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Toyota’s recent recall of vehicles has raised concerns amongst Toyota drivers about whether it is safe to drive their cars, and some are uncertain if their car insurance would cover them in the event of an accident.
Toyota recalled six models of vehicles because of problems with the accelerator pedals. The models affected are the IQ, Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Avensis and Verso. The Times Online reported that the recall has cost Toyota $2billion which includes cars in Europe, China and the US. They also reported that drivers will have to wait another week before the new parts arrive in the UK, and repairs are only due to start on the 10th February.
More than 10 000 people in the UK have phoned Toyota with concerns, and to find out whether they should continue driving their cars. If you are concerned about your car and whether you will be covered if you have an accident, then it’s probably best to contact your insurance company to check.
If you are a UK Toyota customer and unsure whether your car is affected, then click here for more information.
February 5th, 2010
Over the past few weeks the snow and freezing weather conditions has resulted in flight disruptions, which affected flight arrivals and caused delays to departures.
Flights from Gatwick, Southampton, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol and Exeter airports and passengers at Cardiff, Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted were all affected. The daily mail reported that some passengers were told to leave terminal five without their luggage due to flight delays, and it had been recommended that passengers contact the airline before going to the airport.
If you are planning on travelling make sure you are prepared and have adequate travel insurance, you never know when you might need it. Click here for the latest travel news.
January 14th, 2010
Seatbelts are an important safety feature in every car, however some people can still suffer from bruising or even broken ribs when in an accident due to the force of a seatbelt. Most of the time these injuries are minimal compared to what could have been, but could these injuries be avoided as technology and safety improves?
Ford has launched an inflatable seatbelt which is based on airbag technology. In the event of an accident the seatbelt will inflate and expand in the space of only 40 milliseconds. It will stay inflated for a few seconds after the crash, and then it will slowly deflate as the air escapes out of the pores in the airbag.
The inflatable seatbelts will initially be introduced in the backseats of the latest Ford Explorer 4×4 model, which goes into production in the United States next year, and according to whatcar.com, Ford would like to use the seatbelt in more of their products in the future.
This could possibly be the future of the seatbelt, and if the trial works well, then we could see a decrease in the number of injuries caused by seatbelts.
November 12th, 2009
With the cost of driving increasing due to petrol prices, car insurance and road taxes, more and more people are looking at alternative modes of transport.
One of the options open to some is the pay-as-you-go car rental schemes which are run throughout the country. These include City Car Club, Streetcar, WhizzGo and Zipcar. Many of these have been around for a good couple of years now and have been growing in popularity and one journalist for The Guardian experienced a saving of between £330 and £530 after giving their car up for a year to try out pay as you go motoring.
Car Clubs allow you to pick up a car from the roadside at a moment’s notice (once booked) and just pay for the time you use it. It is ideal for people who don’t use a car very much and can save two-thirds on the cost of running a car.
How they operate
* Each of the clubs has a joining fee which can be as little as £25 for partners of members, going up to £60.
* You go on to the car club website and book when you would like a car choosing the nearest available place to pick it up
* You then pay for what you use and return the car to a designated car club parking space.
* Prices include basic insurance, breakdown cover and, for those living in London, the congestion charge fee.
* You also get 50 miles free fuel for each 24 hour period and then 24p a mile after.
In order to use these schemes it sounds like you have to be very organised and book them well in advance, particularly around holiday periods as they would get booked up very quickly. They sound very convenient but it may work out more cost effective for journeys over longer periods if you book through a traditional car rental company.
June 23rd, 2009
According to a survey by Motors.co.uk, Dads spend an average of six months of their lives driving their children about.
Apparently the typical dad would cover 56,000 miles, the equivalent to 266 trips by the time their child reaches 18 years of age.
The research was clearly done with Father’s day in mind which is on Sunday 21st June but there is no mention of how long the Mums spend behind the wheel and my personal experience would put this at a much higher level.
In the current climate families may actually be cutting back on the amount of time they use their car but there are ways of reducing your costs. Research by car insurance provider swiftcover.com showed that many families are paying too much money for their insurance. For example, for bigger families a vehicle like the Volvo V70 estate might be the perfect choice, but whilst a 30 year old male driver would have a premium of around £320 with swiftcover.com, they could be shelling out over £1,000 with other providers.
So make sure you shop around and don’t be swayed by car insurance ’special offers’ - they aren’t always as good as they seem and may end up costing you more!
June 18th, 2009
Batman, James Bond and Thunderbirds’ chauffer Parker are amongst the drivers who can benefit from cheap car insurance premiums from swiftcover.com, the UK’s online insurer.
Swiftcover has revealed its quotes for a range of ‘specialist’ vehicles, including Knight Rider’s iconic KITT Trans Am and Marty McFly’s DeLorean from Back to the Future, although the insurer points out that use in crime fighting and time travel is not covered.
Tina Shortle, marketing director of online car insurance provider swiftcover.com explains: “swiftcover.com strives to offer cheap car insurance to as many UK motorists as possible, so we are delighted to be able to insure some of the more exotic cars on our roads”.
2002 Aston Martin Vanquish V12 as driven by James Bond in Die Another Day
Premium £20,000. No cover for rockets, ammunition or explosive devices or for loss, injury or damage arising from their usage. No cover for loss or damage to invisibility functionality. No cover for loss, damage or injury arising from using the self-destruct button. Does not cover use in a villain’s frozen lair.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as seen in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Premium £5,000. No cover for loss, injury or damage whilst in flight, on landing or on take off. No cover for use on water.
Batmobile as driven by Batman in The Black Knight
Premium £2,000,000. No cover for rockets, ammunition or explosive devices or for loss, injury or damage arising from their usage. No cover for the transformation of the Batmobile into the Bat Bike. Crime fighting does not constitute business use.
To find out more you can view the press release by clicking here.
April 16th, 2009
100% online insurance company swiftcover.com launched a viral competition as part of its ‘Swiftrelief’ campaign.
To enter the competition participants had to make a short video of something that can be done in 60 seconds. It could be a short-cut to something, a trade secret or simply something that is fun. The funniest video won a year’s free car insurance from swiftcover.com.
Some of the funny entries can be found on the Swiftrelief website www.swiftrelief.co.uk.
The BBC also ran a similar campaign with people sending in a one-minute video.
So what can you do in 60 seconds? Did you know that you can get a car insurance quote in under 60 seconds? Gone are the days of filling out pages and pages of information. By completing just 13 questions you can get a quote for your car insurance - saving you lots of time and money. Get a car insurance quote now at swiftcover.com.
November 19th, 2008
