Government targets motorists without insurance
Keeping a car without insurance is to become a criminal offence under changes to the law proposed by the government today.
Around 6.5% of motorists are thought to be uninsured, and an estimated 160 people are killed and 23,000 injured each year by drivers without cover.
It is already an offence to drive without insurance, but under the changes proposed today it will also become an offence to keep an uninsured car. Those convicted will face a fine of up to £1,000 and the possibility of court action to seize the vehicle.
The road safety minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, said new processes would allow the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Motor Insurance Bureau in Milton Keynes to work together to cross reference records and identify those vehicle owners without valid insurance.
The DVLA will write to drivers telling them to either pay for insurance or explain why they have not got cover.
If they do not take out insurance or fail to provide a reason why they have not, they will face a fixed fine of £100. If they still do not get cover they could be fined £1,000 and have their vehicle seized. Car enthusiasts and amateur mechanics who will not be driving their vehicles and have a statutory off-road notice (Sorn) in place will be excused.
Fitzpatrick said: "The selfish minority of drivers who refuse to insure their cars push up premiums for other motorists and kill or injure thousands of people each year.
"Increased police powers already mean more than 400 uninsured vehicles are seized every day, but these tough new measures will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide."
Drivers without insurance are believed to cost law-abiding motorists around £30 a year in extra insurance premiums. The AA said last week that the cost of motor insurance premiums had increased considerably over the past year as a result of rising personal injury claims and incidents of insurance fraud.
The average cost of comprehensive cover has increased by 8.7% on this time last year to £741.66 a year.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said the insurance industry was under "considerable financial pressure" and that further price hikes were likely.
"We expect this upward trend to accelerate," he said. "Although the bank base rate has fallen and there is widespread price-cutting across credit-crunch Britain, the costs insurers face are rising fast."
Friday, 23 January 2009
Competitors
Norwich Union marketing director explains name change in video blog
LONDON - Norwich Union, soon to be Aviva, is launching its first ever video blog, starring its sales and marketing director John Kitson.
The blog, which targets insurance brokers, was developed by Chemistry and will support the companies re-brand from Norwich Union to Aviva from 1 June.
Readers of Insurance Times will be able to watch Kitson's blog in which he will talk about his journey managing the name change from Norwich Union to Aviva.
Brokers will be able to make written posts about the blog, which will also be promoted through the Insurance Times website.
Norwich Union is currently running a major above-the-line marketing campaign to promote the name change to Aviva which the company uses in most territories around the world.
The ad features celebrities, such as Bruce Willis and Ringo Star, who have changed their names.
To watch the blog visit http://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/thejohnkitsonblog
LONDON - Norwich Union, soon to be Aviva, is launching its first ever video blog, starring its sales and marketing director John Kitson.
The blog, which targets insurance brokers, was developed by Chemistry and will support the companies re-brand from Norwich Union to Aviva from 1 June.
Readers of Insurance Times will be able to watch Kitson's blog in which he will talk about his journey managing the name change from Norwich Union to Aviva.
Brokers will be able to make written posts about the blog, which will also be promoted through the Insurance Times website.
Norwich Union is currently running a major above-the-line marketing campaign to promote the name change to Aviva which the company uses in most territories around the world.
The ad features celebrities, such as Bruce Willis and Ringo Star, who have changed their names.
To watch the blog visit http://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/thejohnkitsonblog
Competitors
AIG ends Man Utd sponsorship deal
The troubled US insurer AIG will not be renewing its shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United that expires in May 2010.
AIG agreed to pay £14m-a-year for four years for the shirt sponsorship and also has a longer £5m-a-year deal to run MU Finance.
It is currently restructuring itself, having received a $150bn (£109bn) bail-out from the US government.
It is not clear whether the MU Finance deal will continue.
AIG signed a six-and-a-half year deal at the beginning of 2008 to offer insurance, credit cards and mortgages using the MU Finance brand.
Manchester United said that it had already started talking to a select group of potential sponsors.
Its spokesman added that it was normal to begin the process this early because technical issues surrounding the manufacturing of shirts meant that it has to know who will be its shirt sponsor for the 2010/2011 season by the autumn.
Last week in Macau, Manchester United chief executive David Gill said he would not be surprised if the AIG shirt sponsorship deal was not renewed.
AIG has already ended its sponsorship deal with the US Davis Cup tennis team.
The troubled US insurer AIG will not be renewing its shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United that expires in May 2010.
AIG agreed to pay £14m-a-year for four years for the shirt sponsorship and also has a longer £5m-a-year deal to run MU Finance.
It is currently restructuring itself, having received a $150bn (£109bn) bail-out from the US government.
It is not clear whether the MU Finance deal will continue.
AIG signed a six-and-a-half year deal at the beginning of 2008 to offer insurance, credit cards and mortgages using the MU Finance brand.
Manchester United said that it had already started talking to a select group of potential sponsors.
Its spokesman added that it was normal to begin the process this early because technical issues surrounding the manufacturing of shirts meant that it has to know who will be its shirt sponsor for the 2010/2011 season by the autumn.
Last week in Macau, Manchester United chief executive David Gill said he would not be surprised if the AIG shirt sponsorship deal was not renewed.
AIG has already ended its sponsorship deal with the US Davis Cup tennis team.
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