BIBA and IIB merge to provide one trade association for #insurance brokers
Nov 8th
In an attempt to present a united front and to provide a single voice for insurance brokers the two largest trade bodies in insurance brokering will join forces. In an announcement that many people will see as overdue, the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) and the Institute of Insurance Brokers will begin the process of merging their activities.
Many of the current IIB board directors will take up posts on the BIBA board as they begin the process of bringing the two bodies together. Some, such as IIB Chief Executive Barbara Bradshaw, will take up specific interim responsibilities to smooth the transition to a single association.
The reasoning behind the merge is simply to strengthen the lobbying position of the members. It is felt that a single unified voice would carry more influence than several competing groups. The transition will begin immediately, with both groups retaining their brands for the time being as IIB members are slowly brought into the BIBA group.
Cash for crash fraudsters move out to the country #insurance
Nov 4th
“Cash for crash” fraud is a major problem on the UK’s roads and it’s a subject that has gathered a lot of attention recently from the police and the press. It’s a pretty simple scam where a fraudster deliberately causes a low speed accident in order to claim fraudulently for personal injuries. Typical tactics the fraudsters use are making sudden stops at roundabouts, junctions and slip roads that force the victims car to crash into the back of them.
Now as, the UK’s police wise up to this scam, it seems that the fraudsters are taking their tricks away from urban areas and into the countryside. The North West is still the scammers’ favourite hunting ground but it looks like the craze is spreading to other parts of the UK.
So here are the two worst locations for staged accidents in the UK.
- A406 Eastbound junctions with Abbey Road, Barking
- Hanger Lane Gyratory
We’ve blogged a few time about cash for crash and provided this helpful guide on how to spot a cash for crash fraud.
#Movember madness at Academy
Nov 1st
At last it’s Movember and a whole bunch of Academy boys are saying goodbye to their top lips (and probably their girlfriends and wives) for a month in aid of charity.
Every year Movember raises millions of pounds for charities that target men’s health. It results in thousands of men sprouting dubious sponsored facial hair and coming to terms with their inner Tom Selleck/ Josef Stalin/ Hercule Poirot.
So far this month the guys have raised an astonishing £418. It’s a great cause and you can make a donation by visiting mobro.co/academymobros.
We’ll also be plotting the progress of various different hairy lips on our facebook page so make sure you come back to check.
We look forward to pointing at them in the street and laughing our heads off.
Burglaries rise by 26% over Halloween
Oct 31st
Halloween is the worst day of the year for malicious damage to people’s homes, according to some recent data. The whole week of Halloween to Bonfire night is a bit of an insurance hotspot it seems as home damage claims goes up by 150% and damage to and thefts from cars rises by 20%.
The combination of darker nights, load bangs and mischief make it an ideal time for break-ins, vandalism and criminal damage. As the figures show – there is a 26% rise in burglaries in the week of Halloween over the weekly average for the rest of the year.
So, make sure you take all the necessary precautions this Halloween and have a spooky one.
Mobile DJs and trainee footballers are UK’s riskiest drivers
Oct 27th
Mobile DJs (do they still exist?) and trainee footballers are officially the most difficult to insure professions according to some recent data published this week. The research shows the effect that occupations can have on car insurance premiums as it compares the UK’s most expensive professions with the cheapest. Not surprisingly, the huge number of night time motorway miles they drive helps to push the traveling DJ’s average premium to a whopping £6,810 a year. Not far behind is the trainee footballer whose youth and ability to afford a super car make him a serious risk, with an average premium of £6,624 a year (about 2 day’s pay).
As for the least expensive occupations there are no surprises. Bottom of the expense list comes the commercial airline pilot whose ability to land a 150 ton plane goes some way to reassuring the insurance companies into providing an average premium of just £321 a year. Alongside the pilot are slightly less well known professions. Being a “China Restorer” will get you a premium of just £336 a year, while if you call yourself a “Toy Maker” you’ll be looking at a premium of just under £338 a year.
Brokers’ new responsibility for Employers’ Liability data
Oct 21st
Like every other broker in the country we were recently contacted by the newly formed ELTO (Employers’ Liability Tracing Office) with details of our new responsibilities under the FSA’s new regulations.
Essentially, the new regulations are designed to make it easier for claimants to trace their employer’s liability data. They make it compulsory for insurers to publish specific data about these policies so that it’s easier to locate and understand precisely what the policy does and does not cover.
The ELTO is an independent body that was set up to build and maintain the central database of Employers’ Liability insurance policies and they have written to broker across the country o provide details of the information that needs to be collected to keep in line with the new regulations.
The ELTO fills a very important role in the new process and should go a long way to helping ease the EL claimant process. It’s an iniative we applaud and we’re happy to help.
Our new Wokingham office is almost ready to open
Oct 19th
Just 5 days until our latest office opens up in Wokingham town centre.
The signs are up, the carpets are down and the phones are in. We’ll be ready for business on Monday 24th October so feel free to call in for a chat.
Plan to raise speed limit divides opinion
Oct 13th
Unsurprisingly most motorists (59%) think the new 80mph motorwat speed limit would be a good idea, showing that the scheme would certainly benefit from public support if it was introduced.
14% of us would go even further than that and would like to see a speed limit in excess of 80mph (or no speed limit at all).
There is opposition however from road safety charities and campaigners. David Williams, chief executive at GEM Motoring Assist, said: “There are very obvious road safety implications including drivers having less time to react at higher speeds. Given the road safety record is currently heading in the wrong direction, this alone is a good enough reason not to raise the limit.”
Green campaigners too are raising objections, point at the inevitable increase in fuel consumption that would come with such a change. Britain currently has some of the safest roads and motorways in Europe, as well as a lower speed limit than most of the continent.
The maximum in France and Italy is 81mph, while in Ireland Spain and Portugal it is 75mph. German autobahns are unrestricted.
Lloyds and Halifax pull out of the #petinsurance market
Oct 10th
Lloyds has been in the pet insurance market since 2000 and Halifax since 2002 and both companies are now withdrawing to concentrate their attention on their core markets.
This news could leave as many as 50,000 pet owners without a policy and facing difficulties getting cover for pre-existing conditions. According to recent research, the number of companies in the pet insurance market boomed over recent years with more than 80 providers touting over 400 policies to the nation’s pet owners. That number is starting to dwindle as insurers pull out from the market in the face of hefty and increasing vets’ bills.
If you’re one of the Lloyds or Halifax customers who have been left high and dry, why not give us a call and find out what we can do to help?
At last, it’s Tyre Safety Month
Oct 6th
It might have escaped your notice but along with already being the hottest October since the Cretaceous Period, it’s also Tyre Safety month. This coincides neatly with a new study that reveals we’re all a bit clueless about tyres:
- 57% of us have no idea what the depth should be.
- 58% of us don’t know what the correct pressure is for our tyres.
Fortunately as winter approaches, there’s a seasonal campaign to remind us how important this is. it’s also worth remembering that if you are involved in a accident and your tyres are below the legal tread limit it could cause your insurance to be invalidated.