Hit and run incidents on the rise

Car collision
A BBC news article states that research conducted by Leicester University has found more than 17,000 cases involving a hit and run driver in 2015.

The research was commissioned by the Motor Insurer’s Bureau and they go on to state that many drivers really weren’t aware of what to do after they’d had an accident. The research included data on 695 people who were convicted of committing a hit and run office and helped identify a number of common reasons why people flee the scene of an incident.

  • Drivers wished to hide the fact that they had committed a crime, including driving without insurance, were afraid for their own safety or feared they were being “set up” by a scam
  • Drivers didn’t believe the incident was serious enough
  • They had no knowledge of being in an accident
  • Drivers judgement was impaired by drink or drugs

If your vehicle is damaged by an uninsured driver or someone who simply fails to stop, you could be left having to pay the excess. Protect yourself today or you could be left having to find £100’s to get back on the road.

Free Insurance

Young drivers and parents looking to buy a new car?

Citroen are offering 3 years free insurance to 18 year olds+ – Citroen Simply Drive. It also comes with routine servicing, roadside assistance, warranty and road fund and not as well advertised it also includes 3 years payment waiver, meaning in the even you are made redundant Citroen Financial Services will waiver up to 6 monthly instalments, giving you time to find a new job. If you are still unemployed after that you are given the option to return the vehicle without further finacial liability. Visit Citroen.co.uk for full details and terms & conditions

Be aware that if you claim on the insurance after an accident there is a £500 excess to pay. – https://info.citroen.co.uk/offers/simply-drive-offer. So why not cover the A?500 excess for 3 years for a one off payment of only A?70.

Peugeot, Ford and VW Polo have also got free insurance deals. 

Comparing quotes

Most of us use comparison quotes now, its easy but should you trust the quotes they give you? We obtained quotes from the three most well knownAi??comparison sites.Ai??We looked at cover for a 18 year old male with no no claims discount on a 2009 1.2 Ford Fiesta and added a 63 year old parent as a named driver.

Comparethemarket.com

Look at the screenshot below, the top quote from Hastings (A?1531.49) clearly shows a total excess of A?345, A?95 Compulsory and A?250 Voluntary.Ai??This is with a telematics box fitted and was nearly half the cost of a quote from Churchil with no box (A?3063.81 with A?500 excess). As you can see we tried to get a quote with A?800 excess but the comparethemarket.com site didnt appear to recognise it.

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Click for more details and it all looks good, total excess again clearly show as A?345

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I’m happy with that so lets go to the Provider and purchase the cover.

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Wait a minute what’s this, the excess has jumped up to A?640!Ai??Click on the excess summary and it states that there is an additional A?295 “younger driver excess” on top of the compulsory A?95 and Voluntary A?250 excess.

Comparethemarket.com

Cheapest quote is from Insurethe box at A?1934.75 with A?550 excess on the comparethemarket.com page.

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Click on the quote and it explains that the total excess is A?550 for driver 1 and A?350 for driver 2.

Gocompare.com

Hastings Direct Smartmiles scheme comes out as the cheapest but again it has the same problem as on the comparethemarket.com site. It shows the excess to be A?345 on Ai??gocompare.comAi??but when you go to Hastings site it jumps to A?640, thats a little misleading and confusing.

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Why its worth shopping around

This shows how the comparison sites work,Ai??they can only show the information they find/are provided from the insurers themselves so its not necessarily their fault when there is a difference when you click through to the insurer. That’s why you should always check double check the details you enter on the insurers page and your documents when they arrive. Dont forget not all of the insurers provide quotes to the comparison sites. Ai??As a young driver having a telematics box is a no brainer, the cost of insurance with one of these is practically half compared to not having one.

Motability Excess

You may not realise it but even as a Motability driver you are still liable to pay excess in the event of damage to your vehicle. Whats more on 1/1/16 they increased the amount you have to pay. If you are over 25 its A?100, under 20 you will have to find A?500 and drivers between 21 & 24 have A?300 to pay. Source:Ai??http://www.motability.co.uk/about-motability/news-and-information/insurance-excess-changes

You Need Excess Insurance

New year, new website, new blog. Insurance for drivers is expensive, particularly young drivers. A high excess is one way to reduceAi??your premium but will hurt your pocketAi??you when you need to claim. For some choosing a low excess isn’t even an option as insurers can insist on a high excess.

Excess Insurance protects you against suddenly having to find hundreds of pounds after a crash; if you cant pay the excess you cant get your car repaired. Wepayanyexcess.comAi??will pay your excess directly to the repairer, saving you the hassle ofAi??paying out and waiting to claim it back.

Even if you don’t claim, taking excess insurance could still save you money because if you know the excess will be covered you can opt for a higher excess, reducing your premium. The cost of the excess insurance is likely to be less than the amount saved by having a higher excess.

Chris Sharpe

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