West Craven

The latest news from West Craven Insurance

Happy new year from all of us here at West Craven Insurance Services!

In our first newsletter of the year, we delve into how the general election influenced the insurance industry to provide some stability for the new year. Next we look at the availability of professional indemnity policies and see what data telematics technology has discovered from those with black box insurance policies. We also share some of the most bizarre insurance claims from 2019!

The general election and insurance

Last month proved to be an extremely interesting end to 2019, with a key general election taking place. With the result of the vote being a majority government, the most important consequence of the election on the insurance industry is that of stability and certainty.

After months of industry professionals decrying the lack of information available about the political future of the United Kingdom, we can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. What this means for insurance is that policies and their application post-Brexit are becoming more clear, especially for policies which aren’t solely restricted to the UK – such as holiday home cover in Europe.

Graeme Trudgill, executive director of BIBA, commented “Our work representing insurance brokers and raising member issues means that we work closely with senior politicians and civil servants across all parties. We have enjoyed constructive and productive relationships with the Conservative government over the last few years and we look forward to continuing our representation work with the relevant ministers and MPs.”

Aside from Brexit, 2020 also brings with it important modifications to the insurance industry, chiefly the Whiplash Reforms. The Whiplash Reforms are a part of a wider set of changes introduced by the government in order to change the way that low-value personal injury claims from car accidents are handled. According to the Ministry of Justice the reforms will “reduce insurance costs for ordinary motorists by tackling the continuing high number and cost of whiplash claims.”

Some bizarre insurance claims

As we begin a new year in the insurance industry we can enter 2020 with some welcomed certainty, with the general election calling an end to the ambivalence. We’d like to offer a moment of levity with a brief selection of the more bizarre, surprising and brazen insurance claims that brokers can come across from time to time.

Nesting animals
If you live off the beaten track, then you’re surely used to being surrounded by nature and local wildlife as a part of your day-to-day. Some local squirrels got a little too friendly with an owner’s classic Opel GT, however, making a nest in the car while it sat dormant for years.
That has nothing on a driver who rented a vehicle for travelling in Mexico and stopped to inspect damage after a minor accident to find a large snake had taken residence in its engine.

We all make mistakes…
Insurer Allianz made special note of a valet who had just completed cleaning a brand-new sports car worth upwards of £150,000 who unfortunately proceeded to smash it into another similarly expensive sports car by accidentally pressing the accelerator. We’re sure that went down well with all parties…

Somewhat less forgivable was an incident person responsible for placing a lit sparkler into a dog waste bin, only for it to catch fire and burn a nearby furniture shop to the ground.

Leave it to the professionals
Here’s a lesson in leaving boiler repair for plumbers; one claimant’s attempts to repair their boiler backfired spectacularly and indeed, literally, with the tank itself experiencing such a build-up in pressure that it exploded out of its house with enough force to damage several cars that were parked nearby.

Emoogency surgery
One particular claim as noted by Compare.com really caught the eye; a farmer helped to delivery a calf birthed by one of his cows, but needed to claim on the loss of his iPhone in the process as they’d unwittingly left it inside the bovine in question. We were unable to confirm, but we’re presuming that their insurer didn’t press to firmly for the details!

Availiability of Professional Indemnity Policies

It would be careless not to acknowledge the tough year that the professional indemnity sector had in 2019. There were numerous key players across the board of insurance providers that withdrew from the sector. This caused a higher demand and competition for insurance products. This, in turn, caused the cost of many premiums for advisory and service business to rise.

Coming into 2020 as a business, you need to be conscious of the professional indemnity market and understand the cover that your insurer is providing for you. When your policy is due for renewal, it is important that you are checking the renewal carefully to ensure that the cover you require is included. One insurer pointed out that sometimes there can be clauses and restrictions that could be added to insurance renewals. This can mean that the risks your business needs protecting from are actually missing from your policy.

The Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association has urged the Prime Minister that smarter regulation in the advice and service sector is required. A reduced number of insurance providers will lead to a reduced number of advisory services; which are well needed and respected by consumers. Many have suggested that a legislative resolution may be necessary if the payment for professional indemnity and compensation fails to be sustainable or sensible.

A wise choice going forward is to use a professional indemnity insurance firm that offers a personalised policy to its clients rather than a restrictive policy. In this instance, smaller providers can be viewed as offering a more personable approach which in uncertain times, should be welcomed. A positive that can be taken from the past year is that the competition in professional indemnity insurers has caused firms to adjust their policies to stand out. So, whilst there may be less insurers on the market, the policies advertised can be more attractive to businesses.

Black Box car insurance

Black boxes have become a common component of car insurance for many young drivers. The telematics technology monitors your speed, the way you handle your vehicle, and in some cases, what time you drive at.

So why do over a million drivers volunteer to allow insurers to monitor their every moment behind the wheel? Drivers with a black box who drive carefully are rewarded with lower insurance premiums. The data collected by insurers has proved many modern myths about young drivers false – whilst some have been proven.

The data was collected by some of Britain’s biggest telematics insurance providers who discovered the following:

Women are safer drivers than men

Telematics data confirmed one of the most common points of debate for drivers, with women being named the safer drivers of the two sexes. 54% of insurance claims are made by men, whilst 46% belong to women.

17-year-olds are safer drivers than 18 and 19-year-olds

Having only just passed their driving test and still learning their own driving habits, 17-year-olds are actually safer drivers than those who have been driving for a year or two. Growing confidence and freedom from the watchful eye of instructors and examiners, means drivers pick up bad habits.

NHS workers are most likely to be a safe driver

Insurers are allowed to discriminate based on the type of career you have. Given the field they work in, it isn’t surprising that employees of the NHS know the importance of driving carefully. Unsurprisingly, motor racing drivers have a more expensive insurance policy, followed closely by funfair employees.

Black boxes pick up the signs of a crash before they happen

Data collected from black boxes following an accident has revealed that in many cases, there were signs of erratic driving (when compared to the driver’s usual habits) which contributed to the accident. When probed many drivers admitted to scenarios such as stress at work or arguments with a spouse, which influenced their poor driving.

Young drivers need further education on navigating country roads

Many young drivers believe that because the speed limit is 60 mph on a country road, they can stick to that speed when taking corners and flying up and down hills. Black box data has revealed that these types of roads are death traps for young drivers and that inexperienced drivers require further educations on how to navigate roads.

Unsurprisingly speed is young driver’s main issue

The data collected from telematics revealed that one-third of drivers drive too fast in poor road conditions. The data also revealed that drivers who speed 20% of the time increase their risk of having an accident by 87%.

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