A word to the wise comes from Direct Line with a reminder that any modifications made to a vehicle change the risk profile and therefore the insurance premium.
Lots of car owners are making changes to their vehicles now, personalising them with new wheels, sound systems and much more. Drivers are advised by Direct Line to get in touch with their car insurance provider to let them know about these modifications and enable them to recalculate the premium. If this is not done then the vehicle insurance could well be invalid should a claim be made.
A Direct Line spokesperson did say that modifications that improve the safety or security of a vehicle would not usually see premiums increased, though most mods are usually about enhancing the looks or performance of a vehicle and so would incur costs.
A new survey carried out by Tesco Finance has come to the conclusion that van drivers are the safest motorists on the UK roads.
The study looked at insurance claims, finding a lower percentage of van insurance claims than any other type of vehicle. Tesco Finance also found that more drivers of vans receive extra training on the roads than other motorists. Perhaps then the traditional view of van drivers is out of date and should be revised. With van insurance claims so low they may well be good drivers and should see lower premiums as a result.
The counter view that Tesco Finance did not mention in their report was that it could just be that van drivers do not always make a claim when they have an accident. If you look at the knocks and scrapes on many vans this could be a real possibility.
Hastings Direct has been fined GBP735,000 by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) for treating its customers unfairly. The car insurance company was found to have cancelled over 4,500 policies following a pricing error.
The problem was caused by the Hastings Direct car insurance quotation system, which generated quotes that were lower than the market rate. The insurer then decided to cancel these policies, a step that was not acceptable according to the FSA.
Although a cancellation clause was included within the policies the FSA felt that Hastings Direct should have considered other options first rather than invoking the cancellations. They believe that it is not acceptable to cancel cover because of what is simply a pricing error.
