Author: News Desk

Engine re-mapping may save on motoring costs, says expert

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One expert mobile auto electrician from Gloucester has recently recommended undertaking engine re-mapping for your commercial vehicle, as it can lead to less motoring costs in the long run.

Mottec Automotive’s Charlie Morgan says that a simple re-programming of a modern vehicle’s on-board engine control unit, once the purview of boy racers looking to squeeze a few more horsepower from their cars, has grown to be used by savvy motorists looking for better fuel efficiency. Commercial van drivers, hauliers, bus and coach firms, taxi firms, and fleet managers can all benefit from such an engine re-maping, Mr Morgan said, as it can deliver’ guaranteed substantial savings’ on the cost of diesel or petrol – leaving more cash for things such as van insurance.

It only takes one or two hours to complete the process, Mr Morgan claims, adding that doing so has no deleterious effects upon the warranty of a given vehicle. Moreover, as long as you do it in order to improve your vehicle’s fuel economy, the majority of insurance providers do not consider it a ‘modification’ that would result in increased insurance premiums.

It typically costs £225 and upwards to re-map an engine in order to provide fuel savings  of around 10 to 12 per cent, an investment that pays off after a short 10,000 miles, Morgan adds. The savings add up quickly with the amount of time you or your fleet of vehicles spend out on the road, especially with fuel costs rising the way they have; reducing CO2 emissions and making a tank of fuel last even longer can work out to significant savings once it’s all said and done.

45% of UK drivers name white van men as most aggravating

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According to a new survey, almost half of all drivers in the UK say that white van men are the absolute worst when it comes to aggravating drivers.

The poll, which surveyed 2,300 drivers, saw 45 per cent of respondents indicating that they were most annoyed by white van men. The second runner-up for most aggravating went to Mums making the school run in their 4x4s, proving that perhaps stereotypes have more than a touch of the truth in them.

However, most white van men refute the stereotype of the angry, inconsiderate driver, according to an independent study conducted by Tesco Bank’s van insurance division. 7 out of every ten van drivers reported never got into altercations such as shouting matches with other road users, while nearly three out of every four indicated that the appearance of their van was important to them, taking pains to keep the vehicles free of scratches and dents.

Tesco Bank’s managing insurance director, Julie Hopes, implied that the kinder, gentler white van drivers may be due to an increased number of women getting behind the wheel in order run their own business. The stereotype should be put to bed, Ms Hopes added, stating that it truly has been dispelled by the commercial van insurance provider’s research.

Some of the other cars found to be the most annoying were the more expensive ones. The survey found that 27 per cent of respondents held rancor in their hearts towards BMWs, while Range Rovers – and their owners – garnered an impressive 19 per cent of the hate as well.

White Van Man stereotype a thing of the past?

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The red-faced, shouting White Van Man stereotype may be a thing of the past, according to new research from one insurer poised to launch their own van insurance line.

Supermarket giant Tesco’s insurance division, which recently announced its expansion into commercial van insurance, surveyed van drivers themselves, discovering that 70 per cent of their survey respondents completely reject the stereotype of the angry, rude van driver.  Nearly three out of every four of those surveyed also said that they keep their van in good nick, making sure there’s no scratches or dents if they can help it.

It’s no longer just men who get behind the wheel of white vans, either.  Research undertaken by Tesco found that the number of female drivers has risen, with to 15 per cent of them working as florists and nearly 10 per cent as tradespeople.

Tesco Bank’s managing insurance director, Julie Hopes, commented that it may be time to park the old stereotype.  In fact, only 30 per cent of the commercial vans on the road are still white, with drivers adopting a whole rainbow of colours to differentiate themselves from all the others on the road, the research found.

Consumer demand for commercial van insurance has led Tesco to extend its insurance portfolio into the commercial vehicle market, industry experts say.  The insurance offering is designed to provide comprehensive cover for drivers, who now spend n average of seven and a half hours every workday behind the wheel, and the new cover includes many features as standard, such as foreign use cover, lock and key cover, legal cover, a courtesy van, mobile repairs, and a courtesy van.

Comparison site gives away free breakdown cover

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One major car insurance comparison website has recently announced it will throw in £59.99 worth of breakdown cover for free if you purchase a van insurance policy through the aggregator.

Breakdown cover is an important facet of motoring, as breaking down on the side of the road could lead to hundreds of pounds in out of pocket expenses if you end up having to be rescued.  With the economy in the sorry state that it is, many of us have had to do with much less, but industry experts say that eschewing breakdown cover in an attempt to make it less expensive to insure your car or van could end up being a false economy if it ever comes down to it.

However, with the new promotion, which runs from June 6 to July 31, means that you can reap all the benefits of having breakdown cover without having to worry about finding an additional £60 in your budget to pay for it.  When you add this to the amount you’re likely to save by using an insurance comparison website, you’re quite likely to significantly come out ahead of the game.

Comparison sites work hard to get you the best van insurance quotes so you don’t have to.  Gone are the days when you’ve had to ring up each insurer or broker, tell them your personal details, and then write down the quote they give you in order to compare it to their rivals; now you just put your details in once, right over the internet, and the comparison site pulls quotes from their panel of insurers, presenting them in a format where you can compare and contrast each quote to the others quickly and easily.

Tesco expands to van cover in its insurance offering

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While rumours are swirling about the possibility of some insurers leaving the commercial van market, one iconic supermarket giant has expanded its car insurance offering into the commercial van insurance sector.

The banking arm of Tesco, which already offers a range of financial products, has announced they are offering van insurance that boasts not only comprehensive cover but also includes a lifetime guarantee on repairs, legal cover, lock and key cover, a courtesy van, and mobile repairs, all standard.  Each van can have as many as eight drivers included in the cover, which is ideal for commercial vehicle fleets with floating drivers, and Tesco is also including more than three months’ worth of Eurozone cover as well.

The supermarket giant has certainly pulled out all the stops, especially for Clubcard customers, as Tesco offers a payment holiday scheme that can net as many as two months’ off from paying insurance instalments in a 12 month period.  Tesco is also offering public liability and employers’ liability insurance in an add-on bundle for customers that need cover for their equipment and tools.

Tesco Bank’s managing director of insurance, Julie Hopes, spoke out on the new offering, commenting that Tesco understands how integral it is for commercial vans to be kept running smooth for all too many firms in the UK.  Self-employed van drivers are in particular need of a comprehensive policy that offers excellent cover as standard as well, the supermarket giant said, adding that it’s not only AXA-underwritten tradesmen and van insurance policies that are available, as third party only and third party fire and theft are also on offer from Tesco as well.

Get off your mobiles behind the wheel – or else

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Enough is enough, one van insurance provider has recently warned its customers – get off the bloody mobile phone while you’re behind the wheel if you don’t want your insurance premiums to go up.

Swinton Vans has had it with those caught being convicted of dialing and driving, announcing that commercial van insurance policy holders can see their premiums go up by as much as double in such an event.  One driver saw an even higher increase, with a 128 per cent price hike of nearly £1,500 on top of their already relatively high annual quote of £1,147.60.

Van drivers need to know what the consequences are for being caught driving with the mobile phone up to their ear, Swinton Vans says, warning that the law does not differentiate between big companies and small business owners such as electricians, gardeners, and plumbers – anyone found not pulling over to take a call or to send and receive emails or text messages will be dealt with in no uncertain terms.  In other words, pull over or you’re going to run the risk of that phone call or text message being a very expensive one indeed.

Swinton Van Insurance’s commercial vehicle manager, Phil Moss, remarked that you need to think twice about using a mobile phone behind the wheel, especially since for many van owner, their vehicle is their livelihood – and having to suddenly pay double your original insurance quote could do more than ruin your day; it could place your whole business in jeopardy.

Cut back on your costs to offset insurance increases

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It’s common knowledge that the commercial van insurance market is currently in an abysmal state, but you can cut back on your costs in other areas in order to offset any insurance increase you may be labouring under, experts say.

Van insurance industry insiders have come forward with quite a few top tips on keeping your outgoings as low as possible in the current economy, which is incredibly important as  instability in the eurozone and fears of a double-tip recession at home begin to solidify.  Worse is that rampant fraud in the insurance sector – from criminals making spurious and outright false whiplash-related insurance claims – are driving premium prices to eye-watering levels.

The good news is that there are things you can to do counteract this sometimes disheartening and seemingly inexorable rise upwards.  First off, experts say that if you’re not using a comparison site to shop around for the best quotes, you’re missing out on what could be some very cost-effective deals – especially since insurers typically hold their best rates in reserve for new drivers as a way to remain competitive.

Comparison sites make it much easier than ever before to find the best price, as all you as a consumer need to do is to input the details of your business or your personal information once.  The comparison site will then query its panel of insurance partners, pulling a multitude of quotes for you to compare all at once and against one another, thus saving you massive amounts of time – and quite often leading to saving significant amounts of money as well.

UK insurance industry turning itself around – finally

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The insurance industry in the UK is on the cusp of finally turning itself around, as car and van insurance providers are reporting a 106 per cent combined ratio, indicating that the nation’s insurers were almost out of the red for the first time in 18 years.

Deloitte said in a recent report that the insurance industry took in around £14 billion in premiums last year after the market grew by 10 per cent, leading to a relatively small underwriting loss (‘small’ in car insurance terms, at any rate) of about £600 million.  This may seem like a catastrophe, but the 120 per cent net combined ration from 2010 saw the industry losing shedloads more money, which means that things are actually looking up.

Expenses for the entire insurance industry amounted to 27 per cent of its total outgoings in 2011, which is quite low.  In fact, if it were not for the amount of its funds that went to settling claims – which was a massive 79 per cent – the profits would have been glorious for nearly everyone involved.

The reason that insurers did so well can be attributed to the rate hikes that we’ve all been suffering from.  However, it’s obvious that the money isn’t going to line insurance executives’ pockets, at least, as every spare pound apparently needs to be thrown at solicitors and claims management companies that are bleeding insurers dry – and by extension, their customers.

However, there are plans that are beginning to coalesce in order to get a handle on massive claims volume, especially whiplash-related claims, which experts say are responsible for £2 billion in costs in 2011 alone.  Hopefully these measures will have some positive effect on the insurance industry’s bottom line to the point where they can afford to drop their rates for personal vehicles and commercial vans and trucks alike.

Watch your manners: white van men voted most rude at wheel

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All you van drivers out there better begin watching your manners, as a new survey has found that white van men were voted as the most rude when behind the wheel.

The survey recently found that white van men beat out every other driver on the road when it came to being belligerent buggers behind the wheel, even when it came to those who drove Saabs, Mercedes, Land Rovers, Range Rovers, or Porches.  At the other end of the spectrum, the most polite and courteous people on the road tended to drive Fords, while owners of Peugeots, Vauxhalls, Citroens, and Audis were also found to be much less likely to tailgate or to turn without indicating.

The study, which was commissioned by a major car insurance comparison website that also offers van insurance, found that whether it was refusing to indicate properly, speeding through changing traffic lights, or not letting people out at junctions, drivers notice this kind of dastardly behaviour.  The website’s insurance expert, Peter Harrison, said that most drivers associate motoring habits – both good and bad – with different makes of vehicle, so that if you drive one of the vehicles on the naughty list, you should go out of your way to not be such a rude bugger.

2,500 motorists were surveyed in the study, discovering that 75 per cent of white van drivers actually admitted to never indicating their turns.  The next-rudest car owners were actually much more polite, at only around 25 per cent for BMW owners and 20 per cent for people who drove a Lexus doing the same.

Young drivers pay nearly 6 times as much as pensioners

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Much like the current shambles that is the commercial van insurance market, personal vehicle insurance in the UK is a right mess, especially for younger drivers: a new research study recently found that younger drivers pay nearly 6 times as much as pensioners do when it comes to their insurance cover.

Motorists between the ages of 18 and 21 were found to pay an average of £2,499 annually for comprehensive car insurance.  This works out to almost one-fifth of the typical young Brit’s yearly salary.

However, pensioners are given massive discounts on their car insurance.  Older drivers pay around £440 a year on average due to the fact that insurers consider them to be inherently safer drivers, as they tend to drive much slower and usually don’t take long trips by car.

It’s not so bad being adult to middle-aged either, the new research study found.  Those between 36 and 50 years of age anywhere from £600 to £750 a year for their personal insurance, depending on their personal circumstances.

Personal circumstances are taken into consideration, industry experts say, as personal insurance providers, much like their commercial insurance counterparts, will use every last bit of information they can extract from a customer to raise rates in order to cover their risk.  Statistical analysis incorporates factors such as how experienced the driver is, whether or not they have a clean driving record, where they live, and how expensive it would be to repair or replace the vehicle itself in the event of theft or an accident.

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