Some useful facts

Many countries will require you to have ID for yourself & your vehicle, the following documents will help :

• Driving licence ( with paper counterpart if photo licence)
•  Passport
• Vehicle registration document (original )( Company car? Letter of authority to use the vehicle)
• Motor insurance certificate

Will you have any children in the car? – each country has different rules, for example in France children under 10 are not permitted in front seats.

Drink driving limits and penalties also vary, including imprisonment! From November 2012 there will be a penalty of 11 euros for not carrying a breatherlyser kit in France!!

Speed trap detectors – use is illegal in most EU counties as is the satnav function that indicates permanent speed cameras.

Some other requirement examples:

• GB sticker or Euroflag number plate – essential
• High visibility jacket – 2 in France and 1 for each passenger in Spain, you’ll also need one in Italy
• Warning triangle – another essential in most countries, 2 recommended in Spain
• Headlight converter – required across the continent to make sure you don’t dazzle while driving on the right hand side
• Spare bulb set – needed in France & Spain, but recommended for elsewhere

The EU emergency number from mobiles is 112 and can be dialed in any EU country

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what you need to know before you drive in Europe. For further information visit the AA website by clicking here.

Insurable Interest

If you have had the misfortune to suffer a burglary at your home which has resulted in the attendance of a loss adjuster you will have been asked ‘do own the stolen items’ followed by do you have a receipt and where did you purchase the items.

These questions are all designed to established ‘insurable interest’ i.e. have you suffered a loss as a result of it being stolen.

Seems straight forward, what if an item had previously been stolen or obtained via illegal means, the law prevents you benefiting from illegal acts so you would not be able to claim for this item.

But I am not a thief!!

Geismar v Sun Alliance (1977) – this case arose from a claim for theft of various items from Geismar’s home which included a number of items purchased abroad and brought into the country without declaring them for the payment of customs duty. The court held that it was against the public interest for Geismar to profit from his deliberate breach of the law and therefore he could not claim for those items.

We all know somebody who has purchased an item (normally jewellery) from some exotic spot at a fraction of its cost in the UK. Did they walk through the red sector and declare the item on return to the UK, I think not, will they be upset if the item is stolen and they are unable to claim, I think so.

An independent insurance comparison website, has realeased its results from the March 2012 “Tiger Watch” car insurance price monitor. It’s good news for motorists in the UK as it appears after analysis of hundreds of car insurance quotes each month policy prices are falling. The country can now enjoy a small sigh of relief with this news especially when we have just been told there will be yet another fuel price increase!

The results have revealed a fall in prices of more than 0.8%, this is a result of comparing March 2012 prices with those from February 2012. They also looked at last years premiums and in comparison they seem to be around 1.9% lower than March 2011.

However due to the high inflation rates the UK saw during 2010 & early 2011 the premiums recorded in March 2012 are still a massive 33% higher than those recorded in March 2010. Lets hope this new trend continues!!

Click here for a full analysis.

Consumer website uswitch reported that 65% of pest controllers have responded to more cases of rat, squirrel and bed bug infestations over the past 12 months.

They asked insurers about this and John O’Roarke, Managing Director of LV Home Insurance commented: “Pests are small but powerful and can wreak havoc in the home, from bees blocking chimneys and rodents chewing cables, which can destroy whole houses. The dangers of ignoring a pest problem can be devastating and those who find unwanted guests in their home should call in the experts before it is too late”.

One of the factors which has been blamed for this increase is the widespread practice of fortnightly rubbish collections, (supposedly to increase recycling) instead of weekly which could possible be the root of some unwanted side effects!

Click here for the full article.

Insurance industry body the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), has confirmed that its motor committee will look into suggestions that the government could be planning to use petrol forecourt CCTV to prevent uninsured vehicles being filled with fuel, by checking insurance and tax details with the DVLA before drivers are able to re-fuel.

Insurance industry magazine Insurance Age spoke spoke with BIBA’s head of corporate affairs, Graeme Trudgill, who commented to them that the insurance practicalities would need to be fully thought throuh before such a policy would be able to be practically implimented.

“What happens when someone has only just got insured? There is normally seven days to get on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and you could need petrol within that time,” he said.

“As a long term thing if certificates of insurance were phased out and the MID became the ultimate proof of insurance then perhaps this could work in the future. Right now there is a time period in which to update the MID.”

The obvious gap between obtaining insurance and the record appearing on the MID could impact motor fleet managers quite seriously.

For more on this, see the full article in Insurance Age here.

April 2012 will see yet another change in the company car tax banding system designed to favour even lower emission cars than before.

It’s a fact that average CO2 emissions have consistently fallen in recent year and now the figure now stands at 138g/km – according to some reports that’s 23% lower than in 2000. If you don’t feel that CO2 relate to you, just think – lower CO2 emissions mean reduced fuel consumption. Research firm Ricardo has reported that fuel consumption of the average new car has improved over the last 10 years from 40.6mpg to 52.5mpg.

All this gives the treasury what it seems to think is good reason to, once again, shift the goalposts for company car drivers. Until the end of the current tax year, business cars with CO2 emissions below 120g/km (Qualifying Low Emissions Cars) qualified for a special company car tax rate of 10% if they were petrol, or 13% if diesel.

This will end, and from the beginning of the 2012/13 financial tax year. From this April only cars with CO2 emissions 99g/km or less will qualify for the special rate. It’s going to get worse, though. For the 2013/14 tax year, the lowest qualifying rate is due to be reduced to 95g/km CO2.

For more information click here for an interesting article from an expert in the field.

I recently spotted some new information that I thought I should share…

There is a proposed change to the ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations’ 1995 (RIDDOR) from 6^thApril 2012 subject to parliamentary approval. Looking at the changes it seems likely that they will be approved.

Below is the statement from HSE, you can also click here for their brief guide to the regulations. It really is essential that every business owner and leader understands their responsibilities in this area.
 
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) Change – 6 April 2012

From 6 April 2012, subject to Parliamentary approval, RIDDOR’s over three day injury reporting requirement will change. From then the trigger point will increase from over three days’ to over seven days’ incapacitation (not counting the day on which the accident happened).

Incapacitation means that the worker is absent or is unable to do work that they would reasonably be expected to do as part of their normal work.

Employers and others with responsibilities under RIDDOR must still keep a record of all over three day injuries – if the employer has to keep an accident book, then this record will be enough. The deadline by which the over seven day injury must be reported will increase to 15 days from the day of the accident.

The Prime Minister  has faced accusations of sidelining the legal profession in talks his talks over whiplash claims – part of the agenda for his insurance industry “summit” held at Number 10 on 14th February.

Mr Cameron, meeting included representatives from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and leading insurance firms, and focused on addressing the rising cost of car insurance.

He described a ‘damaging compensation culture’ as being responsible for inflating insurance premiums and that the average of 1,500 whiplash claims per day is a major contributor to that.

The Law Society wrote to the PM in January seeking engagement with the profession in this respect, but they were excluded form the summit which was only attended by insurers and government ministers.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: ‘We wrote to the prime minister over a month ago, but it is disappointing that our offer to work with him and his government in addressing public concerns over whiplash claims has been ignored.

‘There are many options to address, from government, opposition, and others, which need proper consideration. Government should not be limiting itself to tea and cakes with one partisan set of stakeholders – the insurers.’

Downing Street claimed in a press release in advance of the meeting that whiplash is costing the insurance industry £2bn a year, which is the ABI’s own figure.

Following Mr Cameron’s meeting, he said the insurance industry had committed to ensure premiums reflect any reductions in legal costs generated as a result of the Jackson reforms of civil litigation.

The government vowed to reduce the current £1,200 fee that lawyers can earn from small value personal injury claims – with insurers again promising to pass savings onto customers.

On whiplash, there have been suggestions to raise the threshold for accidents through a minimum speed requirement and to require improved medical evidence of injuries following an accident, similar to systems employed in Germany. Although no specific details were released.

Whiplash Injuries - Claims Can be Excessive

1. In 2007 during the summer floods 11 people were killed across the uk. The worst affected areas were Gloucestshire, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Herefordshire  and  Northern Ireland. There were reportedly £3bn worth of claims made related to these events alone.
2. During the winter of 2010/2011 we suffered the coldest December recorded for 100 years. We saw temperatures in Scotland plumet to -20C, and snow and ice bought the whole country to a standstill. It has been reported that the severe cold created £1.4bn worth of claims.
3. Another cold winter which affected insurance claims was that of 2009/2010 nicknamed The Big Freeze by the media due it being the worst for 30 years, and it caught the UK totally unawares! The claims created during this winter due to the extreme weather amounted to £650m.
4. In 2009 the UK saw the heaviest rainfall in a single day for over 50 years. Cockermouth  in Cumbria was the worst hit area, but there was widespread damage across the county. £174m was the estimated cost all the claims reached.
5. Many people in Northern Europe who were looking forward to their holidays in 2010 were disspointed due to the ash cloud which was created from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. This kicked off the largest closure of European airspace since World War II. £70m were the reported insured losses; however the European airlines had swallow a large £1.3bn – 2.2bn of uninsured losses. 

Source: Insurance times 10-12 February 2012

In the areas of small business and commercial insurance, the impact of last year’s riots may continue to be felt for some time to come by the many offices and shops that were damaged in the unrest.

Here are a list of problems traders are now having to live with as a result of the riots…

Lack of commercial insurance

For riot-hit businesses with no commercial insurance in place, the harsh reality of no longer being able to trade is all too real.

Having no shop, office or salon insurance has left many businesses and lives devastated.

Increased premiums

For those business owners who did have commercial insurance to cover any damage or theft causes they’re now likely to be deemed to be in a ‘high risk’ postcode and their commercial insurance provider may charge extra as a result when they come to renew.

Dealing with insurance claims

After the shock and devastation of the riots, for many people the task of documenting everything that was damaged or stolen has been a long and laborious process.

Not being able to trade again until their stocks have been replenished has been a common problem, although UK insurers have been working tirelessly to provide prompt assistant to any riot-affected business or individual.

Buying additional insurance policies

For some businesses, the UK riots have been a wake- up call in terms of their commercial insurance needs. Nobody really saw the riots coming, and as such, some businesses found they weren’t covered for everything.

For example, you may have had public liability insurance in place and cover for your contents, but not any cover for business interruption.

It will take months for some of the businesses affected by the riots to be able to trade again. Not having adequate commercial insurance in place could mean they have no income to cover the loss of earnings in the meantime.

Source: http://www.articlemonkeys.com/Commercial-Insurance-the-Impact-of-the-UK-Riots-release-371580.html