Car insurance company Admiral have been looking at car theft and what is taken, with some surprising results.
The most common items that are taken from vehicles, not including stereo systems, are individual CDs, satellite navigation systems and MP3 players. After these come jackets, mobiles and laptop computers. Perhaps a little more surprising though are some other items that Admiral found car thieves have taken, including disco lights, celery, sandwiches and a wet suit!
Admiral also worked out the typical value of items in the average family car, coming up with a figure of GBP2,800 per vehicle. With such a sum of items that can be taken it is important to ensure car insurance covers these different areas to make sure the value of goods taken is covered as well as the car itself.
According to information coming from AA Insurance the usual Bank Holiday trips out are going to be curtailed somewhat this year due to the high cost of fuel.
A poll was carried out by AA Insurance from which it showed that 56 percent of drivers said they would not be heading out over the Bank Holiday weekend, with just under a quarter of those quoting petrol costs as the main reason. Compared with this time last year a litre of unleaded has gone up from 95.4 to 114.3 pence.
An AA Insurance representative commented that it was quite clear how people in the UK are feeling the squeeze and so are cutting down on car journeys, especially noticeable during a Bank Holiday weekend such as this.
Endsleigh Insurance is warning homeowners that getting repairs and home improvement work done by non-approved people can mean home insurance is not valid, leaving the consumer unprotected.
Should the design or workmanship of a home improvement project be below the typical standard, or if unsuitable materials or tools are used, Endsleigh Insurance will not pay out for any claims made. They, along with many other insurers, will also refuse to pay when structural modifications that have been done on a DIY basis, lead to a buildings insurance claim.
The view of the insurer is that they are basing their premiums on the perceived risk of the property as described. If this changes, through a home improvement project for example, the insurer, be it Endsleigh home insurance or any other, needs to know about it, and to what standard it was done, so they can re-evaluate the risk profile.
