Tag Archives: Motor car insurance

Confused.com Reveals Cost Of Back Seat Driver Distractions

Confused.com has revealed the true cost of giving friends and families a ride home. Two thirds (66%) of British motorists have been victims of unwanted attention from self-appointed back seat drivers, and almost 1 in 4 (24%) have been in an accident whilst dealing with the distractions of other passengers. These distractions mean that 20% of British motorists will have to fork out up to £500 to repair accidental damages ’caused’ by back seat drivers in their driving life.

The research from the car insurance experts also reveals that the worst backseat pests are bus drivers, train drivers and delivery men who obviously forget that they’re off duty. On the other hand, teachers are the most patient of passengers and put up with the driver’s bad habits.

When it comes to family life, most respondents confess that they would rather journey with colleagues than loved ones. This is because partners are the worst backseat drivers, with husbands and boyfriends disrupting the driver most often and 45% of them voicing their traffic-tips several times during the shortest of journeys.

Particularly bad at knowing when to keep quiet are parents who feature second on the list of frequent offenders (28%) when it comes to interfering from the back seat.

The most popular backseat gestures include the terrified grip-tightening on the door handle; the not-so-subtle glance at the speedometer or, the favourite of partners and parents across the country, the imaginary brake pedal push.

When it comes to the world of motoring, Confused.com revealed that unfortunately, stereotypes are surviving, with women and the elderly being the most likely to suffer from backseat bad manners. Over two thirds of women (68%), and a shocking 70% of drivers over the age of 55 find themselves on the receiving end of this bad etiquette. Especially patronising are comments about the speed of the car (24%) or their proximity to other cars (25%).

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “As motoring costs continue to rise at a meteoric rate, it’s never been more important for drivers to keep their costs as low as possible. Our research shows that having other people in the car can distract us from the road, and lead to accidents which in turn increase the cost of our car insurance policies.”

Jo Bryant, spokesperson for etiquette experts Debretts added: “If you’re a passenger in someone else’s car, your behaviour must be polite at all times, just as it would be if you were visiting their home. The Etiquette Guide for Back Seat drivers will ensure that every journey is courteous and civilised.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals Homeowners’ Most Expensive Possessions Are Not The Most Valuable To Them

Confused.com has revealed that homeowners’ most financially valuable possessions are not the ones which are the most precious to them. Computers and jewellery top the list of the most expensive items owned, but 74% of homeowners tell us that sentimental items such as photos, letters and drawings their child has done are more precious than their most costly items.

In a survey of 2,000 homeowners, Confused.com discovered that nearly three quarters said that the most financially valuable item they own is not the most precious item they possess, with photos being considered the most precious or sentimental items owned by UK homeowners.

Men differ from women with more men (29%) than women (23%) saying that the most financially valuable items they own are also the most precious to them, while women (47% compared to 34% of men) feel that photos are the most precious/sentimental items they own. The second most popular sentimental item for women is jewellery while the second most popular items for men are letters.

Older people (over 55s) are more likely to say that items inherited from a relative are among their most precious items but photos and letters are consistently precious across all age groups.

When it comes to insuring possessions, Londoners are most likely to take the gamble and fail to take out a home contents insurance policy: only 64% of Londoners who own their home tell us they actually have home insurance, compared to a national average of 80%. When it comes to 18-24 year-old homeowners, 16% of these do not even know if they have home contents insurance or not. 30% of 18-24 year-old homeowners say they don’t have a policy.

Despite such a large proportion of homeowners telling us that they do not bother with home insurance, 20% admit that they have been burgled in the past. Jewellery is the top item stolen by burglars, followed by items of sentimental value.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com said: “Home insurance and a good awareness of home security can help to keep property safe. Sadly burglary is a fact of life that one in five of homeowners who we surveyed had already experienced. While insurance cannot replace items such as photos, it is possible to name precious items (that have a value of more than £1,000) on your home insurance policy. This helps ensure that possessions such as jewellery or antiques or expensive technology can be replaced or compensated for in the event of a burglary.”

For more possessions research, Confused.com’s unique infographic can be found here:www.confused.com/news-views/infographics/what-items-people-value-more-at-home-sentimental-or-expensive.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Launches New Social Media Campaign

Confused.com is challenging the British public to show everyone what they can do in 5 seconds, coinciding with the launch of Confused.com QuickQuote.

This latest social media campaign forms part of Confused.com’s ongoing marketing strategy for QuickQuote, a new text message service which can return a motor car insurance quote in seconds. The campaign reinforces the importance of having a car insurance policy and how this can be achieved in seconds by using QuickQuote.

For the ‘5 Second Challenge’ Confused.com is asking people to upload videos of themselves to YouTube and show us what talent they can perform in just 5 seconds, with the winner receiving a prize of £500. The social media campaign demonstrates the concept of time and what can be achieved in 5 seconds, a creative twist on the fact that the new ground breaking Confused.com QuickQuote service allows customers
to get a car insurance quote in seconds.

The social media competition started at 9am, Wednesday 16 May and finishes 9am, Wednesday 23 May and will be supported through the use of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. To enter the competition, the British public simply have to upload their 5 second talent videos to YouTube by 9am, Wednesday 23 May 2012 and either email the URL to 5secondchallenge@confused.com or tweet @Confused.com with their URL and the hashtag #5secondchallenge to be entered. Some examples of talent at Confused.com can be found at http://bit.ly/confusedtalent

The videos will then be entered into Confused.com’s YouTube slam, which will be found at http://bit.ly/5secondchallenge from 12pm Wednesday 23 May.

The Confused.com YouTube slam will begin at 12pm, Wednesday 23 May and will finish 12pm, Monday 28 May 2012.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com, commented: “We are encouraging people to vote for their favourite video in our 5 second challenge on YouTube slam. To see the video of their choice rise up through the leader board, viewers simply need to vote for their favourites. We are hoping to find out what else the British public can do. By simply entering, someone could win £500 just by performing for 5 seconds. Who knows, fame could come early for someone.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Revolutionises Car Insurance By Launching Quickquote Mobile Service

Confused.com the leading price comparison site is revolutionising the car-insurance price-comparison quote process by launching a new mobile phone service called QuickQuote.

This simple mobile quote service is available for UK based customers and cannot be found on any other price comparison site. Customers of Confused.com can get a motor car insurance quote and save money just by simply having a mobile phone.

Confused.com have worked with Process Flows a well-established SMS vendor to create the first mobile phone service that changes the way a car insurance quote can be returned. It’s the quickest way of getting a cheap quote when the renewal is due, or if people are just interested to see how much it would cost them to get insured on their dream car.

QuickQuote is an innovative way of allowing customers to get quick and easy car insurance quotes through their mobile phone. To use this simple service, the customer must have used Confused.com before. They simply text the number plate to 66800 and Confused.com will text back with the cheapest quote in seconds. Customers can get a quote for any car just by simply texting 66800 and it only costs £1 per text.

Once the quote is received via their mobile phone, the customer can also access it via their Confused.com account and will be shown the range of car insurance quotes which are available through Confused.com. Currently 130 insurers are available on their panel, offering the biggest car insurance comparison service in the UK.

The advantage of QuickQuote is that the customer’s details can be reused on subsequent occasions, saving customers the time and effort required to re-enter this information every single time they are looking to retrieve a quote on a vehicle.

Jeanette Fennell, Product Manager at business solution provider, ProcessFlows, developer behind the SMS technology driving the QuickQuote service said: “ProcessFlows was recommended to Confused.com. Our SMS technology is designed to meet the needs of large organisations who want to leverage the popularity of text to market and engage with an extensive audience in real-time. Confused.com continues to lead with innovative ideas that make shopping for car insurance quicker. I am sure this latest campaign will be very popular with consumers. Our technical director is already reviewing his car insurance after texting to QuickQuote.”

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com continues: “Confused.com revolutionised the search for car insurance 10 years ago through the launch of Confused.com. To follow on this success QuickQuote has been created to provide a quick and easy car insurance process which we have developed with Process Flows to help customers find cheaper car insurance and save them money. Conducting a car insurance quote can be a laborious task for motorists when it comes to buying or renewing their insurance. However with QuickQuote this will all change.

“With QuickQuote drivers can shop around and get the best quotes and hopefully save a hefty packet on the cost of car insurance in the process. For new car hunters it allows them to find out the kind of car insurance premiums that they could expect on a particular type of vehicle at any place or time; even on the vehicle forecourt, helping to make the big decision a little bit easier.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That First-Time Drivers Prefer Smaller Cars

Confused.com has announced that, according to its recent survey, first-time buyers are becoming more savvy to the cost of cars; looking at the full cost of motoring rather than just the cost of buying a car.

Cars are one of the biggest expenses that people make in their life time, with 76% of respondents to the Confused.com survey stating this. However, people are having to compromise on the cars they drive. Big engines and car modifications no longer the new driver’s prerogative, due to the cost of insurance and overall rising cost of motoring.

According to Confused.com’s research, motor car insurance is viewed as a ‘huge expense’ by 66% of people. This is because the cost of an average comprehensive policy is £1,869 for women aged 17-20 compared with £3,635 for men.

Confused.com’s research showed almost 70% of people chose their first car with an engine size of 1.3 litres or less, with 15% of under 24s citing insurance cost as the main reason for choosing a care with a smaller engine.

To keep costs down, new drivers are opting for the Ford Fiesta, which was voted the most popular first car, followed by the Mini One, in the poll of 2,000 drivers (selected from a list of 52 different makes and models).

For a 17-year-old male to insure a Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3 litre engine, the insurance premium would cost on average £5,372.96. This compares with the cost for a first-time buyer purchasing a Volkswagen Golf GTI 2 litre engine, which would cost£12,144.75 for insurance cover. This is more than double the cost of insurance for a Ford Fiesta, the first-time buyers’ car of choice.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Car insurance is a huge purchase for young drivers. However, our research tells us that these drivers are adapting to pressures and opting for smaller, cheaper cars, in order to minimise their insurance premiums.

“Buying your first car is a really exciting purchase. For the first-time buyer, cost is an important factor with 50% saying that price affects their purchase, and 35% of first-time buyers paying £500 or less for their first car.”

To help young drivers, Confused.com advises them to first decide how much they can afford to pay for their first car; not just the sum to buy the car itself but also the running costs – insurance, MOT, vehicle excise duty, petrol, repairs and servicing. Confused.com encourages first-time car buyers to shop around on a price comparison site and add an experienced named driver onto their insurance.

Via EPR Network
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