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The cold winter has lead to a national windscreen shortage according to Auto Windscreens. Many windscreens have been damaged from loose gravel and potholes which were caused by the freezing weather earlier this year, and this has resulted in a huge demand for windscreen replacements.
Cars which are most affected by the shortage include Vauxhall Zafira, Astra, or Vectra, Volkswagen Passat or Golf and Audi A4.
Auto Windscreens have increased their production by 40% to help with the crises. Sales and Marketing Director, Nigel Davies, said:
It’s unusual to have a national shortage of windscreens and we’ve certainly not come across it before. Auto Windscreens is in the fortunate and unique position, however, that we can simply add another shift at our factory and increase production on popular windscreen models to meet demand and manage the delays.
May 18th, 2010
Swiftcover.com are promoting their ‘get a life’ campaign in a fantastic new sponsorship with Absolute Radio which launched last week Monday.
The sponsorship will include Absolute Radios exciting ‘One Last Dream’ competition, which gives listeners the opportunity to get back in touch with their long lost buddies and reunite their bands. The winning band will open the Isle of white festival!
Absolute Radio will create 60 second features to give listeners ideas on how they can ‘get a life’. The sponsorship will include a ‘rockumentary’ about the rock and roll lifestyle of bands. Live music content on Absolute Radio’s website will feature swiftcover.com branding and swiftcover.com pre-roll video’s will feature on Absolute Radio’s media player. swiftcover.com will also have a microsite hosted on www.absoluteradio.co.uk where people can upload photos and video images and enter exclusive online competitions.
So if you want to get more a life this year then listen to Absolute Radio and join in the fun!
May 10th, 2010
Swiftcover’s latest innovative iPhone application ‘Stuck’ has been a big hit with users of the Apple iPhone. Using geo-location technology to allow users to post their Twitter-style stucks whenever they are in a sticky situation, whether it be stuck in traffic, stuck in a meeting or even a having a song stuck in their head, however for two Swedish users, ‘Stuck’ was there to help them when they really needed it.
Nico Vittorio and Paul Alonso were hiking in the Sarek National Park region of Sweden when they became separated. Although they were in contact and knew they were close-by, because of the heavy snow there were no landmarks, making it impossible to identify a meeting point. After recently installing the Stuck iPhone application, the pair used the ‘Near-Me’ function, which helps flag up other Stuck users nearby.
Using the application solved the two friend’s problem and helped track each others paths reuniting them without trouble.
Swiftcover’s Stuck iPhone Application can be used for the less ‘James Bond’ style situations. The app has a range of pre-set emotions that are quick to choose and upload, providing the perfect Stuck for every situation.
The iPhone application was developed by swiftcover.com’s innovation team and has already been downloaded by 10,000 iphone users worldwide since it was launched in January 2010. Swiftcover’s head of innovation, Ambarish Mitra, explains: “swiftcover.com is an innovator – we threw out the rule book and started from scratch when we created the UK’s first fully online insurer – so we wanted our first mobile phone app to embrace that same spirit of innovation and something that would be of use to everyone, not just swiftcover.com car insurance customers.
Future developments for the application include one-to-one communication, linking individual Stucks to events, so people posting would be alerted to activities such as concerts or sales taking place nearby, one-to-one communication, as well as providing users with info on local amenities, like garages or hotels, perfect for drivers who find themselves Stuck while driving.
For more information on Stuck and to download the app, visit www.swiftcover.com/stuck-iphone-app/
March 30th, 2010
Iggy Pop and the stooges were entered into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on Monday night. The award took place in New York, where Iggy took to the stage and accepted the honour saying:
It’s a big industry. If it makes the right decisions, it will stay an industry. Music is life, and life is not a business.
Iggy and the stooges then performed ‘I wanna be your dog’ which according to the Mail Online was an energetic performance, which was accompanied by inductor Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Abba and Genesis were among the other groups who were also inducted into the hall of fame.
Iggy and the stooges have made a comeback this year and Iggy Pop also recently fronted swiftcover.com’s ‘Get A Life’ advertising campaign, which helped the insurer increase sales by a third in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKCmQe9vaNI
March 18th, 2010
With the majority of Britain proven to be image conscious, it’s no surprise that the popularity for today’s hot hatches is increasing. But what car insurance customers are unaware of, is the fact that having one of these sporty cars could increase your motor insurance premiums.
In recent insurance research done by Swiftcover found that sometimes it doesn’t matter how old motorists are, or how much road experience they have, it could still mean forking out a hefty amount for car insurance on a more luxurious hatchback.
The research showed that even a 30 year old man, with over 5 years no claims bonus could end up getting a car insurance quote of over £1000 on a Volkswagen Golf GTI, whereas if he were to opt for VW’s calmer version of the Golf hatchback, he could be saving over £500 on his annual premium.
It is mainly younger drivers who are tempted for the larger engine and sportier car, but car insurance claims figures show that these vehicles are more likely to be involved in an accident, cost more to repair and also appeal more to thieves.
swiftcover.com’s figures reveal the extra cost of opting for a hot hatch.
| ‘Hot Hatch’ |
Standard model |
Extra cost for a ‘hot hatch’ |
Volkswagen Golf GTI
£1,002 |
Volkswagen Golf S
£476 |
£526 |
Honda Civic Type R
£974 |
Honda Civic Type s
£507 |
£467 |
Seat Leon Cupra
£1,031 |
Seat Leon S
£485 |
£546 |
All quotes from swiftcover.com and are for a 30 year old male business professional living in Birmingham with five years no claims bonus and a £250 voluntary excess insuring 2010 models.
So, although having a hot hatch looks great, it could end costing more in the long run.
March 14th, 2010
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
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