Tag Archives: insurance

Classic Ferrari Sells For World Record Price

Those of our customers who are classic car enthusiasts will no doubt be aware that classic Ferraris are highly desirable vehicles with many commanding high prices as and when they are offered for sale. The Ferrari 250 GTO is reputably the most sought after of them all with, it would be fair to say, a value far exceeding what most people can afford to spend. For instance, back in 2013, it is believed that one was sold privately for around £40 million.

Well, it is believed that that figure has recently been exceeded with a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO fetching in the region of £52 million. This would make it currently the world’s most expensive classic car. Apparently, when originally sold brand new, this make and model of car could be bought for around $18,500. We are sure that you will agree this is a significant increase in value over the years and has probably provided a greater investment return than any other asset.

Who has paid that sort of money for such a wonderful vehicle? Well, it is believed that a businessman called David MacNeil from the USA is now the proud owner of this classic sports car. He owns a business that sells car mats and, by the sounds of things, appears to have made a considerable amount of money doing so.

Only thirty-nine Ferrari 250 GTOs were built between 1962 to 1964. So, it is an extremely rare classic vehicle with this no doubt having a considerable bearing upon its value. These models were capable of rocketing to a top speed of around 174 mph.

This particular Ferrari 250 GTO actually won the 1964 Tour De France so this will no doubt have had an impact upon its value. It has also taken part in many other motor racing events.

The premium to insure such a classic car would no doubt be considerable and there are possibly not too many insurance companies that would be prepared to take on the insurance risk. In this respect, if you are the proud owner of any make and model of classic or vintage vehicle and require a quotation for classic car insurance then why not get in touch with us on 02380 268 351 and one of our experienced members of staff will discuss your requirements with a view to doing all that can be done to obtain a competitive quotation from our panel of insurers.

Motorhome Sales Increase

If you are the proud owner of a motorhome you may be interested to read that you are one of a growing number of holidaymakers who take to the road in such a vehicle to enjoy a break both here in the UK and overseas. According to statistics produced by the NCC that is the trade body for the motorhome, tourer, park home and caravan holiday home industries the number of people buying motorhomes rose in 2017 – in fact there has been a steady increase for a number of years.

Below are the statistics for new motorhomes registered here in the UK: –

2017 14,062

2016 12,332

2015 10,572

2014 8,733

2013 7,425

Below are the statistics for pre-owned motorhomes registered here in the UK: –

2017 55,449

2016 55,020

2015 48,839

2014 47,755

2013 45,572

The above organization also produced some interesting statistics for the number of new motorhomes registered in certain European countries that showed there has been an increase in certain countries when comparing 2017 with 2016: –

France 8.3% increase

UK 14.0% increase

Germany 15.5% increase

Italy 19.1% increase

It is estimated that there are in the region of 225,000 motorhomes being used here in the UK. Interestingly, there are about 555,000 touring caravans and 365,000 caravan holiday homes being utilized here in the UK. In 2016, it was estimated that people in Great Britain spent in the region of £2 billion per annum on caravan holidays and it is believed that about £6 billion is contributed to the economy here in the UK by the caravan industry every year.

Of course, as with most things that can be purchased, there is such a huge variance in the cost of buying a motorhome ranging from a few thousand pounds for a second hand vehicle to a six-figure sum for a brand new motorhome.

If you are considering investing in a motor home and it is not the type of holiday that you have tried before then you may prefer to hire such a vehicle for a week or two to make sure that touring around the UK and beyond is for you and your family.

Here at AIB Insurance we have many years experience in arranging motorhome insurance for numerous clients, We have a panel of reputable insurers so why not get in contact with us on 02380 268 351 and speak with a friendly, informative member of our team who will happily arrange a bespoke, competitive quotation without any obligation.

Military Jet Has Near Miss With Paragliders

If you participate in paragliding then you will be well aware that there are numerous risks relating to your sport that could potentially lead to a serious accident taking place resulting in injury or death. Fortunately, such incidents are few and far between both here in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

Well, who would have thought that when four paragliders from the Avon Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club took to the air on the 26^th January 2018 they were to have a close encounter with a military jet. In fact so close that one of the paragliders apparently claimed that the heat from the jet’s engine could be felt.

The encounter took place at around 12.33pm on the above date with a Royal Navy Hawk T1 military jet over Bratton Camp that is located near Westbury in Wiltshire at between 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet above the ground. The jet in question was in the throes of a practice bombing run.

Obviously the jet was travelling at a considerable speed and it flew between the four paragliders who were no doubt disturbed at such an incident. The near miss was actually filmed by one of the paragliders who had a camera on his helmet.

A comprehensive report was recently published by the UK Airprox Board a copy of which can be found on their website. We are sure that those of you who enjoy paragliding will find the report of interest. Apparently, the military jet pilot had not previously been aware that the four paragliders would be in the air. The cause was determined as being due to the pilot of the military jet not seeing the four paragliders and was assessed as risk category A.

Here at AIB Insurance we can arrange competitive quality insurance cover for those of you who enjoy paragliding. So, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and discuss your requirements with a knowledgeable member of our team. We look forward to being of assistance.

Many Classic Motorcycles Sold At Recent Auction

If you are an enthusiastic collector of vintage motorcycles then you may like to know that there were a number of interesting motorbikes sold at Bonhams The Spring Stafford Sale that took place at Staffordshire County Showground on the 21^st to 22 April 2018. Below we mention some of the highlights of the auction but further details can be found on Bonhams website. Sales totalled £3,37,045.

A 1970 Clymer Munich 1,177cc TTS “Mammoth” motorcycle that had been restored to a very high standard was sold for £154,940. It is believed to be one of only 150 built in the USA so is very rare. It was capable of reaching a top speed of 120mph.

A 1973 MV Agusta 750S achieved a sale price of £96,700. It has an interesting colour scheme of red, white, blue and crimson so it definitely catches the eye. Not many of these delightful classic motorcycles were built which is no doubt a factor in why it achieved the sale price it did.

Perhaps the star of the show was a 1931 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 motorbike that was sold for £264,700 exceeding its estimated sale price of £170,000 to £220,000. Three charities benefitted from the sale proceeds – Salvation Army, Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Search and Rescue Dog Association. This fantastic classic motorcycle was originally owned by Edinburgh Police and had been in the same ownership for in excess of 50 years.

A rare 1926 Coventry-Eagle 981cc Flying-8 motorbike went for £65,340. It had been restored in the 1980s and its last owner had it in their possession since 2013.

A 1955 Vincent 998cc Black Knight & Steib 501 Sidecar was sold for £63,100. Again, this is an extremely rare vehicle. It had been in the same ownership since way back in 1961 but the individual concerned who is 80 years of age was finding it difficult to start this classic motorcycle.

A 1957 ex-works Cecil Sandford FB Mondial 250cc DOHC Grand Prix World Championship Winning Racing Motorcycle achieved a sale price of £92,220. It was raced by Adamo Tursin who was a national champion on 16 occasions.

If you are the proud owner of a classic motorcycle or are looking to buy one for the first time then why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 as we can arrange bespoke, competitive insurance cover for your vehicle through our reputable panel of insurers.

Some Car Insurance Premiums Reduce

Car insurance premiums have been showing an upward trend for quite some time but the Confused.com car insurance price index has revealed that, on average, the cost of fully comprehensive car insurance has dropped slightly during the first quarter of 2018 when compared with a year ago. The average premium paid by motorists for such cover was £768 per annum with this being a small reduction of £13 per annum when compared to the first quarter of last year. This equates to a drop of around 2%.

When you look at the cost of cover based upon someone’s age, the vast majority of age brackets have seen a fall in the amount charged by car insurance providers. On average, it is still the younger motorist who has to pay the most for their car insurance. For instance, an 18 year old is paying most with premiums costing on average of £2,114 per annum. A 17 year old is paying an average of £2,003 per annum but this is actually £118 per annum less than they were paying a year ago, whilst a 21 year old is being charged an average of £1,621 per annum to insure their vehicle with this being a rise of £38 per annum. A 34 year old has to pay an average of £655 per annum.

It is perhaps interesting that someone of 68 years of age has seen his or her car insurance premiums rise by an average of £40 in the space of 12 months to an average of £543 per annum.

On a regional basis, motorists in Inner London have seen the cost of insuring their cars drop by an average of £81 per annum in comparison to a year ago. That is a fall of 6%. However, they can expect to pay, on average, more than £1,000 per annum for fully comprehensive cover. However, a motorist living in the Scottish Borders has had to face an average increase of £32 per annum to an average of £579 per annum and drivers in North and Central Wales have seen their car insurance premiums go up by an average of £12 per annum in the space of a year to an average of £629 per annum.

Let us hope that the average cost of insuring a car continues to drop in the coming months. However, it is important that motorists try to obtain the right level of cover from an insurer that provides an excellent service including when it comes to processing claims and for a competitive premium. In this respect, you will be pleased to read that, here at AIB Insurance, we have an extensive panel of insurers that can hopefully meet your exacting requirements. So, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a knowledgeable, friendly member of our team who will do all that he or she can to obtain a competitive quotation for your perusal without any obligation.

Covea Added To Our Insurance Panel

Here at AIB Insurance, we are pleased to announce that Covea Insurance plc has recently been added to our carefully vetted panel of insurers. It provides a variety of personal and commercial lines insurance products including cover for the likes of private car, home, motor breakdown, motor trade, motor fleet, shops, offices, surgeries, property owners, tradesmen and professionals as well as cover for high net worth clients.

Covea Insurance plc can trace its history going as far back as 1958 when Norman Insurance was established that was renamed MMA Insurance in 2000. Covea Insurance was launched in 2012 following the merger of MMA Insurance with Provident Insurance. It has won a number of awards including the Gold Accreditation for Investors in People in October 2014 and the Insurance Times Awards – Customer Champion of the Year and Training, Excellence and Impact (Insurer) in December 2014. It has 7 offices in the UK at which it employs about 1,500 staff. It has in excess of 1.9 million policyholders that, in 2017, produced premiums of £739 million. It has a Standard and Poor’s “A+ Stable” rating signifying its financial strength.

We have been most impressed with the range and quality of tailor made products offered by Covea whether it is to insure an executive five bedroomed detached property on an exclusive estate, a luxury apartment in a desirable area of London or a terraced property on the edge of a town, a family car or a top of the range high-powered sports car or an office for one of our professional clients. The level of service provided by the extremely knowledgeable staff at Covea is exceptional with no request being too much trouble.

Should you be in the unfortunate position of needing to make a claim, their dedicated UK based team is available 24 hours a day throughout the year including bank holidays. They pride themselves on their speed of response, calmness, support and attention to detail throughout the claims process being very conscious that it is, potentially, a stressful time in your life.

AIB Insurance looks forward to working closely with Covea and building on what has quickly become an effective partnership that can only be beneficial for all parties concerned including our highly valued clients both existing and new.

If you would like to find out more about Covea Insurance plc then why not visit their website at www.coveainsurance.co.uk

How To Reduce The Possibility Of Your Motorcycle Being Stolen

There are just under 1.3 million motorcycles registered here in the UK and, unfortunately, it is estimated that in the region of 30,000 are stolen every year – that is 2.3%. Regrettably, only about 40% of the motorcycles stolen are believed to be recovered and returned to their legal owners

So, what can you do to reduce the possibility of your motorbike being stolen? Well, it will come as no surprise to read that there is an awful lot of advice on the Internet but below we mention some of the things that can be done to help deter the theft of your beloved bike.

Cover

A thief is often looking for a particular model of motorbike to steal so a cover should act as a deterrent. In view of the additional time taken to remove a cover that should also put off some thieves.

Lock/Chain

A grip lock will secure the throttle and brake controls and a disc lock will assist in securing the front brake disc. Thread a chain lock through the back wheel.

Alarm

A Thatcham approved alarm system incorporating immobilization and tracking devices should help act as a deterrent but also locate the vehicle should it be stolen.

Mark the parts

Property marking the parts should help deter the thief as the parts would be difficult for a thief to sell. The parts can also be identified as coming from a particular stolen bike.

Parking your motorcycle

If you are out and about on your bike perhaps to go for a meal on an evening then don’t park it in a dimly lit side street. Instead park it in a well-lit car park or in a well lit street along which there is a regular flow of pedestrians.

Where to keep your motorcycle at home

Either leave it in your locked garage or locked shed. In addition, why not have a ground anchor fitted.

If you do not have a garage or shed then park it in a visible location in a well-lit place and make sure it is secured perhaps to a lamp post.

Motorcycle Insurance

You will obviously want to make sure that you have quality motorcycle insurance in place. Here at AIB Insurance, we have an extensive panel of insurers so why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a knowledgeable, friendly member of our team who will discuss your requirements and obtain a tailor-made quotation for your consideration.

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.

Aviva Private Clients Division Joins Our Panel Of Insurers

AIB Insurance is very pleased to inform our high net worth clients that the Aviva Private Clients division has recently been added to our select panel of insurance companies. Its Distinct Home, Distinct Motor and Distinct Travel products provide bespoke cover for the discerning individual whether it is to insure an Edwardian country mansion, a penthouse in Mayfair, a Rolls-Royce Phantom or provide cover for a luxury holiday.

Aviva is the largest insurance company in the UK having in excess of 15,000 million customers. Its history goes back as far as 1696 when the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society was established. In 2000 Norwich Union and CGU PLC merged as CGNU and in 2002 it became known as Aviva. It has offices in numerous countries around the world employing about 30,000 people and has a worldwide customer portfolio of over 33 million. The company deals with over 10 million calls a year and in 2017 paid out more than £34 billion in benefits and claims.

Aviva Distinct Home insurance provides outstanding, tailor made cover with a level of service that is second to none at every stage of the process from initial enquiry, setting up the policy to making a claim with a dedicated home claims adviser dealing with the latter to provide you with complete peace of mind. There are numerous benefits including worldwide, warranty free, all risks cover, access to a number of specialist suppliers, cover for student and visitors belongings and guaranteed building reinstatement.

Aviva Distinct Motor insurance provides bespoke cover that aims to exceed what is expected by our clients. Some of the benefits include new for old replacement if your car is under three years of age, choice of repairer, £4,000 to hire a car or a Mercedes-Benz C class whilst your car is being repaired and your no claims discount is not affected if an uninsured driver collides with your vehicle and you are not at fault.

Aviva Distinct Travel insurance provides an exceptional level of cover to give you complete peace of mind wherever you are travelling around the world. For instance, you have £10 million of medical emergencies and associated expenses cover worldwide, a UK based experienced claims team who are available 24 hours a day, up to £15,000 of cancellation cover and winter sports cover included in the policy.

Let us all hope that you do not need to make a claim for either say a fire in your home, a motoring accident or for medical treatment whilst on holiday but, if you do, you can be assured that your claim will be dealt with promptly with support every step of the way. We very much look forward to being of assistance.

If you would like to find out more about the insurance products offered by the Aviva Private Clients division the why not visit their website at www.aviva.co.uk/aviva-private-clients/

Hiscox Wins Prestigious Award

A number of our high net worth clients will be aware that Hiscox has been a member of AIB Insurance’s panel of insurers for quite some time having benefitted from their excellent range of bespoke products such as motor and home insurance. Our decision to include them on our panel has proved to be an excellent one with this being borne out by them winning a number of awards.

The latest accolade to come their way was to win the HNW (High Net Worth) Personal Lines Team of the Year award at the Insurance Post event known as Underwriting Service Awards 2017 at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London on the 16th November 2017. This was the 7th year that this event has taken place.

Awards are made for excellent underwriting as well as providing outstanding service with nominations being put forward by many brokers. The event is extremely popular with in excess of 250 of the top underwriters being in attendance. The evening started with a drinks reception followed by a wonderful dinner after which the awards were presented with plenty of opportunity also being available for networking. The evening was compared by the comedian Tom Ward who has also won a number of awards. A good evening was had by all.

The high net worth sector of the personal lines insurance industry is very competitive so for Hiscox to win such a prestigious award is admirable and they are to be congratulated. Here at AIB Insurance, we have to say that our dealings with the underwriting team at Hiscox as well as their other departments has been nothing short of outstanding and it does not surprise us that they have won this award to add to the many others that they already hold. We look forward to working with Hiscox for many years to come for the benefit of our highly valued clients.

Other winners on the night included Zurich winning Product Innovation of the Year and Allianz, who have recently announced merging with LV= scooping both Small Commercial & General Liability Team of the Year.

ARAG picked up the Legal Expenses Team of the Year award with Aviva scooping the Major Commercial Combined Team of the Year. The Cyber and Technolgy award went to CFC Underwriting, Chubb collected the Commercial Property award and the PI & D&O saw Tokio Marine take the silverware.

NMU were the overall night winners though. Initially picking up both Transport/Freight Team, Construction & Engineering Team of the Year and then winning Overall Underwriting Team of the Year.

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