Yearly archive for 2011

BIBA – the British Insurance Brokers’ Association give the following advice if you are involved in an accident.

Do you know what to do?

• If you have a vehicle accident which causes injury or damage, you must give your name and address, and details of your insurance policy to anyone who reasonably needs it.
• If you’re involved in an accident, do not admit liability. Take the name and address of the other driver, and details of their insurance company, and of any witnesses. If anyone is injured, call the police. If they do not attend the scene, or if someone else’s property has been damaged, the accident must be reported to the police within 24 hours.
• You must tell your insurance company about the accident, even if you do not intend making a claim, as you will always need to report and incident. Your broker can advise you about whether you should make a claim or not.
• If you intend to claim, you’ll have to contact your broker. You should wait for the go-ahead from your insurance company before having your vehicle repaired. They may want a damage assessor to look at it, or you may have to supply estimates before the work is done. Some insurers may have their own repair schemes, where you can take the vehicle to garages which may be able to start repairs immediately.
• If you have to pay a proportion of the repair costs, then you must pay this to the repairer irrespective of who was to blame for the accident. Should you decide to go ahead with the repair yourself, you are responsible for the cost until your insurers have agreed to pay. But beware of taking this course of action, because if the insurer can show repairs could have been done cheaper somewhere else, they may pay a lesser amount than you claim.
• If your vehicle is not worth repairing, the insurance company will offer you a lump sum for it. This is known as a ‘write-off’ or ‘total-loss’. The damaged vehicle then belongs to them.
• After an accident, you may incur expenses which are not covered by your policy – examples are the cost of hiring a car while yours is repaired, or compensation for personal injury. Such expenses might be claimed against a third party – again, your broker will be able to give you all the advice you need.

For more advice on Car Insurance get in touch – we’ll be happy to help and advise tel: 01377 318255.

Following major travel disruption resulting from the volcanic ash incident, Ageas advises customers with a policy start date prior to 23 May 2011, who also booked their trip prior to 23 May 2011, will be covered as per their policy terms and conditions.

Ageas advises its customers in the first instance to contact their travel operator or airline to see if alternative arrangements can be made and to recover any reasonable costs. Customers are advised to check their policy terms and conditions.

Delays to journeys from the UK and journeys into the UK –  There is a benefit payable if the customer has booked scheduled transport and it is delayed for the minimum period specified in the policy. Cover only applies if the customer has checked in, in accordance with the airlines instructions.

Abandonment of trips from the UK –  There is cover for abandoning the holiday, if the outward journey from the UK is delayed for the minimum period specified in the policy and the customer decides to abandon their trip before they leave the UK.

Please Note – The abandonment section applies for irrecoverable amounts only – if costs are recoverable from the airline or a tour operator then cover under the travel Insurance policy does not apply.

Missed Departure – This section provides cover for reasonable additional travel and accommodation expenses if the customer’s transport is interrupted by specified causes preventing them from arriving at the airport on time and missing their flight. This cover may apply if a connecting flight is missed.

What isn’t covered? – As the ash incident is now a known event, for travel policies and trips booked on or after 23 May 2011, cover is not available in respect of the volcanic ash.

For more information on travel insurance give us a call on 01937 544781.

We are pleased to advise that one of our caravan insurers has enhanced their product to include a no claims discount, which is available immediately for new business quotations.

This is in addition to the standard covers available such as:

• Free continental use up to 180 days per annum (no need to notify us prior to travel)
• Point of Sale documentation
• Loss of Use covered up to £50 per day up to a maximum of £1,500
• New for Old cover on both touring and static caravans up to 10 years of age
• New for Old awning cover on touring caravans up to 7 years of age
• Voluntary Excess Discount for Touring Caravans
• Low £75 excess on touring caravans
• No excess on static caravans
• Public Liability included automatically

For an immediate quotation please call us on 01377 318255.

Ecclesiastical have provided the following useful information to help prevent theft of heating oil from both domestic and commercial properties.

The first indication that a theft has taken place is often when the heating stops working.  Usually, it’s assumed that the boiler is at fault, but regrettably the problem is often that there’s no oil left.  Thefts vary from small amounts being stolen to the whole tank being drained.  The methods used by the thieves can be very crude, including drilling or punching holes in the side of the tank and then filling jerry cans.

What you can do to prevent losses

• Monitor the level of oil in your tank regularly.
• Conceal the location of the tank by using hedging, fencing or walling.
• Securely lock doors at all times if the tank is situated within a building.
• Consider installing security lighting to cover the tank, if it is overlooked by nearby buildings.
• Ask nearby residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police.
• Padlock the valve.  This may not always be the correct course of action, as thieves may smash the valve completely, but it can deter a less determined thief.
• Ensure any gates are locked at night, to make it more difficult for a thief to escape with oil.
• Install an alarm device which creates an alert if the oil level suddenly drops or if the lock is attacked.
• Consider close circuit television.

Please contact us for further information by clicking here or call 01377 318255 and ensure you are covered.