Top tips for a safe skiing holiday
Nov 23rd
Despite the current economic climate, skiing and snowboarding are still a desirable holiday option for those dedicated winter sports enthusiasts.
However, it’s not just a case of dusting off the skis and jumping on a plane; planning ahead can make the trip much safer and enjoyable.
Here are a few of our top tips.
Get in shape – Getting into shape before travelling go can prevent unnecessary aches at the end of the first day.
Stretch – Start with a warm shower to loosen joints and muscles, then gently stretch the muscles used most when skiing and remember to warm down when finished.
Check ski and snowboard equipment – If your Ski equipment has not been used for some time check it out, particularly the bindings as safety could rest on the ability of them to release at the right time.
Dress properly – This is more of a comfort recommendation than a safety issue, but handy nonetheless. If your head is cold, put on a hat. Your body loses a large proportion of its heat through the head and neck.
Don’t ski when tired – A lot of injuries happen at the end of the day when people are getting tired and want one more run before they go home. It’s far better to call it a day than take a detour on the way home via the hospital.
Ski responsibly and be aware – When stopping on the slope, look before pulling off to the side and make sure you are visible to skiers above.
Finally – Whilst the above tips can aid safety on the slopes they cannot stop the unexpected happening. Ensure you have adequate travel insurance which includes paste closure cover.
Academy Insurance travel policy can provide specific benefits, including loss or damage to your ski equipment and ski pass, the hiring of replacement equipment if yours is misplaced by your carrier and ski pack cover following injury or illness during your trip. You can buy from a wide range of travel insurance by visiting our website .
In addition, you will be automatically covered for a variety of winter sports activities , including skiing and snowboarding on/off paste (within resort boundaries), tobogganing, ice skating, alpine, glacier and cross country skiing.
The sound of the car of the future
Nov 18th
Not so fast Mr Whippee
News here that Audi are experimenting with a variety of different fake engine noises for their first generation of electric cars. Electric cars, for the uninitiated, are virtually silent – no noise from the motors means that only the sound of tyre on tarmac warns the blind and partially sighted of their approach.
Campaigners at Guide Dogs for the Blind are keen to have all future electronic vehicles fitted with an audible warning noise and in response to this Audi have turned to the RSQ – the fictional R8-alike vehicle they created for the film “I, Robot”.
So – when the Audi E-Tron series hits the streets in 2012 expect it to have that classy futuristic whooshing sound.
Is this a missed opportunity to think outside the box? Why not make all electric vehicles play embarrassing ice-cream van jingles at speeds over 30mph? Better still, keep the Will Smith connection and play the theme tune to “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.
This could eliminate both carbon emissions and speeding at a single stroke.
Buy to Let on the rise for second quarter in a row
Nov 15th
Good news for buy to let property insurance holders.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show a 12% rise in the value of new buy to let mortgage business for the quarter ending Sept 2010. This is the result of almost 27,000 new buy to let loans in the third quarter, a massive increase on Q3 2009.
So, while it’s certainly low by historical standards (these figures compare roughly to 2002 levels), there’s no doubt that demand for competitive mortgages and insurance are on the increase.
Does your travel insurance cover this…?
Nov 12th
Awesomeness of extreme sport equalled only by lameness of soundtrack.
“Cash for crash” fraud on the rise – here’s how to spot it
Nov 9th
A rise in cash for crash fraud has been identified as the cause of the upward trend in car insurance premiums. The Insurance Fraud Bureau or IFB (a much less sexy anagram of FBI) has estimated that around 30,000 accidents were deliberately staged in the UK last year, scams that cost the insurance industry about £350m in 2009, adding around £50 to the premium of every driver.
So – with this fraud on the rise and heading south (its very popular in Birmingham and the North West at the moment), here’s our quick guide in what to look out for and what do if you suspect you’ve been targeted…
What to look for
1) The first thing you might notice is the apparent lack of real cause for the accident. A low speed collision in an empty car park? Alarm bells should ring.
2) Is the car packed with people? If it is that should be a warning sign. They are likely to be a bunch of the driver’s mates getting ready to put in claims for whiplash injuries.
3) Has the driver already prepared his details, ready in case of an accident? As silly as it sounds, this has been know to happen.
4) Finally, has anything odd happened leading up to the incident? Has the car been in your rear view mirror for a while? Have you just had a similar near miss?
So, if you do suspect you’ve been a vistim of cash for crash, here’s what to do…
1) Nothing. At least don’t make a scene at the scene. The likelihood is that you’ve been targeted because you look like the sort of person who won’t kick up a stink, so don’t. We are dealing with professional criminals here remember.
2) Take some photos of the car, as many as you can and try to get a good look and a description of the driver.
3) Count the occupants of the car, get a good look at them.
4) Find an independent witness
5) Tell your insurer as soon as you can, let them know your suspicions and contact the police.
Norfolk Police frown on jamming
Nov 3rd
In the first case of its kind in the UK, a young Porsche driver has received a 30 day ban for using a speed camera jammer.
21 year old Jamie Shreeve from Norfolk was tootling along in his Porsche 911 when he was caught red-handed by the local police, jamming his way to Great Yarmouth.
He’ll now lose the keys to his Porsche for a month and have a little more difficulty finding cheap young driver insurance.
Make sure you get a survey (say surveyors)
Nov 1st
And in other news, Turkeys vote against Christmas…
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has issued a warning for home buyers who think they can get away with a simple mortgage valuation or a Home Buyers Report. In the RICS latest analysis, unplanned home repairs cost the average house buyer £1,818 – costs that would have been known prior to purchase if an RICS member had been involved.
RICS have prepared a 3 point guide to help buyers navigate the murky waters of surveys and price negotiation here, to which we would add a fourth of course…make sure you get your home insurance in place at exchange and if you are buying to let, make sure you have the right buy to let property insurance arranged.
Chinese car gets a 0/5 NCAP rating
Oct 29th
With Halloween looming, here’s a proper horror story from China, a family car that provides roughly as much impact protection as a thick cardigan.
Fortunately this is not going to be on sale in the UK.
Quite Terrifying
Proof of time travel?
Oct 29th
A woman has been spotted in footage taken at a 1928 Charlie Chaplin movie premiere, she appears to be talking on a mobile phone!!!
Conslusive proof of time travel we reckon
Footballers uber bling motor gets torched
Oct 28th
Spare a thought for poor old Andy Carroll.
As part of a pending court case, the long-haired Newcastle striker was ordered to house-share with his team mate Kevin Nolan.
As if being in an upmarket episode of the odd couple wasn’t bad enough, Andy’s pride and joy, his brand new chrome plated Range Rover has just been torched while sitting on the driveway.
Who is responsible? Was it an act of vandalism? An angry Boro supporter? The taste police? The vandalism on the garage door suggests it may have been the Womens Institute.
We are still deliberating whether or not a chrome plated Range Rover still qualifies for prestige car insurance.