The Importance Of Dash Cams – Industry Needs To Change

Friday, 16. September 2016

The reason to install a dash cam in your car was originally to avoid arguments over insurance claims following cash for crash claims. These claims come about following an incident whereby a driver swerves in front of you, brakes hard, giving you virtually no time to stop causing you to run into the back of their car.

The driver and the passengers of the car in front all claim for whiplash injuries whilst you lose all your no claims bonus. With dash cam evidence the police can carry out an investigation and often prosecute the driver of the car in front on a variety of charges.

However, whilst dash cams are one of the biggest selling gadgets right now and Citroen have started fitting them as standard in their latest C3 to combat cash for crash crime, there are other reasons why you should install dash cams. They are invaluable for general claims as insurance companies become increasingly lazy.

In a recent case I read about a young driver who was sitting stationery in a backed up queue on a roundabout, when another impatient driver decided to take a quick route then cut in modifying the front end of her car. She was clearly not at fault so she claimed through her insurer for the repairs only to find that the other driver had made a claim against her insurance company, not only for repairs but also, guess what? Yep, whiplash.

The advice from her insurance company was to accept liability as in court a judge would be unlikely to find in favour of a newly qualified driver having an accident on a roundabout. That is a disgrace. However, had the young driver, whose premium was already ridiculously high and set to go higher, had a dash cam fitted the case would have been open and shut.

So isn’t it about time that manufacturers followed Citroen’s lead and started to install cameras as standard into the back of the rear view mirrors to help drivers to keep on the road and minimise claims times and costs as well as help police investigating accidents? After market dash cams are unsightly with wires dangling which puts drivers off installing them but maybe if the insurance industry and car manufacturers got their heads together we could see an end to cash for crash, quicker claims turnarounds, a decrease in insurance premiums, less time spent by police investigating accidents and more prosecutions. GH climbs down off soapbox for a sit down and cup of tea! By Graham Hill

Massive Difference Between Insurers’ Income & Payouts Revealed

Friday, 26. February 2016

Just to prove my point regarding my insurance premiums, law firm Thompson’s Solicitors, has produced a report that shows that over the past 5 years insurance claim payouts have decreased whilst premiums have increased allowing the insurers to pocket £7 billion since 2010.

In response the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has hit back claiming that Thompsons, a claims solicitors, are upset with Government plans to end the right to cash compensation for minor injuries like whiplash and to increase the upper limit for small claims court personal injury cases to £5,000.

Thompsons reported that premiums between 2010 and 2014 had dropped in real terms and motorists were paying less in 2014 than they were in 2010 but cumulatively premium income increased by £353 million whilst insurers saved £7 billion in payouts. There has been a net drop in the number of motor claims made of 4% but the net cost of claims incurred is down by nearly 30%.

The ABI refutes the claims made by Thompsons and suggest that savings of £1 billion have been passed on to motorists. Who’s right? I don’t know but I would suggest that much of the increased income is down to people not thoroughly checking their insurance renewals. By Graham Hill

New FCA Permissions Replace Consumer Credit Licences

Saturday, 7. February 2015

If you work in the finance industry you have probably been involved in debates and discussion over the last 12 months regarding some of the biggest changes to the consumer credit industry since the introduction of Hire Purchase in the 60’s. If you are a lender, broker, dealer or consumer (this includes small businesses that are small partnerships or sole traders) life will never be the same again.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

The Government passed over administration of the Consumer Credit Act from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. Since then confusion has reigned. I’m not going to talk about the affect on the lenders and the brokers but you need to understand the potential detrimental affect on you as a customer.

In the past when a dealer, broker, shop or anyone else had to provide advice on finance they had to hold a Consumer Credit Licence. It was a totally meaningless piece of paper, we all knew that, as long as you didn’t have a criminal record or were an undischarged bankrupt you could apply for and be granted a licence. It was simple but actually meaningless.

So when the FCA took over and changed the system from a single licence with a number of categories such as credit broking, debt collection, debt advice etc. we now have a three tier system, named Full Permission, Limited Permission and Appointed Representative. It was all beginning to look good, at last there was a body to police the consumer credit industry that might get rid of a large number of crooks and ensure that new entrants and even those already providing advice were properly qualified.

However, the opposite seems to be happening. In order to apply for permission brokers and dealers will need to spend a lot of money, not only in application costs but ongoing administration and reporting costs. This will result in some smaller used car dealers withdrawing their finance offering because the new regulations are far too complicated for them to understand.

It will also cause some brokers to withdraw for similar reasons so you as a customer will have less choice. It also means that the cost of being regulated will increase sharply so those costs will be reflected in the finance charges. On the other hand brokers who offer commercial finance to limited companies, i.e. non consumers are also being encouraged to apply for Full Permission.

I find this approach by trade bodies and lenders obnoxious. These companies with little or no experience of consumer finance will be able to provide customers any consumer product they wish from personal loans to HP and buy to let mortgages. It’s a disgrace, these brokers should never be given Full Permission but if recent history is anything to go by every applicant will be granted Full Permission with very few rejections.

Sounds like Consumer Credit Licences all over again. If you are currently considering various car finance options make sure that you are talking to someone who is properly qualified. By Graham Hill

Investigation To Be Made Into Insurance Premiums

Saturday, 1. October 2011

Do you feel that your insurer is ripping you off? If you do you’re not alone. In fact the House of Commons Transport Select Committee produced a damning report on the subject recently, giving the cost of car insurance a high profile and forcing the Government to take action. The Cost of Motor Insurance report calls on the Government to force Read more »

After Riots Insurance Cover Explained

Saturday, 3. September 2011

Result of a serious automobile accident.

Image via Wikipedia

Are you, or someone you know, one of the few that has lost a car in the recent riots to needless vandalism? If so where do you stand regarding your insurance and the 1886 Riot Act? First of all if you have a car that was set alight and destroyed, if you have fully comprehensive insurance you are covered, according to the Association of British Read more »

New EU Rules Increases Car Insurance For For Women

Sunday, 20. March 2011

Official insignia of the European Court of Justice

Image via Wikipedia

If you are a woman driver expect your insurance premium to increase thanks to our Government. No I don’t mean the Cameron Clegg Coalition I mean our REAL rulers, the EU. The Court of Justice has ruled that charging drivers more because of their gender is wrong and considered discrimination. So charging men more than women was a practice that Read more »

Tricks To Reduce Your Insurance Premiums

Sunday, 24. October 2010

I was talking to an insurance broker recently and he was explaining that because of the competitive nature of the comparison sites the insurance companies are doing everything to keep premiums as low as possible. One of the tricks they use, I reported a couple of weeks ago, has been to vastly increase charges and fees so that they don’t have to increase premiums, the other is of course to avoid payouts wherever Read more »

Middle Aged Drivers More Dangerous Than Young Drivers

Thursday, 21. October 2010

Research by licence checking company, CFC solutions, revealed that whilst there is a common held belief that young drivers and older drivers have more points on their licences than those in their middle age, it’s not as simple as that. The theory held good and younger and older drivers (17 – 25 & 65+) certainly do have a higher frequency of points on their licences but it was found that those in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, when they had points, they were more than in the other age groups. Read more »

Bogus Car Insurance Claims Put Up Premiums By 25%

Monday, 7. June 2010

Whiplash claims are becoming a pain in the neck to all motorists not just those that suffer the injury. Car insurance has increased by 25% in the last year according to the latest Retail Price Index (RPI). Insurers have blamed the massive surge on whiplash injuries. According to a spokesman for esure/Sheila’s Wheels group it’s the desire to push up injury claims, often by people chatting in the pub, that has pushed up Read more »

Badly Adjusted Headrests Lead To Spiralling Whiplash Claims

Monday, 8. December 2008

Anyone who has bought my book, An Insider Guide To Car Finance also received, free of charge my Hints, Tips and Safety book. In this free book I include loads of great advice, some of which explains the importance of having your headrest adjusted to the correct height in order to avoid whiplash. Clearly not enough people have read this advice as nearly 1,200 people claim every day for whiplash damage following Read more »