The best car insurers?

Ever wondered which company is the best for car insurance in the UK?

Auto Express has put together a countdown of the best car insurers in its latest Driver Power Survey that might steer you in the right direction.

Over 46,000 motorists were asked to judge car insurers and brokers on five areas: communication, speed of settling a claim, helpfulness, value for money and the overall service.

So which car insurer was voted top and which came bottom?

NFU tops the poll
NFU Mutual, originally set up by farmers for farmers, came top of the Drive Power Survey, retaining its 2012 ranking.

Missing out on the top spot was specialist insurer for organisations and trade unions LV= Frizzell which came second. Adelaide IAM Surety (3rd), Royal & Sun Alliance (4th) and SAGA (5th) followed.

NFU blew the competition out of the water and achieved a score of 89.09%, ticking the right boxes for great customer service and attentive staff.

Praise was directed at NFU's efficiency when asked to provide information on a policy and when it came to sorting a claim.

The firm managed to achieve top marks in four out of the five judging categories, only performing less well in the 'value for money' section.

However, over 97% of those surveyed said they would renew their policy even though NFU did not necessarily deliver the cheapest quote

Registration plate change

Six months have already passed and it's that time of the year again. The release of the number plates see 63 make its way on to the number plates of new cars in the United Kingdom. But before you're taken in by the excitement of a new car, prepare yourself before you walk into that car dealership.

 

The prospect of a shiny new car is exciting. But don't make a haste decision. With advances in the latest road safety technology and the latest technical features in new cars, try to get the most out of your money.

 

Firstly, decide on the type of car you need. Do you need to ferry the children around and make the school run? Or do you want a car with enough luggage space for the numerous long trips away you have planned. It may be your car is simply a means to get from A to B. Just make sure your choice fits the purpose.

 

While we're often led by the way the car looks, it's important to be clear on your budget from the start. Make sure you know how much you are able to spend. The price displayed often isn't the total price of the car. There are other costs to factor in such as insurance cost and other running costs too.

 

Don't forget to check for hidden extras. There's nothing worse than to finalise the details of the car and then learn that there are additional charges for number plates and delivery.

 

It's often the question on everyone's mind. Petrol or diesel? Check out the running costs before you buy. Diesel cars offer better fuel economy but are more expensive. It's important to factor in car depreciation. Think about how much the car will decrease in value in its first three years and how this will affect the price of the car if sold second-hand. VED is related to carbon emissions, so the lower the emissions, the better.

 

Once you know your budget, work out how you will be financing the car. Whether you'll be taking out a loan, asking family and friends or using your savings, it's important to plan a budget. Don't be swayed by the prospect of a new car, stick to your budget.

 

Most importantly, test drive it. There's no other way of knowing if you'll like it without driving it. Remember, if you're going to spending a long time in it commuting, you need to make sure it's what you want.

Nottingham road racks up £240,000 in fines in just four weeks

A new road restriction that has been enforced along a busy route outside of Nottingham's main station has netted the council a whopping £241,380 since July 15.

Car and taxi drivers have been warned that they can longer turn into Station Street from London Road while work takes place at Nottingham Station with CCTV monitoring and recording any motorists who break the restrictions.

Three road signs are in place to warn of the restriction but 4,023 fines of £60 each have been issued by the city council since it has been enforced, angering residents and local taxi drivers.

A council spokesman told This Is Nottingham: "When the turning ban was put in place at the end of June, we sent out warning notices rather than give fines for the first two weeks to give drivers using the route fair notice.

"Since this warning period, we have enforced the restriction through penalty-charge notices."

But local taxi drivers are frustrated at both the fines imposed and the adverse affect the new restrictions have had on the flow of traffic.

Mohammed Mahirban said: "It gets really busy from the roundabout at the end of London Road because of it. This is especially so on Fridays."

Another taxi driver, Mike Eccles, said: "I can understand why they are doing it while the station is closed.

"But I don't see the need to do so after that. It is going to lead to lots of people getting fined."

According to This is Nottingham, the council insists that the money from the fines will be put back into transport projects, but it was unable to give details of exactly how it would be spent

Motorist fined for shaving while driving

A man in Oxford has been stopped and fined by police for shaving while at the wheel of his car, in a crackdown on careless driving in the city.

Spot checks on motorists saw a further 54 drivers issued with penalty notices by officers on Thursday morning.

Amongst those stopped, one driver was found to be reading a book at the wheel, while another had been taking dictation from a hands-free phone using a notepad and pen.

A total of 35 drivers and passengers were found not to be wearing seat belts and 14 were caught using their mobile phones.

All were issued with a £60 fine and three penalty points on their licence.

Speaking to the BBC, PC Mike Pilling, of Thames Valley Police, said: "It is clear that a number of people are still prepared to put themselves and others at risk by flouting road traffic laws designed to protect them from injury.

"We will continue to target this type of behaviour with more road safety checks at all times of the day."

The police activity comes as new statistics show that 2.4 million UK motorists – equating to one in 20 adults – were involved in a road collision last year.

Figures from the Department of Transport show that 800,000 of these people were injured, highlighting the need for increased scrutiny of driver behaviour, particularly over the summer months where traffic increases by over two per cent.

Back to Sckool? Workers make embarrassing spelling mistake outside primary schoo

We shouldn't laugh, but we did.

The council workers in charge of this job clearly need a bit more time inside the classroom.

They were tasked with painting 'School - Keep - Clear' outside Innellan Primary School, near Dunoon in Scotland.

However they made a - quite hefty - error, spelling 'school' with a 'k'.

As you do.

The work will hopefully be fixed by the time the school's 154 pupils return for lessons after the summer break

International Youth Day

Monday 12^th August 2013 marks International Youth Day and in light of this some handy guidance for younger drivers.

There's nothing that terrified me more than when I first started to drive. I know I could have benefitted quite a bit from advice like this – so I hope you find it useful. And as for the experienced motorists – well, we all need a reminder every now and then!

As a young driver, shopping for car insurance can be a stressful task – you're likely to be faced with many unaffordable insurance quotes. Use comparison sites to shop around, and consider having a telematics box fitted to bring your premiums down. Further driver training will also bring costs down.

As part of learning to drive, it's likely that you will have been taught how to do basic checks on your vehicle – tyre tread and pressure, fluid levels, lights, and mirrors and windows. It's important that you spend a few minutes each week doing each of these checks in order to avoid a breakdown and drive safely.

The law states that you are allowed up to 80mg of alcohol per 100mg of blood before you are over the drink-drive limit. However, it's impossible to judge how much you can drink and still be under the limit – so make it none for the road. And beware the morning-after effect – there may still be enough alcohol in your system to land you with a conviction for drink-driving.

 t's inevitable that once you pass your test you'll be expected to taxi about groups of your friends. But passengers are known to be one of the greatest and most disruptive in-car distractions. Make sure you keep your concentration on the road, rather than those in the passenger seats.

Learner drivers are currently not allowed on the motorway. This means that once they pass, they are faced with the often daunting task of driving on high-speed, unfamiliar roads. But there is no need to be anxious – motorways are statistically our safest roads, and the skills you learned to pass your test will equip you to take them on. Remember to check your mirrors more regularly and leave a minimum two second gap between yourself and the car in front

Water-contaminated petrol sees Morrisons shoppers break down

A Morrisons supermarket In Wrexham was forced to close its petrol station after fuel became contaminated with water, leading to breakdowns on the forecourt.

A number of cars ground to a halt immediately after being refuelled on Wednesday, due to the tainted petrol, and roadside assistance vans were called to help motorists get on their way.

Morrisons has since announced that it has launched an inquiry into why its warning system, which normally alerts petrol station operators to pollutants in fuel, failed.

The supermarket has also confirmed that motorists who have been affected would be compensated for any damage caused to their cars.

Speaking to the BBC, a spokesman for Morrisons said: "The recent bad weather caused some water, only a small amount, to get into the tanks.

"The sensors went off but about a dozen had got fuel. Yesterday we shut the pump down, drained the tank and flushed the system and refuelled."

He went on to say that the supermarket's insurers would contact those affected, and when asked whether motorists could expect to be reimbursed, said: "I'm guessing that's what will happen."

Morrisons won't welcome the bad publicity considering many of the major supermarkets are currently fighting for custom by lowering prices and offering lucrative deals on fuel. Earlier this year, Morrisons instigated a mini price war when it dropped the cost of its petrol by 2p a litre and 1p a litre for diesel