Car Insurance – New Style Policies Cut The Cost

Get ready for an avalanche of “new style” car insurance policies to hit the market. One of the first insurers to enter the fray is Tesco, with the announcement of its new “no frills” policy. Where Tesco leads, others will swiftly follow in their search for new customers.

The AA doesn’t seem too impressed with Tesco’s offering, saying that the excess is really high and if you look around you could buy the usual fully comprehensive for the same price. Taking the opposite stance is Norwich Union who believes that other insurers will compete with simple, non-gimmicky, cover. Getting ahead of the competition, they have been watching the patterns of 5000 motorists over a two year period and they are starting to offer new policies based on their research.

Both of these insurers will aim to keep at the top of the “Best Buy” tables and the resulting competition between insurers to keep the premiums low and gain the business will be interesting to observe.

What is it that’s so different about these new policies?

First of all there’s Tesco’s new “Value” car insurance. This is a type of “hybrid”, coming higher in the scale of cover than basic third party but stopping short of the more usual fully comprehensive. For example, if your car is off the road, you won’t get a courtesy car, it doesn’t cover young drivers and at £475, the excess is much higher than usual. Your no-claims discount will not be protected and if repairs are needed these can only be carried out by designated garages. Normal guarantees on repairs are three years, but they have reduced this to only 12 months. If you can accept these restrictions, Tesco say there will be a saving of 12% on its standard cover. Another proviso is that you must buy cover on-line.

On offer from Norwich Union is a young driver’s policy. Not available to new customers for the time being, customers are charged according to their driving patterns. It has been found that younger drivers have a higher likelihood of accidents at night and so there is a charge of £1 each time they drive between the hours of 11pm and 6am.

Direct Line, not to be outdone, has similar new products coming on to the market.

It all sounds slightly confusing and you have to consider what you’re missing out on in the way of cover. It is possible for the more conventional fully comprehensive policy to be reduced if you’re willing to sacrifice some of the cover or pay a higher excess. These deals are available on-line and easily accessible, but why tie yourself to one company? If you search on the internet for a car insurance broker and are specific about your needs, they’ll do the research and come up with the right deal for you.

Older drivers have car insurance problems too. The Government may be considering whether regular eyesight and certain other medical checks should be carried out three yearly. The Association of British Insurers have requested this as they feel that with declining eyesight and age, responses could be slower and therefore older drivers could be more at risk of accidents. Age Concern, a charity representing the elderly, argues against this, believing that fitness to drive should be based on skill, not age.

The Association of British Insurers report that in fact older drivers have more accidents per mile than drivers in middle age and also state that there is a higher likelihood of injury or death resulting from a crash, both for them and other road users.

From the age of 60, car insurance premiums will start to rise as underwriters begin to get wary of taking on new clients. The AA tell us that, as an example, a woman of 21, who pays a premium of £326, will find it reduced to £197 at 60, but by the time she reaches 80 the cost will be £460. There are policies designed to serve the needs of older people, Age Concern, Saga and Help the Aged are just three of them, but again, if you contact an on line broker, they’ll have all the facts and be able to offer help on this.


By: Michael Challiner

Car Insurance. Bad Eyesight Threatens Your Insurance Cover.

car accident

If you have an accident and it’s found that you’d failed to keep your car roadworthy, for example excessively worn tyres, and that was a contributory factor in the accident, your insurer will probably refuse to pay up. And the police may also show an interest too! Quite reasonable many of you will say. But what if it’s you that’s un-roadworthy?

How many driving accidents are accompanied by the comment “I didn’t see the other vehicle”? And what happens if the problem was your eyesight? Has it deteriorated to a dangerous extent?

Well all of us clearly know if we have an eyesight problem but there are opticians to help on every high street. Remember, if you need contact lenses or glasses for driving then you must wear them and if your eyesight deteriorates you should get a new prescription. It’s the legal responsibility of all drivers to ensure that they’re safe to drive.

Only last week I drew up alongside an elderly driver who was clearly having trouble reading the junction signs. He was leaning forward trying to read the signs indicating towards Leeds and rolling forward at 10 mph – all this at traffic lights that by this time had turned red – and he clearly hadn’t seen those! He was lucky that the cars coming across from the right saw him early. I’m not even sure he saw them either!

The law is quite straightforward – it states that any driving licence holder who cannot meet the minimum level of eyesight must not drive. They are also required to surrender their licence.

The eyesight test for drivers’ states that you must be able to read a number plate containing letters and figures 50 mm wide and 79mm high (that’s a legal number plate) from a distance of 20 meters. But you can use your driving glasses.

Having said that there’s no legal obligation for you to have regular eyesight tests but you are required to tell the DVLA if you develop any medical problem that affects your fitness to drive. If you don’t tell them, it’s a criminal offence.

In some American states drivers have to take an eye test every five years but not in the UK. Here, driver aged 70 and over must complete a medical form every three years confirming their fitness to drive and the definition of “fitness” includes eyesight. If theses drivers fail to send in their medical form, they lose their driving licence. (I wonder what that elderly gentleman at the traffic lights said on his?)

On the insurance front, if you are involved in an accident where your defective eyesight was a contributory factor, your insurance company may well argue that you were negligent and refuse to pay out. This could be simply because you needed glasses to drive but weren’t wearing them at the time.

by. Michael Challiner