Insurance Facts

Road safety has statistically improved over the last few years with improvements to vehicle design and road calming measures. However we still need to be aware of the precautions and general procedures to be followed if we are involved in an accident. An accident could even be a small scratch or bump on the car caused by your vehicle as you drive past a parked vehicle. No matter how small or minor the accident is, the procedure to follow is often the same.

If an accident occurs, try reporting it to the police and your insurance company as soon as you can. This is essential if injury has occurred as a result of the accident. Exchange contact details with other parties and any witnesses. Switch on the hazard lights in your car to make other road users aware of the situation. Call an ambulance if the people involved have had injuries. If the police have not been informed as soon as the accident occurs, try and inform them within 24 hours of the accident occurring to avoid any penalties, fine and/or disqualifications.

Try collecting enough information from the people involved in the accident including name, contact details, the driver’s insurance details, as well as if the driver is the registered owner of the vehicle. If the vehicle involved is a delivery truck then try recording the name of the company as well as the full name of the driver to ensure that they can be contacted for further enquiries. Try and take pictures of the accident if possible, as evidence to produce to your insurance company as well as the police.

Inform your car insurance company of the accident within the time period specified in your policy or as soon as you can. Most insurance companies like to have detailed information about the accident before proceeding with an insurance claim so collecting enough evidence is important.

To find out more about car finance, visit http://www.acfcarfinance.co.uk/.

When you buy mobile phone insurance you need to make sure that certain vital elements are included and covered. So what are the 3 absolute must-have essentials…

Mobile phone loss:

1.According to research over 6 million phones are lost annually…

Why more? Because many insurance policies do not cover loss, so often people with those policies commit insurance fraud by claiming the phone was stolen in order to get a new phone from their insurance company. This decreases the phone loss figures andd raises the phone theft figures.

Mobile phone accidental damage is not covered by a number of insurance policies. There are some providers who do include it in their plans, but many don’t. So dont miss this one out.

If you drop your phone accidentally, and the screen is shattered, it is not covered by the manufacturers waranty. The warranty is only fo rthings that just stop working ie jus tgo wrong - not if something has been 'done' to the phone.

So you need to make sure that with your mobile phone insurance you are covered for accidental damage especially if you are one of the 1000’s of people who do not carry their phone around in a leather case to protect it. One tumble from your pocket or bag, down to the ground can be enough to shatter the LCD display screen.

You need protection from bounces like you get with a leather case. As well as leather cases (which can be bulky) you can use neprene (wetsuit) material or slim rubberized cases. You'll find them at your local shop.

Your mobile phone will take a beating through normal everyday use. It happens, its life. But you don’t need to have to pay for it when it happens. Accidental damage is something that you absolutely must and should have in your mobile phone insurance.

-> Water Damage

A sub-set of the 'accidental damage element, this is actually a far bigger killer of phones that you might expect or than is reported normally.

Ove 1.2 MILLION phones are killed by water every year – whether down the toilet, in a beer, in a puddle, in a lake… Take you pick - and imagine all the ways any kind of water can kill your phone.

And the crazy thing is that a lot of phone insurance policies do not cover water damage. So your mobile insurance will want to include water damage.

Mobile Stolen

1.3 MILLION mobile phones are stolen every year according to extensive research by Continental Research. According to Halifax research this figure is over 2 MILLION.

Mobile phone theft costs UK £390 million a year

* One mobile phone stolen every 12 seconds

* Over 2 million mobile phones are stolen every year

So you need cover against:

1. Loss
2. Accidental damage – including water damage
3. Theft

So make sure you get your self covered with all these vital elements within your mobile phone insurance