Van Insurance News

Nissan go large for their new advertising campaign

February 22nd, 2012

Nissan has enlisted the help of fifteen HGV trailers in a brand new advertising campaign to promote their new NV400 panel van range to potential business customers. This will be the first advertising campaign for the NV400 since its launch three months ago.

Images of the NV400 panel van have been plastered on the sides of the HGV trailers giving motorists across the UK a steering wheel view of the mobile advertising. The HGV trailer may not move very fast on the roads and motorways of the United Kingdom, but they do have a large amount of advertising space that is on view a lot of hours each day. The trucks will put Nissan’s new van in front of about eighteen million drivers each month. The main focus of the advertising will be on the NV400’s generous load volume.

Francis Bleasdale, Nissan Motor GB’s LCV sales and marketing director, said “The trucks travel daily up and down ten of the country’s main motorways covering 150,000 miles per month, putting Nissan’s new NV400 in front of millions of drivers. What better way to show business users our new NV400 than on the side of a massive HGV. The NV400 is a big van in every sense and we believe this new advertising campaign will get it off to a solid start with British businesses.”

Companies looking to invest in the new NV400 and protecting it with online van insurance can purchase one in either front or rear wheel drive along with a six speed manual or automatic transmission. The NV400 combines comfort with the efficiency needed for the toughest of jobs and with four load lengths and three load heights Nissan are confident that the NV400 will be a van for all occupations.

Tags: HGV, Nissan, NV400 panel van, online van insurance
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List of Eligible Vans for Subsidy Announced this Week

February 21st, 2012

The Department for Transport (DfT) are expected to name the electric vans (EV) eligible for the plug in subsidy this week as they try and kick start the interest in zero emission vehicles once more.

There is no doubt that EVs will suit the work done by many urban van drivers and ever since the DfT announced there would be a subsidy of up to £8,000 on the vehicles, fleet managers and small business owners have been waiting for the list to be announced so they could arrange van insurance quotes on the specified motors. Businesses centred in and around the capital will be especially interested because not only will purchasers get the £8,000 subsidy, their vehicles will not be liable to pay the London Congestion Charges. As an added bonus electric vans will not attract any company car tax and many councils in London allow zero emission vehicles free parking.

Certainly Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, believes the new incentive will persuade drivers to go green in a big way. She said: “Our new grant demonstrates that you can be a motorist and still be pro-environment. The new plug-in grant also makes business sense as its been estimated that a small electric van will typically cost £100 less in fuel for every 1,000 miles driven compared to a diesel equivalent.”

She certainly has a point and it is also true to say the restrictive distance of around 100 miles before an EV requires a recharge will not handicap van drivers who spend their working day in an urban environment. They will easily get the mileage required out of the van each day and have time to fully charge the van overnight. The Government will be hopeful that this new initiative will finally put EVs into the public consciousness after a massively disappointing take up in 2011. In the 12 months that was supposed to see the birth of a whole new industry, and when manufacturers unveiled new models with new technology, less than 1000 people invested in a purchase.

Tags: Department for Transport, DfT, Emissions, van insurance, van insurance quotes
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Fleet managers advised to send drivers on a hazard perception course

February 20th, 2012

According to Graham Hurdle, Managing Director at E-Training World, fleet managers looking to cut their accident rate and reduce wear and tear on company vans will need to focus more on the hazard perception skills of their drivers.

Graham feels that hazard perception is a skill that is frequently lacking in many fleet drivers, and as it can also improve fuel consumption by anticipating the road ahead, fleet managers need to make sure that all drivers are trained as it can be the answer to many of their problems. E-Training World has an online driver risk assessment system which can give an accurate assessment of each driver’s hazard perception skills.

Graham said: “Hazard perception is all about spotting clues to potential hazards. Simple examples are wheelie bins at the side of the road indicating that a dustbin lorry could be round the next corner, horse manure on the road which points towards riders ahead, and children walking in school uniform denoting that a school is not far away. These are all vital indications to an alert driver to temper their driving accordingly, preventing ‘hazard avoidance’ which is where a driver has to slam on their brakes or swerve because they missed the obvious clues.”

Results of tests already carried out show that too many van drivers leave it until the very last second when charging up to roundabouts and other junctions before they brake. Using hazard perception techniques they could reduce their braking and accelerating by monitoring the road ahead in advance and continue their journey more smoothly without putting pressure on the van. Of course fewer accidents means fewer claims on a company’s commercial vehicle insurance policy which in turn results in lower premiums. E-Training World is confident that drivers taking the risk assessment course will save their company a considerable amount of money each year.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Fleet managers, Fleets, van insurance
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Fleet Managers Saving More Than Police With United Front

February 17th, 2012

An innovative plan to save millions of pounds by a group of adjacent police forces is having spectacular success and may prove to be a model that other forces across the UK follow.

The heads of transport at four police forces, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside, have pooled their fleet resources and in doing so expect to save up to £10 million. The united collaboration has helped the fleet managers bring down the cost of van insurance, vehicle maintenance, vehicle training and van conversions by keeping them in house using their owned skilled mechanics. Furthermore, by using their combined buying power to negotiate deals on costs they have to purchase from elsewhere they have managed to arrange considerable discounts.

Richard Flint, head of transport for the North Yorkshire force, is delighted at how the plan is working, saying: “The regional link-up has been very positive so far and the changes we have made have resulted in some substantial cost savings. The way we are working now is much more viable for the future – we are sharing contracts, keeping costs in-house and redistributing the money within our forces. The regional heads of fleet meet regularly to identify further saving opportunities and monitor the progress of the initiatives we currently have in place.”

The coming together of the transport heads has seen a standardisation of the vehicles purchased by all four forces and the same applies to emergency equipment, all four forces now also use the West Yorkshire Police Commissioning Department in Bradford which is geographically central to the areas. The forces believe that this combination is not only saving money but is also a safer way to work and ensures quicker response times to incidents.

Tags: Fleet managers, van insurance, vehicle fleets
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New Van From Toyota Gives Drivers More Choice

February 16th, 2012

With the market in commercial vans becoming more competitive by the day, Toyota has added to the mix by introducing a panel van version of the Avanza. At the moment UK drivers will have to import the model but it is hoped the van will soon be marketed here as well.

It would appear that Toyota have tinkered very little from the MPV model in producing the panel van version, as the new product, most unusually for a van, still has 5 doors. The van will have the same enlarged cabin/cargo space as the MPV version and the same safety features, however, the windows have been blacked out, but not removed, and the floor reinforced to take a 500 kg payload. Toyota has also included a cargo barrier net. The van is also kitted out with super reinforced vinyl cladding.

Calvyn Hammond from Toyota Marketing is delighted with the new model saying: “Just because it works for a living it doesn’t have to look like a truck. The panel van has the same running gear as the 2012 Avanza MPV, with McPherson strut front and five-link coil-spring rear suspension, but with spring and damper rates revised for heavy-duty load-carrying. And, of course, it’s rear-wheel drive, which gives it a tighter turning circle than most of its FWD competitors, and better traction pulling away on a steep hill with a full load, it certainly does the job.”

Up front there is no difference at all. The van has electric windows all round, most unusual for a van, electric power steering, remote central locking and safety features including an immobiliser and dual air bags. Drivers looking to get a commercial vehicle insurance quote on the Avanza can expect to get a 60,000 mile, or 3 year, warranty on the vehicle plus a four year service plan.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Toyota, Toyota Avanza
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Used Van Market shows slight Increase in Values for January

February 15th, 2012

The latest monthly market analysis for vans has revealed that the average wholesale used van value has gone up by 1.1% in January to £4,059. Fleet managers are still looking for good deals on used vans rather than buying new and this is one reason for the increases.

The average age went up by two months to sixty-two months, but the average mileage dropped by 567 miles to 81,878 when compared with January 2011. The wholesale market has seen an improvement in conversion rates and bid values. Manheim’s report that buyers are attending in huge numbers both online and in the auction halls causing attendance records to be broken regularly. However, they also point out that a large attendance will not always mean strong sale performances.

Small businesses are still the largest buyers of used vans and typically they prefer a van up to five years old. However, availability is falling because of lower new van sales since 2008 and there is a trend for larger firms to hold on to their commercial vans for longer periods while at the same time searching for cheaper van insurance in an effort to save some money. The buyers who factor in vehicle condition and attend most auctions to maximise every bid opportunity are enjoying the best results. It is expected that the availability of cheaper, good quality used commercial vehicles will decline in the next two years.

James Davis, Director of Commercial Vehicles, Manheim Remarketing, said: “The real story in the wholesale van market has been the significant shift in stock profile seen over the last year. Not since Manheim began reporting some seven years ago has such a shift been observed. There are significant volumes of older higher mileage vehicles and there is also good availability of sub-3 year product as daily rental fleets experience their typical seasonal replacement and de-fleet activity. There is also the popular mid-range, average age/mileage vehicles, which because of increasingly short supply are attracting intense bidding from buyers eager to get their hands on these vehicles.”

Tags: cheaper van insurance, commercial vehicle insurance, Manheim Remarketing, van insurance
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Narrow Escape for Van Driver Attacked from Motorway Bridge

February 14th, 2012

A Leicestershire van driver had a lucky escape this week when a thug attacked his vehicle from a motorway bridge. The incident took place close to Junction 21 of the M1 motorway in Leicestershire and local police are still hunting for the culprit.

Stephen Smith was travelling along the motorway when his van was suddenly hit by a flying object, the rock narrowly missed his windscreen but still made him swerve violently to avoid other drivers on the busy motorway. He said: “I was cruising along in the Leimiddle lane when the rock struck, I did notice someone on the bridge overhead but didn’t associate him with the bang immediately. Fortunately no-one was hurt and my commercial van insurance will cover the damage to the van. However, that is because I was lucky. That person could have killed numerous people for the sake of having a laugh.”

It is not the first incident of its kind in the area. A police spokesman said there had been similar incidents reported on the nearby A46 and if any member of the public has any idea who the thug could be then they should contact the police.

Discussing the M1 incident the spokesman said: “Officers were deployed to the bridge but the suspect had fled. These actions are extremely dangerous and could lead to someone being injured and even killed. We would appeal to those who are committing these crimes to think about what they are doing. How would they feel if their family or friends was hurt as a result of someone’s irresponsible behaviour?”

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, crime, M1, M1 Motorway
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Paragon Announce Their Olympic Plans

February 13th, 2012

Paragon Software Systems have announced their Olympic planning pack, which includes special map edits and congestion profiles that have been specifically designed to help fleet managers during both the London Olympics and Paralympic Games.

With the Olympics only six months away and the Paralympics starting when the Olympics finish, Paragon want to focus on making sure that all of their clients, who will be in the capital, can minimise any disruption to their London operations. The free pack will help Paragon customers with planning revised delivery routes by avoiding any road closures and likely congestion from July 27th when the Olympics start to September 9th when the Paralympics come to an end.

Many of Paragon’s clients are already planning their strategy for the games. This includes revising routes and schedules as well as changes to delivery times, unloading times and delivery frequency. The software development undertaken by Paragon is there to help its clients prepare for the disruption and challenges. The software will automatically identify any delivery points that could be affected and where the areas of congestion will be due to the road-based events such as the marathon and cycling events. They will also be able to identify sections of the network that will be closed so that delivery vehicles can avoid them on the day of the event and make alternative arrangements for deliveries. Fleet managers, who are usually more concerned with organising van insurance and maintenance schedules, are delighted with the information that Paragon has prepared for them and say the pack will help them optimise the use of their vehicles throughout the period.

William Salter, Paragon’s Managing Director, said: “There is still time available to model, plan and prepare for the impact that the Olympic Games will have on our clients and their distribution operations. We are actively encouraging Paragon customers to use the added functionality we are offering with the free Olympic planning pack to help them with maintaining good service and allow them to enjoy playing their part in making both games a great success for the UK.”

Tags: London 2012, Olympic Games, Paragon, Paralympics, van insurance
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Hundreds of Accidents in Cumbria as Roads turn into Skid Pans

February 10th, 2012

Commercial drivers were caught in “perfect storm” conditions yesterday in Cumbria as the icy weather once more took a grip on the UK.

Commercial vehicle insurance providers have been inundated with claims in the last 24 hours as conditions in Scotland and the North of England conspired against motorists. Many van drivers were involved in accidents in Cumbria and Tyneside as freezing rain fell onto icy roads converting roads across the region to little more than skating rinks, and to compound the problem, weather forecasters are predicting snowfalls of up to 4 inches today in other areas of the UK.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “A ‘perfect storm’ of rain falling on freezing ground has caused extremely hazardous road conditions in Cumbria this morning. Conditions are expected to remain hazardous for at least the next 24 hours and drivers are being urged to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary. A high number of accidents took place this morning, the air temperature was between 2C (36F) and 5C (41F) but the ground temperature was below freezing.”

Across the fells in Northumberland a multi car pileup in Gateshead caused chaos for several hours and Northumbria Police asked the public to only make journeys that were absolutely necessary and leave the roads to commercial users who need to get their goods delivered.

Sally Webb, a weather forecaster for the Meteo group, said: “Motorists across the UK will have to be on guard over the next few days. There will be no snow in Cornwall and most of western Wales but East Anglia and the central part of England could well get snowfall of several inches.”

Tags: Bad weather, bad weather conditions, commercial vehicle insurance, Snow and Ice, UK roads
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New Van Fleet puts Mid-Air on a Sound Footing

February 9th, 2012

A South Yorkshire plumbing, heating and ventilation firm are making sure their business does not go down the drain by buying new vans for their workforce to go about their daily business.

Mid-Air Site Services have been in business for 9 years now and in that time have seen their business mushroom from being a small family firm serving a small local clientele, to a company that does work the length and breadth of the UK, and is now moving in to Europe. The company is still run by a father and son team but a loyal group of workers and other members of the family have turned the business into a tight knit success.

The company have always kept their fleet of commercial vehicles in good repair but have now splashed out on a fleet of new Vauxhall Vivaro Sportive vans to facilitate the company’s expansion.

Managing Director, Stuart Slack, said: “The new vans are the key to our continued success. Our business is measured by our customers on quality and reliability. We are in an industry dependent on repeat business and those two qualities along with value for money are the pre-requisites to success. The vans are expensive but we think they are worth it. We have looked around and got a great deal on commercial vehicle insurance and that is a big help, especially with the overseas cover.”

In the last few months the company have quoted for jobs in Germany, Poland Belgium and Ireland and they are now waiting for the go ahead to start work on the Polish contract. The vans will soon be heading overseas as the workforce headed by Mr Slack set about installing fire protection equipment into the ventilation systems of a printing plant on the Polish/Ukraine border.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Vivaro
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