Van Insurance Launches with Homeapproved

This month has seen Homeapproved launch its new Van Insurance Quote section.

Our online commercial vehicle quotes are sure to deliver a great policy, at an ultra competitive price. Policies will provide the right level of driver and commercial vehicle cover for businesses across the UK.

Visitors to the website can choose from two of the most well known insurers – Direct Line and Budget. All levels of van insurance cover can be purchased online:

Fully Comprehensive Cover
This offers the best and widest cover, including the loss of or damage to your van. It usually includes extras such as personal injury and medical expenses.

Third Party Only
This is the cheapest and most basic insurance. It covers damage to someone else or their property, but not to your van.

Third Party Fire & Theft
The same as third party cover, but also covers theft of your van or damage by fire.

Safer Driving for Youngsters

You’re never too young to learn to drive, according to Mercedes-Benz World. Its academy aims to cut accidents involving the most vulnerable road users.

Learning to drive is one of the most satisfying and challenging things you ever do. At first it can seem deceptively simple, but learning to drive is a lifetime process – you never stop learning – you adapt your knowledge and skills as you grow and develop through life. The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy offers several programmes for people at different life stages.

For young drivers they offer Pre-Road, Licence and Post-Licence Sessions. All of them offer various products to suit your needs. Being a good driver is much more than just passing the driving test. Their goal is for you to develop skills that go beyond controlling the car and mastering traffic situations.

Fact: One in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing the test, according to Brake, the road safety charity. A further 70 per cent report near misses. In 2006, 300 newly qualified drivers and their passengers were killed and 10 times as many were seriously injured – not to mention the casualties among those they plough into.

Mika Hatakka, a Finnish psychologist and key player in many EU projects designed to improve (make safer) the training of drivers says, “The UK is one of the safest countries in Europe to drive,” he says. “Your death rate is the lowest after Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden. But one of the black spots is still 17-year-old drivers. It’s not a problem just for the UK – everywhere the youngest drivers are the most at risk.”

“The Swedes,” Hatakka says, “reduced the age at which people could start driving by a year, giving them 18 months to practise before taking the test at 18. The average number of hours they had spent behind the wheel before passing rose from 50 to 120 – and the accident rate dropped by 40 per cent.”

That’s a lot fewer poignant bunches of wilting flowers at the roadside. If 16-year-olds are going to clock up more hours before being let loose on the roads, they will have to do so off-road, in places such as the old Brooklands circuit where the Driving Academy (which teaches pre- and post-licence skills) is based.

Sainsbury’s Motor Insurance On Dangers Of Second-Hand Child Car Seats

Sainsbury Motor Insurance

Sainsbury’s Motor Insurance is urging parents not to buy second-hand child car seats because it is impossible to know if they are safe or whether they have been damaged in an accident.

Latest research reveals that some 713,000 child car seats (around 14 per cent) currently in use are given by a friend or family member or even bought second-hand and that around a quarter of a million (5 per cent) may need replacing because they have been involved in an accident or minor bump.

Recent analysis of the online auction site, Ebay, confirms that trading in second-hand car seats is a reality, with some 131 “used” child car seats for sale on the website. Sainsbury’s motor policies offer new-for-old replacement seats after an accident as a standard feature, even when there is no perceived damage.

In addition to the importance of using a brand new child car seat, Sainsbury’s also warns that parents should make sure that they choose one that is compatible with their car and ensure that it is fitted correctly. Some two-thirds of child car seats are not fitted correctly. Below is useful advice when buying and installing child seats:

Is the child seat suitable for my child? It is essential that the child restraint is suitable for your child. Check the packaging before you buy.

My Child’s Weight and Age	Suitable Restraint
Child weighing up to 10kg (22 lbs) roughly from birth to 6 -9 months	Rearward-facing Baby Seat (Group 0)
Child Weighing up to 13kg (29lbs), roughly from birth to 12-15 months	Rearward-facing Baby Seats (Group 0+)
Child weighing 9 – 18 kgs (20 – 40 lbs), roughly from 9 months – 4 years	Forward-facing child seat (Group 1)
Child weighing 15 – 25 kgs (33 – 55 lbs), roughly aged from 4 – 6 years	Forward-facing child seat or/ booster seat (Group 2)
Child weighing 22 – 36 kgs (48 – 79 lbs), roughly from 6 – 11 years	Booster cushion (Group 3)

Safety Standards : ISOFIX
ISOFIX stands for “International Standards Organisation FIX”. It is a standard for installing child seats into cars and is intended to make fitting child seats quick and simple.

When cars are manufactured, ISOFIX points are built into them. Child seat manufacturers also build ISOFIX fitting points on their child seats. This will enable ISOFIX child seats to be simply plugged into the ISOFIX points in the car.

ISOFIX is an essential development because many people find it difficult to fit child seats correctly, and many surveys have found that a high proportion of the child seats are not fitted securely enough.

ISOFIX is designed to solve all these problems. The ultimate aim is that any ISOFIX child car seat you buy will fit your car simply by plugging it into the ISOFIX points.