Rival Insurance Blog: Self Drive Hire Insurance

East European gangs target rental firms

2010-04-27T15:43:00.002+01:00

Organised crime groups with Lithuanian and other eastern European connections are targeting UK rental companies. Up to 30 vehicles belonging to BVRLA members have been stolen by criminals using false or stolen IDs in recent weeks.

The gangs appear to be made up of smartly dressed men in their late 30s with Lithuanian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak and Romanian passports and driving licences. They usually provide UK addresses. They initially tended to rent as walk-ups from airports, especially Stansted and Gatwick, then targeted the cities of London and Birmingham, but now appear to be operating much farther afield, as far north as Leeds. They give contact telephone numbers for mobile phones, but these cease to be answered after initial assurances to the rental company that the rental vehicles will be returned. Most of the names and addresses used by these individuals have been added to the BVRLA's RISC Online database.

For more information on how to protect your business through the RISC Online database, contact BVRLA head of member services Nora Leggett.

To join the BVRLA click here...

source: BVRLA

Chinese Grand Prix 2010

2010-04-18T20:18:00.002+01:00

Jenson Button stormed to his second win of the season as he headed team-mate Lewis Hamilton to a McLaren one-two at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Rain played havoc in China as Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg held off Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to finish third with Renault's Robert Kubica in fifth. Button's win means he leads the drivers' championship by 10 points.

Despite starting at the front of the grid, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber finished sixth and eighth. Kubica's team-mate Vitaly Petrov completed an impressive day for Renault when he overtook Webber late on to take seventh position and earn his first points in Formula 1.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Learner driver flips car on roof in Oxford

2010-04-13T10:59:00.000+01:00

A learner driver taking her second lesson managed to flip her instructor's car on to its roof in Oxford.

The woman, in her mid-20s, hit a gatepost on Old Road in Headington, causing the Fiat 500 car owned by driving instruction firm BSM to flip. Paramedics treated the woman and the instructor for cuts to their hands and elbows at the scene of Sunday's crash. BSM described the crash as a "freak incident" and said it took health and safety very seriously.

Communications manager Paul Shepherd said: "We have spoken to the learner driver who is fine and is already hoping to book her next lesson with us soon.

For the full story from the BBC clik here...

Test drive crash results in £300,000 insurance claim

2010-03-25T09:42:00.001Z

Repairs to a supercar damaged when a test drive went wrong near Aberdeen are set to cost an insurance firm £300,000.

The Pagani Zonda S, which would cost more than £500,000 to buy, was involved in a crash last September. The car has been sent for repair to Modena in Italy, where the vehicles are made.

A spokesperson for insurers Aviva said: "This is the biggest insurance payout we have had for repairs to a private car in the UK." The spokesperson said: "This is out of the ordinary for an insurer."

Although the vehicle was badly damaged, Aviva decided that the car may be repairable and set about making arrangements for the car to be shipped across to Modena, Italy, home of Pagani, the vehicle manufacturer.

The insurance claim was lodged by the test driver, not the owner of the car.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Identity fraud 'is set to soar' says Experian

2010-03-19T15:58:00.005Z

Identity fraud is likely to accelerate in 2010 as organised criminals target the rich, according to a report.

Some 72% of ID fraud in 2009 came in the 2nd half of the year with company directors and business owners the most at risk, Experian found. The credit reference agency said that the number of ID fraud victims rose by 20% in 2009 compared with 2008.

London remained the UK's crime hotspot area but Salford, Manchester and Cardiff were also vulnerable, it said.

Experian also noted a rise in the proportion of fraud cases when people manipulated their own information in order to access financial services such as credit. The company estimated that these numbers would increase owing to lower levels of lending and the potential for more unemployment in 2010.

For the full story from BBC News click here...

source: BBC

Bahrain Grand Prix 2010

2010-03-15T09:09:00.000Z

Fernando Alonso led Felipe Massa to a Ferrari one-two after the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel hit trouble at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alonso trailed the German from the start but swept by as the Red Bull suffered a spark plug failure. Massa followed the Spaniard past on the next lap and Lewis Hamilton benefited from Vettel's problem to take third.

Vettel eventually finished fourth, holding off the Mercedes pair of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Winter weather insurance claims hit £650m

2010-03-11T06:01:00.002Z

Insurers paid out £650m from 335,000 claims made as a result of damage caused by the wintry weather in the UK, figures show.

The biggest chunk of the payout was to motorists who damaged vehicles on the slippery roads, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said. January was the eighth coldest on record and the UK's worst since 1987.

The bad weather hit businesses and consumers with sectors including retail and the housing market suffering. The ABI said that the winter weather cost insurers £650m for claims made in the UK from 18 December to 13 January.

Specifically, £395m has been paid out to motorists. Many of the 268,400 motor insurance claims were for accidental damage caused to vehicles.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Accident-fakers target London fleets

2010-02-20T08:34:00.003Z

Operation Catcher, a Metropolitan Police initiative, has been launched to identify criminals who deliberately induce vehicle collisions in order to defraud insurers.

According to the Metropolitan Police, there is a high incidence of such crimes in its area. In particular, it warns that "organised criminal groups" are targeting companies operating vehicle fleets within the M25.

To visit the BVRLA advice and guidance pages click here...

source: BVRLA

BVRLA Vehicle Recall Guidance

2010-02-15T12:21:00.003Z

The BVRLA has developed a guidance paper for members and their customers on vehicle recalls.

If you have any questions on this paper please contact a member of the legal services team on 01494 434747.

Rental companies wishing to become a member of the BVRLA click here...

To view the BVRLA Vehicle Recall Guidance.pdf click here...

source: BVRLA

Honda extends airbag recall by 437,000 cars

2010-02-10T09:51:00.000Z

Honda has added 437,700 cars, mainly in North America, to its existing global safety recall over airbag inflation problems.

It broadens a recall announced in late 2008 for less than 4,000 Accord and Civic sedans, then expanded in mid-2009 to cover another 510,000 vehicles.

The latest announcement also covers Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Australia.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Drive Assist in whistleblower allegations

2010-02-09T19:58:00.001Z

Credit hire firm Drive Assist is at the centre of allegations it falsified hire days to claim extra money from insurers.

In a leaked email, released by a whistleblower and seen by Insurance Times, a Drive Assist employee explains to staff how to claim two extra hire days from insurers. The email has been sent to the ABI and insurers are currently considering their response.

Drive Assist chief executive Steve Binch said the employee who sent the email has been 'disciplined' while a full investigation is being carried out. In a letter to the ABI, he said that following an initial investigation, he was: “Confident that the many other systems and procedures within Drive Assist have captured this unfortunate procedural error/misrepresentation.”

He added: “The Board and I do not condone any process which artificially inflates hire invoice values and Drive Assist prides itself on being one of the lower cost operators in the sector.”

See this week’s Insurance Times, out on Thursday and online Wednesday, for the full story.

source: Insurance Times

Toyota recalls thousands of Prius cars worldwide

2010-02-09T18:30:00.003Z

Toyota has announced the recall of about 436,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including its latest Prius model, to fix brake problems. The total includes more than 200,000 Prius cars sold in Japan and 8,500 cars in the UK.

"We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," the firm said. The company has already recalled eight million vehicles because of accelerator and floormat problems.

Company president Akio Toyoda made the latest recall announcement at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

How do you stop a car with a jammed accelerator?

2010-02-05T09:19:00.003Z

The recall of thousands of Toyotas with potentially faulty pedals raises a terrifying hypothetical scenario - what should you do if the accelerator on your car jams? It's a driver's worst nightmare. You try to slow down but find the accelerator pedal is stuck - you're in a runaway car.

The world's largest carmaker Toyota has recalled millions of vehicles across Europe and the US due either to the risk of accelerator pedals becoming stuck on the floor mat or jamming on their own.

Toyota insists the jamming problem is very rare and that it has only received 26 reports of any kind of problem in Europe.

If the accelerator is stuck, you should first firmly depress the foot brake, he says. This will override the accelerator. It must be the footbrake and not the handbrake, which could cause the brake pads to burn out and potentially put the car into a spin.

Next, the driver needs to depress the clutch, effectively stopping the engine from powering the car. The equivalent in an automatic car is to put the gearstick into neutral. Continue braking and keep an eye out, forward and back, for an "escape route" to the hard shoulder. Do not try to steer straight across in one quick swerve - this could be dangerous, and destabilise the vehicle at such a speed. In a short time - perhaps 10 seconds - you can bring the car to a halt, says Stephen Mead, assistant chief examiner at the Institute of Advanced Motoring.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

UK 'could face power shortages'

2010-02-03T08:49:00.001Z

The UK could face power shortages in the years ahead, according to the energy regulator, Ofgem.

The regulator also warns that a significant number of consumers may not be able to afford the higher energy prices they will have to face. Ofgem says there is "reasonable doubt" about whether the UK's energy market will be able to deliver sustainable supplies in the coming decade.

The industry needs £200bn of investment, Ofgem said.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Compensation culture 'raising car insurance premiums'

2010-01-30T08:59:00.000Z

Compensation culture is partly to blame for a record rise in car insurance premiums in the last year, the AA has said.

Personal injury claims were becoming "increasingly embedded in British culture" often as a result of lawyers' adverts, it claimed. The typical annual comprehensive car insurance premium rose 18.7% in 2009 to above £1,000, the AA's figures show. That was the biggest jump since the index started in 1994.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said that insurers had been struggling to deal with disappearing reserves at a time when settlement costs and personal injury claims had risen. "Many people seem willing to pursue claims for even minor injuries, such as mild whiplash pain that in the past they would not have bothered claiming for," he said. "This is encouraged by personal injury claims lawyers whose marketing urges people to make claims and whose costs, as well as compensation for the claim, are met by the third party insurer. This is becoming increasingly embedded in British culture and, ultimately, feeds back to premiums."

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Ford posts first annual profit for four years

2010-01-29T09:56:00.001Z

Ford has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years.

The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009, compared with a loss of almost $15bn in 2008, and said it expects to be profitable this year as well. For the final three months of last year, the company made $868m, a dramatic improvement on the $6bn loss it made a year earlier.

Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Toyota car recall hits Europe

2010-01-28T19:52:00.001Z

Toyota has announced the recall of vehicles in the US, Europe and China over concerns about accelerator pedals getting stuck on floor mats.

The firm has announced plans to recall 1.1 million more cars in the US a day after saying it was suspending sales of eight popular US models. According to an application to China's quality control office, it wants to recall 75,552 RAV4 vehicles there.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Nissan Qashqai success adds 400 new jobs

2010-01-28T08:54:00.001Z

Car maker Nissan is to create 400 jobs at its Sunderland plant to meet demand for the Qashqai model.

The fixed-term manufacturing posts are needed for a night-shift production line due to begin in May. Up to 160 temporary staff will also be retained. Last year the company cut 1,200 of 4,300 jobs at the plant amid falling overall sales.

Trevor Mann, senior vice president for manufacturing in Europe, said the Qashqai was bucking market trends.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

UK economy emerges from recession

2010-01-26T11:01:00.001Z

The UK economy has come out of recession, after figures showed it had grown by a weaker-than-expected 0.1% in the last three months of 2009.

The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters - the longest period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. There have been recent recovery signs - last week, UK unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months. The UK's had been the last major economy still in recession.

Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also emerged from recession last year.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Jaguar Land Rover boss to depart

2010-01-25T15:05:00.000Z

The chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, David Smith, is to stand down, the carmaker has confirmed.

The firm said his departure was not linked to the recent breakdown of talks with unions over pay and pensions. Jaguar Land Rover, part of India's Tata Motors, is seeking to reduce wages and pension provision for new staff.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said Mr Smith's departure would "raise concerns about possible disagreements over strategy".

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Toyota recalls 2.3m US vehicles

2010-01-22T09:10:00.001Z

Toyota is recalling 2.3 million cars in the US to correct sticking accelerator pedals, just the latest in a string of recalls the firm has had to announce.

Company spokesman Brian Lyons said the move was due to the vehicles' pedal mechanism becoming worn and, in some cases, getting stuck. It is not yet known if the recall will affect Toyota cars in other countries. Back in October, Toyota recalled 4.2 million cars in the US due to pedals getting lodged under floor mats.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Fraud 'costs the UK £30bn a year'

2010-01-22T09:03:00.003Z

Scams, online theft, insurance cheats and tax fraud is costing the UK £30bn a year, according to an official estimate.

The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has calculated the figure for the first time and said it equated to £621 per adult in the UK. Some 58% of fraud was in the public sector, at a cost of £17bn, it added. It said the losses were paid for through taxes and rising prices of products and services.

The highest sector was losses from tax fraud - estimated at £15.2bn - although this was only 3% of tax liabilities, consumer scams were estimated at £3.5bn, insurance fraud at £2bn and some 31% of losses came in the private sector, with the financial services sector suffering the biggest hit.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

European car sales up in December

2010-01-20T09:12:00.001Z

European car sales rose by 16% in December, marking signs of recovery in the sector after another tough year.

However, total sales for 2009 were down 1.6% on 2008, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Some countries with scrappage schemes saw rises in sales in 2009, including France and Germany.

Sales in the UK were down 6.4% for the year as a whole, though December sales were up 39% compared with a year ago. A total of 14.5 million cars were sold across 28 European countries in 2009.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

London road gets average-speed cameras

2010-01-19T15:37:00.000Z

Average-speed cameras are to be introduced on a major urban road for the first time, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

The 84 special cameras are to be installed on a 7.5 mile (12km) stretch of the A13 in east London, ready for use by next summer. They will operate between Canning Town and the Goresbrook interchange. However, the speed limit will be raised from 40mph to 50mph on a section of the route once the cameras are in place.

Nearly 500 collisions, including three fatal and 34 serious accidents, were recorded on this stretch of road between 2006 and 2008. TfL said half of these incidents were caused by speeding.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Bosch to quit south Wales

2010-01-15T09:40:00.001Z

Around 900 jobs will be lost after the motor parts manufacturer Bosch said it is to close its south Wales plant.

Management of the German-owned company spent Thursday informing the workforce, following three months of consultation. Plans being considered at the site in Miskin, near Cardiff, had included the option of 300 job cuts or complete closure.

The firm said it had now decided to recommend closure to its board, transferring work to Hungary in 2011. In a statement, it said consultations are now being extended until February, as unions and staff attempt to thrash out redundancy terms.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC