Norwich Union is calling for stricter and more controlled statutory charges following recent Home Office proposals* to hike costs for removing vehicles from the highway under police powers.

Phil Gledhill, claims technical manager, Norwich Union, said: “The current statutory charge for removing a vehicle is a flat fee across all vehicles of £105, and there was general understanding and acceptance that £105 is insufficient to cover costs to recover vehicles ranging from small motorcycles to articulated lorries. However, the changes look like they will drastically increase recovery costs for insurers and it is likely that all road users will be paying more. Not all recoveries are insurance claims, but where they are, the scale of these changes may force Insurers to increase premiums.

“The police and possibly soon the Highways Agency, have powers to remove vehicles that are illegally, obstructively or dangerously parked, abandoned or broken down and if the proposed table of charges come into force this will create an opportunity for unscrupulous recovery operators to cash-in at the motorists’ expense.”

Gledhill adds: “In a consultation held in 2007, the Home Office proposed a table of charges, calculated according to weight of the vehicle and the scenario of the incident, which insurers felt was generally in-line with what had been initially discussed. However, the Home Office is now suggesting differing, weight classes, charging bands and incident scenarios to those previously proposed.

“We now see 4×4s and some large prestige vehicles in the same group as 7.5 tonne commercial vehicles, and the scenario where a vehicle that is not free to roll is placed in the same category as a vehicle upside down on its roof. ”

Gledhill fears that with the revised charges due to come in to force mid-year, there will be strong adverse reaction from all road users who fall foul of statutory recoveries.

“Motorists are unlikely to accept the charges, the scenarios and the vehicle bandings, all of which have been radically changed to the advantage of recovery operators.

“As an insurer, we see the need for a single charge to cover all recovery scenarios for motorbikes, cars and light commercial vehicles. For trucks, it is different given the wide variation of weights and scenarios of loaded and unloaded vehicles. The individual circumstances of the recovery with set charges attached should be considered, for example, where a loaded artic has broken down and all wheels are between the kerbstones. With incidents confirmed by photographs, a fixed charge regime would encourage recovery operators to provide a faster service whilst clearing the road sooner, a key objective of the Highways Agency. This would stop the current practice of some recovery operators making an expensive drama out of each event, increasing congestion, with excessive charges being passed to the customer or insurer.”

He added: “It is hoped the Home Office will review their proposals and produce a table reflecting the Consultation document and apply fair recovery charges.”

* Letter detailing proposals titled: STATUTORY CHARGES FOR THE REMOVAL, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF VEHICLES BY THE POLICE issued by the Home Office, dated 21 December 2007 and was addressed to ‘Respondents to the consultation on statutory charges for the removal, storage and disposal on police instructions of vehicles that are illegally, dangerously or obstructively parked, or broken down or abandoned’.

Latest figures show that road accidents kill almost half as many motorcycle riders as car drivers and passengers, even though motorcycles account for less than 4% of vehicles on Britain’s roads, according to car insurance firm yesinsurance.co.uk.

The insurer says that, whilst fatality rates for all other types of transport have dropped considerably over the past 25 years, the risk level for motorcycles has remained relatively stable.

Latest Department for Transport figures show that 6,484 motorcycle users were killed or seriously injured in 2006, compared with 14,254 car users. The figures show that motorcyclists are 51 times more likely than car drivers to be killed or seriously injured per mile travelled, and more than twice as likely as pedal cyclists, the second most vulnerable group.

“The rising cost of fuel and the exemption of motorcycles from the London congestion charge have been two of the factors encouraging car drivers to switch to motorcycles,” said Paul Purdy of yesinsurance.co.uk.

“This has implications for other cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, where the introduction of a congestion charging system could lead to a rise in road casualties”.

The insurer says that the trend for relatively inexperienced middle-aged men to switch from cars to powerful motorbikes is also fuelling the rise in accidents.

“Deaths and serious injuries of motorcyclists in their forties have almost doubled over the past ten years, whilst figures for those in their twenties and early thirties have declined,” said Paul Purdy.

Motorcycle traffic has increased by an estimated 37% between 1996 and 2006, according to DoT figures released last month.

“Whilst we support the move to encourage car drivers to use other forms of transport in city areas, as an insurer we are acutely aware that the risk factor for motorcycles is over 50 times higher than it is for cars, as far as deaths and serious injuries are concerned,” said Paul Purdy.

“Wherever possible, we encourage drivers to turn to public transport rather than motorcycles when avoiding the congestion charge,” he said.

If you want the best mortgage payment protection insurance then you will have to secure the cheapest premiums for a good quality product and there is only one way of doing this and that is by going independently for your cover to a specialist payment protection provider.

When taken out correctly a mortgage payment protection insurance plan will kick in after you have been out of work for 30 consecutive days and with good policies will be backdated to the day you came out of work. Once you have started receiving a tax free income from the policy it will continue to pay out for up to 12 months and with some providers extending policies to 24 months. This can give great peace of mind that your home isn’t at risk of repossession from not being able to find the money each month to carry on paying your mortgage until you get back on your feet and back to work. Mortgage cover can be taken to cover against coming out of work due to accident and sickness only, unemployment only or due to accident, sickness and unemployment together.

Only a specialist who knows their products off by heart is able to give you the essential advice that is needed in order for you to ensure that you get not only the cheapest premiums, but also understand the exclusions that exist in all payment protection products. Exclusions are what cause you to be ineligible to make a claim on your insurance and include some of the most common reasons which keep people off from work such as back problems and stress related problems. They also include being retired, self-employed, in part time employment or suffering from a pre-existing medical condition at the time of taking out the policy.

While an ethical provider will ensure that you have access to these exclusions and the key facts regarding a policy, some providers of payment protection aren’t as ethical and this has led to wide spread mis-selling of protection products including mortgage payment protection.

Starting in 2005 the mis-selling was brought to light by the Citizens Advice after a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after it was found that many high street lenders weren’t giving the information needed for the consumer to make an informed decision and in some cases the cover was added onto the cost of the loan or mortgage without even asking if you wanted the cover. Along with this very little information if any was given out about the policy and this led to many holding a policy they couldn’t claim against. The Financial Services subsequently handed out fines to many well know high street names with the latest being a mortgage company and the investigation continues along with a review by the Competition Commission which is set to reach conclusion in Feb 2009.

If you want the best mortgage payment protection insurance it can be found but you have to go independently and shop around for the cover getting several quotes from specialist independent providers if you want to be absolutely sure of keeping the roof over your head through a sustained period of unemployment.

Figures from insurer Direct Line has highlighted how nearly of a quarter of victims fail to claim on their car insurance for damage caused by vandals.

Scratched paintwork and keys run along a vehicle were the two most common attacks launched on cars by vandals last year, followed by smashed windows and damaged wing mirrors.

The total cost for this vandalism bill is expected to reach £659 million. This is excess of £100 million on top of the 2006 car vandalism bill.

Over 4,000 motorists took part in the survey which also highlighted that most acts of vandalism take place at night (two thirds).

The Daily Mirror (9 January) has highlighted how car insurance companies are anticipating a deluge of claims following predictions of snow and storms from the UK’s weathermen.

The effect of this huge number of claims they say, will be more expensive motor insurance premiums for all of us. This is because the insurers will endeavour to get back some of the monies they will have paid out as a result of extreme weather conditions.
The following are some useful tips that can help avoid motorists making a car insurance claim:

• Only drive in bad weather if you absolutely have to

• Always have car breakdown and emergency telephone numbers with you in the car along with a fully charged up mobile phone

• Don’t travel without emergency insurance and breakdown phone numbers plus your mobile.

• Ensure you check tyres, oil, antifreeze, wipers, lights and fuel etc before any journey.

• Always carry a de-icer, torch and ice scraper onboard

Despite the increased cost of petrol, higher vehicle excise duty and car insurance costs, motor sales of vehicles with of 2000cc plus have increased says car supermarket chain Carcraft.

Research released by the company in November 2007 said that last year the demand for larger vehicles hit record levels, compared with the same period in 2006.

Motorists who chose larger cars accounted for 11.5% of all sales in the first 10 months of last year, says the car dealership. This was compared with 9.5% in 2006.

The typical motorist who bought a second hand car over 3000c was a male aged between 51-65 years old.