Tuesday 28 July 2009

Car Crime UK - Going Up Not Down? Car Dealer Magazine Article


click the image above to see the article in full

The team at Nice 1 are pleased to report that a further article has appeared in the popular Car Dealer Magazine.

Car Dealer is circulated in print and electronic format to over 15,000 motor industry professionals across the UK.

The article, analysing the recent crime statistics published by the Home Office, provides an independent insight into the real picture of car crime in the UK.

The article findings come as Sir Trevor McDonald fronts a big six-part ITV1 series on car crime.

Producers say the series highlights the 170,000 cars stolen in the UK each year - with Police forces in Manchester dealing with a 'huge increase in criminals who break into houses to steal keys'.

Within all of this are several areas insurance companies and brokers should consider. After seeing the shows on TV, your customers have the topic fresh in their mind and may well ask you how they might ne protected in the event of car crime. . . . best to be prepared!

To view the article, click here or the image above.

Nice 1 provide Theft Protect Replacement Vehicle Insurance to the insurance and motor sectors. The company also produces regular up-to-date car and burglary data for the benefit of the UK motoring consumer and our insurance and motor partners.

Feel free to explore these pages and previous articles to find out more about how Theft Protect can help you, your customers and your business.



Wednesday 22 July 2009

Car Crime UK - "Car Key Theft" - First Of A New Series With Sir Trevor McDonald

In case you missed it, Trevor McDonald presented the first of a new series on ITV last night, which takes a look at the work of specialist police car crime teams, focusing on two areas - Manchester and Devon and Cornwall.
To watch the program, click here or the image of Trevor above. A 6 minute highlight video of the program is featured lower down this page.
The program presents a front row seat into the work of the police fighting the battle against car crime in the UK.
As regular readers of these pages will know, the team at Nice 1 provide regular updates for the UK motorist on car crime in your area. This includes information about the most popular cars stolen by car thieves, top tips to keep your car secure, and choosing your car insurance provider.
CAR KEY THEFT
Following the release of the latest crime figures by the Home Office, Nice 1 are busy analysing the report so that we can keep you informed over the coming weeks. "Car Key Theft" as it has become known, is an increasingly worrying development in the modus operandi of the UK car criminal. Improvements in car security have made the theft of newer cars more difficult, so they take the dramatic next step, breaking into your house to steal the keys.
The trend is more worrying than the crime figures reveal though.

18,599 cars were stolen last year by stealing keys. However, these numbers are reported as "Burglary Dwelling House" or "Robbery" (for incidents such as car jacking).

This has the effect of artificially supressing the car crime numbers. One of the Home Office reports suggest car theft has decreased by 7.4% in 2008 against the 2007 incidents.

When the 18,599 incidents are added back to the car theft numbers, it reverses the trend to a 4% increase.

A copy of the Nice 1 analysis report has been sent to the Shadow Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP for his comments.

Nice 1 are the providers of Theft Protect, a unique like-for-like replacement vehicle insurance policy designed for victims of car theft.

Cover is available for up to 28 days, with a wide range of replacement vehicles to keep you mobile in the unhappy event that your car is stolen.

Theft Protect is available through a network of UK Insurance brokers, motor manufacturers, dealers and car finance companies.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

INSURERS ENTER CREDIT HIRE ARENA - HOW WILL IT IMPACT BROKERS?



"A NEW DAWN FOR CREDIT HIRE"


An article in the Insurance Times today reports that AA/Saga plans to take its credit hire arrangements in-house in an attempt to save millions of pounds. The move could trigger other insurers to follow suit as frustration grows at the level of expenses incurred in the process.


To read the full article "A NEW DAWN FOR CREDIT HIRE" click here

The insurance industry has opposed the activities of credit hire firms since the emergence of the industry in the eighties. For over twenty years insurers have adopted an adversarial stance to the existence of credit hire as a concept, with both sides entering into protracted and expensive litigation on points of law. A number of legal precedents have been set down from the High Court and Court of Appeal as a result of the arguments between the two industries.


An insurer owning its own credit hire company is an interesting business concept, something which insurers have looked at for some time, and now AA/Saga has taken the plunge.


It will be interesting to see how this affects the AA/Saga relationships with other insurers. Will negligent insurers pay the AA/Saga credit hire claims any faster than the existing credit hire operators?

In a seperate Insurance Times article on the subject, Ai Claims Solutions commercial director Chris Shaw countered that not all credit hire companies had adversarial relationships with insurers. He said: “The issue was not about referral fees but about hire durations".


To read this article click here


On the face of it, this comment seems to be somehwat naive. Of course it's about referral fees, they are part of the problem the insurers want to remove. Insurers have been applying pressure to brokers for many months now regarding their relationships with accident management and credit hire companies. Insurers have threatened brokers with reduced commission levels if blacklisted credit hire and accident management companies are being supported.


The arrival of the comparison site aggregators, a prolonged period with soft rates and the current economic climate has forced brokers to seek alternative sources of income to supplement diminsihing margins from motor insurance. The accident management sector has become fiercely competetive in its search for non fault accident victims, offering increasingly lucrative inducements to brokers for such referrals.


Insurers have cashed in on the deal too, with many millions being paid in referral commissions to insurance companies by credit hire companies for the introduction of non fault accident policyholders. Commissions are paid for credit hires and personal injury cases, with referral fees as high as £800 being paid per case.

There have been instances of large insurer organsiations writing motor insurance premiums with 0% commission to increase market share. The business model of a number of these companies includes owning their own accident management company. Let us look at why such an organisation would write premiums at 0%.

Assume 1000 motor policies are sold with average commission of £75.00 = £75,000
A 20% claim ratio = 200 claims. Assume £500 income per claim = £100,000

These organisations have learned that there is a greater income opportunity from claims income than from policy sales.

Insiders from within both industries have long since speculated that this level of referral rates were not sustainable in the long term.

The same insurers receiving generous credit hire referral fees have also been exerting pressure on brokers for supporting credit hire companies!

These factors are undoubtedly part of the rational behind the development of the AA/Saga credit hire operation. With such a business, they will control their own exposure to such claims and undoubtedly generate significant income streams from those cases where their customer is the non fault party.


BROKERS

Of greater interest perhaps, is the potential impact insurers providing credit hire will have on insurance brokers in the UK.


The success or failure of the AA/Saga credit hire venture will either encourage other insurers to follow suit, or seek alternative strategies to combat the growth of the sector.

One thing is certain. The credit hire and accident management organisations will not take the competition lying down. They will use their considerable resources to protect their business models. The non fault accident market has become a race to see who can capture "First Touch" of the customer. The accident managers have become adept at the practice, which is undoubtedly why the insurers are now considering "playing them at their own game".

Other insurers may follow the lead of the AA/Saga team and develop their own credit hire solutions. This would have the effect of restricting the size of the potential accident marketplace, reducing income opportunities for brokers working with accident management companies.

Prudent brokers will not have put all their eggs in one basket and become over reliant on accident management referral income.

The more successful brokers have quickly recognised the benefits of adding value to the customer experience.

In a marketplace is dominated by price driven consumers, innovative thinking brokers will always succeed in securing and retaining business by providing enhanced service that the internet cannot compete with, qualified advice and quality products.

Brokers that have developed successful "Add On" strategies for such quality products are booming even in the midst of an economic downturn.


Related Broker Articles :-

"When choosing add ons it pays to go cherry picking" click here

"Top Broker Tips For Selling Add Ons" click here


Saturday 11 July 2009

UK SCRAPPAGE SCHEME IMPACT ON MOTOR & INSURANCE SALES

The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) have this week published the latest UK Scrappage sales. Much has been reported about how the scheme has had a positive impact on the UK Motor sector and this is most welcome.
To download the latest car registration figures for June and 2009 to date, listing all the manufacturers, click here.
In this article we examine the precise impact those sales have had on individual manufacturer performance and the sector as a whole.
To read the article click here As a UK insurer, broker or intermediary providing car insurance, you can significantly enhance the customer experience and your add on income by offering your customer Theft Protect Replacement Vehicle Insurance.
Details from http://www.theftprotect.co.uk/ and via the links on our blog http://brokerinfocus.blogspot.com/

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Welcome All Insurance Brokers

If you are a UK insurance broker, this site is for you.

International brokers are welcome too. However, the content on this site is intended for the UK insurance broker market. Feel free to explore the site and make any suggestions for its improvement.

This site is all about the UK Insurance broker and the challenges, issues and opportunities faced by you and your business.

Over the coming months, the site will be updated with your suggestions. Whilst hosted by the team at Nice 1 Ltd, who promote Theft Protect replacement vehicle insurance, the content is driven by you, your interests and requirements.

Regular posts will be issued from the site, with a particular bias toward motor insurance. News items, discussion topics and a broker forum are planned, with select membership so that you may post your views and observations freely.

Replies to posts are up to you. Contact us with your e mail address and we will add you as an authorised member, permitted to post replies. When the forum is uploaded, posts may be anonymous. The content will be moderated to maintain acceptable standards. If you want to receive e mails when the site is updated, to be advised of new posts and replies, click the buttons opposite that best suit your requirements.

If you want your business, a discussion topic, or a piece of news to be featured here, please contact us at enquiries@nice-1.co.uk We will respond to your requests promptly.

From our travels around the country, meeting with brokers of all sizes and business profiles, we know there is plenty of worthwhile subjects to debate. Be as contraversial or innovative as you want. The tone is informal, so let's hear from you!

To send us a message now, to ask for more details of Theft Protect, arrange a meeting, click the "contact me" button below. Once you have sent the message, the software will return you to these pages so you may continue browsing.

With kind regards

The Theft Protect Team


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