Liability Insurance Protection – Diamond Jubilee

Posted by Active under Latest News, Public Liability

It is a busy year for the UK – we have the Olympics upon us shortly and also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. For those of us old enough to remember the Queens Silver Jubilee, this brings back nostalgic memories of street parties and neighbours actually knowing each other and celebrating together. Unfortunately, times have changed since that period and litigation is now rife. Gone are the days when someone has an accident, laughs it off and puts the blame squarely on themselves, however  the ABI recently published a guide to planning an event such as a street party which is worth reading if you are the organiser, to make the day a complete success.

There are many issues to consider so getting comparative insurance quotes by typing in something like “compare liability insurance” or “cheap public liability” into a search engine won’t cost a penny for peace of mind. But be honest and clear as to the type of event you are arranging so the day can be enjoyed by all.

Daily Digest – 2012-04-18

Posted by Active under Latest News, Property News, Public Liability, Unoccupied Property News

Looking in the London Metro newspaper (18th April edition) it was interesting to see just how many insurance related articles were reported. The Metro reported that according to the watchdog Which?, water companies are encouraging customers to spend £100 million pounds a year on pipe insurance that, they say is needless when water firms offer free repairs anyway. Apparently, 667,000 homes in the Anglian, Southern and United utilities are paying £35 per year for this cover to a firm called Homeserve.

Which are calling on the regulator to take action. Some home insurance policies may cover this anyway so it is worth checking your policy. Where someone has an unoccupied house insurance policy or an empty home insurance quote, it is rarely covered.

In other news, a policeman accidentally tweeted that an aircraft had crashed in Camberley, Surrey. Apparently he actually meant to just update his status about his beat – most odd, but aircraft damage is covered by most policies in any case – except sonic booms.

The weather has also hit the news with “marble-sized”hailstones and an inch of rain in the South of England today along with winds of up to 60mph. Thankfully the strength of such winds would be classed as storm under the majority of house insurance polices. It is forecast that there is more to come, despite a hose-pipe ban.

It was also reported in the Metro that organ traffickers are suspected eyes of two deceased people in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Theft is a huge problem but is there nothing sacred?

A gas fitter has been jailed for manslaughter following sub standard work on a home that subsequently killed an occupant with carbon monoxide poisoning. Whether he had liability insurance and whether or not insurers would have indemnified him is unclear but the judge obviously took a dim view on his rushed boiler installation and sentenced him to three years imprisonment for manslaughter by gross negligence.

And finally, the Metro printed a picture of a car in the middle of the New Mexican desert, clearly with nothing for miles around and hit what looks like an isolated telegraph pole. Typical that there happened to be a photographer there….

Telematics – The Next Step For Cheap Car Insurance?

Posted by Active under Latest News, Motor News

Telematics – the recording of vehicle movements and driving style rouses mixed emotions when discussed. It’s amazing that this technology has not been introduced sooner. Insurance company Aviva attempted to introduce this back in 2005 to tackle the issue of insuring young drivers, but it did not catch on and it was dropped in the main. Since then a range of factors have influenced its resurgence – principally costs have lowered and the scourge of spurious claims have increased. Surely for insurers, it’s a win-win situation. Driving styles and even G-forces are recorded dictating the level of compensation for whiplash injuries. Erratic driving can be pinpointed and underwritten accurately and, with the forthcoming EU gender ban to come into force later this year, premiums can drop with clear data to support it. Women between 17 and 25 are expected to pay an additional £4300 on average between this period when the ban effects them according to industry experts. Therefore, to prove that women are indeed safer drivers, the wish to have black boxes in their vehicles could well be compelling.

Telematics is not new. Commercial vehicles have had this technology of sorts for a while and courier and taxi firms have had accurate tracking capabilities almost always implement these. The burning issues however relate to cost – i.e. who pays for it – and the Big Brother argument. Whilst there may be underlying interest in where you’re going or what time you travel, from an insurance perspective there cannot be many arguments as to the overwhelming positives associated with installing this technology. After all, statistics have shown that just by knowing that driving habits are monitored, this alone affects driving styles. Of interest is seeing if these boxes are portable – if someone takes out short term car insurance and uses someone else’s vehicle. The owner certainly won’t want someone else’s driving style tainting their own. It will be interesting to see how the next five years sees any wholesale introduction. The question is where will it stop – will everyone be subjected to wearing cameras whilst working as a tradesman for example to survey accurate liability claims? Will this also give cheap plumbers liability insurance as a result, for example? As technology improves, this will probably be the only way forward.