Author Archives: AIB

Just Travel Cover Joins Our Panel

AIB Insurance is pleased to announce that Just Travel Cover has been appointed to our panel of specialist insurance companies to provide our clients that participate in air sports such as sky diving, hang gliding, paragliding, parachuting and ballooning with quality travel insurance.

Just Travel Cover has been in existence for some time now and has teamed up with us to enable AIB Insurance to offer our clients even more options when it comes to arranging this niche type of cover.

We have been most impressed with the standard of service that they provide both pre and post sale. The company has built a reputation for arranging suitable cover quickly and without fuss and can often even cater for those clients that have pre-existing medical conditions who may have been having trouble sorting cover out through some other providers. Age is also not usually a barrier.

The company can arrange the likes of single trip travel insurance or annual travel cover and are renowned for providing competitively priced policies. The level of cover provided by either type of policy is ideally suited to those people taking part in one of a variety of air sports who are possibly more likely to have to make a claim than someone else that does not take to the air in this way.

The team here at AIB Insurance look forward to working closely with Just Travel Cover now and in the future to ensure that our valued air sports clients’ unique travel insurance needs are met.

Further information about the company can be found on their website at www.just travelcover.com.

25,000-Foot Jump By Skydiver Without A Parachute

As many a skydiver will tell you, one of the things that is feared most by someone participating in the dangerous sport is that, when he or she jumps from a plane in mid-air, their parachute fails to open leading almost certainly to their death. So, can you imagine someone jumping from a plane at 25,000 feet but purposefully not wearing a parachute and free falling to land in a large net above ground unharmed? Skydiving

Well that is exactly what Luke Aikins did on the 30th July 2016. He is an American skydiver and completed the risky free fall in California landing safely in the huge net unharmed. He is the first person to have made such a decent from that sort of height and spent two years planning for the jump.

He is certainly an experienced skydiver, having completed in excess of 18,000 jumps over the years. For the first 10,000 feet of the jump he wore an oxygen mask and was accompanied by three other skydivers for part of the decent and, of course, those three all had parachutes that opened safely.

He was even filmed live on TV doing the jump that lasted for two minutes and was watched by his wife and young son from the ground. It must have been the longest two minutes of his family’s lives.

The net was hung from four tall cranes and measured 100 hundred foot square. There was a second net underneath the one he dropped into no doubt as some form of back up. Shortly before he fell into the net he turned over onto his back and made a safe landing.

Whilst Mr Aikins has no doubt been congratulated for breaking a record, this is probably not something that other skydivers should contemplate doing no matter how experienced they are. You can view a video of his decent on the Internet.

Zurich Insurance Group Added To Panel

We are delighted to announce that Zurich Insurance Group has joined our panel of insurance companies that enables us to provide our valued customers with further options when it comes to meeting their insurance needs.

Zurich provides general insurance to personal customers for the likes of travel, motor vehicles and homes as well as meeting the specialist needs of our high net worth through the Zurich Private Clients section and commercial clients with the later including small, medium and large businesses as well as corporate and multi-national companies.

Zurich Insurance Group was first established way back in 1872 since which time it has grown to provide a global presence in over 170 countries and employs around 60,000 members of staff of whom in the region of 11,000 work here in the UK.

Zurich has an enviable reputation for its innovative product range that are priced competitively and for providing an outstanding level of service. The company’s claims departments are highly experienced in assisting us deal with customers’ claims at what is undoubtedly a stressful time for our clients.

Everyone here at AIB Insurance is pleased to welcome Zurich Insurance Group on board and we look forward to a long relationship that is mutually beneficial to Zurich, ourselves and of course our valued clientele.

If you would like to find out more about Zurich Insurance Group feel free to visit their website at www.zurch.co.uk.

Electric Truck Being Tested By Mercedes Benz

In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of car manufacturers design and build electric cars that are more economical to run than those being fuelled by diesel or petrol and are also environmentally friendly. Well, if you run a haulage business, you may be interested to read that Mercedes Benz is currently testing a heavy-duty truck that will be powered entirely by electronic means.

The vehicle is called the Mercedes Urban eTruck and is capable of transporting as much as 26 tonnes. It is expected to be able to travel up to 200km on one charge so it would appear to be targeted at haulage businesses that undertake shortish, local contracts – hence why its name includes the word “Urban”.

The truck could be available to purchase or lease from the early 2020’s so if this is something that interests you then it may not be too many years into the future before you could be using one.

More and more cities around the world are trying to reduce carbon emissions including London so this type of vehicle may go some way to helping this be achieved. Such a truck would also be quieter than the ones we see and hear currently on our roads.

The vehicle will be powered by three lithium-ion battery modules that can be re-charged in around 2 to 3 hours. It sounds like it may not be too many years before we see a large, electric HGV pulling into an M25 motorway service station to charge the vehicle up as such lorries move heavy goods between our cities and towns here in the UK as well as in other countries around the world.

Here at AIB Insurance, we are experts at insuring trucks of varying sizes so why not telephone us on 02380 268 351 and speak with a member of staff who will gladly arrange for you to be provided with a no obligation, competitive quotation.

Classic Car Once Owned By John Lennon To Be Auctioned

If you are, shall we say “ of a certain age” and enjoyed pop music, you will be aware how famous The Beatles were many years ago. Well, a classic car once owned by John Lennon who was a member of the group is to be auctioned.

The 1956 Austin Princess is being auctioned at RM Sotheby’s on the 7th September in London. The car may fetch in excess of £250,000. Apparently, that is considerably more than such a vehicle would normally be expected to sell for in view of the fact that it was once owned by someone as famous as Mr Lennon.

The classic car was purchased by him back in 1971. The large door at the rear of the vehicle was of particular use as it probably enabled Mr Lennon to get into the vehicle quickly when he was being followed by dozens of the group’s fans. Interestingly, he had five aircraft seats put in the rear of the vehicle and they remain in it to this day.

The 1956 Austin Princess was kindly donated to the Austin Rock and Roll Car Museum that is situated in Texas in the USA back in 2008 by its then owner Milton Verret. The museum is to sell the car with a view to some of the monies raised being used to help some worthwhile causes. One of these is UNICEF that was, apparently, John Lennon’s favourite charity.

So, if you are interested in purchasing the above classic car then you may wish to arrange to attend the auction.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have been arranging classic car insurance for numerous clients over a number of years. Therefore, if you would like a quotation without any obligation, why not get in touch with us on 02380 268 351 and speak with an experienced, friendly member of our team.

Families Are Biggest Category Of Private Tenant

If you are a landlord you may be interested to read that there are more families with children renting privately than any other type of tenant. That is based upon some research carried out by the National Landlords Association (NLA).

There has been a change in the last 4 years as to which type of tenant occupies a larger percentage of private rented property. Back in 2012 it was young single people that were the major type of householder that lived in private rented homes with 53% of tenants being in that category. The latest research reveals that the largest type of tenants renting privately in 2016 is families with children at 48%.

It is also interesting that 76% of those families taking part in the English Housing Survey that was carried out for the Department for Communities and Local Government indicated that they were happy with how long their tenancy agreement ran for and 79% of those people renewed their agreements or they remained the same when the original tenancy agreements came to an end. This survey also revealed that, in 2014 – 2015, the percentage of families renting privately was 37% compared to back in 2004-2005 when 30% of families were renting in the private sector.

The research carried out by the NLA and the above survey is perhaps an indication that many families with young children are happy with their landlord and the properties they are renting.

Whilst writing, landlords may also be interested to hear that an NLA poll called the NLA Quarterly Tenant Panel indicates that there has been a large increase in the number of retired people renting privately in recent years. When comparing polls carried out in Q1 of 2016 with Q4 of 2012, these have revealed that there has been an increase of around 220,000 in retired people now renting in the private sector.

Here at AIB Insurance, we are able to arrange landlords insurance as well as suitable cover for tenants who may wish to insure their contents and/or personal belongings. In this respect, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements and obtain a quote without any obligation.

Motorhome Holiday Experience Of A Lifetime For Young Family

A number of our customers love taking to the roads both in the UK and Europe in their motorhomes to enjoy a family holiday or travel as a couple. Whether it is to go away for a weekend or a couple of weeks, they enjoy being able to stop off for a night or two either at a campsite that they had pre-arranged to stay at or spontaneously pull over in the countryside and spend an evening enjoying the panoramic views before settling down for a good night’s sleep.

However, there surely cannot be many people that have done what the Hurst family chose to do. David Hurst, his wife Debs, their two sons Daniel aged 6 and Darley aged 4 as well as their dog called Colin have spent 12 months, on and off, travelling about 25,000 miles around Europe in their motorhome – a Swift Escape 696.

Having previously enjoyed hiring a motorhome in 2014, they made the decision to downsize their home and purchase the above motorhome and then set off on what appears to have been a wonderful experience.

During the twelve months they visited almost 200 family and friends in 12 countries including the UK, France, Spain, Belgium and Morocco. Whilst on their travels they “home taught” their oldest son and generated additional income by writing. It certainly would appear that they have all had the most amazing of adventures and will have memories that will last for a lifetime.

You can read more about their travels in the Mail on Sunday in which Mr Hurst has provided some useful information about some of the places that they visited. You may find this useful should you be planning to visit some of those places.

Of course, if you are considering purchasing a motorhome, you will wish to ensure that it is suitably insured. In this respect, why not pick up the phone and speak to us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and we will discuss your requirements with a view to obtaining a competitive motorhome insurance quotation for your consideration without any obligation.

Hang Glider Survives Terrifying Fall

A number of you that participate in one or more extreme sports may well have attended Norway’s extreme sports week that recently took place. If you did, you may have witnessed a champion aerobatic hang glider getting into difficulty but, fortunately, surviving a dramatic descent to earth whilst he was performing in the event.

Jon Gjerde who is 51 years of age can be seen enjoying what he has no doubt done on numerous occasions in the past. The initial film footage provides an idea of how wonderful this sport can be. However, part of the way through the flight, things went dramatically wrong as the hang glider broke up.

The footage shows Mr Gjerde descending initially out of control and one cannot help but wonder if the outcome is going to end in tragic circumstances. However, no doubt helped by the fact that he is an experienced hang glider, he is able to keep calm and release a parachute that slows his fall. He was able to come to earth in a lake where there was a boat crew on hand to help him. Fortunately, he only suffered minor injuries.

This event just goes to show how dangerous this sport can be even when carried out by people with years of experience. We would like to hear from any of our valued customers who have had a “hair-raising” experience whilst hang gliding or any other extreme sport for that matter.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have been arranging suitable cover through our extensive panel of insurance companies for a variety of extreme sports for many years. So, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a knowledgeable, friendly member of our team about your insurance requirements who will gladly obtain a competitive quotation on your behalf without any obligation on your part.

Excellent Price Achieved For Classic Aston Martin DB Team Car

To this day, Aston Martin has an enviable reputation for building quality cars here in the UK. So, when a classic model comes up for auction it is quite possible that there will be a great deal of interest in it.

Well, at the recent Bonhams “The Goodwood Festival Of Speed Sale” a 1949 Aston Martin DB Team car with the registration number UMC 65 was offered for sale to members of the public. Including the premium, it ended up being sold for a price of £679,100.

This classic car has a little bit of history behind it as it featured in some well-known races. Back in June 1949, it took part in a Le Mans 24-hourLe race when it managed to finish in a commendable 7th place but also finished 3rd in its class. Of the three Aston Martins entered in the race it was the only one to get across the finishing line. The following month the car took part in the Spa 24-hour race when it managed to finish in 5th place with this being a commendable result.

The above Aston Martin featured in a number of more modest racing events in the coming years. Then, in 1965, it was bought by a Christopher Angel and appeared in a demonstration parade at the 1971 Le Mans 24-hour race. Subsequently, the car ended up in his garden with the intention that it be restored but such work did not take place due to him being unwell. In 2002, the car that by then was in a poor condition, was stolen. It was eventually found by the police more than 10 years later and fell into the ownership of the late Mr Angel’s family as he had passed away in 2003.

The car was sold by his family at the above auction still in need of restoration yet still achieved an excellent price. Let us hope that the new owner restores the classic Aston Martin DB Team car to its former glory.

Paraglider Has Confrontation With Eagle

When airborne, paragliders are able to enjoy many things in addition to the actual thrill of taking to the skies. For instance, when safe to do so, paragliding enables you to admire the scenery and observe many things that are happening whether they are visibly taking place on the ground or in the air.

Of course, there is always wildlife to see including the likes of deer or perhaps a fox crossing a field as well as many species of birds. If you are lucky you will witness birds of prey such as a falcon or a buzzard. However, rarely will you ever get the opportunity to see an eagle because, of course, they are so rare.

Well, a paraglider in Turkey did happen to come across an eagle but it got rather too close for comfort. In fact, it got so close that evasive action was required on the part of the gentleman in question including having to make an emergency landing.

Ozgur Cicek, a Turkish paraglider, was enjoying paragliding in the Antalya Province in southwest Turkey and had a small video camera attached to his helmet so that he could film what was going on around him and no doubt some of the wonderful scenery. He was enjoying his paragliding expedition when the majestic eagle appeared in the sky above him.

That may sound fine as the opportunity to observe such a creature probably occurs infrequently. However, this particular eagle decided that it wanted to get up close to Mr Cicek and his paraglider. So much so that it actually attacked the paraglider on more than one occasion no doubt causing him a great deal of concern. The eagle obviously has extremely sharp talons and it caused damage to the parachute by tearing a couple of holes in the material.

The initial enjoyment and thrill of seeing such a bird of prey no doubt quickly disappeared and Mr Cicek had to take evasive action and make an emergency landing in a field. Fortunately, he was able to do this without any injury to himself.

So, if you happen to be paragliding up in the likes of Scotland where eagles can sometimes be seen do be careful!