Car Insurance Explained

We know it can be confusing sometimes understanding what all of the different policies and ‘add on’s mean, so we have put together some information that should break it down easily to understand.

Fully Comprehensive

Fully comprehensive insurance is normally the most expensive type of insurance but it does cover everything, including; damage to your car, damage to any third party’s vehicle, damage to any third party’s property and any personal injury costs. On very old and cheap vehicles, sometimes the annual comprehensive premiums can cost more than the car is worth. However it is certainly worth having if your car is stolen or a write off if you have paid using a credit agreement or loan because otherwise you will still have to continue paying the finance.

Third Party Cover

Third Party Insurance is basically the minimum legal cover allowed and is normally much cheaper than any other types of insurance policies. It covers damage to the other driver’s car or compensation but if your own car is stolen, burnt, damaged or written off you are not covered for anything. You can alter your policy using an add-on insurance such as Fire and Theft which will cover you in case your car is burnt or stolen, prices on this vary depending on insurance companies. Although Third Party Cover insurance is usually cheaper than fully comprehensive insurance, the price has risen significantly in recent years as younger drivers tend to purchase this type of insurance over fully comp, so the insurance companies see this as a greater risk, thus increasing the price. It is an idea to shop around and do some price comparisons of both types of policies before deciding.

No Claims Discount

If you have had no accidents (therefore no claims) within your first year of your insurance policy, most insurance companies will offer a discount which can be anything from up to 25%-35% on your next annual insurance premium. After four to five years if you have had a further no claims this can rise from anything up to 60%-70%. This is because your insurance company will see you as a low-risk, safe driver therefore your insurance premiums will reflect this in your annual policy renewal. Some insurance companies will offer the opportunity, if you pay a little extra, to protect your no-claims bonus. Some offer you the chance to have up to 2-3 claims per your annual policy which will not affect your no-claims bonus, this is useful as you never know when accidents are going to happen and it is always good to be protected.

Add-on’s to your policy

Insurance companies often offer add-on’s to your policy, costing a little extra, but they are there to protect you and some can ensure that you are able to get transport should you be involved in a car accident. The available add-ons are:

Protected no claims

As mentioned before, you can pay a little extra to protect yourself if you have to make a claim within your policy year which will not affect your no-claims bonus. This is normally around £40-£60 depending on your insurance company and current cost. By getting this add-on it means that if you do make a claim you do not lose your important no claims discount. It usually protects you against the first one or two claims in a year or over a longer period (again it varies depending on your insurance company’s policies).

Legal Protection

This is an added extra that is designed to cover most legal costs if you are involved in an accident and it wasn’t your fault. It covers the cost of solicitors going after compensation for you, for either an injury, the loss of your car for a period of time, or the cost of your public transport. It adds about an extra £20-£30 on to your policy. To be honest, there are plenty of no-win, no-fee solicitors out there for injury claims, you must have seen the copious amounts of adverts for them on the television, so whether it really is worth this extra add-on is a very grey area. However for an extra £2 - £3 a month (what it would work out to approximately), it might be worth putting your mind at ease knowing you are covered should anything go wrong.

Courtesy Car / Car Hire

If you are in an accident and your car is written off or needs repairs, this will provide you with a car for a while. Most of the time there is a time limit on how long you can have a courtesy car, anything up to 1 week – 1 month (a month is quite rare). It is worth considering if you think you would not be able to manage without a car if you were involved in a car accident.

Married People - Tell Insurers That You Have Tied The Knot

According to the price comparison website confused.com, couples could save up to 16% on their car insurance by simply declaring their partner on their policy. Provided that you both share the car, an average of £34 can be saved when insuring with any of the top 10 insurers in the UK. Tesco Value insurance which is considered one of the cheapest insurers on the market today values single people’s insurance at £270, while for married couples it is £225, a saving of £45. Will Thomas, the communications manager at Confused.com, said the reason for this is because insurance companies believe that married people are considered more responsible and cautious drivers than single people.

How to prepare your car for an MOT

An MOT is a legal requirement for any vehicle over the age of 3 years. Vehicles are taken into an MOT test centre and inspected for any faults, damages or anything that would prove to be a problem or a concern.

The MOT scheme is in place to ensure that:

- Cars are well maintained;
- that the car is in good enough condition to be road-worthy and to make sure that it complies with certain important requirements of the law.

REMEMBER: the test certificate relates only to the condition of the testable items at the time of the test and should not be regarded as evidence of their condition at any other time; nor should it be accepted as evidence of the general mechanical condition of the vehicle. (Information taken from http://www.ukmot.com/ website).

We have put together a list of vehicle checks you should carry out prior to your car MOT test, please note - this is not an exhaustive list, it does cover many of the main points, we are not liable for any missing information, nor if your vehicle fails its MOT based on part or the whole of this information, it is for guidance only.

Checks	What to check for	Action to take
Lights	All lights should be working, including: Number plate lamps, indicator lights, rear fog lamps, reverse lights and if fitted, front fog/spot lamps.	Switch on all lights and check they are all in working order. If not, replace bulbs. Some bulbs will fade colour – replace these or your vehicle may fail.
Number Plate	Number plates must be present and secure. There should be no cracks, fading or obscurities. Must be composed wit correctly formed letters and spacing’s.	Replace number plate if needed.
Windscreen	Chips and scratches on the windscreen. Damage any larger than 10mm will fail if in the drivers line of vision. Damage larger than 40mm will fail in the rest of the windscreen area.	Professional car repair & servicing companies can repair the chip or scratch or you may need a whole new windscreen.
Wiper Blades	Check the windscreen wash fluid is topped up and the windscreen washers work and are aimed correctly. Remove any air fresheners/fluffy dice etc hanging from the rear view mirror.	Wiper blades (both front and rear, if fitted) should provide a streak-free finish across the screen. No residue should be visible that obscures vision.
Mirrors	Broken mirror glass. Even if only cracked this is an MOT failure.	Replace mirror, glass or use a replacement stick on glass which is available for most vehicles.
Seatbelts	Security of seat belt mountings, locking stalks, security and operation of the lock/release mechanism, condition of webbing and retraction of the belt.	Replace seatbelt/locking system if needed.
Tyres	Tyre pressure, tread depth and the general condition of each tyre should be checked.	Legal minimum tread depth for cars and vans up to 3,500kgs is 1.6mm.
Horn	Check operation and check that the horn is loud enough (just try not to scare the neighbours)	Repair horn.
Doors	Must be operable from the inside and outside and all must latch securely. Tailgates & bootlids must be securable in the closed position.	Ask a mechanic to fix any problems with doors, latches and mechanisms.
Fuel System	Check throughout the run of the fuel line from the fuel tank to the engine and under the bonnet for any fuel leaking, as this will result in an immediate MOT fail. Also check the fuel filler cap fastens securely & the seal in the cap is not torn, deteriorating or missing.	Repair any damages that may be causing your fuel tank to leak.
Exhaust System & emissions	The exhaust system will fail if part of the system is missing, excessively deteriorated, a mounting is missing or damaged, if there is a major leak in the system or if it is excessively noisy. Emissions are checked using special equipment to check the year that your vehicle was first used on the road. They also do a visual check for excessive smoking. All are immediate failures.	Use a fuel system cleaner prior to taking your car to the MOT. This will help reduce the CO2 emissions, it will clean the fuel system and help to reduce smoke.
Steering	·          Wheel in correct position ·          Upper bearings of steering column ·          Steering shaft checked for end float ·          Clamping bolts  checked for security ·          Split pins and locking nuts ·          Play in the steering wheel is checked ·          Flexible coupling & universal joints are checked ·          Power steering systems are checked ·          Security of steering rack.	Get your mechanic to do all checks for steering or do it yourself if you know what you are looking for.
Brakes	·          Anti lock braking system warning lamp – should be functional. ·          Parking brake – mountings should be checked for security and corrosion. ·          Footbrake – pedal and rubber should not be worn excessively with sufficient reserve of travel. ·          Brake discs & drums- check for contamination/corrosion/wear. ·          Brake pads – the condition should be checked and the condition of the linkages and cables. ·          Performance of front and rear brakes and hand brake should be checked for efficiency & balance using specialised equipment (ask your mechanic). ·          Brake back plates and callipers should be checked for condition and security.	All checks should be made prior to the MOT Test and repairs should be made accordingly if any damage/corrosion or wear is found.
Under Bonnet	Master cylinder and servo unit should be checked for leaks when engine is on and brakes are applied. Visible metal and flexible brake pipes should be checked for corrosion, condition, fouling or leaks and any other metal brake pipes that are visible beneath the car should be checked.
Vehicle Structure	The body of the vehicle must not be so insecure or displaced that it might lead to loss of control of the vehicle when driven or be a danger to other road users. There must be no corrosion damage that would cause dangerous sharp edges. Excessive corrosion can mean anything from a hole to a significantly weakened structure.	Check your vehicle over fully to ensure that there are no sharp, protruding edges which could cause danger when driving.

Ford ECO Boost Engine

Ford has designed a new engine which is able to reduce CO2 emissions by 20%, help the environment and use less fuel - which also helps to save money on fuel too! The new engine is called the ECO Boost engine, for more information about this engine visit the Official Ford website for all of the specification details.

Taxi's in NYC compete for "New Look"

Ford, Nissan and Karsan (A Turkish car manufacturer) were three of the lucky companies to have the opportunity to design a 'new taxi' for New York citizens this month. All three vehicles remind us of small transit vans with unique features within each vehicle.

Karsan's approach to the design is to have a ramp which will allow wheelchair access as well as a rear-seat pull down seat in order to make taxi trips more social. Ford & Nissan have approached the project with comfort and space at the forefront of their design, demonstrating how their vehicles will supply the general public with comfort and stability whilst riding as a passenger. You can see from the images below how much more room passengers will have riding in one of the vehicles.

The lucky winner will be announced in early 2011 with a contract worth $1 billion.

Which do you prefer?

Ford's Entry:

NIssan's Entry:

Karsan's Entry: