Final Post for 2009

This will be the last time that the Homeapproved team will be blogging this year!

Many thanks to all our readers who have visited our blog and the Homeapproved UK Car Insurance website.

Our last few posts both here and on the main website have tried to drive home the need for all motorists to drive sensibly and safely over the Christmas and New Year period.

We look forward to hearing from many of our regular readers next year (and new readers) on all matters motoring and insurance.

Have a great Christams and cracking New Year!

Safe motoring

Regards

Homeapproved Car Insurance Team.

Safe Winter Motoring

It’s been a year to the month since we last posted and reminded our readers of the requirements for safe winter driving. With the ‘heavy’ falls of snow across the UK last night now seems as an appropriate time as ever to remind everybody of keeping safe on the roads and definitely not claiming on your motor insurance policy.

The Highways Agency is responsible for England’s motorways and trunk roads. If the weather gets worse please click thorugh and read further tips for getting you through bad weather safely. Also make sure you listen out for weather warnings and be prepared to change or delay your journey depending on advice being given.

If the weather is very bad, don’t drive unless your journey is essential. Wait until the weather improves. If it is possible to delay your journey to see if the weather clears then make this decision. There are also some pre-journey checks you can make on your vehicle:

• Ensure the lights, windows and mirrors are clean and free from debris, muck, ice and snow.
• Add anti-freeze to the radiator and winter additive to the windscreen washer bottles
• Make sure brakes, wipers, heater, exhaust system and lights are in good working order
• Check that tyres have plenty of tread depth and are maintained at the correct pressure
• Make sure you know if your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive
• It is also a good idea to take along water, food, warm blankets and extra clothing
• Put an extra car key in you pocket. It has been known that motorists have locked themselves out of their car when going outside to open the bonnet
• If you live in Scotland or in areas renowned for heavy snow fall, try and carry tyre chains. Make sure they are the proper size for your tires and are in working order.

In many European countries in order to increase the amount of grip when the roads are icy or snow-covered winter tyres or snow chains are fitted. This is common practice in where snow and ice is either long-lasting, or where altitude means heavy falls of snow are common-place.

If you are likely to cover much distance on treacherous roads, even in the UK, but feel that a complete set of winter tyres is too high an expense, you might consider a reputable brand of retreaded winter tyre.

Gadget to Reduce Car Insurance Premiums

An inventor has come up with a device that, he says, has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of car insurance.

The device, which works by remotely stopping the ignition of a car so that it cannot be stolen by thieves, has been developed by 48-year-old Dr Phillip Tann and has excited insurance companies worldwide. He explains the evolution of the gadget that may one day make motor insurance premiums cheaper for all.

“We were approached by one of our customers who hire out very expensive motors and they required not only the ability to track their vehicles, but also to immobilise and recover them should they be stolen,” he says.

Adding, “As soon as the vehicle’s ignition is turned off the vehicle cannot be restarted and the system pinpoints the vehicle’s location to an accuracy of less than one metre. The vehicle can then be recovered by the owner or the police. We can remotely immobilise a vehicle from anywhere in the world.”

The device may appeal particularly appeal to technology-savvy young drivers as it can be used from a mobile phone, laptop or PC.

An egghead beat a speeding ticket by proving claims by British police were physically impossible.

Dr. Phillip Tann
Dr. Phillip Tann has previously made the news when he used a gadget attached to his cellphone to demonstrate that he was not driving 42 mph in a 30-mph zone, but actually just under the speed limit, at 29.177196 mph.

When his lawyers demonstrated the computer scientist’s invention, the case was dropped. “They looked flabbergasted,” Tann said. “Police cameras are not 100 percent accurate, but my system is.”

Car Insurance Cover Note

A Cover note is a document issued when you take out car insurance as temporary evidence that your vehicle is covered by the insurance.

It applies when you’ve bought car insurance yet the certificate cannot be issued at that immediate time because time is needed for the insurance company to assimilate the data, issue the documents and allow the certificate to be posted to you. Then in this case, a cover note is issued by an insurance broker that allows you to drive on the road straightaway.

If you need motor insurance ASAP and you want to get insurance with cover note online there are several insurers who can deliver a printed cover through your printer at home. Swiftcover car insurance being an example of a company who can do this, although you might want to shop around for comparison premiums.

It is worth noting that anyone driving without insurance is liable to be detected in a roadside automatic number plate recognition check.