Author Archives: AIB

New Car Sales Drop

Unfortunately the sale of new cars here in the UK has not been going well for quite a few months now. If you are involved in the buying and selling of new vehicles you would have been hoping that things would have picked up in March 2018 as it is one of two months in the year when cars are issued with n amended registration number – last month it was the “18” plate.

Regrettably, March was not a good month for new car registrations according to statistics produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) here in the UK. Only 474,069 new cars were registered last month with this figure being way below the number of new cars registered in March 2017 when 562,337 were registered – a fall of over 15%. We are sure you will agree that is a significant reduction and one that will no doubt concern the motor trade.

There has been a dramatic drop in the number of people buying new diesel cars that is apparent from the figures produced by the SMMT. In March 2018 only 153,594 new cars sold were fuelled by diesel whereas in March 2017 the figure was 244,593 – that is a fall of over 37%. The sale of new Alternatively Fuelled Vehicles (AFVs) has continued to go up from 22,818 in March 2017 to 24,126 in March 2018 – a rise of 5.7%.

Private new car sales fell from 272,719 in March 2017 to 228,623 in March 2018 – a large drop of 16.5%. Fleet new car sales dropped from 261,941 in March 2017 to 222,595 in March 2018 – a fall of 15%. Business new car sales fell from 26, 677 in March 2017 to 22,851 in March 2018 – a reduction of 14.3%.

The top 3 selling cars in March 2018 were: –

Ford Fiesta 19,272
Volkswagen Golf 13,966
Nissan Qashqai 12,018

There are many thousands of people employed in the motor trade industry so let us hope that the sale of new cars here in the UK picks up in the coming months. If it does, this may avoid some people loosing their jobs in the motor trade.

Record Set For Average Amount Claimed On Motor Insurance Policies

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has recently published some interesting statistics relating to claims on motor insurance policies. Specifically, it has revealed that the average amount paid out last year for each motor insurance claim was the largest amount since records started to be kept for this sort of cover.

The figure was £2,936. Apparently, a couple of reasons why this sort of cover hit a record was down to the fact that the cost of repairing a motor vehicle has gone up as well as the amount paid out to meet claims when a car is stolen has risen which happens all too often.

Last year, a staggering £8.1 billion was paid out by insurers to meet all motor insurance claims. This was a similar figure to 2016. It would be potentially good news if the amount of such claims fell in 2018 and beyond as this is one of the many factors that affect how much insurance companies charge for their car insurance. Perhaps if the amount paid out for claims was to fall, we may see a reduction in the cost of our motor insurance policies.

Another interesting statistic is that the average amount paid out for a claim in respect of personal injury was £10,816 in quarter four of 2017. This is a large sum and is also a factor that dictates how much a motor insurance provider charges new and existing customers who renew their cover. Again, it would be lovely if we were to see the average amount paid out for a personal injury claim to drop as this is another factor that may impact on the amount motor insurance providers charge for their cover.

Apparently, the number of claims submitted for personal injury dropped slightly in 2017 when compared with 2016. Of the claims submitted, there were 320,000 that insurers agreed to pay out for.

Of course, policyholders would prefer not to have to be faced with having to claim on their car insurance policies but when they do it is important that they are confident that the insurance company the cover is arranged with will pay out in the event of a claim as quickly and effortlessly as possible. So, if you are looking for quality motor insurance that is not only competitively priced but also where the insurance company is well known for the number of claims that they agree to meet, then why not get in touch with us on 02380 268 351 and a member of our team will gladly do all that he or she can to assist.

World’s First Mass Produced Flying Car

It looks like it will not be long before we see flying cars either driving around or taking to the air. A firm from Holland by the name of Pal-V International put on display what is likely to be the first mass produced flying car at a motor show in Switzerland a few days ago.

It is a three-wheeled craft that appears to look like a cross between a motorbike and a helicopter. It is called Pal-V Liberty with the Pal-V standing for Personal Air and Land Vehicle. Whilst being driven on roads the blades are kept folded in. It is actually referred to as a gyrocopter. Interestingly, the blades do not turn by power but rely on the air to rotate them.

The craft is able to sit two people and may appeal to a variety of potential buyers such as business executives who spend some time travelling to meetings who may like the idea of being able to get into the craft at home, drive to an airfield, take off, land at another airport, drive to a meeting and do the whole trip in reverse. It could even attract couples who enjoy taking weekend breaks. You will need both a pilot’s license and a driving license to fly/drive the craft.

Of course, this mode of transport comes at a price. It is estimated that you could pay in the region of £440,000.

It is quite a nippy craft. It can travel at speeds of up to 112mph both on the road and in the air. It is estimated that on the road it could travel as many as 750 miles or in the air up to 310 miles on one tank of fuel so it is quite possible to make trips within Europe.

When it is hopefully officially being mass produced in 2019 it is estimated that there will be 50 to 100 craft built in its first year. We are sure you will agree that is a sizeable number.

Anyone looking to buy the Pal-V Liberty will no doubt wish to make sure that he or she has adequate insurance cover in place.

Over 200,000 Long-Term Empty Homes In England

Empty Homes, a national charity campaigning for unoccupied properties to be made available for people in need of housing, has recently published some data that reveals there are in excess of 200,000 homes in England that have remained empty for a minimum of six months.

The Empty Homes in England report brings together statistics produced by local authorities on empty homes for the twelve months to October 2017. There were 205,293 long-term empty homes in England in October 2017 with this being 5,148 more when compared with October 2016. That is an increase of 2.6%.

Below is a regional table of long-term empty homes showing the total number of homes in each region, the number of empty properties and the percentage that are empty: –

Region Homes Empty Homes Percentage

North East 1,224,357 17,106 1.4%
North West 3,259,372 39,344 1.21%
Yorkshire & Humber 2,407,332 27,009 1,12%
East Midlands 2,070,625 18,553 0.90%
West Midlands 2,471,214 20,996 0.85%
South West 2,529,233 18,687 0.74%
East of England 2,659,293 17,983 0.68%
South East 3,871,368 25,378 0.66%
London 3,582,015 20,237 0.56%

England 24,074,809 205,293 0.85%

As you can see, the region with the highest percentage of homes that have remained empty for at least six months is in the North East of England with 1.4%. It may come as a surprise to some people that London has the lowest percentage at 0.56%. In the South West, 0.74% of homes are long-term empty.

Since 2008, when there were 326,954 homes that had been empty for a minimum of six months, the number of such properties has been falling year on year. That is until this latest set of figures as of October 2017.

There are a number of reasons why homes remain empty for so long such as the owner deciding to hold onto the property in the hope that it will increase in value, a property may have been let out in the past but requires renovation work before being re-let and someone inheriting a property may take time before deciding what to do with the property.

The Empty Homes in England report is a comprehensive document and can be viewed on the empty.homes.com website.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have considerable experience of arranging insurance on unoccupied properties. So, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with one of our friendly team who will be able to discuss your requirements and provide a tailor-made, competitive quotation to provide you with peace of mind.

Choose An Insurer That Pays Out For Most Of Its Claims

If you want to arrange the likes of home (buildings and contents) insurance either for the first time or are considering moving your cover from your existing insurance company to a new provider there may be several factors that will have a bearing on which insurer you take out the cover with. For most people, the number one consideration is how much they will have to pay in premiums to the insurance company to protect their home and contents in the event of things like fire, flood, accidental damage and theft.

That may sound fine but the reason why you require such cover is to give you peace of mind so that if your home was burned to the ground, your Rolex stolen or your skiing equipment damaged in transit you could claim and the insurer would cover the vast majority of your claim to rebuild your property and/or replace or repair the damaged items. So, surely another factor that you should consider when deciding which insurer to arrange the cover with is the percentage of claims that it ends up paying out for.

In that respect, you may be interested to read that, on the 1st March 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the “General Insurance value measures data – year ending 31 August 2017”. This document includes data from 36 insurance companies (UK and EEA firms) about claims acceptance rates, average claim pay-outs and claims frequencies. The publication can be viewed on the FCA’s website via the following link: –

https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/data/general-insurance-value-measures-data-year-ending-31-august-2017

If you take a look at the Claims Acceptance Rate column in the section relating to Home Insurance you will see that there is a wide variance in the percentage of claims insurers agree to pay out for.

At the top end of the scale the following insurers accepted 97.5% to 100% of claims: –

• Chubb European Group Limited
• Hiscox Insurance Company Limited
• Hiscox Syndicates Limited
• Acromas Insurance Company Limited
• Liberty Insurance Limited
• Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance PLC
• The Salvation Army General Insurance Company Limited

You will note that both Chubb and Hiscox are in the top scale of 97.5% to 100% when it comes to meeting claims. We are pleased to say that, here at AIB Insurance, they are two of the companies that feature highly on our panel of insurers when it comes to arranging buildings and contents insurance for our high net worth clients.

On the 25th January 2017, the first publication of the General Insurance value measures data – year ending 31 August 2016 was produced. On that day, James Bridge, Assistant Director, Head of Conduct Regulation, Association of British Insurers, said:
“Every day home insurers pay out over £8 million in claims to customers, and are committed to doing all they can to ensure that insurance delivers when the worst happens. The FCA data shows that the vast majority of claims are paid out.”

https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2016/12/fca-value-measures-response/

When AIB Insurance recommends an insurance company to a client, we take several things into consideration such as price, claims experience and the quality of the customer service. So, if you are looking for home insurance or, indeed, any other insurance cover why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements with an experienced, friendly member of our team who will arrange to provide you with a competitive quotation. We look forward to being of assistance to you.

Formula One Car Driven By Ayrton Senna To Be Auctioned

Those of you with a long term interest in Formula One racing will be aware of just how good a driver the great Ayrton Senna was. He was born in Brazil and won three Formula One world championships back in 1988, 1990 and 1991 whilst at the wheel of McLaren racing cars. Regrettably, he was killed on the 1st May 1994 at the age of 34 whilst driving for Williams at the San Marino Grand Prix. He was held in such high regard in the country of his birth that there were three days of national mourning in Brazil.

Well, you may be interested to read that one of the Formula One racing cars driven by Ayrton Senna – a 1993 McLaren-Ford MP4/8A is to be auctioned by Bonhams at their Monaco sale on the 11th May 2018. This was the final season that he drove for McLaren and in the 1993 Formula One season he drove the car on eight occasions. It was rumoured he was being paid in the region of $1 million a race.

It is rather fitting that this car should be offered for sale in Monaco as Ayrton Senna actually won the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in that very same vehicle in 1993 making it almost 25 years since that wonderful occasion. That meant he had won six Monaco Grand Prix braking Graham Hill’s record. Incidentally, the driver who followed Ayrton Senna across the finishing line in second place was none other than Damon Hill – son of Graham Hill.

It is going to be very interesting to see what sort of attention this legendary racing car is going to attract at the above auction and what sort of price it is eventually hopefully going to be sold for. Needless to say, it will no doubt carry a premium due to the connection with Ayrton Senna.

If you are considering buying a classic or high performance vehicle then why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 where we will be delighted to discuss your requirements in respect of insuring the vehicle. We have an extensive panel of insurers so we would be able to help source a competitively priced quotation with excellent cover.

Couple Get Married On A Net 400 Feet Above The Canyon

Nowadays, it has to be said that the majority of people get married in a church, a registry office or perhaps in a hotel. Well, not the under mentioned couple who are, to say the least, obviously not averse to taking a risk.

Ryan Jenks and Kimberly Weglin come from California and decided to get married on a colouful net that was spread over a canyon some 400 feet off the ground. There was also an aisle of netting to get over to the main net. Not bad going for a lady who used to be scared of heights. Interestingly, they also got engaged on a similar net. She was wearing a beautiful traditional wedding dress with a long veil and he was suited and booted making them the perfect couple.

Bearing in mind that they both participate in highlining that involves walking across a tightrope that is spread between a couple of mountains thus involving a great deal of danger they were probably not all that concerned about the risk involved for the unusual but spectacular location for their wedding ceremony.

However, it was not only the bride and groom who enjoyed an adventurous day out as many of the guests certainly played, shall we say, an active part in proceedings. For instance, a number of people took to the air in paragliders and flew over the net and there were several base jumpers who jumped from the edge of the cliff and released in the region of 5,000 flower petals that no doubt helped create a romantic scene.

We cannot help but wander where Ryan and Kimberly will be planning to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Presumably, it will not be anywhere mundane. We would just like to take this opportunity to wish this adventurous couple a lifetime of happiness.

If you are in need of airsports insurance why not give us a call at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and speak with a member of our friendly staff who will happily arrange a quotation.

What To Keep In Your Car In The Winter

During wintry conditions such as snow and ice you are possibly more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident. However, you also need to be more prepared should you break down and find yourself caught up in adverse weather. Here in most parts of the UK, we are fortunate that we do not usually get many days when the weather is very poor but it is still a sensible thing to plan for such an eventuality.

So, what sorts of things should you consider carrying in your vehicle at this time of year here in the UK? Well, the following list is not exhaustive but should hopefully be of assistance to you.

1. First aid kit – this should be carried in your car throughout the year.
2. Mobile phone along with a charger so that you can contact the emergency services, family and friends should you require help.
3. Spade to clear away ice/snow should you be unable to pull away in slippery conditions.
4. De-icer and ice scraper to keep your car windows free of snow and ice.
5. A blanket to wrap around you or a sleeping bag to slip into should you have to spend the night in your car until help arrives. This will help you to keep warm in freezing outside temperatures.
6. A couple of reflective warning triangles with one being placed several yards in front of your stranded vehicle and the other a similar distance to the rear of your car.
7. A torch along with batteries that could be used to help attract attention or light up the inside of the car.
8. An atlas should you get lost in inclement weather.
9. Chocolate bars for nourishment as well as fluids to drink – ideally a flask of hot tea or coffee.
10. Extra clothing such as jumper, waterproof coat, hat, socks, trousers and gloves.
11. A pair of boots in case you need to walk through deep snow.
12. A whistle may prove useful if you needed to attract attention whilst stranded.
13. Jump leads should your battery have run flat and you need assistance to get you started.
14. Fuel canister should you run out of petrol/diesel and it be safe to walk to the nearest service station to fill it up.

There may well be some other things that you feel it is a good idea to bring with you but we hope that the above list is of benefit.

Motor Insurance Premiums Rise

Over the past couple of years there has been an upward trend in the cost of insuring motor vehicles. This is possibly something that you have noticed when receiving your renewal notice and, if so, has hopefully triggered you to seek comparative quotations through the likes of ourselves to see if we can find you a better deal from another provider.

Well, the Association of British Insurers has recently produced the ABI Premium Tracker that monitors what the cost of motor insurance has been over an extended period of time. Apparently, the average premium paid for fully comprehensive cover throughout 2017 was £481 per annum. This was an increase of 9% in comparison to the cost 12 months ago that, in monetary terms, equated to a rise of £40 per annum.

Another disturbing statistic is the fact that the average cost of insuring a motor vehicle increased by a staggering 29% since back in 2014.

There are a number of factors that have caused this increase in the cost of motor insurance. For instance, repair costs of vehicles have gone up, there has been a rise in the number of people seeking compensation for whiplash injuries, Insurance Premium Tax has gone up and there has been a change in the calculation of compensation payouts.

The ABI is encouraging the Government to stop increasing the Insurance Premium Tax, make changes to how claims for lower value claims for whiplash are dealt with and also to look at the Ogden Discount Rate which is used to work out what compensation someone should receive who has suffered a significant injury as a result of a road traffic accident. These things are all with a view to potentially reducing how much someone pays for their motor insurance.

So, is there anything that you can do to mitigate such an increase? Well, you may wish to consider shopping around for cheaper cover but if you do, make sure that the level of cover meets your needs.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have been able to help arrange car insurance for a number of customers at a lower premium than their existing insurer has been charging them so why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements and obtain a quotation without any obligation.

Online Shoppers Want Parcels Delivered Quicker

If you are a courier then you may have been able to take a welcome rest after the lead up to Christmas that was probably your busiest period of the year. However, by now you are no doubt back in the swing of things making numerous deliveries every day to consumers here in the UK.

When you knock on someone’s door and hand over a parcel, most people are pleased to see you and offer their thanks before closing the door and hastily opening the parcel to check out their new purchase. However, there are no doubt some who are unhappy because they were expecting the parcel to be delivered sooner. So, how many consumers express this opinion?

Well, research carried out by whistl that is a delivery management company has revealed that an increasing number of consumers want their parcels delivered more quickly.

Apparently, the research discovered that 7% of consumers here in the UK were only interested in having their online purchase delivered on the same day that he or she purchased it. A further 12% of purchasers were insistent in having their goods delivered to them the day after he or she bought the item(s). A further 32% of consumers were agreeable to receiving their new purchase within 2 to 3 working days. In excess of 25% of consumers were happy to take delivery of their new purchase in 7 days time.

It is people living in Birmingham who are the most impatient when it comes to the time that they are prepared to wait for a courier to deliver their parcel. In the UK’s second largest city, consumers are prepared to wait an average of 3.3 days. Those living in Nottingham are prepared to wait the longest – 4.7 days on average.

It is the male population who are slightly less patient than women when it comes to waiting for their courier to deliver their new purchases. Men are prepared to wait an average of 89 hours whereas women will wait 91 hours for their delivery.

If you are either an established courier or are in the process of setting up in business providing a courier service then why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and speak with a member of our team about your insurance requirements. We shall be happy to provide a no obligation, competitive quotation from our extensive panel of insurers.