Check out this video tip for some handy advice on driving safe on UK roads
Wednesday 3 April 2013
Friday 29 March 2013
Insure Your Director
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The difficult economic state the UK and others are currently
experiencing has led to the popularity of Directors Insurance. It has become
one of the more significant insurance products in 2013 with directors becoming
far more aware of an increasingly litigious society around them. Those at the
helm of a business are coming under increased scrutiny from shareholders,
employees and other stakeholders to act in the best interests of the company
and comply with their statutory duties.
This year has seen an increase in this type of claim, yet
dangerously many British directors and company officers do not have adequate insurance in place. Do your research, and you shall find this type policy
should be a priority for you and your business.
Homeserves up Job losses
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Over one hundred employees will be forced to shop for work
after their jobs at a Walsall insurance firm became impossible to maintain.
HomeServe has stated that 162 jobs will go at its base in
Walsall with further losses at two sister locations. The company had employed
more than 2,000 people across the UK.
Chief executive Richard Harpin said he expected its UK
customer base to stabilise at about 1.9m customers by next year, a drop of
about 350,000.
He said: "Our UK business is making progress improving the
effectiveness of its sales and marketing activity and we have clear plans for
increasing both customer acquisition and retention over the next two years. As
a result we are announcing the loss of 300 roles in the UK business."
The Walsall firm, a one-stop shop for insurance policies
ranging from burst pipe repairs, broken-down boilers and electrical problems,
suspended its call-centre sales force following the mis-selling allegations in
October 2011.
Calamity Vanity
Over two million men have admitted to crashing their
vehicles this past year due to their own distracting sense of vanity. A study
by Morethan has revealed many ‘motorsexuals’ check out their reflections up to
ten times during a single 30 minute car journey. They also regularly risk accidents by styling
their hair and applying cosmetics. The survey of 3000 male drivers also found
11% of those questioned had crashed in the past 12 months whilst using the rear
view mirror to check themselves out.
Thursday 28 March 2013
Business in Birmingham
Doing Business in Birmingham. Doing business in Birmingham is a short film which positions Birmingham as a global business location. It draws on the experiences of successful individuals and organisations in the city, and provides an over-arching proposition to investors of Birmingham as an international business hub.
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Famous Insurance Constructions - The Royal Liver Building
Did you know, in 1907 the Royal Liver Group had over 6000 employees and required a new, larger premises. The firm had been set up back in 1850 to provide locals with assistance related to losing a wage-earning relative. The company was very successful and the go-ahead was given for the new construction of a new head office to the designs of Walter Aubrey Thomas. Since its completion in 1911, it has overlooked the River Mersey from its waterfront location on the Pier Head and forms one of the 'Three Graces' along with the Port of Liverpool Building and the Cunard Building. This is reflected in the building's Grade I listed building status. It stands at 90 m (300 ft) tall and has 13 floors.
Thursday 21 March 2013
Why You Need Employer Liability Insurance
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£5m of employer’s liability cover is the minimum legal
requirement for most businesses with employees and claims are made against
businesses when accident or illness is deemed to be, fully or partly, the fault
of the employer. Your employer’s liability can be triggered by something as
simple as a slippery floor without adequate signage.
When an employee has the misfortune to succumb to illness or
injury, even the most cautious of employers can be sued for damages under their
employer’s liability insurance.
This form of insurance is designed to protect both employees
and employers and is a legal requirement under UK law. The cover protects
policyholders against meeting the cost of legal fees and compensation following
claims made against an organisation.
As such, employer’s liability insurance is a must for any
business.
Thursday 14 March 2013
Drugs and Driving
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The news is full of horrendous stories highlighting the
dangers of drink driving, but the rise in people driving under the influence of
drugs should not be overlooked. This abhorrent practice often fails to make an
impact on the headlines, but driving under the influence of drugs is a highly
dangerous risk to take.
The Department of Transport reported at least 640
accidents and 49 deaths were caused as a result of drivers being under the
influence of either illegal or medicinal drugs. It will come as no surprise
that drugs can cause hallucinations, paranoia, dizziness and a whole host of
other side effects, which can severely affect your ability to drive. People found to be under the influence of
drugs when driving face a fine of up to £5000, a jail sentence of up to six
months and an automatic driving ban, with a minimum 12 month suspension.
Wednesday 6 March 2013
1966 - A Year of Change
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| Unipower 1966 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It wasn’t until 1966 that drivers became subject to the laws
of drink driving. With the introduction of the new Road Safety Bill at the
start of the year, vehicle owners were capped from driving if there was 80mg
of alcohol in 100cc of their blood. This was calculated through a urine test.
The enforcement was part of the government's wider campaign to remind people to
take more care on the roads and be mindful of the safety of nearby pedestrians.
It took another year for the breathalyser test to come into force giving police
the means to discern data from a suspect there and then at the roadside. The
imitative helped decrease the percentage of road traffic accidents where
alcohol had been a factor from 25% to 15% in the first year. There were 1,152 fewer
recorded deaths, 11,177 fewer serious injuries and 28,130 fewer slight injuries
caused by road traffic accidents.
Kerry's Bid to Water-Down the Law
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Councillors in Ireland ‘s county Kerry are supporting a plan
to relax the laws on drink driving for its isolated residents.
Councillor Danny Healy-Rae, who
proposed the motion, said it would only apply to older people who are often
home alone and falling into a state of depression. He believes current
legislation is trapping the elderly in their own homes unable to go out and socialise
due to the remote areas in which they live.
If successful the scheme would allow
police to issue permits overriding the legal limit.
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However the move was condemned by the
mayor of Kerry, who called it a dangerous proposition. “I don't know how anybody
can be allowed to say, you've had two pints, so you're justified to drive.”
Conor Cullen of Alcohol Action Ireland told reporters at the BBC that almost one in three crash deaths in the country
is alcohol-related. “Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability -
any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash. Those
in rural areas who may be suffering from isolation will not benefit from
putting their lives and the lives of the other members of their community at risk
by drinking and driving.”
Drivers in Ireland are currently
limited to a maximum of 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The UK’s however
limits its road users to 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Thursday 28 February 2013
Can I Get High Risk Car Insurance?
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| Driving Cars in a Traffic Jam (Photo credit: epSos.de) |
Drivers
are considered to be high risk if they have violated the driving laws in the
past and have been convicted. High risk people are also the new drivers
especially those who have just learnt how to drive and been issued driving
licenses. This category could also include the teenagers who apart from being
new drivers, they are often rash and careless with their driving. The most
common category of high risk individuals are those who have their records
tarnished by convictions or multiple convictions of drinking under the
influence or driving while intoxicated. Many insurance companies would rather
not risk insuring these drivers but there are some companies that offer this
category of drivers high risk car insurance. High risk car insurance is accessible but it is very
expensive.
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| Kent Police stop (Photo credit: kenjonbro) |
Every
driver should be insured under the laws of UK. Every vehicle should have cover
for the third party. The third party policy covers all the damages or injuries
that may be inflicted to the third party. Companies fear giving the high risk
individuals this cover since they may end up making losses covering too many
accidents.
An
individual could sign up for insurance cover as a high risk or may turn into
becoming one while still under the normal cover. This happens when they are
convicted when still under normal cover. In such cases, when policy holders are
involved in an accident(s) and they are convicted of driving offences, the
insurance will not cater for the comprehensive cover but will only cover the
third party damages. The payments for the cover will also increase from that
moment since the policy holder will have also have become a “high risk” person.
Many
companies have taken advantage of the situation and have been charging the high
risk people exorbitant rates and the policyholders have been suffering silently
believing there was no way out. This is far from the truth, despite having to
pay more than the normal insurance rates; one can pay cheaper high risk car insurance
rates. This can be done by taking time to do thorough research where one will
compare several insurance companies to get the best. It will be surprising to
learn that the difference, for the same policies, could be a huge figure that
would save many pounds. One should also do some research to find out which
companies offer the best packages that would suit them and are more reasonably.
This should also involve research to find out which companies give the best
discounts.
Can I Get Convicted Driver Insurance?
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Convicted driver insurance is a kind of insurance that is
given to persons who have been previously convicted for a driving related
offence. This people are also known as high risk individuals. There are several
types of driving offences that can get one convicted and consequently get one
to be classified under the group known as high risks. Some of these offences are;
driving with alcohol levels that exceed the law’s limit, speeding, dangerous
driving, driving a vehicle with no insurance, driving while banned, driving
while disqualified by the court and many other driving offences. Most of these
offenders tend to be repeat offenders and this makes them “high risk”.
One may
think that such high risk individuals do not qualify to get any sort of cover given
their high risk levels. One would think that it would be unlikely for an
insurance company to risk covering such a person whose probability of getting
involved in another accident is very high. But the law dictates that all the
cars that use the roads in the UK should have the minimum insurance requirement
which is the third party policy. Given that the high risk individuals still
need to drive around, some insurance companies offer special insurance policies
for the high risk people called the convicted driver insurance. This insurance
cover is similar to the other policies but it is much more expensive.
Despite
this difference in the pricing, one should not be subjected to exorbitant rates
that some insurance companies charge. Many of the convicted drivers will accept
the high charges thinking that they are justified amounts but they should
realise that there are much cheaper high risk insurance rates out there. There
are companies that even specialise on covering only the high risk people. There
are many companies that will offer great customized packages for the convicted
drivers and this helps in greatly reducing the prices of the policies. This is
because by choosing only what one wants covered, you eliminate many unnecessary
costs.
Also
because not all the individuals have the same convictions, they should also
attract different premium charges. Speeding should definitely not be charged as
expensive as driving with alcohol levels above the set limits. Some companies
will categorize them together which will be unfair to other parties. One should
get convicted driver insurance from a company that can adjust its policies and prices to suit
its clients. One should also push to be offered some discounts on the presented
policies.
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