Accident Repair Centre in Portsmouth

Sunday 24 November 2013

Competition Commission warned ruling against "best offer" clauses would "rewind" motor insurance by 10 years

Price comparison website Compare the Market hopes the Competition Commission's will leave "most favoured nation" clauses untouched in review of private motor insurance.

Ahead of the Competition Commission (CC) publishes their provisional findings, which has been delayed again as reported by News from ABP on Friday, Paul Galligan, the managing director of Compare the Market, has warned the market would "rewind" by up to 10 years if the CC rules against controversial "best offer" clauses that are insisted upon by price comparison websites (PCWs).

The Sunday Telegraph outlined the scope of the investigation, which has extended to also look at motor insurance PCWs after requests from insurers who are angry about "most favoured nation" (MFN) clauses. The MFN clauses stipulate that insurers have to offer their "best prices" in order to for their premium quotes to appear on PCWs.

However, Mr Galligan, whose firm has attracted particular anger for insisting on "wide" MFN clauses, defended the practice.

He said they are essential to the effective operation of price comparison sites and vowed that Comparethemarket.com would fight for their continued use.

"We know these clauses have made us unpopular in the marketplace with insurers," he said. "But, if you're going to appear on Comparethemarket, we expect your very best price. As a price comparison site, I can't possibly imagine a time when we could compare anything but.

"If you look at some of the language and hype that surrounds these clauses, the legalistic jargon and the arguments between insurers and the Competition Commission, there's a real risk that the needs of the consumer get lost.

"Without these clauses, the market would rewind eight, nine or 10 years and lose a lot of the transparency we've brought to bear. It would be a massive step backwards."

"Narrow" MFN clauses mean that insurers whose premiums are quoted on PCWs can only offer the same or higher rates on their own websites.

However, Comparethemarket is unusual in insisting on a "wide" MFN clause, forbidding insurers from offering a cheaper price anywhere in the market.

"We're not the focus of this investigation but I think we have the most proactive stance and that's something we're going to maintain," said Mr Galligan.

"We're confident the commission will see through a lot of the bluster and hype and realise that if these clauses are done away with, there's only one winner – the large insurers. And only one loser – UK consumers."

PCWs are now estimated to be used by more than half of UK consumers seeking new insurance quotes.

http://www.motorworldarc.co.uk/news.asp

Friday 22 November 2013

Traffic volumes - up 2.3% in Q3 2013 to highest quarterly level for four years; huge growth in recent years in van traffic

The overall level of traffic in Great Britain in Q3 (July to September) was 2.3% higher than Q3 2012.

However, Q3 2012 saw extremely high levels of rainfall, with the summer of 2012 being the second wettest since records began. This poor weather in 2012 may have put people off making trips, and the relatively drier weather in 2013 is likely to have contributed to the growth in road traffic, compared to last year.

Since 2008, the trend in overall traffic volumes has been fairly flat, although Q3 2013 is the highest quarterly traffic estimate since Q3 2009.

Q3 2013 compared to Q3 2012:

- overall traffic showed a 2.3% rise in volume
- LCV (vans) traffic grew by 5.1%
- HGV traffic grew by 2.7%
- Car traffic fell by 1.9%

Q3 2013 compared to Q3 2003 eg 10 years ago:

- overall traffic showed a 1.2% rise in volume
- LCV (vans) traffic grew by 19.2%
- HGV traffic fell by 9.9%
- Car traffic fell by 0.1%

Q3 2013 compared to Q3 1993 eg 20 years ago:

- overall traffic showed a 20.3% rise in volume
- LCV (vans) traffic grew by 66.7%
- HGV traffic grew by 5.4%
- Car traffic grew by 15.8%

http://www.motorworldarc.co.uk/news.asp

Wednesday 6 November 2013

IFB (Insurance Fraud Bureau) - proposes 3 point plan for tackling rogue claims management companies

Speaking at a Westminster Legal Policy Forum event exploring the future of claims management regulation today, Director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), Ben Fletcher, outlined a three point plan for tackling rogue Claims Management Companies (CMCs) involved in organised insurance fraud.

Claims Management Companies have long been common enablers of "crash-for-cash" fraud investigated by the IFB, with 53% of live police Operations assisted by the Bureau focusing on a suspected rogue Claims Management Company.

Whilst Fletcher recognises there is no "silver bullet" that will eradicate the problem, continued collaboration between the insurance industry, police and regulators, is deemed essential.

Fletcher outlined 3 measures to complement and enhance that work:

1 - Greater onus on front end checks for Claims Management Companies to prevent unscrupulous businesses being authorised to trade in the first place;

2 - Claims Management Companies themselves proactively sharing intelligence with the IFB about suspected fraudulent behaviour;

3 - Make disclosure of the referral source within the claim notification form a mandatory requirement.

Ben Fletcher, Director of the IFB – a not-for-profit agency tasked with investigating and disrupting organised motor insurance fraud – said:

"Whilst many Claims Management Companies are genuine, we know from years of operational experience that some are set up by criminal gangs solely to mask organised insurance fraud.
The 3 measures we are proposing will help us identify them, prevent them from posing a severe financial risk to our industry, investigate them and bring fraudsters to justice."


Case study: Claims Management Company boss jailed for 7 years

In August 2012, CMC boss Masi Naqshbandi was found guilty of staging hundreds of road traffic accidents in order to make insurance claims, which would have been worth over £6.5 million. Naqshbandi was sentenced to seven years in prison. (See ABP News of 7 August 2012)

Between 2007 and 2008, Naqshbandi and his accomplice, Sabaoon Hillaman, submitted over 250 fraudulent insurance claims through their London-based claims management company – Real Accident Helpline.

In some cases, vehicles were deliberately crashed or damaged to mimic a road traffic accident.
In other cases, accidents were entirely made-up by presenting false names and paperwork.
In all cases, credit hire, personal injury and inflated damage costs meant each claim was
worth tens of thousands of pounds.

http://www.motorworldarc.co.uk/news.asp

Saturday 2 November 2013

BBC - high level of used car complaints prompts government action

The government is expected to announce the creation of a commission to look at the reasons behind high levels of complaints surrounding used car sales.

Second-hand car sales by independent traders consistently top the list of gripes according to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.

Consumer and industry groups are being invited to discuss the trend and report back by the spring next year.

Trade bodies say complaints are dealt with quickly by reputable dealers.

Used car buyers are being given purchasing tips and reminded of their rights as part of National Consumer Week, which starts on Monday.

The campaign is aimed at preventing the kind of situation that 22-year-old graduate Natasha Akintunde found herself in.

She bought a used Nissan Micra, with low mileage, for more than £1,000, only for the clutch to fail within weeks.
She said she found out later that the car had been an insurance write-off.
She was given a replacement, but said the brakes failed when her mother was driving it home from the seller.

"It has put me off driving for a while, because of the worry of what happened. I just want my money back, I don't really want to buy another used car," she said.

Buyers are being encouraged to go through a checklist before they buy a second-hand car. Tips include:

- Checking documents such as the MOT certificate, service history and V5 registration document
- Checking the mileage and other history details, using a free online database
- Getting a mechanic to check the technical aspects of the car

Consumer minister Jo Swinson said it was vital, with seven million used cars sold every year , that consumers were "better equipped to make good decisions" when buying cars.

"Rogue dealers are going to find there is action taken against them. They need to shape up, because they are not going to get away with it," she said.

Stuart James, director of the RMI, agreed there were unscrupulous operators in any business, but said many car sellers were reputable and would deal quickly with genuine complaints.

He said many of the calls to Citizens Advice were from people seeking information about their rights, rather than actual complaints about traders.

There are many approved schemes that have independent arbitration if things go wrong.

The RMI has set up the Trust My Garage scheme that ensures members that carry the badge adhere to a code of practice.

There are certain rights that people can fall back on if they discover a problem soon after driving off the forecourt.

Any purchase must be as described by the seller, of satisfactory quality given its age and the price paid, and be roadworthy.

Andy Foster, director of operations and policy at the Trading Standards Institute, said this meant traders should generally offer a repair if something goes wrong within a few weeks, assuming the problem was not pointed out at the time the car was sold.
A replacement or even a refund could be available.

If the problem occurred after a number of months, then the buyer might have to prove that the fault existed at the time of sale in order to get a repair.

However, buyers have fewer rights if they buy the car from a private individual, such as through an internet auction site.

http://www.motorworldarc.co.uk/news.asp