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There are calls to introduce a new law against those staging accidents and making insurance claims, often making claims for injuries to passengers not in the car at the time of the accident. Fraudsters are hiring cars, finding lone drivers, normally women – getting in front of them and slamming on their brakes causing an accident. They sometimes even get cash from the other driver for damage caused to the hire car. Fears that this is reaching Read more »

Autoglass has warned that many replacement windscreens could have been avoided if drivers acted more quickly when their screens suffered a chip as chips will nearly always become a crack. A straight forward chip repair takes about 20 minutes compared to nearly 2 hours for a replacement screen. The cost of windscreen replacement is rising rapidly due to the complexity of the glass used and the skill and Read more »

Warnings have been issued by the AA about the increase in theft of Catalytic Converters due to the sharp increase in scrap value of the precious metals housed in the units, platinum, palladium and rhodium. It is estimated that a stolen cat is worth about £150 in scrap value. Cars particularly at risk are 4WD cars and vans with a high ground clearance making it easier for thieves to saw off the cats. They warned that drivers of vulnerable vehicles should protect their insurance no claims discount as a claim could end up costing the driver £000’s. By Graham Hill

Few people are aware of their obligations if they have medical problems. Gavin Jones, risk management expert at Masterlease pointed out ‘All drivers are required by law to notify the DVLA of any medical condition which may affect their fitness do drive but many drivers are failing to report this and could be using the road illegally.’ He added ‘When the DVLA is notified of any medical issues, a full investigation is carried out before the motorist is deemed fit to continue with their licence.’ If this is the case and drivers are driving Read more »

One in five of all reported road incidents involves a parked vehicle. There are 700,000 incidents costing an estimated £1.25 billion to repair. About 80% of the parked car incidents (PCI‘s) occurred on the street. The remainder were in public car parks. The cost of repair averaged £1,800. London topped the list of worst cities in the UK for PCI’s followed by Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Norwich. One in 10 PCI crashes handled by Accident Exchange were recorded in the capital. Main contributing factors to the PCI problems are increased congestion on residential streets and competition for car park spaces. The real fear is that with more information available identifying hot spots the insurance companies may increase premiums so much that residents are priced out of insuring their vehicles. By Graham Hill

As the Government stands firm on it’s 6 year old Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) you should now consider the real benefits of paying for your own car personally and charging the business compared to having a company car. To remind you the AMAP rates are 40 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The charge is tax and NI free but even 40% taxpayers are seeing the benefits badly eroded. The charge is to recover not just fuel but all Read more »

Warnings have been issued over the rapid growth in fake driving licences that can now be bought over the internet for as little as £350. The police are saying that these licences are virtually indistinguishable from the originals and should cause concern for employers who have a duty of care to ensure that drivers are road legal to drive their company vehicles or drive their own vehicles on company business. It has been pointed out that if a driver is involved in an accident whilst driving a company vehicle with an invalid licence the insurance may be Read more »