Posts Tagged Car Insurance

Why one customer left the ‘comparing’ up to us!

On May 24, 2012   /   Current News, What our customers have to say  

I normally dread my car insurance renewal coming round so when I was referred to A1 Insurance I was delighted to be offered someone who could take the hassle off my hands.  I don’t have time to trawl through Comparison Websites or go looking for those companies that don’t use them, I’m a busy mum.

A1 Insurance found me the best possible price, making me a great saving on last years’ prices.  They did all the searching for me, all I needed to do was provide my car details and then my bank details to set up the Direct Debit.

Perhaps if I’d searched long and hard enough I may have been able to find as good a deal as A1 found for me, but by that time I’d have lost the will to live.  Without a doubt I will be using A1 Insurance next year when my (no longer dreaded) renewal comes around.

Many thanks for your assistance.

Fiona Bishop

 

If you would like us to do all the comparing for you then either call a member of the team or email us.

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WARNING: ARE YOUR KIDS INSURED TO DRIVE CORRECTLY?

On April 25, 2012   /   Current News, Products  

Make sure that your young drivers are insured correctly as the consequences can be disastrous, as the following tale will prove…..Learner Driver Insurance

For anonymity purposes lets call our family the Smith’s.

Mr and Mrs Smith were very pleased when their son passed his driving test, after all, it is a big achievement. They decided to buy him a small car to start off with and purchased the car insurance over the internet, mum being the main driver and son being the named driver.

Sound familiar yet?

Now, as sometimes happens, young Mr Smith had quite a serious accident and the car was a total write off. Fortunately there was nobody else involved and there were no personal injuries.

The insurers, as standard practice, sent a Loss Adjuster to assess the extent of the damage and to investigate the claim. After the Loss Adjuster had interviewed Mrs Smith and her son, he then went and knocked on several of the neighbour’s doors and asked if they had ever seen mum driving the car.

The insurers turned down the claim because it was found that the son was the main driver of the car and not mum. Luckily for the Smith’s it was an old car and worth very little, however if a third party had been involved the costs could have been massive.

The question is: if it happens to you, can you afford to pay for repairs or ongoing costs for injuries?

Don’t leave it to chance, ask A1 Insurance, the insurance professionals.

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Why take out Learner Driver Cover?

On October 12, 2011   /   Current News  

This week Ian Darnbrook looks at the benefits of taking out Learner Driver Cover over adding an additional driver to your current policy.Learner Driver Insurance

“We all know that once your child reaches 17 years of age the first thing that they want to do is learn how to drive, what they don’t appreciate is how expensive it is to accomplish just that.

To add your child as a provisional driver on to your car policy can increase your annual premium by thousands.  A better option for you as a parent is to take out our Learner Driver Cover.  This additional insurance covers your vehicle whilst your child is learning to drive.  Cover can be arranged from one to five months, can be renewed and starts from as little as £109.  Besides the low cost benefits, if there are any ‘unfortunate incidents’ you can claim against your Learner Driver Cover and not against your own policy, thereby protecting your no claims bonus.

Really it’s a win win situation for both parents and the kids.  Another great solution from A1 Insurance.”

If you’d like more information please contact me on 01377 318255 or complete your details online.”

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Prevent your vehicle from being targeted by criminals

On June 29, 2011   /   Current News  

AVCIS  advise motorists to follow these guidelines to prevent their vehicles from being targeted by criminals:

Don't let your vehicle be next!

  • Ensure that car keys are not left in sight within your house: thieves often fish keys through letterboxes and open windows
  • If you have a garage, store your car there whenever possible
  • With the summer months approaching, people often leave doors and windows open: ensure your keys aren’t easily accessible for opportunist thieves, but equally do not hide them and put yourself at risk of harm from a determined thief
  • Lock your car whenever you leave it. Even if you are simply unloading the car, make sure that you remove the keys and lock the vehicle. If your car is stolen through these means if often invalidates your insurance

Almost 9,000 vehicles across the UK were stolen in just 36 days at the beginning of 2011, reports the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS).

This new data illustrates that 50 per cent of thefts were made when a vehicle was left at the owner’s home address or close by, including 17.6 per cent through the burglary of properties to obtain car keys.

A third were stolen when vehicles were away from the home and four per cent of crimes during the 36 day sample were made by opportunist thieves, where keys were left in or within easy reach of the vehicle. Shockingly, this would mean that annually 3,400 thefts could be easily prevented through heightened awareness.

For more information on vehicle crime and AVCIS visit www.avcis.police.uk .

Did you know most motor policies will not give you a courtesy vehicle if you vehicle is stolen and it can take up to a month for an insurer to settle a theft claim and this can be a big problem if you are self employed and don’t have a replacement vehicle to use for work.

We can offer an insurance product which gives a replacement vehicle following a theft or total loss claim  for 14 days or 28 days starting from an annual premium of £20.00.

For more information give us a ring on 01937 544784.

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Taking your car abroad this summer? Read on …..

On June 8, 2011   /   Current News  

BIBA – the British Insurance Brokers’ Association recommends the following:

Make sure you're covered abroad

Your UK policy will provide cover in EU countries to meet their minimum legal requirements, but this may not be enough if you have an accident.  Nor will it cover you for theft or damage to your car, and may not cover your legal liabilities to other people.  Some insurers will ask you to pay an additional premium for comprehensive cover whereas others give it at no cost.  If you are a regular traveller to the continent check with your broker who will select the most appropriate choice for you.  You may need to advise your insurer of any overseas trip.

If you don’t tell your insurer and have an accident, you may find yourself paying for the extra costs that would have been incurred had the accident happened in this country, provided the insurer agrees to deal with the claim.

When you start your policy ask your broker if you have an EU certificate and if it is necessary to tell them about journeys less than 30 days to Europe.

If you do not have a EU certificate, or are travelling outside Europe you will need to give your broker plenty of notice that you wish to order a green card. This will provide the necessary evidence that your policy meets the legal requirements for third party liability in the country you are visiting.

However always ensure that if you do travel outside the UK your insurance policy will extend the same cover to Europe.  Some policies will only give the minimum legal requirement in the country visited which will not necessarily be the same as the cover you have in the UK and in this scenario will certainly not provide cover for loss or damage to your vehicle.

For more information and to check if you’re covered give us a call on 01377 318255 or email info@a1insurance.co.uk.

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