Millions
of us will hire vans this spring, but new research from iCarhireinsurance.com
shows
many drivers lack experience of driving these vehicles, and could be in for a
nasty financial shock in the event of an accident.
This
time of the year is traditionally when many of us move house and do DIY, with
many of us hiring vans to help. However, iCarhireinsurance.com
has
unearthed worrying levels of ignorance. Almost two thirds (65%) of hirers are
'van virgins', and have no previous experience of driving a larger commercial
vehicle.
Only 26% of those who have hired a van knew there were different road rules for
vans, just 38% were aware of different speed limits, and only 12% checked routes
for height or weight restrictions before setting off. Tellingly, 9% found other
road users to be less considerate towards them, and over a fifth (23%) felt more
likely to have an accident than when driving a car.
A
quarter of people (26%) have hired a van to move house, 5% to move DIY debris
and machinery, and 8% to help friends or family members who were not confident
hiring the van themselves. The research also found overall 33% of people have
hired a van and they are hired for a wide range of uses including camping trips,
stag weekends and helping children move to university.
With
van hire excess involving charges of up to GBP 2000 in the event of damage or
theft, regardless of whose fault it is, it is critical that drivers are covered.
The major van hire companies are expensive and limited; they charge as much as
GBP 10-20 a day for protection, and only reduce the liability to GBP 250-GBP 750
rather than reducing it to zero.
However,
there is a solution. Daily van hire excess insurance from iCarhireinsurance.com
costs
only GBP
£7.99 a day,
and reduces the excess liability to zero.
Ernesto
Suarez, Founder and CEO, iCarhireinsurance.com,
said, "Hiring a van can be a really cost effective way to do DIY jobs and move
house. But these savings can quickly vanish if the vehicle is damaged, and the
excess isn't protected. The chances of this are high, because as our research
proves, many van drivers do not have experience of driving larger vehicles, and
lack confidence.
"With
so many bank holidays coming up, we are now urging drivers to check their excess
liability before they hire a van if they don't want to end up with a large bill
they were not expecting. And next time you get frustrated with a van driver, remember
that it might just be one of the 8% of hirers who are kindly helping a friend
or family member who isn't able to drive one themselves.
All
figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov
Plc. Total sample size was 2007 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken
between 1st - 4th April 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have
been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
Founded in 2009, iCarhireinsurance.com
is a groundbreaking new online insurance service that takes the hassle out of
car hire insurance, car club insurance and van hire insurance. It offers a range
of policies that are fully comprehensive, simple to understand, unbeatable value
and accepted at all car and van rental locations worldwide.
iCarhireinsurance.com
is a registered trading name of Halo Insurance Services Limited.
Halo
Insurance Services Ltd was
founded by Ernesto Suarez, a leading insurance professional with 13 years experience
in the industry.
Halo
Insurance Services Limited is registered in England number 6929208.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Register No. 504629
for the sale and administration of general insurance products in the United Kingdom
and throughout the European Economic Area (EEA).
Halo
Insurance Services Ltd is backed by Bridges Ventures and Magenta
Partners.
Source:
www.iCarhireinsurance.com - April 2011
On
the subject of Van
Hire excess insurance,
the Car Hire Excess Insurance blog site has said that there are more women renting
vans in March than February of this year, although the numbers are only a fraction
of the men hiring a van.
See
the rest of this article Here
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