Saturday, January 24, 2009

CompareTheMeerkat.com – It’s Not For Car Insurance

alexsandr orlov founder of comparethemeerkat.comAleksandr Orlov, founder of comparethemeerkat.com, is urging people not to use his site when shopping around for cheaper car insurance.

It seems that people looking to compare car insurance quotes are confusing comparethemeerkat.com with the similarly named comparethemarket.com, one of the UK’s leading car insurance comparison sites.

The problem has escalated to such extreme levels that Aleksandr has decided to launch a TV advertising campaign to educate the masses and clear up the confusion once and for all.

The message is clear, comparethemeerkat.com won’t help you find cheaper car insurance but if you’re looking to compare meerkats than Aleksandr is more than happy for you to stop by.

This ingenious piece of marketing is really taking off with Aleksandr proving a real hit on facebook, youtube and twitter.

If you’re considering using comparethemarket.com to search for a car insurance quote be sure to check out our review of their site. As for comparing meerkats, we’ll leave you in the dependable hands of Aleksandr.

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Car Insurence, Car Insureance, Car Insurace & Other Common Misspellings

bump roadside misspelt bmupShopping for your car insurance online can be a great way to save time and money. However, if you decide to start the process by visiting a search engine take the time to enter your search query correctly.

Misspelling your search query can affect the quality of the sites returned in your results. Here are the top ten most common misspellings made by people searching for car insurance:

Car insurence

Car insureance

Car insurace

Car insurnace

Car insuranc

Car insurnce

Car insurane

Car isurance

Car incurance

Car insuarance

While Google and other search engines work to return the most relevant results following a misspelt entry they are not infallible. So if you want to look for your new policy via a search engine then type carefully, or just click this link car insurance.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

What To Do If Your Car Insurance Claim Is Rejected

rejected stampRecently we covered how motorists can best deal with the situation of making a car insurance claim. But what if your insurer rejects the claim, what should you do then?

It is not uncommon for insurance companies to either reject a motor insurance claim or reduce the payments they make.

There are several factors that can trigger such as event:
  • Your insurer may come to the conclusion that you were largely (or even entirely) at fault if your claim is related to a theft from the vehicle or of the vehicle itself
  • Your car insurance policy may contain a clause witch invalidates the claim
  • It is decided the claim should be settled under another policy such as your home contents insurance (particularly in the case of theft from the vehicle)
  • You provided information that was untruthful or inaccurate
  • You are unable to provide receipts to backup claims of theft of items from your vehicle
  • The book price of the car is considerably less than the money you've invested in restoration or enhancements
With any insurance policy your insurer will expect you to disclose any information that could be of importance to them. You are obliged to do this even if the details are not requested; this is known as “utmost good faith”.

Insurance companies often use this extremely wooly approach to sharing information to justify rejecting or downscaling claims. Should this situation arise with your car insurance claim there are some important points to remember:
  • The small print of your policy carries a lot of weight; study it thoroughly before, during and after your claim (and ideally before taking out a policy in the first place)
  • Keeping accurate records of conversations and correspondence along with receipts can make a huge difference in backing up your claim as well as the eventual success of your claim
  • The payout figure announced by your insurance company is not set in stone. Rather than just accept the amount on offer you are perfectly entitled to question the payout and put forward you case for why it should be increased
If after all that you still disagree with your insurers decision to reject your claim or the payout level awarded your next step should be to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The FOS acts as an independent arbitrator to resolve conflicts between insurance companies and customers, they deal with thousands of complaints every year.

The first step in complaining to the FOS is to confirm your car insurance claim has been dealt with in full by your insurance company. You can raise your complaint with the FOS once your insurer has provided a letter or final response to your complaint or has failed to do so within eight weeks.

If you need the assistance of the Finance Ombudsman Service to help with your car insurance claim visit their website http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

Delays in resolving a car insurance claim can lead to massive disruption in people’s lives. Hopefully this post will help make your next claim run more smoothly. We all need help from time-to-time so please don’t be discouraged from contacting the FOS for support with your claim.

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Friday, November 14, 2008

How To Make A Car Insurance Claim

car on fireIt’s all very well knowing how to get cheaper car insurance and how to find the right policy but what if the time comes when you actually need to use your motor insurance. Would you be confident in knowing what steps to take when making a car insurance claim?

Every year, insurance companies process thousands of car insurance claims and pay out millions of pounds to people whose cars have been the victim of theft or damage. Even more is paid out to motorists involved in accidents on the roads.

Whether its personal injury or the theft or damage of a vehicle the process of claiming on your motor insurance policy can be a stressful one. To make things easier here is our guide to making a car insurance claim.
  • The first step is to contact your insurance provider as soon as possible after the event. Most insurers have a 24hr number you can call so use that to reach the right person more quickly.
  • If your claim is crime related such as theft, damage or vandalism immediately report the crime to the police and take note of your incident number. Should a police investigation result in any prosecutions your insurer will need to know the incident number.
  • Write down all the details concerning the incident and refer to these notes when making your written claim.
  • Be sure that your version of events is accurate and consistent. Changing your story further down the line could arouse suspicions that jeopardise your claim.
  • Get all the help and information you need from your car insurance company to support your claim. Don’t be afraid to ask your insurer questions as its essential to have all the correct documentation and evidence to back up your car insurance claim.
  • Retain any documentation relating to your claim in a safe and secure place and ensure that your insurance company can contact you easily.
  • Keep copies of any communication regarding your claim; be they letters, emails or telephone conversations and take the name of any person you speak with.
  • Before going ahead with any repairs to your vehicle you need to get absolute verification on the status of your claim. Until your insurer confirms they will cover the price of repair you are accountable for all costs.
  • If your car requires repair most insurers will recommend a garage where the repairs will be guaranteed for a specified period of time. If you take your vehicle in for repair yourself there is a good chance the cost will not be covered by your insurance company.
Having to claim on your motor insurance is never a pleasant experience but following these easy steps will help make the process run as smoothly as possible.

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Norwich Union’s Price Check Brings Price Comparison In-House

Following on from Norwich Union’s decision to withdraw from price comparison sites the Aviva company has now announced the launch of Price Check; it’s in-house car insurance comparison service.

Norwich Union Price Check
If you request a car insurance quote from Norwich Union via its website or over the phone they will now provide you will alternative quote from other car insurance providers, even if they are cheaper than their own.

The move is certainly a unique one, there are very few businesses who will actively promote its competitors services.

The reactions seen in Norwich Union’s TV campaign to promote Happy’s Price Check reflect this extremely well.

Whether or not this offer strikes the right note with customers remains to be seen. It should also be interesting to see if any other insurers decide to follow suit and what impact (if any) this has on price comparison sites operating in the UK motor insurance market.

First reactions would suggest several price comparison sites are unimpressed with the Price Check service; gocompare.com, confused.com and insurancewide.com all had interesting views.

Will this move pay off for Norwich Union? Do price comparison sites have anything to fear or is this just some flash in the pan? We’d love to hear your thoughts about Happy’s Price Check.


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Monday, October 13, 2008

Norwich Union Car Insurance Boycotts Price Comparison Sites

norwich union logo
Insurance giant Norwich Union has taken the decision to pull its motor insurance policies from car insurance comparison sites. This means you can only get a Norwich Union car insurance quote directly from norwichunion.com

In a move that mirrors the stance taken by Direct Line if you search for car insurance on one of the UK's many price comparison sites you won't be able to see quotes from Norwich Union and compare them against other insurance companies.

Director of Marketing at Norwich Union, David Tyers, said: "We think direct should mean direct. As a brand with 200 years behind it, we think that customers trust us."

Given the continued success of price comparison sites this is a bold move. Not being visible to people who use these services is not without risk. On the upside Norwich Union will avoid having to pay fees for customer referrals. In a time when the global credit crunch is biting any saving a company can make will be welcomed. Whether or not this turns out to be a good decision, only time will tell.

The move has, unsurprisingly, received criticism from some price comparison sites including confused.com, gocompare.com and insurancewide.com.

All this arguing aside the only point that really matters is how this affects car insurance customers. We all want a policy that offers a sensible level of cover but we don't want to pay over the odds.

If more insurance companies join Norwich Union and Direct Line in boycotting price comparison sites it means more time spent shopping around to find quotes, making it more difficult for customers to find the best deals.


Thursday, September 4, 2008

Green Car Insurance – A Good Idea?

green car insurance
Green car insurance is a subject that is cropping up more regularly than ever in the UK.

As concerns over global warming continue to grow, companies in all sectors of business are looking at how they can reduce the damage they cause the environment.

The car insurance market is no exception; but is green car insurance a good idea?

This type of policy works by providing funds to environmental projects that offset the carbon emissions you produce when driving. At first glance taking out a green motor insurance policy seems to be an interesting proposition and will certainly appeal to the environmentally conscious.

As the wave of environmental anxiety continues to wash over the world a new range of green car insurance companies have sprung up offering motorists the opportunity to play their part in helping remedy the situation. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Green Car Insurance Companies

eGreen Insurance – when you take out a green car insurance policy with egreeninsurance they will take £25 from your premium and buy half an acre of rainforest. This prevents the land from being destroyed and helps combat climate change by offsetting the CO2 emissions produced by your car.

The Green Car Insurance Company – this environmentally friendly insurer runs a programme to offset 100% of your car’s carbon emissions with projects that include planting new forests in Scotland.

ibuyeco – their 100% carbon neutral insurance works with environmentally friendly projects to save 1kg of emissions for every 1kg of CO2 produced by your vehicle. To achieve this they work with renewable energy and landfill projects all over the world.

More Th>n – a slightly different take on green car insurance. The More Th>n Green Wheels policy helps its customers to develop a greener driving style. As a policy holder you are given access to information on your braking and accelerating rates, the number of short journeies made and more to help you become more environmentally aware when driving.

So if you are considering taking out a green car insurance policy there are certainly several options to choose from. However, we still need to answer the question of whether or not it’s a good idea.

The main plus point of green cover is clear, help combat global warming by offsetting your carbon emissions. In isolation this sounds great but there are several other factors to consider.

The most important factor is whether or not your policy offers the level of protection you need and for many people cost is a very close second.

In order for a green car insurance policy to be a viable option it has to meet these two main criteria; provide you with the right level of cover at an affordable price.

If green car insurance appeals to you it is well worth comparing the policies and premiums available against those of the more traditional insurers. While it’s great to help the environment it is still essential to get quality cover at a competitive price.

A final point to remember is that a green car insurance policy isn’t the only way motorists can help the environment. If you find cheaper cover while switching to a new insurance provider you could always consider donating the money saved directly to programmes designed to combat the effects of carbon emissions.