Government proposals for new 20 mph zones are receiving mixed responses from officials says car insurance provider Swiftcover.
There has been talk of a new generation of speed cameras supporting these new zones, though a safety campaigner from Exeter was unsure as to whether the cameras were the best way forward. A 20 mph zone would be in area where there are going to be children it would be thought, so the placing of speed cameras would actually take drivers eyes away from the road and onto their speedometers, thus negating the point of the zone in the first place.
An alternative view was put forward by a county councillor who felt speed cameras would be better than traffic calming measures, feeling they would be more effective.
According to Diamond Insurance, the women only car insurance company, teaching assistants from Perth in Scotland are the safest drivers in the country.
The insurer looked at their own information as well as more general industry details to determine the safest occupations statistically, with these Scottish teaching assistants topping the table. Female accountants and secretaries also fared well in the survey, whilst for men the safest drivers were those with a policing background, computer programming and engineering. A spokesperson from Diamond Insurance noted that it was reassuring to know that the people tasked with protecting us are also safe drivers.
On the other side of the coin, the female drivers most likely to have an accident were hairdressers, with their chances of making a claim almost twenty percent higher than anyone else. Diamond Insurance welcome enquiries from any industry, confident that they will provide a very competitive quote.
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.
