammers are indeed out in force whilst looking to make a few extra quid at someone else’s expense, but if you ask me the big reason here is the economy: in tough economic times, people involved in accidents are much worse off than they are in times of plenty, which means they are in more dire need of compensation.

it’s certainly a mess, and the only real way to drop accident claim figures is to make the roads just that much safer. One way to do this is to keep a lookout for cyclists, according to driving charity Brake, which recently discovered in a survey that more than 8 out of every 10 cyclists have either been struck by another vehicle or suffered a near-miss.

Cyclists seem to be a favourite target for commercial vehicles in particular, as more than one out of every ten bicycle accidents were at the hands of a van or other commercial vehicle. Based on these results, Brake has urged fleet managers to get their drivers some proper training on manoeuvring their vehicles and keeping an eye out for blind spots, as cyclists are often so small as to slip by nearly unnoticed in a blind spot, only to end up eating pavement thanks to a sudden movement on the part of the van.

Of course, I’m not about to let cyclists off the hook here completely themselves: plenty of time it’s not the fault of the van driver. Cyclists like to squeeze through tight fits if they’re feeling especially cheeky, even though taking these risks certainly exposes them to heightened risk of being involved in an accident, so as much as Brake may say that van drivers need to watch out I think it’s not out of line to tell cyclists to quit mucking about quite so much as well!

Bad news spread around for insurers and manufacturers

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 24 MAR 2013:

Not only has it been revealed that insurers have been strung up by a recent massive ‘crash for cash’ car insurance scheme, vehicle production in he UK is down.

The scheme, run by a gang of at least 60 criminals in County Durham, was so widespread and responsible for so much in ridiculously overblown insurance claims that area motorists saw their car and van insurance costs soar by around £100 a year, experts say. On top of that, it was revealed by Durham Police that the masterminds of the criminal ring was actually a family affair, with many of the key members of the gang were members of the Burnhope-based Wright family.

All of this went down last March, but it’s only until now that a reporting ban has been lifted, and now everyone is absolutely agog at how widespread the fraud activity was. The scam was incredibly complex, involving accidents staged by motorists braking suddenly at junctions, which would cause the car behind to shunt into them, and sometimes both drivers were in on the whole thing in order to maximise the amount of cash they could get from insurers in the form of spurious whiplash claims.

This is absolutely the best part though: these enterprising bastards also had their own auto recovery firm, Craghead-based PJ Autos, which would not just remove vehicles from crash sites and then bill insurers for the service but also hire cars and vans out to anyone involved in the accident – again charging both commercial van insurance and personal car insurance providers alike. However, things began to unravel once the police discovered that somehow the car hire firm hired out the same car to not just one person at a time but four different people, and this was but one bit of evidence that eventually resulted in a massive number of arrests and convictions.

Luckily the police caught these criminals, but the damage has already been done. Hopefully things will begin to recover, but there’s more bad news for the auto industry: The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders discovered that February’s vehicle production figures in the UK were down overall, indicating that sales may be on the decline as well.

The SMMT did the maths and found that there were 0.7 per cent fewer vehicles built last month than in February of 2012. That may not seem like much, but that’s more than 137,000 vehicles all told.

Insurance policy holders and UK motorists are still purchasing cars, according to SMMT chief executive Mike Baunton, as he blamed the drop-off on the export market declining by around 10 per cent. The eurozone’s economic instability is the culprit, added Mr Baunton, but he spun the news by remarking that last year’s figures were so high that a 0.7 per cent overall drop is something the industry should be able to absorb without much worry; I hope he’s right!

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