Author: News Desk

Check your cover if transporting electronics this season

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 7 oct 2012:

With the festive season rapidly approaching – and the advent of the new iPhone 5 – anyone transporting electronics needs to check their cover, and soon!

Have you thought about the size of your courier van and exactly how many electronics you can actually fit back there? Well, if you do the maths, you could end up having room for around £50 million worth of high-value electronics such as the already massively popular iPhone 5 alone; if you’re done running about in a panic, you  may want to consider checking the level of cover on your commercial van insurance now.

It only took around 24 hours for 2 million individuals to pr-order the new Apple iPhone 5 once it became available to do so. This will inevitably lead to huge demand for the product this Christmas shopping season, which means massive amounts of the electronic device are going to be shipped all across the country to retailers, and that anyone with a courier van could make a killing by shipping all these smartphones – however they could also risk financial ruin if something were happen to their high-value cargo whilst in transit and their van insurance doesn’t cover them against theft or destruction of goods.

There’s around 200 cubic feet on the inside of the average van, which means you could stick nearly 100,000 iPhones in the back, provided you take them out of the packaging. The retail value of these items would be upwards of £50 million, and while there’s no way one single courier would be transporting those many iPhones at once, the point still stands: as electronic devices shrink in size but grow in price, couriers will naturally have higher value cargo whenever they’re transporting the devices, so the need for proper insurance cover has never been more important.

If you think iPhones won’t be stolen, just remember the news out of Japan on the new Apple product’s launch day:

Meanwhile, news reports on the launch day revealed that around 200 iPhone 5 unites were nicked from a shop in Osaka, Japan. The retail value of these stolen phones – just 200 of them – was around £160,000, which is more than enough to cripple your courier business if you can’t cover such a massive outlay of cash without the aid of an ironclad insurance policy.

Van drivers in the doghouse, 2 independent polls show

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 30 SEPT 2012:

Van drivers are in the doghouse after it was revealed that not one but two independent research studies have discovered evidence of bad behaviour.

New figures from the AA’s insurance division have discovered that van drivers are twice as likely to collect a conviction for a motoring offence when compared to car drivers. Not only that, but AA Insurance also discovered that the white van man has his mobile practically glued to his ear, as car drivers are six times less likely to be caught on the phone than a van driver – information that van insurance are sure to use as an excuse to raise your premium prices, no doubt.

The data, analysed by the AA, comes directly from their customers, indicating that nearly 7.5 per cent of car drivers have had their licence endorsed sometime throughout the past five years. However, that figure jumped to 15.5 per cent when it came to their customers who held a commercial van insurance policy through the motoring organisation’s insurance division.

Meanwhile, less than one-half of one per cent of car drivers had ended up with a CU80, or an offence for mobile phone use behind the wheel. Again, this figure was dwarfed by the more than 2 per cent of van drivers who were also given the same offence.

Meanwhile, another motor insurer’s independent survey found that van drivers also happen to be some of the most irritating people to run into on the road, thanks to a new poll. While Admiral says the most frustrating motorists to encounter were the elderly, with 41 per cent of respondents indicating that the way older motorists drive is enough to make them want to tear their hair out, van drivers weren’t that far behind at just over one out of every three respondents.

In fact, van drivers beat many other annoying motorists out by a wide margin, including ‘boy racers,’ caravanners, and motorbike riders. In fact, the only more hated annoyances on the road – besides the elderly – were cyclists at 36 per cent and taxi drivers at 37 per cent, according to the poll.

Let that be a lesson to all white van men out there: you’ve got a horrid reputation behind the wheel, so quit being such an annoyance. Moreover, you can’t even deny it, because there’s statistical proof of being bad drivers in comparison to others, so fair warning – enough is enough!

Don’t forget your insurance cover – ever

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 23 sept 2012:

It’s been a bad week for one young entrepreneur, when it was recently revealed that her catering van was nicked by thieves.

22 year old Penny Blayney, a caterer that left school to start her Munchkings business, was absolutely distraught to find out that her van, valued at £10,000, had been stolen. Worse yet was not only did Ms Blayney have £500 worth of stock within the van, but also had her rent money within the trailer when it was stolen as well!

An incredulous Ms Blayney, a native of Grafton Rise in Herne Bay, lamented that the worst part was that her commercial van insurance policy had lapsed, as she had intended to sell the vehicle and use the proceeds of the sale to help grow her business even further. The determination of the thieves must have been absolutely incredible, according to the 22 year old entrepreneur, as the van had been fitted with several different security measures and would have required a flatbed lorry to make off with the vehicle.

There’s little in the way of evidence regarding the crime so far, except that one of her neighbours reported hearing loud noises one evening, which leads authorities to believe that had been when the theft occurred. The determined Ms Blayney has not been deterred by this setback, continuing to serve her regular customers even as she struggles to find a solution for both her missing van and her sudden lack of rent money for this month!
Honestly, the massive, 14 foot long trailer is a bit hard to miss, considering it’s emblazoned with the ‘Munchkings’ logo on the side. It’ also fitted with a ten-litre tea urn, a microwave, a freezer, not one but two refrigerators, three chip fryers, two hobs, and a 4 foot griddle. Anyone that has seen the vehicle is urged to contact the police at their earliest opportunity, and could spell the difference between the life and death of poor Ms Blayney’s business.
This is, of course, an incredibly tragic way to demonstrate the absolute need for van insurance. Even if you’re not going to take out comprehensive cover on your commercial vehicle, taking out and maintaining third party fire and theft cover is an absolute necessity – and could have led to Ms Blayney having a modicum of protection against the loss of such a massive business investment.

Hope you have more than third party cover on your van

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 16 sept 2012:

If you don’t think you need more than third party cover on your van or commercial vehicle, you might want to reconsider that after this week’s news stories.

Is your van of choice a Ford Transit? If so, you’re at heightened risk for losing everything if you just have third party van insurance, because it was revealed this week that one out of every four vans nicked in the UK is a Transit, according to official figures.

Ford Transits weren’t just stolen 25 per cent of the time when it comes to light commercial vehicles; they were also the vehicles stolen most often. No other commercial vehicle is stolen more, though the second-most nicked van, the Mercedes Sprinter, was pinched 21 per cent of the time, indicating that commercial vehicle thieves might have a taste for the Mercedes brand as well.

Honestly you can’t be surprised that the Transit is made off with the most often, considering it’s been the reigning champion as far as sales in Europe for something like four decades despite is bloody awful looks. No one’s stealing the Transit because they’re keen on its looks, though – the demand for parts on a van as ubiquitous as a Transit is always high and can fetch a pretty penny for criminals.

However, it’s very surprising to consider that so many people try to save cash on their commercial van insurance by simply taking out third party cover instead of a comprehensive policy. If you are one of the ‘lucky’ ones who’s tasked with managing a fleet of Transits, at the very least you should ensure that you’ve taken out third party fire and theft cover in order to ensure you’ve got protection against such a high incidence rate of theft.

Ideally you should have comprehensive cover on any commercial vehicle that you use for work, but we understand: times are tough, and you might not have the budget for a shedload of comprehensive policies for a large fleet. However, this can be the worst kind of false economy if something untoward happens that’s not covered under your cut-rate policy and your firm ends up paying out of pocket – it could be absolutely catastrophic and ruinous.

Do yourself – and your firm’s bottom line – a favour and take out the most comprehensive cover you can afford. And for pity’s sake don’t insure a Ford Transit with anything less than third party fire and theft!

Don’t lend your van to a student unless you have good cover

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 9th Sept 2012:

September can be a rather hectic month for van owners if they have friends of family attending university, but don’t be tempted to just hand over the keys to that student!

This week saw one of the biggest names in van insurance cover warning off van owners from just lending out their vehicles to new or returning university students. Sure, you can go ahead and lend the van to your favourite student, but if he or she isn’t on your your policy, you could be in a world of hurt if there’s an accident – to the point where you could have your insurance invalidated!

Instead, Swinton said, you should go along with the student – make sure you’re the one doing the driving – and help them move. It’s not exactly a treat to help someone move, especially if it’s a long journey to university and back with a load of personal effects, but if the alternative is risking the validity of your commercial van insurance cover, it’s definitely worth the trip.

If you really don’t want to do the driving – or help with the heavy lifting – you can always add the student to your own policy. Even if the student has comprehensive car insurance of their own, there’s no guarantee that they will be insured to drive your van as a third party without checking the details of both your cover and the student’s.

You can go ahead and add drivers to an insurance policy, which will enable the student to drive the vehicle without risking invalidation. However, insurers are still charging quite a bit for cover, but more news this week revealed that one motor broker has decided to join an insurance comparison site, adding a number of its van insurance products to the aggregrator.

Four new van insurance specialists will join the insurance site, thanks to the deal struck between it and the broker, and increasing competition in a sector that is in dire need of more. Not sure if you’ve actually looked at the average cost of cover recently, but it’s quite dear indeed, so when it comes to driving down prices, the more rivals operating in the insurance market the better.

 

Police out in force, just waiting for van drivers to slip up

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 2nd September 2012:

So you might think that you’re safe and happy with all the mucking about you’re doing with your van, but you couldn’t be more wrong: the police are on the lookout for van drivers.

In fact, there are nearly 50 van drivers that re decidedly less jolly than they were last week, what with the recent undercover sting operation set up on the A27 and A3 near Havant. Police officers pulled over a total of 88 vehicles, and 47 of them won the dubious honour of leaving with 47 tickets – great for the police, but bad for any lead-footed van drivers.

Not only will these blokes need to pay out on any fixed penalties for things like speeding, MOT violations, and not driving with valid van insurance, but they’ll have to answer to their insurance companies as well; providers take a dim view of their customers flouting the law, after all. Hope those 47 van drivers are looking forward to rate hikes at renewal time!

Of course, you could end up being slapped with more than just a fine if you get caught out with no car insurance nowadays, thanks to the new continuous enforcement regulations that require you to have a vehicle insured no matter if you’re driving it or not. You could end up getting your van seized outright by the authorities now – a fate that befell one woman this week as well after the police began poking into her suspiciously-parked van.

The woman, who was parked in the car park of Coxheath Village Hall of all places, drew the attention of a local Police Community Support Officer. The PCSO investigated – as is their wont to do – and found out there wasn’t a lick of valid insurance on the vehicle.

So what happened? Well the van’s owner left with the parting gifts of six points on her licence, a £200 fixed penalty, and lost her van, so let that be a lesson to you if you think the police aren’t taking insurance matters seriously. We suppose the other lesson you might want to take away from all this is to not park your car in the village hall car park if you’re trying to avoid notice, but some people just aren’t that bright, apparently – or just enjoy taking public transport.

 

DIY removals boom – but is your van covered for any eventuality?

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Right now is the most busy time, traditionally, to pack up and move, and many people resort to DIY removals in order to save cash – but is your van ready for the work?

If you’ve got a van and you keep it in good nick, you’ve probably experienced more than a few pleading friends and relatives ringing you up in an effort to enlist your help in moving their valuables to their new abode – or their rubbish to the tip. If you’re a compassionate sort, you’ll probably say yes and show up one early morning to help with a DIY removal – but you’d better make sure your van insurance is up to date and you’ve got enough cover for any eventuality.

One of the best ways to make sure you’re ready for any trips with a van packed to the gills with someone else’s stuff is to peruse your favorite van insurance comparison site and see if you can’t get a better deal for what you’re paying your current insurer. This is especially important if you’re coming up on your yearly  renewal, as insurers are almost universally reticent to provide returning customers with the best van insurance rates – and a comparison site can help you save cash or find a better value for money.

It may come as a bit of a shock but ‘comprehensive’ insurance from one provider may not match what you can get from another insurer. Extras like breakdown cover aren’t included sometimes – or if they are, you need to pay extra for the service – so you may be pleasantly surprised to find out you can get cover for about the same price as you’re paying now – or even cheaper – with better extras thrown in for good measure.

Don’t think police are targeting van drivers? Think again.

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One 40 year old woman caught driving her van without valid insurance recently had her vehicle seized right out from under her for violating continuous enforcement laws.

Last week we warned that you’d better get your ducks in a row when it comes to securing commercial van insurance or risk your vehicle being seized, but apparently the message hasn’t sunk in yet.  Well, here’s proof that we know what we’re talking about: a Coxheath woman was caught driving without van insurance, was issued a £200 fixed penalty, given six points on her licence… and had her van yanked out from under her for her sins.

The whole incident occurred on 3 August, where Joanna Watts, local Police Community Support Officer, received a report of a ‘suspicious vehicle’ in Coxheath Village Hall’s car park. PSCO Watts investigated and the rest is history.

Obviously the driver of the van wasn’t a loyal reader of this website – otherwise she would have known that getting behind the wheel of her van without the proper insurance cover was not a particularly bright thing to do. Still, it doesn’t matter how many times British van owners are warned, as there’s always someone out there who thinks they won’t be caught and can avoid having to pay for even cheap van insurance; go ahead and see how well that plan will work.

The bottom line is a very simple one: sort out your insurance requirements before you’re stuck having to take public transport everywhere because you couldn’t be bothered to do it.

Insurance: it’s not just a good idea – it’s the law

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No one will ever argue against the benefits of making sure you have valid car insurance or van insurance, but don’t forget that it’s not just a good idea: it’s the law.

Yes, commercial car insurance currently costs an arm and a leg, even if you use an insurance comparison site to find the best deals. Still, it’s better to have the proper cover in place if you end up getting into a road traffic accident, because repair costs and medical bills can be incredibly expensive if you have to pay these costs out-of-pocket.

Not only can you not afford to get into an accident without valid insurance, you can’t afford to be caught out by the authorities either. It’s a legal requirement to have your van insured at all times, regardless of whether it’s currently being driven or not, and if the police find out you’ve been getting behind the wheel without proper cover, you could be in for some weighty penalties – up to and including having your licence taken away and your car destroyed!

Continuous enforcement rules are now in effect in the UK, which means that if you own a car or van, the vehicle needs to be insured at all times. The only way around this is to file a Statutory Off Road Notice with the government, which certifies that your vehicle is currently off-road.

If you’re caught violating these new rules, you’re in for a world of hurt if you don’t get cover for the vehicle. Sure, fixed penalties may start at £100, but if you simply refuse to insure a given vehicle, you could have it seized from you and crushed, in addition to ever-higher penalties while running the risk of an invalidated licence as well.

Keep off your mobile while behind the wheel

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A good number of us are addicted to social networking sites, but if you’re updating your status from behind the wheel, you’re endangering your life – and the lives of others.

No one’s going to tell you that you can’t go ahead and spend an hour or so draining down the batteries in your smartphone so you can obsessively post messages to Twitter or comment on the latest stupid cat picture one of your mates posted on Facebook. But it’s utter madness to be behind the wheel in heavy traffic, texting away, and using car insurance and van insurance companies are now handing down massive rate increases if you’re found to be participating in the activity.

Insurers are so concerned about how dangerous the activity could be that they’ve routinely begun rising rates more than they would for someone convicted of a drink driving offence. Not only that, but there are some insurers that are flat-out refusing to offer cover at renewal time for anyone who demonstrates the poor judgment of checking their Facebook news feed while driving.

Cheap insurance is hard enough to find as it is, what with insurers constantly raising their rates so they can recover their costs from a record number of insurance claims; it may be tempting to go ahead and just take a peek while you’re driving, but you’re contributing to the problem if you’re doing so, because you’re much more likely to end up in a road traffic accident if you take your eyes off the road to use your mobile. You can’t even claim that you’re a careful driver otherwise – because you’re doing exactly the opposite of what a careful driver would do, aren’t you?

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