NRMA Insurance urges drivers to drive safely

NRMA Insurance

NRMA Insurance is reminding Australian motorists to make safer decisions while on the road this festive season, as new claims data shows that car collisions have increased by more than 7% since 2015.

This year alone, the car insurer has logged more than 189,160 claims for car collisions in NSW, with data showing that collisions are more likely to occur on Thursdays and Fridays.

“The rise in motor vehicle collisions is a timely reminder of the importance of keeping safe on the road over the silly season, when the roads are busier and people may be travelling longer distances,” Robert McDonald, NRMA Insurance Research Centre director, said. “Our advice to drivers is to allow extra time to travel over the peak holiday period, adapt to the driving conditions, and take regular breaks if driving a long way to get to your holiday destination.”

December is also the worst month for car park collisions, the NRMA Car Insurance data reveals, with car park errors increasing by 18% over the annual average. Forty-five per cent (45%) of the collisions occurred while reversing.

“Retail car parks are exceptionally busy this time of year, so we should allow some extra time to find a space and get in and out of shopping centre car parks,” McDonald said. “Typical parking collisions involve hitting other cars, runaway shopping trolleys, and scrapes with pylons and poles. We want to encourage drivers to obey the parking rules, and exercise simple courtesy when circling the car park for a space.”

To encourage safer and distraction-free driving, NRMA Insurance has recently rolled out its Safer Journeys app, which motivates drivers to “switch off” their mobile phone behind the wheel. The app allows users to accumulate points for safe, distraction-free driving which they can redeem for rewards, like fuel and grocery vouchers.

The insurer also released a two-minute film, titled “Long Way,” to remind drivers to drive safe so they can be with their loved ones this Christmas.

Source: Insurance Business Australia Magazine

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Automated Cars Insurance Concern

Driverless Cars in Australia

Australia can look to what is happening in the UK and USA regarding the introduction and testing of Driverless cars. Likewise, Australian insurance companies will have to consider the results of testing and driving on roads in determining potential policies and ratings.

Driverless Car Insurance

As driverless technology makes its way onto roads, UK insurers want clarity when it comes to assisted and automated systems.

The Automated Driving Insurer Group (ADIG) – led by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in collaboration with Thatcham Research – has released the “Regulating Automated Driving” paper to highlight the potential dangers of autonomous ambiguity.

While there is strong industry support for vehicle automation as it comes with the promise of a significant reduction in accidents, concerns exist involving driver confusion. The paper particularly focused on intermediate automated systems, which have self-driving capabilities but in certain circumstances need the driver to take back control of the vehicle.

“Vehicles with intermediate systems that offer assisted driving still require immediate driver intervention if the car cannot deal with a situation. Systems like these are fast emerging and, unless clearly regulated, could convince drivers that their car is more capable than it actually is,” explained Thatcham Research chief executive Peter Shaw.

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Through the paper, insurers – including AXA, Admiral, Ageas, Allianz, Aviva, Co-operative Insurance, Covea, Direct Line Group, esure, LV=, RSA, Zurich, and the Lloyd’s Market – suggest that international regulators considering design standards should make a clear distinction between assisted and automated systems.

Automated Car Requirements

For the group, a vehicle should be clearly identified and marketed as automated only when:

· The driver can safely disengage in the knowledge that the car has sufficient capabilities to deal with virtually all situations on the road;

· A vehicle encounters a situation it can’t handle, that it has the ability to come to a safe stop;

· The autonomous system can avoid all conceivable crash types and can continue to function adequately in the event of a partial system failure;

· Both insurers and vehicle manufacturers can immediately access data to identify whether the driver or vehicle is liable in the case of an accident, without ambiguity.

James Dalton, ABI director of general insurance policy, said: “We know all too well from conventional vehicles that drivers often misunderstand what their vehicles can and can’t do. Therefore, consistent standards are needed so that those taking up automated driving technology can do so with confidence.”

For David Williams, ADIG chairman and head of underwriting at AXA, autonomous vehicles will make roads much safer but inappropriate use or marketing of intermediate technology could confuse road users and cause unnecessary accidents.

“Clarity over system capability and commitment to share vehicle data with insurers will help public confidence, and help rather than hinder development in this area,” he said.

The group also sees the need for more clarity in how these assisted driving systems are named. “Vehicle manufacturers should be judicious in badging and marketing such systems, avoiding terms which could be misinterpreted as denoting full autonomy,” said Shaw.

He stressed: “Hybrid systems which creep into the intermediate grey area between assisted and automated should also be avoided.” Shaw said the risk of autonomous ambiguity could result in a short-term increase in crashes.

ADIG was formed in late 2015 to consider the impacts of automation on motor insurance in the UK. It aims to guide the industry towards a coordinated position to allow a “powerful and consistent voice,” aligned with international and government legislators.

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Diford Car Insurance Australia are able to offer Comprehensive Car Insurance for Business Use including RideShare and Uber through Allianz, as well as Public Liability Insurance to cover RideShare and Uber drivers through QBE Insurance.

These are two different types of insurance applicable for RideShare and Uber drivers. Comprehensive Car Insurance (for business use) is required by RideShare and Uber drivers in all states, and Public Liability Insurance is now required in certain states including South Australia, with other states looking to follow, as these other states pass legislation.

The main benefit of Allianz Car Insurance that we are able to offer is that it allows unlimited RideShare hours, whereas the main competitor, NRMA only allows up to 20 hours per week.

Therefore, we often find that Allianz Car Insurance quotes to be more appropriate than NRMA Car insurance quotes in terms of coverage.

Furthermore, our Allianz policy is backed by the Steadfast group, meaning that this Allianz policy comes with the superior Steadfast wording, which most notably means the choice of your own repairer in the case of claims, and also no need to become involved in the claims process. Other benefits are as per the attached Allianz Steadfast Policy wording.

A regular Car Insurance policy with most insurers only covers cars for Private use, whereas the Allianz Motor Vehicle policy has an option for Business Use including RideShare. Therefore, it is essential that RideShare drivers have a policy, such as the one available through Allianz for Business Use, otherwise they would not be covered while driving when conducting their business, and as such a claim could be refused.

Also, we offer the QBE Business Pack, which allows Public Liability coverage for RideShare drivers, and which is one of the only insurers on the market that allows coverage for RideShare drivers.

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Driverless Car Insurance | Insurance Quotes Online

Driverless Car Insurance Quotes and Premiums

As driverless technology makes its way onto roads, UK insurers want clarity when it comes to assisted and automated systems. We in the Australian market will be closely following this as driverless car technology also comes to Australia, and Australian car insurance companies need to consider the introduction of car insurance for driverless cars.

The Automated Driving Insurer Group (ADIG) – led by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in collaboration with Thatcham Research – has released the “Regulating Automated Driving” paper to highlight the potential dangers of autonomous ambiguity.

While there is strong industry support for vehicle automation as it comes with the promise of a significant reduction in accidents, concerns exist involving driver confusion. This must be taken into account and will ultimately affect car insurance premiums and car insurance quotes in Australia.

The paper particularly focused on intermediate automated systems, which have self-driving capabilities but in certain circumstances need the driver to take back control of the vehicle.

“Vehicles with intermediate systems that offer assisted driving still require immediate driver intervention if the car cannot deal with a situation. Systems like these are fast emerging and, unless clearly regulated, could convince drivers that their car is more capable than it actually is,” explained Thatcham Research chief executive Peter Shaw.

Through the paper, insurers – including AXA, Admiral, Ageas, Allianz, Aviva, Co-operative Insurance, Covea, Direct Line Group, esure, LV=, RSA, Zurich, and the Lloyd’s Market – suggest that international regulators considering design standards should make a clear distinction between assisted and automated systems.

Other major and reputable car insurance companies such as QBE, CGU, Suncorp, NRMA, RACQ and other insurers will of course be considering these issues and findings as well.

For the group, a vehicle should be clearly identified and marketed as automated only when:

• The driver can safely disengage in the knowledge that the car has sufficient capabilities to deal with virtually all situations on the road;
• A vehicle encounters a situation it can’t handle, that it has the ability to come to a safe stop;
• The autonomous system can avoid all conceivable crash types and can continue to function adequately in the event of a partial system failure;
• Both insurers and vehicle manufacturers can immediately access data to identify whether the driver or vehicle is liable in the case of an accident, without ambiguity.

James Dalton, ABI director of general insurance policy, said: “We know all too well from conventional vehicles that drivers often misunderstand what their vehicles can and can’t do. Therefore, consistent standards are needed so that those taking up automated driving technology can do so with confidence.”

For David Williams, ADIG chairman and head of underwriting at AXA, autonomous vehicles will make roads much safer but inappropriate use or marketing of intermediate technology could confuse road users and cause unnecessary accidents.

“Clarity over system capability and commitment to share vehicle data with insurers will help public confidence, and help rather than hinder development in this area,” he said.

The group also sees the need for more clarity in how these assisted driving systems are named. “Vehicle manufacturers should be judicious in badging and marketing such systems, avoiding terms which could be misinterpreted as denoting full autonomy,” said Shaw.

He stressed: “Hybrid systems which creep into the intermediate grey area between assisted and automated should also be avoided.” Shaw said the risk of autonomous ambiguity could result in a short-term increase in crashes.

ADIG was formed in late 2015 to consider the impacts of automation on motor insurance in the UK. It aims to guide the industry towards a coordinated position to allow a “powerful and consistent voice,” aligned with international and government legislators.

Source: Australian Insurance News

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Our special intermediary Insurance policies offer superior policy wording and policy options, more substantial coverage and at special broker rates to provide you with the lowest premiums and cheapest insurance with the best insurance coverage!

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Allianz Car Insurance rejects move to charge riskier drivers more

Allianz Car Insurance, one of the four insurers in Queensland's compulsory third-party (CTP) system has spoken out against the idea of charging riskier drivers more for CTP insurance due to lack of evidence to back the move.

The risk-premium idea has been proposed by a state government-backed committee, saying that charging riskier drivers more – within a set band of prices – instead of the current system where all car drivers pay the same could potentially spur “better outcomes for motorists”.

The committee was first to admit, however, that it was “difficult to predict the extent to which the level of CTP premiums would directly influence driver behaviour, noting the evidence on this is limited”.

In comparing car insurance online quotes, Allianz told The Courier-Mail: “There is no evidence that modestly higher premiums for less capable or safety conscious drivers has any impact on driver behaviour or accidents that translates into improved CTP claims experience. The current… approach underpins Queensland’s position as the leading State in terms of [CTP] affordability.”

Fellow CTP insurer QBE was in support of such risk ratings, saying it would promote competition and “allow insurers to reward safer drivers with lower premiums.”

The risk-premium idea is among the various committee recommendations under review by the government, which were mainly targeted at slashing insurer profits which regulatory data found to be four times more than intended by the scheme, the report said.

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NRMA Uber Car Insurance | NRMA Car Insurance

NRMA Car Insurance | NRMA Uber Car Insurance

NRMA Car Insurance has become a favourite insurer for Uber Drivers. However there has been a lot of discussion recently about whether NRMA Uber Car Insurance is the best insurance company for Uber drivers. Uber drivers when dealing direct with NRMA have suffered a lot of frustration in ascertaining whether they would be adequately covered for ridesharing with an NRMA comprehensive car insurance policy.

NRMA Comprehensive Car Insurance

The issue that many Uber drivers have encountered is that the NRMA Motor policy only covers "occasional ridesharing" and the lack of transparency as to what constitutes occasional rideshare.

There has been a great deal of discussion among Uber drivers and NRMA customers about whether they would be covered or not by their NRMA policy. Upon discussing these concerns with NRMA call centre staff, they are also receiving a lot of conflicting and contradicting information. On many occasions customers and prospective customers are being told that they would be covered and then referred to the NRMA PDS, only to be found that they may not be covered.

Car Insurance Brokers | Car Insurance Broker

Unfortunately, when dealing direct, you are most likely not dealing with a qualified Insurance professional. The only way to be sure that you are receiving professional advice for ridesharing insurance is to contact a qualified Insurance Broker, who can compare policies from a range of Insurance companies to ensure you receive the best car insurance policy for your needs and your circumstances.

 

Allianz Uber Car Insurance | Allianz Car Insurance

Allianz is another popular Car Insurance company for Uber drivers, and on face value, we would advise is more comprehensive for Uber drivers than the NRMA policy. The Allianz policy wording is more specific that it covers Uber driving and Ridesharing without the Occasional Use restrictions of NRMA.

Best Car Insurance | Best Uber Insurance

We recommend that you contact us, as licenced and professional Insurance Brokers, and allow us to do all the work in assessing which is the best car insurance for you. We have access to Allianz Car Insurance which covers Uber and Ride Share driving, as well as access to hundreds of other car insurance companies and policies.

 

Uber Liability Insurance

Although there is a Liability component to both the NRMA and Allianz Motor Vehicle policies for Uber drivers, we have access to additional special Ride Share Liability policies from specialist Liability Insurance companies, that will cover both the Uber company's and the Government's requirements.

Contact us today for a tailored solution to both your Uber Comprehensive Car Insurance and Uber Liability Insurance requirements.

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Car Insurance agent invents new sport – car curling

It may not be institutionalized in the Winter Olympics, but insurance agent Galina Kirkach hopes his version of curling will find a place in the minds of spectators, as he organized a tournament involving cars to promote the importance of car insurance.

Curling is a sport that involves sliding stones across sheet ice with brooms to get them closest to the centre of a target across a rectangular field.

Kirkach’s version involves pushing a modified car across sheet ice with a driver inside steering it. The cars don’t have windows and windshields for safety and have their engines removed to make them lightweight. Teams of 10 push it across the ice and whoever gets it closest to the target wins the competition.


 UPI reported that the exhibition tournament was held in the Urals in Russia using compact Oka cars and was sponsored by a local auto insurance company.

“Curling looks boring on TV, but I played it once with friends and realized what a great sport it was,” Kirkach told local media.

“Then we decided to combine the idea of curling with cars. We constantly see accidents on the road, and we thought that this would attract people’s attention to the need for car insurance,” the report also quoted him as saying.

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Stricter requirements to be imposed on state’s Uber drivers | Uber Car Insurance

Stricter requirements to be imposed on state’s Uber drivers | Uber Insurance

A new annual licensing fee and a requirement for special insurance are part of a new set of reforms being introduced for rideshare services in Queensland, angering both Uber and the taxi industry.

Uber drivers in Queensland will be required to pay an annual license fee of $237, take out a new class of compulsory third party insurance (CTP), get their cars safety-checked, and install reflective signs on their vehicles, Courier Mail reported.

Uber Insurance

 Uber Insurance: The CTP insurance is yet to be calculated by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission.

To improve safety, Uber drivers will be required to have their vehicles undergo safety checks when licensed, carry reflective signs on front and rear windscreens to identify it as a provider of Uber services, and follow fatigue management plans as well as the compulsory Uber car insurance.


 Hardship payments amounting to $27 million will also soon be made available for limousine owners and operators.

Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the reforms were to make things fairer for all operators and increase safety and choice for passengers, the report said.

The reforms were not well received, however. An Uber spokesman tagged the new annual licensing fee as a “new fee on everyday Queenslanders” that offered no safety improvements, consumer benefits, or jobs.

“We’re disappointed to see the government propose new fees on everyday Queenslanders looking to access flexible work,” he said.

Benjamin Wash, Taxi Council chief executive, said the proposed changes didn’t level the playing field.

“This proposed legislation has been written to the advantage of rideshare operators - who have flouted the law and attempted to avoid tax and regulatory requirements - over law-abiding small businesses operators who make up Queensland’s taxi industry,” Wash told Courier Mail.

Car Insurance Quotes Online

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Although, the best insurance is not always the cheapest insurance, we will endeavour to find you the best car insurance policy at the cheapest price.

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Driverless Cars Australia | Self Driving Cars Australia

Driverless Cars Australia

 

Insurers must adapt to driverless cars or disappear, Fitch warns

 

Ratings agency Fitch said driverless cars will revolutionise car insurance and insurers who fail to adapt to the technology will fade away.

 

According to the ratings agency, the potential widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles will completely transform the motor insurance sector in the long term as liability shifts towards manufacturers while the traditional risk pool shrinks.

 

“Insurers will be forced to diversify in search of other profit sources and some of those that fail to adapt will disappear,” Fitch said in a news release.

 

However, Fitch clarified that the shift to driverless cars will take many years and the transition will create new opportunities for insurers, particularly for companies that can take advantage of the projected massive increase in data to price risk more accurately.

 

“We think it will take at least a decade before these effects become notable and far longer for a full transition,” Fitch said. “Over the next 10 years, the most notable effect in the insurance industry will be a reduction in claims frequency due to the increased use of semi-autonomous driver aids such as emergency braking systems.”

 

Self Driving Cars Australia

 

As the transition to self-driving cars progresses, Fitch expects to see risk coverage shifting from personal motor insurance policies to commercial product liability.

 

Fitch also predicts that the gathering and analysing of driving data from autonomous vehicles will play a key part in the development of insurance products. The agency says underwriters and actuaries will have greater ability to understand and price risks due to recorded data from driverless cars.

 

“We believe early movers in telematics technology could be at an advantage here as they have already established processes for handling the large datasets that will be needed,” Fitch said.

 

Source: Insurance Business Online.

 

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Driverless Cars Insurance | Self Driving Car Insurance

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