Flood Writes off Brand-New Mercedes Van
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Britain has recently experienced a record-breaking spell of wet weather and for one man from Somerset and his van (from Germany) it has had some pretty profound consequences.
The van insurance policyholder recently attempted to drive his newly acquired van through a puddle. However, in the absence of any warning signs, he did not realise that the puddle was several feet deep. As a result, the engine of his brand-new Mercedes van became overwhelmed with water and failed. With the man unable to move his vehicle, its cabin quickly became deluged with floodwater.
The driver then made the difficult decision to remove his trousers, leave his vehicle and wade through the water so that he could seek help. Devon Live reports that the van insurance holder is “fuming” with the local authorities for failing to close the road or to warn of the dangers of the puddle.
The driver, who is in contact with his van insurance company, says he is concerned that his commercial vehicle, which he had just bought for £33,000, is now a write-off.
"There was no light on the road, it was pitch black, no warning and no road closure,” he commented.
"I headed for what I thought was a slight puddle and mistakenly drove my brand-new Mercedes Vito into four feet of water. I'm fuming that the road was not closed. Police came to my assistance and then closed the road."
In a cruel twist, shortly after abandoning his van, the driver said that a council transit van arrived to erect a sign warning of the flood danger.
The scene he described resembled a horror film or thriller. He spoke of the “pitch black” night, the dark looming castle in the background and stags lurking in the nearby fields. “It was pretty damn scary,” he said.
To make matters worse, the longer the man waited, the more danger he realised his commercial vehicle was in. The water level quickly rose further, and the Mercedes’ bonnet became submerged.
He says that the council should be considered liable for the accident as it had allegedly received numerous warnings of the flood risk several hours prior to the incident. He says that he would never have driven the route if he’d been aware of the risk.
“I’m sure people will claim it’s my fault but the road got deep with water instantly with no warning,” he said.
Fortunately, it is likely that if the Devon County Council does not compensate the driver, his van insurance company will.
"But it is just incredible they didn't close the road and warn people," he said.
With heavy rain hitting all over the UK this December, it's important for all van drivers to practice caution and never ignore road closures or flood warnings.
Third-Party Claims Inflation Hitting Cover Cost
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The impact of third-party claims inflation on van insurance has been marked over the past decade and the situation may only get worse, according to experts within the industry.
This comes despite, or perhaps even because, of the advent of the credit hire and credit repair and personal injury service industry, which together have served to increase costs for many van insurance policyholders.
“Third-party claims inflation has been going through the roof for the past 10 years and it’s not really getting any better,” Glen Eastwood, the managing director of legal expenses firm MSL, recently told a motor claims costs conference.
Likening the the credit hire industry’s appearance on the motor insurance landscape twenty years ago to the arrival of a “knight in shining armour”, Eastwood said that its intervention in non-fault third party claims has proved to be something of a poisoned chalice.
However, he said that intervention should be considered as a positive act, but only if it is managed cost-effectively. Early offers to non-fault third parties were useful, he said, because they offer the potential to “save between £2,000 and £3,000 per claimant.”
In an environment where a non-fault third-party is seen as a commodity, Eastwood outlined, the key is to take the initiative by acting quickly and offering your services on a direct basis.
“Intervention is a really key element of good claims handling,” said Eastwood, “if you want to reduce your third-party spend, you have to be doing this and you have to do it well.”
The key to ensuring costs remain low is to ensure that the whole process is managed correctly – for example, that early intervention offers are reasonably valued and that everyone is notified at the earliest possible stage, this includes brokers, who are often notified far too late for offers to prove effective.
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Trades Start-Ups Struggling with Van Insurance Cost
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Van insurance is a bedrock product for the vast majority of UK tradespeople. Quite simply, without suitable commercial vehicle cover, most trades businesses would be unable to operate. Given its importance, it is little wonder that finding the cheapest possible van insurance is such a priority to so many start-up plumbers, electricians, builders and other tradespeople.
As such, any savings on the cost of insurance can make a real difference to the tradespeople concerned, a fact which has been brought into focus by a recent survey which revealed that 13% of all new trades businesses in the UK fail to last longer than two years.
Although start-up tradespeople are more likely to create a viable business in certain regions – all of London, Leicester, Nottingham and Birmingham have relatively good survival rates – there is a harsh reality: competition and financial pressures make for a tough financial environment whether you are a start-up carpenter, gardener, painter and decorator, double glazing installer, roofer or other tradesperson.
Some professions more secure than others
The study revealed that electricians and double-glazing installers have the highest survival rate after two years (89%). In the case of electricians, this may be because they have the highest day rate (£215); however, in the case of double-glazers, this explanation does not hold, as they earn an average of only £150 a day.
On the other side of security stand roofers, with roofing start-ups having the lowest national survival rate of all trades. The exception was in Sheffield, Nottingham and Cardiff, all of which had a 100% survival rate for roofers.
Van insurance, a significant cost
The cost of van insurance varies from trade to trade, with, at the high end, landscape gardeners paying an average of £1,424 a year and standard gardeners paying £1,392. At the lower end, painter and decorators paid an average of £870 and double-glazing installers an average of £889 a year. Electricians must be glad they are able to charge the highest day rate as they pay a yearly average of £1,183 for their van insurance.
Van Insurance Cheaper than this time Last Year
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In encouraging news for the drivers and fleet managers of UK’s commercial vehicles, the price of van insurance has fallen. This comes despite the widespread predictions of motor insurance experts and the cost pressures caused by the latest Ogden rate change.
The van insurance price figures come from Consumer Intelligence, a data analytics specialist, and show that the average price of commercial vehicle premiums fell to £1,781 in September.
However, this good news comes with several important caveats: not only is £1,781 still a prohibitive cost for many van drivers, but it also represents a 34.4% increase on the cost of a premium in 2014, a rise that far outstrips the rate of inflation.
The major factor over the rising price of van insurance in the past years is thought to be the impact of compensation, increased repair costs and a UK political and economic climate adversely affected by uncertainties over the future of Brexit.
Young van driver insurance premiums cheaper
The latest data shows that younger drivers (classified as those who are under 25) benefited from a price drop in van insurance premiums of 9.3% over the past twelve months. However, young drivers will have a hard time digesting this as good news as the average young driver van insurance premium costs £4,673; more than £4,000 pricier than the £581 average annual premium for drivers who are over 50. There is good news for these younger drivers; even better news though is that once they reach 25, the average premium price drops dramatically to £843 a year.
Furthermore, those using the commercial vehicles for ‘social, domestic and pleasure’ now have to pay £1,691, which is 3.1% less than they did this time last year.
The iVan view
Claims costs may be increasing and the Ogden rate change may be adding extra pressure, but somehow van drivers are, on average, paying less for their cover than they did a year ago.
Whether you are looking for young driver van insurance, any driver insurance, fleet van insurance or indeed any kind of commercial vehicle cover, it can only be hoped that van insurance companies continue to defy predictions of price rises over the next twelve months.
Driver’s Van Insurance Error a Lesson, Say Police
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One Derbyshire driver has been left to regret his failure to obtain any van insurance after he was stopped by Derbyshire Roads Policing who found that he was without cover and therefore illegally behind the wheel. When stopped, the driver said that he did not need van insurance cover, incorrectly believing that his fully comprehensive cover on another vehicle meant he had third-party cover for his van. However, the police informed him that this would only have been the case if another individual had been insured on the van; as such he was without any suitable third-party cover and had to face the music.
A mistake to avoid
Derbyshire police were keen to point out the van driver’s error in the hope of preventing other drivers from making the same mistake. A police tweet stated, "Tibshelf. Van is uninsured, but driver says he's fully comp on another car so he is covered third party. "Not the case as 1 - he owns the van and the car, and 2 - the van must be insured by someone else for third party cover to kick in. #seized "
Vehicle insurance is compulsory
It may be difficult for any driver to find cheap van insurance although it is particularly difficult for younger drivers and those who have previously been convicted of a road offence. However, motor insurance is mandatory for every driver and vehicle in the UK. It is easy to understand why it is a legal requirement: van insurance offers financial protection in the event of injury or damage in a road accident. The minimum level of cover is third-party insurance. However, more comprehensive levels of cover are advisable as third-party cover will only cover injuries and damage suffered by others in incidents where the policyholder is at fault. Those with the broadest and most flexible needs should consider any driver van insurance, while the owners of fleets will need fleet van insurance.
