Government Propose Further Crackdowns On Uninsured Drivers

Yesterday the topic of cracking down on the estimated two million uninsured road users was discussed in Parliament.

However, the British Insurance Brokers Association, Biba, asked the government to ‘add teeth’ to the bill.

Biba’s technical services manager Graeme Trudgill said  that the bill ’does not provide enough of a deterrent to halt the scourge of uninsured drivers who are making our roads so unsafe’.

Britain has the worst record of uninsured drivers in Europe which cost law abiding citizens approximately £30 extra on their insurance premiums to meet the cost of those who choose to flout the law.

Biba has called on the government to raise the fixed penalty of £100 for uninsured drivers who are caught on the roads and to establish a visible and effective enforcement agency. They also ask for the enforcement agency to be given the power for clamping and vehicle disposal.

Those driving on the UK roads without insurance usually means they do not have any tax either and while insurance premiums are remaining pretty stable at the moment these are unlikely to ever be reduced unless every single vehicle had valid insurance and let’s be honest that it is not likely to happen, although the proposed new measures may be enough of a deterrent to make some people think twice before driving without appropriate car insurance.
Anyone who has two or more vehicles should try and take advantage of mini fleet insurance deals to help lower the cost of their annual insurance costs.

Fleet Insurance For Multiple Vehicles

If your company has multiple vehicles, it is nearly always cheaper to get a fleet policy to insure your company vehicles. It is a common misconception that a fleet must be made up of trucks and HGV’s, any business vehicle can be counted as a ‘fleet’ no matter its size.

Typically however you will always receive cheaper fleet premiums if most of your vehicles are of the same type. This means that if you insure 10 small vans it will nearly always cost less than insuring a mix of cars, vans and HGV’s under the same policy. The price change is not very large but it is worth considering for companies with a small amount of vehicles.

Generally the minimum number of vehicles needed to use a fleet policy is 5, although the number typically varies from insurer to insurer. As such it is worth shopping around if you have small number of vehicles, just because a couple of companies will not insure your 4 vehicles does not mean others won’t!

This type of policy does not normally include Goods in Transit insurance and Public Liability insurance, these must be purchased separately if needed. In essence fleet insurance covers all of your vehicles under a single policy that is far easier controlled and renewed than multiple individual policies for every vehicle. This saves you the time and hassle of having to renew each policy next year and shop around again for a whole number of different insurance deals. Instead you simply have one policy to renew.

AA meeting With Treasury

The AA are meeting with ministers from the Treasury to try and delay a fuel price increase. Next month the fuel duty is set to increase by 2p pet litre, and the Automobile Association feels that with recent financial difficulties now is not the right time.

Originally the 2p price increase was meant to take place this time last year, yet the oil price increases at that time meant that the price of fuel was already at record highs.

Even the experts are confused as to why prices remain so high. Petrol costs over 90p a litre and yet crude oil is $45 a barrel. The last time petrol was this price oil was over $68, so why hasn’t the price dropped significantly? Instead the government are seeking to raise prices even further.

The president of the AA warns the government that they should consider that drivers are under threat of serious financial difficulties due to the credit crunch already. With further increases small businesses that rely on a lot of petrol will be severely affected.

For a courier company the price of fuel can really make a large impact on expenditure. Even increases of 0.1p soon mount up to a company using hundreds of litres of fuel every day.

The problem faced by courier companies is that all of these expenditures soon add up, especially when combined with the cost of new vehicles, maintenance, and courier insurance. A small increase on each of these things, as we are seeing, really strains companies during the credit crunch.

Taxi Driver Regulations Effect From 1st April

Recently there have been a lot of new rules and regulations set up for taxi drivers and taxi companies. While most of them have only been put in place by local councils and not nationally enforced, it can make a huge impact should your company be affected. One such change is the new rules for taxi drivers in Derbyshire.

The Derbyshire District Council has agreed to put in place new requirements for anyone seeking to get a taxi drivers license. These requirements include tests on the Highway Code, local geography and even a written English test. The council says this move is all about increasing standards of local taxi firms. Yet is it just another setback for the taxi companies?

A majority of local firms do agree with the new regulations on drivers, and the council has agreed to mark all vehicles that receive the new license with a council insignia on their doors. This increases local trust in the company, knowing they have passed the regulations. However the council has gone one step further, introducing rules that newly licensed vehicles must be less than three years old.

This is a sensitive issue that some taxi drivers are strongly opposed to, as shown in the recent Newport taxi driver demonstration. Business owners are worried that by being forced to only use new vehicles it means far greater expenditure. Not only will the new vehicles cost more, but their taxi insurance premiums will be higher as a result. These regulations come in to force from the 1st of April.

Used Van Prices Continuing To Rise

With used van prices continuing to rise, the cost of maintaining and running a courier company is not getting any cheaper. As all costs increase, it is becoming difficult for some courier companies to break even each month, let alone make a profit.

This is of course in part due to the current economic crisis caused by the recession. With so many people unable to afford new vehicles, there is a shortage of used models in supply.

Evidently this is also having a major impact on the manufacturers, with so many companies going out of business or seeking major bailouts from the government. Some companies are looking to their work force to keep themselves afloat.

Ford have recently signed an agreement deal with its workers, including freezing their wages, eliminating the cost of living increases they receive as well as paid holidays and bonuses.

This deal was negotiated with the United Auto Workers Union, and is aimed to help Ford be able to keep competitive prices on their vehicles. As such it is not surprising that some of the best selling vehicles are Ford Fiestas vans, Connects and Transits.

Other motor vehicle companies are also now expected to make similar agreements with the UAW in the near future, which should hopefully have an impact in the future.

However with everyone hanging on to their older vehicles longer, this means that the prices of second hand vehicles will continue to remain stable. This has a knock on effect, causing the price of courier insurance on vans to remain the same rather than fall for the foreseeable future.

Shopping Online For Motor Trade Insurance Can save You Money

Shopping online for motor insurance can save you time and money. However, when using the search engines on your pc you have to know or be aware of keywords which will enable the search engines to come up with the best listings.

Spelling errors is a common mistake which ahs of course been used as a successful TV advertising campaign for ComparetheMarket.com where they use a ‘meerkat’ to highlight this common spelling error!

You will also need to narrow your searches to specific details of motor trade insurance you are looking for, such as they type of insurance which include vehicles in different categories.

This may sound all very logical and simple, however, the world of insurance is vast and highly competitive, as such the time you could potentially save actually ends up becoming very frustrating and time consuming.

You could always use an insurance broker who specialises in motor trade insurance and let them carry out the searches on your behalf, but you should be aware that many insurance companies are not affiliated or work in partnership with brokers – these may be the companies offering the most competitive deals. As such it’s a good idea to use a broker as well as carrying out your own researches.

It is also worth realising that cheap does not always mean the best. Many online insurance companies may sound very tempting until you read the small print and see what is actually included on the quote they are providing.

Shopping around for motor trade insurance is an effective way to save money just as long as you are sure what is being offered actually suits your insurance needs!

Cheap Fleet Insurance Deals Online

Fleet insurance is a great way to help reduce insurance premiums. The confusing thing is each insurance company has its own number of vehicles which are required to constitute qualifying for this type of insurance.

Mixed fleet insurance does give you the opportunity to insurance different types of vehicles. Some insurance companies will even include agricultural vehicles which are driven on the public highways.

Anyone who has more then one vehicle should carry out some online searches to find out whether they would qualify, you don’t have to own a business to be able to be accepted. For example insureyourfleet are advertising on the web that their premiums start with as few as two vehicles. They of course ask you to fill in their online quote form or give them a ring, and as with all vehicle insurance nothing can be guaranteed until they are made aware of the types of vehicles, age of drivers etc.

However, if you have a fleet of vehicles which are solely used for courier services, are taxis or HGVs then the number required to qualify may alter!

Typically the number of commercial use vehicles is four or five, but as mentioned it is always checking a number of different insurance companies to see who are offering the most appropriate and competitive fleet insurance deals to see whether your vehicles will qualify.

Having cheap fleet insurance can potentially save you or your company hundreds of pounds each year on premiums while still providing various different amounts of cover.

Concerns For Diabetic Taxi Drivers

Diabetic Taxi Drivers in Nottinghamshire anxiously await their council decisions to see if they are legally allowed to drive a taxi while having type one diabetes.

Last Thursday a meeting was held at the Newark and Sherwood council to vote on whether taxi driving licenses should be taken away from taxi drivers who suffer from type one diabetes. The fear is that one of the drivers may have a hypoglycaemic attack while driving a fair, putting public safety in danger.

This form of diabetes requires control of insulin levels, normally via injection or insulin pump. It also requires careful dietary management. As such it can often be difficult for taxi drivers to ensure their insulin levels are at healthy levels during long shifts as such any diabetic taxi driver should always be careful.

It is important to ensure that any diabetic taxi drivers under your supervision are given adequate time for breaks to check their insulin levels and resolve any issues. It is important to remember that while type one diabetics are allowed to drive cars, and often taxis, they are not allowed to drive larger vehicles.

The Nottinghamshire council currently regulates its diabetic taxi drivers on a case by case basis, however they plan to readdress the issue again in July. According to council members there was not enough information gathered to make a decision straight away.

Diabetes UK say that there is no reason why people with diabetes should not be allowed to drive taxis, and that many people with diabetes are fully fit to drive vehicles. They say that by withdrawing the licenses from taxi drives indiscriminately it would deny some taxi drivers the chance to earn a living.

Currently the DVLA must be informed if you have type on diabetes, however it does not exclude you from driving a personal vehicle. Most insurance companies require you to inform the DVLA of any medical conditions prior to applying for insurance, and should your medical conditions change without informing the DVLA you may inadvertently void an insurance policy, this includes taxi insurance.

Finding Completive HGV Insurance Deals

Finding completive HGV insurance deals can be a nightmare, with insurance companies all offering cheap deals to gain your custom how do you which is best?

Insurance companies which specialise in HGV insurance are probably the best solution for those want to ensure their trucks are fully protected on and off the road.

Insurers who offer ‘all in deals’ such as One Business Insurance Solutions can save you a lot of time and hassle by including the truck insurance, Goods In Transit cover, Public Liability and Employer’s Liability (if applicable) under one company. This type of deal can also reduce your administration time and the problem of having to remember numerous renewal dates each year.

As with all other types of vehicle insurance there are many insurers who also offer this type of hassle free cover. Reputable companies have business and risk assessment plans which can save you time and money not only on your insurance costs but also help to lower your overall running costs.

Probably the easiest way to find competitive deals is to go online and carry out research and obtain quotes from a number of different insurance companies. If you don’t have the time or quite frankly the inclination, make use of insurance brokers who also specialise in HGV insurance and let them carry out the searches on your behalf.

Business which have more than 4 or 5 trucks can also make huge insurance savings by having a HGV fleet insurance policy. Again, search online to see if this option is available to suit your business needs, the number of trucks needed to qualify for fleet insurance does vary between HGV insurance companies -another good reason to shop around!