October 28th, 2011 Administrator
Newly qualified drivers should be encouraged to continue learning after they have passed their test, one driving body has suggested.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the UK’s leading road safety charity dedicated to raising driving standards, has warned that skills learned in the driving test are not enough to deal with real-life driving situations.
According to the institute, all drivers start as new drivers and need to build up their confidence on the road and driving alone gradually. Some drivers may like to continue to learn throughout their driving careers, as new advances and road rules are introduced.
A spokesperson for the IAM said: “We believe that there should be greater encouragement for [drivers] to engage in additional learning beyond their driving test.”
She added that this would in turn give responsible drivers a chance to prove their skills and in so doing lower their insurance premiums.
Furthermore, higher costs of car insurance for young drivers could lead to negative effects on road safety, the IAM also warned.
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The Pass Plus course is ideal for new drivers in Bedford. A fully qualified driving instructor will take the new driver out on a variety of roads to develop existing driving skills, learnt on driving lessons, & also gain new driving skills. The course covers rural driving, dual carridgeway driving, all weather driving, night driving, town driving & motorway driving. All essential skills for drivers in Bedford. Txt-Drive Driving School in Bedford offers the Pass Plus course to all new drivers & prices start at £120 for those drivers that took driving lessons in Bedford with Txt-Drive. For drivers that did not take driving lessons with Txt-Drive in Bedford the price is just £150. On completion of the Pass Plus course you can get discounts on your car insurance & save £££s.
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Tests, Pass Plus, Road Safety, Txt-Drive, car insurance | No Comments »
April 19th, 2011 Administrator
Bedford driving school Txt-Drive can now offer pupils a fast link to www.comparethemarket.com to find cheap car insurance.
Txt-Drive driving instructors in Bedford are often asked about cheap low cost car insurance for new & young drivers. Now we can provide you a direct link to www.comparethemarket.com which will also help you to support Txt-Drive driving school keep cheap low cost driving lessons in Bedford.
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December 5th, 2010 Administrator
Here is an article written for the Txt-Drive Blog by the Car Insurance Team within Moneysupermarket.
Passing your driving test and finally getting your independence is a great feeling, insuring your vehicle once you have passed your test however, can be expensive business. Unfortunately being a new young driver means that high premiums are unavoidable; however, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you are getting the best deal on your insurance.
Once you have passed your test it is recommended that you take the Pass Plus course with your driving instructor. Most insurers favour drivers who have obtained their Pass Plus certificate as they are gaining additional driving experience. Speak to your instructor and they will talk you through what the course consists of and the cost of obtaining the certificate.
It is always best when looking for a quote to shop around; price comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket will allow you to check several different insurers and brokers in one go. Using a price comparison site also means that you can avoid the tedious task of filling in your details over and over again.
It may seem a good idea when getting your first insurance policy to take it out in your parents name, however, if the vehicle is registered in your name or you are the main driver then it advisable to avoid this. This process is called ‘Fronting’ and should your insurance company find out, whether this be from previous quotes you have had from them or following an accident, it can result in your insurance being invalidated. If this happens and you have been involved in an accident you may be left with a large bill that you may need to pay yourself, so don’t bend the rules. By doing this you will also not be building up your no claims bonus, which can help you to get a bigger discount on your insurance in the future. Adding an older, more experienced driver to your policy such as a parent, can result in a cheaper insurance premium as insurers associate experience with more responsible driving.
Getting your first car is an exciting time but what car you buy can also determine the premium that you pay. Cars are placed into insurance groups; the higher the group is the higher your insurance quote will be. When you are looking for a car try and get a vehicle with a low insurance group; you will find that the larger the car or those with a bigger engine fall within a higher insurance group. Check what group the car falls into prior to handing over the money. If the person or garage you are buying the car off can’t tell you what insurance group that model of car will be in, then the internet will. Modifying your vehicle can also have an effect on your insurance quote. Try to avoid adding anything other than additional security features to your vehicle as body kits and alloys will only end up costing you even more when it comes to paying your insurance premium.
It was once the case that getting third party only cover on your vehicle was a cheaper way to get insurance for new drivers. Research has shown that insurers have identified that the drivers taking out these policies are what they class as ‘at risk’ which has resulted in them increasing the premiums. With this in mind make sure that when getting quotes on your car insurance you check the prices for all levels of cover, as it may be cheaper to take out a fully comprehensive policy.
Finally, there can be several extra’s on your insurance that you can change or opt out of that can reduce the cost of your premium. You can often agree to pay more excess should you have an accident; this can reduce your monthly installments, but be aware of the cost that will need to be paid should you have to make a claim. Breakdown cover can often also be included within the premium you take out but it may be worth comparing the price of breakdown cover from another company. You may be able to get cover for the entire family for a cheaper amount than you would pay as part of your insurance. Combining these steps should help reduce the cost of your insurance premiums – happy motoring!
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Tests, Pass Plus, car insurance | No Comments »
August 18th, 2010 Administrator
The AA is offering affordable insurance cover to learner drivers, which could prevent them from needing a debt management plan in the future.
Learner Driver Insurance is now available for just £3 a day for 28 days of full cover or £2.73 a day for any subsequent 28-day periods recommended by an instructor.
Through this new insurance, young drivers will not have to pay out a fortune to protect their cars from accidents. Repairs alone could lead to the need for a debt management plan.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance and the AA Driving School, said that many parents are put off adding their child to their own insurance policy as this can amount to hundreds of pounds.
He said: “It’s vital that young drivers gain as much experience as possible while learning, in addition to their formal driving lessons.”
It is hoped that the new insurance will encourage adults to teach their youngsters how to drive as this can help them pass, Mr Douglas added.
Student James Hayes was quoted a total of £17,000 in order to insure his £2,000 Vauxhall Corsa so he may benefit from Learner Driver Insurance.
From : Money Debt & Credit website
The PASS PLUS course can also help to reduce your car insurance. Past Txt-Drive pupils that took driving lessons in Bedford have saved upto £450.00 on their car insurance. To take the PASS PLUS course, contact Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford on 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE).
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July 30th, 2010 Administrator
A learner driver has been quoted a staggering £17,000 to insure his £2,000 Vauxhall Corsa.
Student James Hayes, who turns 17 next week, saved for months to buy his modest one-litre car but has been astonished at the sky-high quotes for insurance.
He will have to work flat out over the summer to pay the premiums.
His case highlights how insurers are increasingly using prohibitive premiums as a weapon against young male drivers.
The failure of insurers to offer reasonably priced insurance is being blamed on an explosion in uninsured drivers, which drives up the cost of cover for others and leads middle-class parents to commit a crime by putting themselves as the main driver on their children’s cars.
This reluctance to insure young men is based on accident statistics.
Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the roads than older drivers, while one in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing their test, according to road safety charity Brake.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says the average claim of a younger driver is also three times more than older drivers.
But their refusal to cover male teenagers for affordable premiums has led to almost a quarter driving uninsured, according to Brake.
And this ends up costing all motorists as they foot the £500million annual bill for accidents caused by uninsured drivers. Fines for driving without insurance can be as small as £200 plus six points on the licence.
James Daley, editor of Which? Money, says: ‘Uninsured driving is just a knock-on effect of insurers charging high premiums. If insurers really want to combat this then they need to come up with innovative solutions to help young drivers reduce their costs.
‘It’s in everybody’s interests to encourage young people to be better drivers and those who are responsible and maybe need to drive for their job should not be made to feel as if they’re being discriminated against.’
Car insurance premiums have rocketed 11 per cent in the past three months, according to the AA. The average premium for drivers who shop around is £704, but most young drivers can expect to pay at least £1,500 more than this.
Mr Hayes says: ‘I used six comparison websites and the cheapest comprehensive quote I found as a learner driver was £2,257 with ibuyeco. This rises to £3,555 with Admiral when I pass my test. It’s ridiculous when my car is only worth £2,000.’
The most expensive comprehensive quote he received was from The Green Insurance Company at £17,000 per year.
Mr Hayes, who is studying for his A-levels, earns £5.60 per hour working at a supermarket during the holidays and weekends. As well as his insurance, road tax and MoT, he will also have to pay for driving lessons at £13 per hour.
Many youngsters get their parents to insure their car and go on the policy as a named driver – an illegal process known as ‘fronting’.
Mr Daley says: ‘This really is a middle-class crime. Families think: “Well, everybody else is doing it so why shouldn’t we?” ‘
Mr Hayes, who hopes to work in the film industry after he finishes his studies, does not want third party-only insurance and does not want to invalidate his insurance by fronting.
Direct line told him that it keeps all quotes generated by customers – so if someone initially got a quote for themselves, decided it was too expensive and got a new quote with their parent as the main driver instead, the insurer would not pay out on this policy because it has obviously been fronted.
A spokeswoman for Direct line says: ‘Fronting is fraud and the consequences could be grave – ranging from an additional premium being required, to the cancelling of a policy (and therefore non-payment of the claim) as well as the policyholder being added to the financial industry’s fraud database.’
Malcolm Tarling of the ABI says: ‘It is not uncommon for premiums for young drivers to exceed the value of their car.
‘The main risk is not loss or damage to the car itself, but the potential cost of personal injury awards made against the driver if they cause an accident. This can easily run into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
The best way for young drivers to minimise the cost of insurance is to shop around using comparison sites, such as Moneysupermarket.com, GoCompare.com, ComparetheMarket.com, Compare.dailymail.co.uk and Tiger.co.uk.
You could also find a local specialist broker on the British Insurance Brokers’ Association website www. biba.org.uk or by calling 0870 950 1790. For the cheapest cars to insure, visit www.thisismoney.co.uk/cheap
Will Thomas of Confused.com says: ‘When you’ve passed your test, take the Pass Plus course. Only 6 per cent of 17 to 25-year-old males do, but it saves them £1,037 on average before they reach 25.
‘Start with a small-engine runaround in order to build driving experience.’
From : Dailymail.co.uk
Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford has FULLY QUALIFIED driving instructors that can deliver the PASS PLUS course to you. The PASS PLUS course costs just £150.00 for 6 hours of driving lessons. The PASS PLUS course is designed for new drivers that have recently passed their driving test as it helps to develop their existing skills & it also provides more experience for the new driver. The PASS PLUS course covers motorway driving, night driving, all weather driving & much more. To book driving lessons in Bedford with Bedford driving school Txt-Drive, please call : 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE). To book yourself on the PASS PLUS course after your driving test call a Txt-Drive driving instructor in Bedford on the above FREEPHONE number or visit www.txt-drive.co.uk.
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