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.
According to a new survey by Liverpool Victoria motorists are finding car repairs too difficult to undertake with modern cars.
Around 33 percent of drivers find the lights and information on their dashboards confusing, while some 75 percent feel that, in the event of a vehicle breakdown, they would be unable to repair the car themselves. Such is the way with modern cars that almost 50 percent of people in the Liverpool Victoria survey have no idea what is under the bonnet, since they rarely if ever open them.
The results of the survey highlight firstly the need for breakdown cover since most car drivers need that roadside assistance and also that car insurance cover may well become more expensive as items are not repaired but replaced.
Head to Moneygossip.co.uk for a great price on Liverpool Victoria car insurance.
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.
