Fast forward from the end of Spring 2011 to the beginning of Autumn. The domestic and commercial vehicle insurance industry have had all summer to get their stories straight to justify to the Office of Fair Trading why the UK’s car and van insurance premiums have been escalating at rates between 7 and 8 times higher than that of inflation throughout the year.

In real terms that’s a third up on 2010 – for every £75 you were contributing to your van insurance last year, that same proportion this year would cost you £100! It doesn’t take a genius to work out that, as a business running an entire fleet of light commercial vehicles, this year’s van insurance budget needed to be a whole lot bigger than it ever had been. At a time when many businesses have been going to the wall, that’s a bitter pill to swallow for the UK’s stuttering economy.

Recognising that very fact, in stepped the government and the OFT, opening their preliminary investigation on the 8th September.

There were several key areas which the investigation would drill down into, although one of which will have already had legislation introduced in order address it by the time the enquiry had commenced. That is the continuous insurance law, inaugurated on the 20th June.

the arguments for and against, m’lud

One of the insurance industry’s biggest defences for the increases is the fact that the rises in car and van cover has its roots in the amount of payouts that have had to be made for incidents involving uninsured drivers. However, since the middle of the year, it has become illegal to own a car and not have it insured, whether it stands on a drive all year or not. That means extra income for domestic and commercial vehicle insurance providers from an additional 1.4 million motors, the figure that has now been estimated for cars and vans using UK roads without cover, some 500,000 fewer than in previous years.

What that could mean for motorists, according to the Association of British Insurers, is that the insurance industry will be covered for half a billion pounds worth of payouts that they were not previously. This has to help in the constant search for cheap van insurance, but how will the OFT find? More on that subject in a separate article.

The OFT will also look into the role played by price comparison sites, replacement/courtesy vehicles, insurance companies’ continued use of approved mechanics in the case of repairs and nature of those relationships, especially as December has seen the change in the legislation meaning that warranties will remain valid if ‘like‘ components are now fitted as replacements, other than those specifically made by the manufacturer or an approved supplier. Also, many insurance policies differ greatly from provider to provider, especially regarding ancillary products, sold in addition to standard motor insurance cover; this will be addressed, likewise.

In additional defence, the ABI will state that staged accidents have played a role in premium increases, the ‘no win, no fee’ practise that has seen personal injury claims rise, mounting legal costs and other types of fraudulent claims.

Ding, ding. The gloves are off. The ref will have a tough call if this one goes to a split decision, for sure.

Over the last six months or so, WhatCar magazine has been keeping an eye on the scandalous rises in car insurance premiums that have befallen UK drivers in 2011, as have we in more recent times here at cheapvaninsurance.co.uk refelcting our concerns over rising van insurance costs.

In many ways car and van insurance premiums do differ; however, when it comes to slapping up insurance premiums, it seems, certainly this year, that both domestic and commercial vehicles have fell under the same jurisdiction.

The level of increases attracted interests from outside of the industry, prompting the Office of Fair Trading to investigate claims made by the vehicle insurance providers that their increases were justifiable. Certainly, in the domestic market, the cry was palpable from UK citizens from every insurance bracket across the length and breadth of the country.

Way back in May, when it was evident that increases were not just a one-off to pay for the excesses of the 2010/2011 winter but were going to proceed throughout summer, WhatCar assessed the figures available at that time, as purported by the AA’s British Insurance Premium Index. At the end of spring 2011, when inflation was between 4-4.5%, depending upon which of the three indexes you favour, your average vehicle insurance policy had risen by almost one third, at 33.2%; simply put, if your premium cost you a grand last year, you were going to have to fork out £1,332 this, irrespective of any no claims bonus you thought you may be entitled to.

the AA has its say

At that point in time the AA president, Edmund King, believed that insurance premiums had been kept unrealistically low, with vehicle insurance providers looking to target market share rather than profit; he claimed that, by late 2009, “costs were, on average, exceeding premium income by 23%.” This hints that there was always going to be a sting in the tail, once your van insurance broker had got your loyalty, as you looked to protect your no claims by staying with them.

Then the market shifted somewhat, with the rise and rise of the comparison site; that sting, in order to stay competitive, had been delayed until absolutely unavoidable, which is why we have seen such vast increases in vehicle insurance premiums, year to date, 2011.  But by this degree?

When challenged about vehicle insurance companies perhaps tagging on a little extra to the necessary increases, Mr King expressed the view “I really don’t think there is profiteering,” and pointed to the fact that comparison sites “sell on price.”, enforcing greater competition.

Okay, so now he gets it. Later in the year, the OFT really did wade in on the war against van insurance premium increases.

We knew that cheapvaninsurance.co.uk was attracting a readership but neither realised quite how many, nor how high up the automotive chain our network of subscribers had stretched until we saw a headline zip through our feeds from WhatCar earlier today: UK faces winter tyre shortages.

Not two days after we warn about the dangers of having inappropriate winter tyres and the disruption it can cause to your day and that of roadside assistance organisations’ than WhatCar hammer home our message – is there any greater accolade? However, we shall gloat about our scoop no further and you’re not here to be told ‘Yah, boo sucks, told you so‘.

Other than our article, there are far greater outweighing factors that have affected the stockpiles of new tyres, or rather the lack thereof, and relate to issues stretching a lot further back than a few days. Much of the reason we are unable to supply to the increase in demand for high silica content tyres that are more flexible, hence create more traction in icy conditions, is to do with the simple economics outlined in yet another recently posted cheapvaninsurance.co.uk article. Underlining why the UK is yet to make the snow tyre a legal requirement, the article offers explanations relating to driving history and patterns of UK drivers in winter.

prior demand should not dictate future sales

However, the past is not the future; lessons are being learnt from recent harsh cold snaps, drivers being stranded in freezing conditions and the subsequent impact of rising van insurance premiums to cover callouts made. Of all instances requiring roadside assistance, combined results from the AA and RAC suggest that damaged or ineffectual tyres is the number one reason from December through February.

The UK market is changing, the relationships with the EU are freezing quicker than a Scot’s engine radiator without antifreeze and long term economic constraints mean that van drivers are looking to cut commercial costs at every opportunity. Protecting your no claims bonus through not claiming against your van insurance policy is a long-term cost saving that could quite feasibly outweigh the cost of winter tyres that could last for years if rationed to only used in the depths of winter, when needed most.

The reason we are in the tyre mire we are is quite simply UK distribution outlets have been let down by export suppliers. Due to the UK being a low user, their leverage in the marketplace is minimal; priority for supply has favoured countries like Italy and Germany who have always had a huge commercial and domestic market for the product.

The National Tyre Distributors Association have hinted that supplies of winter tyres into the UK have been as much as 25% short on the original order quantities. As corroboration of that statement, Kwik Fit are warning Fiesta drivers, and all users of 195-45-R16 tyres, to expect shortages specifically for that standard of winter tyre, with fresh stocks not arriving until well into the new year.

Let’s hope lessons are learnt further and the stock that doesn’t get used this winter provides the platform for sufficient stock to meet next winter’s demand; in the meantime, let’s see some investment in the UK, so that we can be self-reliant, as could be the case in many other sectors if our relationship with The Continent continues headlong into a political ice age.

This is a warning to all domestic and commercial driving instructors! As of next year, your car, lorry or van insurance premiums may be in for a sharp increase. Before you yell and shriek that they are too high already, we’ll just give you a minute to sit down before you hear the double whammy: from 2012, learner drivers will have the option to include motorway driving as part of their tuition.
That’s the official line from road safety minister, Mike Penning, anyway.
The train of thought behind the concept is based upon a recognition of need for change in two main effectual areas; it may be a bitter pill for driving instructors to swallow but should come as a welcome relief for apprentices looking for cheap van insurance for young drivers. One of the reasons that their van insurance is so high is lack of experience, which the new theory will seek to correct.
As things stand, learner drivers have the opportunity to take extra lessons to learn how to drive safely on the motorway after they have passed their standard theory and practical test; this course is known as the Pass Plus test, but has proved spectacularly unpopular since its inauguration. The present rate of take-up is only one percent of all new drivers so the decision has been made to scrap it completely.
It also challenges the idea that young drivers are being instructed in such a manner as purely to pass a test and not ‘enjoy’ every freedom driving has to offer. It is perceived that the more experience young drivers get in all aspects behind the wheel, the safer they will be and, subsequently, so will our roads. At least with an Advanced Driving Instructor, for it is only they who will be permitted to take learners onto the motorways, a young driver will not be left to their own devices to realise the somewhat intimidating experience of motorway driving on their own first time around.
Once young drivers have been given the green light to learn on motorways, the UK’s safest roads, it is hoped more attention will be placed on taking them out along country lanes, conversely our most dangerous..
In addition to the widening of experiences being offered to learner drivers, trainee instructors are also having their role assessed. There are concerns over the number of trainee instructors actually showing their ‘pink disc’ to show they have not fully qualified, which is a legal requirement.
There is a lot of work going on to improve the route to road-worthiness in the overall battle to reduce the number of deaths on UK roads. Ministerial departments, the IAM and the Driving Standards Agency are all working with car and van insurance companies to ensure that a more defined structure during learning will provide safer roads and help reduce the immense premiums for those who have just passed their tests and are looking for suitably cheap car and van insurance, which is currently difficult to procure.
2014 has been pencilled in for the date of introduction for the new tests for learner drivers and instructors, alike.

Whatever the politicians are saying about the global economy entering a double-dip recession the commercial vehicle sector registration numbers for 2011 (to date & rolling) tell us a completely different story. True, the documented volume of vans, trucks and pick-ups is still some way short of four years ago, but Light Commercial Vehicle and Articulated Lorries continue their steady rise in registration whilst Rigid Commercial Vehicles although not climbing, are holding the same volume of sales that they have all year.

The end of year figures, expecting one final boost as van drivers move to purchase new vehicles that comply with emission levels in London’s LEZ coming into force in January, are no real surprise following figures issued by Volkswagen after the end of the first half of trading, this year.

The increment in VW’s commercial range this year with the introduction of the Amarok pick-up coupled with the entire fleet being updated over the last two years has cemented their position in the top three UK manufacturers, based on commercial vehicle registrations in the below 3.5T class, with only Vauxhall and Ford outperforming them.

The German company’s range, now offering vans suitable for almost all purposes up to the 6T category, is making them a popular and affordable option for UK business. With low-interest finance packages available and reliability as standard Volkswagen commercial vehicles provide the perfect base to approach insurance brokers in the search for cheap van insurance and cutting bottom line expenses all around.

The sales performances of individual models over the course of the year, as reported by SMMT, have helped secure their top-three UK place in the light category and sixth overall in the 3.5T-6T class, a combined total of over 29,000 commercial vehicles for the eleven months of the year to November. Impressive in itself, but when you compare that figure to the 260,000 new commercial vehicles delivered in the first six months alone globally, it puts into perspective the size of the UK market compared to worldwide VW van sales.

The Caddy was the top seller in the entire 2-2.5T class for the first six months, finishing slightly ahead of its larger stable companion the Transporter in actual units sold over all UK VW sales. The anticipation of the August launch of the new Crafter didn’t harm sales in the first six months and VW are waiting to see how the updated version will make inroads into the larger capacity market.

Why not check out the VW commercial range to see which model is most appropriate for your business and complete the costing exercise by checking out the results here in your quest for cheap van insurance?

Isn’t it just a conundrum? You scour the internet for the cheapest van insurance possible. Use comparison sites to shave that little bit more off even the very cheapest van insurance policy you can find. The hours spent deliberating your choice of broker for the perfect product to suit your business you acknowledge could be spent on more productive pursuits.

Then, once you pounce, part with your cash and feel satisfied that your van insurance policy can do no more for you…
…you hope against hope that you never have to use that cover, which may have had you tugging your hair out for hours to get just so.

However, there may come a time when you have no choice but to draw upon the resource, following an incident; here’s an insurance broker’s perspective on what you need to do, should you get that prang:

• Turn off the ignition, kill the engine and turn on the hazards
• Dial the emergency services; even if there is no obvious damage, you may need a crime number for your subsequent van insurance claim
• If the accident involves another vehicle, take the driver’s details; you need to provide details of the other person, along with your insurance certificate, when reporting the incident to the police, which must be within 24 hours of the incident
• After an accident, you are in no condition to judge who is at fault – never own up on the spot.
• The more on-the-spot information you can provide, the swifter your van insurance claim can be adjudged and processed:
• Take photographs, either with your phone or a camera, whichever is available
• Use witnesses, if available, to corroborate number plates, weather and road conditions, and the speed, start and end positions of any vehicles involved in the incident and whether indicators or headlights contributed to the outcome
• If factors, such as injury or shock, inhibit your ability to record events, return to the scene to re-run the accident and gather any evidence there may be remaining to corroborate your van insurance claim
• When able, remove any obstruction to other traffic that may remain as fallout from the accident
• Call your van insurance provider immediately; this is key to maintaining your van insurance validity and to forearm your broker should the other claimant inform their vehicle insurance provider beforehand; the more prepared your van insurance provider is, the sooner they can begin to defend your corner.

In the event of any incident, the sooner you can have your van legally back on the road, the less of an impact the unfortunate occurrence will have on your business. You did not spend all of that time tailoring your van insurance policy to have it deemed invalid due to a minor technicality.

You can just imagine the headline – ‘Rudolph responsible for Christmas chaos’. It’s a distinct possibility if one of the UK’s largest commercial vehicle insurers has done their homework correctly, as your van insurance policy may be jeopardised if you bedeck your cab with festive accessories.

The rainforests of pine-scented trees that have dangled from rear-view mirrors have been a popular site in taxis and vans of all descriptions for decades, but it seems that having your fragrance-emitting dangler festooned with baubles and tinsel is a step too far.

The temptation to turn the cab from grotty to grotto is too much for many van drivers whose job takes them away from their loved ones overnight during the festive season. Swinton Commercial, the biggest high street vendor of UK van insurance, is encouraging drivers to focus on the road ahead, rather than place non-static decorations where they could shift and potentially become a hazard whilst driving.

‘Dip, don’t dazzle‘ was a popular slogan when I were a lad for winter driving; beams bouncing back in thick fog or causing snow-blindness for oncoming drivers was the impairment the advertising campaign was launched to deter. However, the concern for the van insurance giant in latter years is that glittering tinsel may reflect advancing headlights or sets of Christmas lights – available with a plug-in attachment to the cigarette lighter to enhance their festive realism – can be an all to real distraction as the nights draw in.

The other issue, as temperatures drop the further we head into December, is that any unnecessary attachment that draws on the battery should be avoided at all costs. Replacement batteries may not warrant a claim on the old van insurance, but with roadside callouts stretched due to accidents on icy roads at this time of year, if you are stuck with a flat battery, responding to your call for roadside assistance may not be as high a priority and will be nothing other than an inconvenience, all around.

Irrespective of costs of repairs, callouts and van insurance claims the real concern is the possible effect on safety, should these decorations be the direct cause of a road traffic accident. The message is simple – whilst you’re driving your van, safety first.

Christmas is a time for spending time with your family at home, not them visiting you in Ward 10 because an Angel came down from on high and caused you to swerve into a field as the shepherds washed their socks at night. Christmas dinner courtesy of the NHS? Erm, get stuffed!

You would think that, due to the amount of accidents and call-outs in winter due to inappropriate tyres, car and van insurance companies would be lobbying parliament to make snow tyres a legal requirement in the UK, come December every year.

However, we cannot blame David Cameron for our differing stance to Europe, this time. Unlike our premier’s decision not to follow in the seventeen Eurozone states’ tracks to resolve the Euro crisis, we may be able to learn something from our continental cousins when it comes to fitting the right tyres in winter; in fact, your van insurance broker is probably taking Spanish lessons, as we speak, si?.

The UK remains one of the only EU states where it is either unusual or even illegal not to carry two sets of tyres: a set of summer slicks and winter grippers. In mountainous border regions of EU countries you would be ill-advised to attempt to traverse winding roads in winter, like Stelvios Pass with its sixty hairpin bends on the Swiss/Italian border up in Tyrol country, without snow tyres and a set of chains.

However, there are some legalities for tyres here in the UK; relating to tread depth, whatever the season, if your galvanised rubber has less than 1.6mm tread (there will be bars impressed on the grip to highlight this – when these elevations are exposed, you need to change) across the main 75% flat of the tyre, you’re running illegally. You have an accident with bald radials or cross-plys, your van insurance may pay your third party costs but, if it’s your fault, you’re unlikely to get anything back towards your own repair bill.

Another outlawed practise is having a combination of the two types of tyre, cross-ply and radial, on either end of the same axle. Neither can you fit cross-ply on your rear axle if you’re sporting radials up front. Either scenario makes the van unstable and will seriously jeopardise any resulting van insurance claim.

When it comes to snow tyres and insurance, we ask: do they incur an extra charge as an ancillary to your base van insurance policy? The general rule of thumb is no, but you should notify your van insurance provider when you change, either to or from, your winter tyres.

Providing that your snow tyres (run-flat or not) are the same spec , i.e. marked with their load carrying and speed capabilities which are legal components and should mirror your van’s capacities, as your summer tyres, you should be on the right side of the law, hence within your van insurance policy remit. However, this is still a grey area, as snow tyres are not legal in the UK, so always check with your van insurance provider before undertaking that change.