Stats from the ABI (Association of British Insurers) show that 107,000 fraudulent insurance claims were detected and exposed in 2008 and that their value, £730m, was up by 30% over 2007

£360m of this referred to fraudulent motor claims, about 4% of total car insurance claims.

In a separate survey of 3,000 adults carried out by YouGov, one in five people, including women drivers, admitted that they would not rule out making a fraudulent claim in future. That seems extremely high to me although I haven’t seen the question asked.

Nick Starling, the ABI’s director of general insurance and health added the following car insurance information for women drivers stating that

“Fraud thrives in a recession, so insurers are intensifying their crackdown on insurance cheats.  Fraud adds an extra £40 a year to the average premium, which is why the harder we make it for the cheats, the more competitive premiums will be for honest customers.”

Examples of bogus motor claims affecting car insurance premiums for women drivers who may well be members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club include

1     A policyholder claimed that his car had been stolen from a car park. His car was found at the bottom of the cliff, with no signs of forced entry however his local newspaper had carried a photo of the wrecked car two days before the alleged theft. Finally he admitted that he had pushed the car over the cliff, and planned to use the insurance payout to pay off his debts.

2     A woman reported her husband for exaggerating his injuries following a car accident, and after he received a compensation payout of £385,000.

As always it’s the good eggs that pay for the bad ones.  I’d have no hesitation in shopping someone I knew was cheating the rest of us.

How about you?

FOXY Steph

PS: If you know of an insurance claim that is dishonest, please do the rest of us a favour by reporting it to the Insurance Fraud Bureau’s Cheat Line on 0800 328 2550.

]]> http://www.foxyladydrivers.com/foxyblog/2009/04/29/car-insurance-information-for-women-drivers/feed/ 0 http://www.foxyladydrivers.com/foxyblog/2009/03/19/car-size-matters-in-a-credit-crunch/ http://www.foxyladydrivers.com/foxyblog/2009/03/19/car-size-matters-in-a-credit-crunch/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:07:54 +0000 foxysteph http://www.foxyladydrivers.com/foxyblog/?p=252 Continue reading →]]>

Recent research carried out by motor car insurer LV=  as reported in the CSMA Magazine confirms that the majority of motorists (61%) would downsize their car to save fuel.

Yet who wants to buy their bigger cars so are they supposed to give them away?

With fuel duty ie petrol prices set to rise again in two weeks, there is untold misery ahead for motorists driving what are perceived to be gas-guzzlers which they might like to sell but which nobody wants to buy.

Apparently nearly one in 3 people surveyed by LV= had downsized to reduce their insurance premium and the cost of road tax.  So much so that 1 in 5 of them had saved more than £300. Jolly well done them and one presumes they got this saving with LV=.

Information to help motorists, including women drivers, reduce their car insurance premiums includes

• buy a common make of car as repairs can be cheaper (whilst they don’t define ‘common’ I imagine they mean the likes of Ford & Vauxhall – certainly the two most frequently driven manufacturer models by members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club)
• buy a car with a smaller engine
• avoid cars with engine or bodywork modifications
• avoid imports

You should also tell your insurer if any of the following factors change as they are likely to affect your car insurance premium and are likely to save you money…

• If your car is now garaged at night
• If your annual mileage has reduced
• If you no longer use your car for commuting or business

Women drivers can read more information about buying car insurance at the Club’s website.

Interestingly the lowest statistic in the LV= survey was the number of us that would downsize for environmental reasons. Just 15% as opposed to 61% re the cost of fuel.

I suppose that’s to be expected as the cost of motoring rises to the top of the agenda in a recession but I hope it’s because those of us that choose to run cherished, larger and even classic cars know that they shouldn’t be castigated willy-nilly becuase it’s a function of the number of miles we drive a year that adds to the CO2 factor. In short, if people love a car and are prepared to pay top dollar for its VED or fuel to then run it round the block or parade it, concours style, on sunny Sundays then they should be allowed to do this.

Less of the nanny state please telling us motorists how to live our lives – especially when so many of the preachers have their own agenda of making money out of us.

And time for the likes of Act On CO2 to rethink its marketing tactics to reach the same end?

FOXY Steph

PS The sun is shining on the righteous in Sussex today – glad to be heading out this pm!