Did you know that from January 2011 all new passenger and light commercial vehicles will have to be fitted with daytime running lights?  These are already being fitted to some luxury car brands (Audi & Mercedes for example) and after-sale kits are now being marketed to fit to existing vehicles.

How long have we been laughing at Volvo drivers who can’t switch their lights off?  Seems they may have the last laugh after all.

The recent floods in Southern France have inevitably affected some UK residents who were on holiday there at the time.  No problem – surely they must have been insured?  Unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as that – some UK car insurers only give minimum (third party) cover when the car is driven abroad, unless an additional premium is paid.

It’s easy to assume policies cover more or less every eventuality, but this is an example of where the small print is important.  Insurers take out “frills” from policy cover in order to keep basic premiums low.  The additional cost to take out full cover whilst driving on the Continent is usually quite modest, but if drivers are unaware of the limitation they can be caught out.  A car lost in flood water is a very expensive event, and to find out afterwards that there is no insurance cover (and that breakdown insurance cannot help either) is the most unwelcome of news.  Time to get the policy out and have a read?

The holiday season is at its peak, and thousands of families will be heading for a bit of sun somewhere in Europe.  Hopefully they will have sorted out suitable travel insurance before leaving.  So everything is OK then isn’t it?  Well no, not entirely.  Anyone travelling to Europe should make sure, whether or not they take out travel insurance cover, that they and everyone in their party has a valid “EHIC” (European Health Insurance Card).  This card provides evidence of UK nationality and enables hospitals etc in Europe to provide a degree of treatment in a similar way to the NHS.

Why is this important even if you have travel insurance?  Some travel insurers will reduce a medical expenses claim if they incur costs that arise only because a valid EHIC wasn’t being carried.  It’s also a good idea to keep a diary note of the card expiry date, as they are not open-ended.

Lez, better known as the Low Emission Zone that covers much of Greater London, has had it’s phase 2 date delayed.  This phase is intended to include larger vans, minibuses and motorhomes (other than those over 3.5 tonnes, as these are already subject to LEZ.)  The original start date was 4^th October 2010, but Transport for London have now announced that the date will now be delayed until 3^rd January 2012 (provisional date).  The reason given was that it gives vehicle owners more time to comply with the regulations, given the downturn in the economy.  A final confirmation of the revised date has yet to be given.

For many years the Fiat Ducato has been the base vehicle of choice for the majority of motorhomes.  True, Mercedes, Peugeot & VW have their share but Fiat has stayed ahead of the rest.  In the last few years however 2 newer entrants put in an appearance – Renault & Iveco.  Both have proved quite popular.

This year Renault has launched an all-new version of their Master van.  Already one converter has announced production of motorhomes using this new van.  Lehel Coachbuilders produce Wildax Motorhomes, and intend to have the first of a new range of models ready for the NEC show in October.  No pictures yet, unfortunately, but they have a sales premises in Elland, West Yorkshire where the vehicles, once launched, can be seen.

Two women staged a fake car smash to con insurers out of almost £11,000.

Katie Ashcroft, 24, and Jodie Jackman, 23, arranged for a man to crash their cars into each other.

Jackman reported the collision, while Ashcroft accepted liability. The scheme netted Ashcroft £6,620 and Jackman £4,200. They then invited friends to pose as passengers and submit bogus personal injury claims.

The pair were caught after they exchanged emails discussing what they had done. Both women were given 12-week prison sentences, suspended for a year by Manchester JPs.

They were also tagged and ordered to repay the money. Their accomplices were given community orders for fraud.

A record £840MILLION of fraudulent claims were uncovered in the UK last year.

More than 120,000 fraudulent claims were filed – up by 14 per cent on the previous year

Over half related to home insurance. The Association of British Insurers said the bogus claims had been uncovered in time to prevent payouts.

But other suspect claims had to be paid because they could not be proven as fraudulent. This resulted in premiums having to go up.

Bosses blamed the growth of bogus claims on the recession and the UK’s growing “compensation culture”. They included a man who said he fractured a hand falling over a pothole, when in fact he had punched a wall and a woman who claimed she fell over an uneven pavement had really jumped down a flight of stairs to flee a security guard.

ABI chief Nick Starling said: “Reducing fraud remains an ongoing battle for the industry.”

A trawl through the motorhome forums this week turned up some extreme reactions to last Sunday’s “Top Gear” programme.  For the benefit of the several people who may not have seen it, the team were challenged to build motorhomes and use them on-road and on a campsite – with “interesting” results.

To say this show brought out some extreme views is a bit of an understatement.  Some loved it.  Some hated it (even before the episode was shown).  Some hated the people who loved it.  Some laughed at the people who hated it.  It all got a bit heated.  In fact the forum concerned (no names, no pack drill), was quite entertaining in itself (including a warning from the moderator about abuse!).

If the producers wanted a reaction, they certainly got it.

These are phrases seen in TV & radio adverts, on posters, in the press, and more recently in text messages.  Does this mean we have become a more caring community?  Not really.  What is actually indicates is that we are becoming more claims-conscious, more likely to sue someone for compensation, and more likely to use some form of outside help in this process.  This may not appear to be a bad thing on the surface, but the effect of all this is impacting strongly on the insurance market.  Bodily injury claims are a particular problem.  More people are claiming more frequently, and for higher amounts.  Of special worry is the statistic that more people are claiming for injury per claim than ever before.  What does this mean?  Are more people travelling together these days?  Or is some other factor coming into play?  The firms that follow up these situations do seem to actively encourage injury claims.

Recent statistics released are causing some alarm in the insurance market.  Claims costs are increasing ahead of predictions and there is only one result – premiums will rise.  The Ministry of Justice is investigating firms who send “sales” texts to people involved in accidents.  Watch this space for developments.

Formula One champion Jenson Button will have his mother staying on a campsite near him this weekend after a fire swept through her British Grand Prix hotel. “I’ve rented her a motorhome,” the McLaren driver, who is also staying at the circuit ahead of Sunday’s race, said on Thursday.

“All the walls (of the hotel) were burnt but that’s where the firemen were, in her room. It was put out pretty quickly, but all of the clothes stink from the smoke.”

The hotel, just a mile or two down the road from the circuit, had to be evacuated in the blaze late on Monday night.

Button said the fire had started only two rooms down the corridor from where his mother Simone had been staying.

“It does make you think,” he said. “Normally when I hear a fire alarm I stay in bed. It makes you want to get up now, doesn’t it.”