Sat Nav Blunders Can Be Costly

Published: 7/28/2010

Technology is not always right is the message being sent out by car insurance companies such as Direct Line, suggesting drivers should not take the advice of the system blindly.

There have been many occasions when drivers have followed the route given to them by a sat-nav system only to find themselves heading down narrow farm tracks and through deep water. They carry on regardless though feeling that the satellite navigation system cannot be wrong. A big mistake say Direct Line since they have seen an increase in claims because of situations just like these.

If the situation continues then car insurance premiums are sure to rise, a scenario no one wants to see. Direct Line and other car insurance providers have to increase the premiums because of the extra costs they face so it is down to the drivers to make sure they use sat nav as an aid, trusting their own driving knowledge first and foremost.

Premiums Could Be Five Percent Higher By End Of Year

Admiral car insurance has warned car drivers that they could see their premiums 5 percent higher by the end of this year. In the first half of the year insurance premiums have risen by around 2.5 percent according to data collated by Admiral, with a similar level of increase expected in the second half of the year. On the back of all the other price rises that are hitting consumers there appears to be no escape from rising costs. What seems to be happening is that the cost of car insurance is going up even though the number of claims is relatively unchanged. Admiral suggest that it may be the increasing cost of repairs that is forcing premiums up.

Link Between Vehicle Colours And Safety

In a somewhat surprising comment Yes Insurance have asked for fire engines to be yellow rather than the traditional red. The request comes following the insurers research in to vehicle colours and how safe they are, research that supplements other studies already carried out. Yes Insurance found that lime yellow is one of the safest colours on the road thanks to its high visibility both at night and day plus in poor weather, when it cuts through poor visibility better than any other. A further reason Yes Insurance asked for the red paint to be swapped on fire engines for yellow was that red can often be perceived as black when it is dark, plus red is quite hard to see from drivers peripheral vision. These two issues are quite serious for an emergency vehicle that is often out when it is dark and also tries to get through traffic from all angles.

Car Theft Study

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.

Sat Nav Blunders Can Be Costly

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Premiums Could Be Five Percent Higher By End Of Year

Link Between Vehicle Colours And Safety

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