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Hewer Add New Citroen Berlingo Vans to their Fleet

Monday, May 14th, 2012

As part of their on-going drive to reduce its fleet carbon footprint as well as delivering financial savings, Hewer Facilities Management Ltd has just taken delivery of thirty-six high specification Berlingo HDi 90 manual L1 Enterprise vans which will be added to their commercial van insurance policy.

Hewer acquired the latest Berlingo vans on a mix of outright purchase and three-year, 60,000 mile contract hire with maintenance agreements. In addition to the excellent standard equipment which includes air conditioning, reverse parking sensors and Bluetooth, the vans have been fitted with a full steel bulkhead, non-slip composite flooring and roof bars. Hewer also asked for specifically designed racking to meet the strenuous requirements of their engineers.

Hewer are involved in heating and electrical projects for businesses, local authorities and health services, and also have a large number of domestic customers within a hundred mile radius of their base. The company are also continuing to grow its Failsafe domestic heating care plan, which has gained over 1,000 new customers since it was launched. The standard fit Trafficmaster Smartnav satellite navigation system and Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking means mean that Hewer are able to achieve substantial cost savings and lower van insurance premiums.

Robert Willmott Hewer’s Contract Manager, said: ‘We have had a long and successful operating experience with Berlingo vans, which now form the majority of our 65-strong fleet. As an environmentally conscious company, every fleet renewal time we carry out a comprehensive review to see whether there is a van that can beat the Berlingo. To date we have continued to acquire Berlingos because of their unbeatable combination of environmental, operational, financial and driver benefits. These latest Euro 5 Berlingos are nearly 10% more fuel efficient than the Euro 4 versions they replace and their CO2 emissions are 13g/km lower.”

Tags: carbon emissions, Citroen Berlingo Van, Commercial fleet drivers, commercial van insurance, Hewer Facilities Management Ltd
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Whiplash Claims Costing Van Drivers Up to £90 a Year

Friday, May 4th, 2012

A report released by one of the UK’s leading motoring organisations suggests that claims from whiplash injuries are costing the motor insurance industry £2 billion a year and puts £90 extra onto the cost of an average van insurance premium.

The AA, who published the report, are now urging the Government to take firm action on the crisis which is affecting cost of motor insurance, and say reform is now long overdue. In the last two years quotes for commercial vehicle insurance have gone up by 50% and the AA put the increase down to the amount of personal injury claims emanating from road traffic accidents. A recent meeting between insurers, Government ministers and road safety experts committed resources to weeding out dubious and fraudulent claims but nothing has transpired just yet.

Simon Douglas, speaking on behalf of the AA, said “We need a tight time scale applied to reform of civil litigation which at present, encourages people to make a claim regardless of how serious their injury is or even if they have not suffered injury at all. Importantly, we need reforms that clamp down on cold-call claims management and personal injury firms who have contributed to the growth of claims. The present dysfunctional system has also spawned the fraudulent multi-million-pound ‘cash for crash’ industry.”

There is no doubt that members of the legal profession, professional accident management companies and even insurance companies have realised the cash potential in personal injury claims but the AA say it is now time to put an end to the claim culture. They are calling for a medical panel to replace examinations by GPs and raising the limit from £1000 to £5,000 for personal injury claims. They also call for tougher action to be taken against people caught making fraudulent claims. The fact is that the rising cost of motor insurance is coming at a time when road traffic accident rates have been cut dramatically which in itself indicates that something is wrong with the system.

Tags: AA, Insurance Claims, Insurance Fraud, Insurance Premiums, motor insurance, Road Safety
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Advanced Driving Techniques Will Aid Fuel Economy

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

As commercial drivers continue to struggle operating a business with overheads almost impossibly high, one of the UK’s leading road safety campaigning groups once again stress the benefits of advanced driving techniques.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) believes drivers can sometimes be their own worst enemy when it comes to fuel costs and advocate several simple driving tips that could save motorists running their own businesses thousands of pounds over the course of a year. The tips are all based on data derived from professional sources and are all eminently easy procedures for drivers who spend a lot of time on the road.

IAM first of all advise drivers to check their tyres on a regular basis and always before setting out on long journeys. Under inflated tyres are dangerous and can put fuel consumption up by 3%. Always stick to the speed limit, doing this will not only save petrol (the difference between 70 mph and 85 mph can be as much as a litre of fuel every 20 miles) but also make you a safer driver, less liable to be involved in accidents and more likely to get cheap van insurance. Use cruise control for long days of travelling but remember to turn it off when going up steep inclines. Switch off your engine if you are constantly stop starting in urban traffic and always remember to cut down on clutter; the more weight you are pulling the more fuel you will consume.

All quite simple and common sense according to IAM chief Executive Simon Best who said: “Green driving techniques can easily improve fuel efficiency by up to 10%. In other words, if the monthly price of filling up is typically two tanks at £70 each – an advanced driver can save £14 a month. For professional drivers and those in haulage and delivery the savings would be considerably more.”

Tags: cutting fuel use, Driving Techniques, Fuel Costs, Institute of Advanced Motorists
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Supermarkets Cut Fuel Price as Wholesale Market Plummets

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Van drivers will have good reason to call in at their local supermarket this week as three of the biggest supermarket chains in the UK announce they are cutting the price of fuel.

On the day that tanker driver leaders must decide whether to accept the offer made by the oil distribution companies or give notice of a strike, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have announced they are reducing the cost of fuel at their supermarket garage forecourts. Asda set the ball rolling by announcing to its customers that unleaded fuel would be no more than 138.7p a litre and that diesel would have a top price of 143.7p a litre, in both cases a cut of about 2p a litre. Tesco immediately countered the Asda news by dropping the price to 137.9 and 140.9 ensuring they were cheaper on both types of fuel. Sainsbury’s later announced they would be “cutting the price of petrol and diesel in many of our stores” without actually putting a figure on the price drop.

In fact the news of the price war comes just days after motoring organisation AA revealed that wholesale prices for oil had dropped by 7% in the last few days. A spokesman for the AA said: “When you have your average family spending more on filling up than they spend in a week on food, prices need to come down as quickly as they can. If the wholesale petrol price holds or continues to crash, the UK pump prices should fall at least 4p in the next fortnight. With VAT that rises to 5p.”

Steve Hughes, a commercial driver from Dudley, was one of the first to take advantage of the price drop at a West Midlands Tesco garage, and said “ I never thought I would be happy to see the price of Diesel at 140p a litre but I am today and I’ve also just managed to get a reduction on my van insurance as well.” The cut will come just in time to save some smaller commercial enterprises as the Fuel Card association noted last week that some smaller fleet companies were turning work down because the price of fuel had completely eroded their profit margins.

Tags: Fuel Prices, Petrol, Supermarket
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Tesco Join Forces with Fuelcard

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

A new deal between the Fuelcard Company and Tesco will allow fleet drivers to be able to use their Keyfuel cards at any of the supermarket forecourts at no extra charge. The deal will mean drivers will have an extra 475 sites which extends the network of available forecourts to 1925.

The partnership will secure Keyfuels’ place as one of the most prominent networks in the United Kingdom, with drivers able to access diesel at a single fixed price regardless of the advertised retail pump price. Tesco join rival supermarkets Morrison’s and Somerfield as well as the extensive motorway service station network, Moto, in accepting Keyfuels cards. Commercial van drivers will also be able to collect club card points on their fuel purchases with one point for every £2 spent on diesel added to their card.

Lee Atkinson, partnership manager at The Fuelcard Company, said “This new partnership with Tesco will give fleet drivers with Keyfuels cards access to an extended network of sites at convenient locations around the UK. Whether they are travelling on motorways or through towns and cities, our customers can have peace of mind knowing that there is a filling site within reach. With the price of fuel reaching record highs, we are trying to give our customers as much help as we can.”

By guaranteeing a fixed price across the whole Keyfuels network, fleet managers will not get any nasty surprises when it comes to paying for their fuel at the pump. Each business will receive a weekly price notification via email or text confirming the fuel price for the following week so that they can plan ahead. Businesses will be able to monitor the fuel usage of each of the vans which are protected with commercial vehicle insurance and fleet managers will also be provided with a wealth of information which will help identify any area where a saving can be made.

Tags: Fuel Prices, Fuelcard, Keyfuels, Tesco Petrol
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Council take first steps to a greener future

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Local councils in Perth and Kinross have made a pledge to copy their counterparts in Canada and Germany by switching to greener technology and move away from diesel and petrol vehicles.

Trials have already started with the dog control team who are using two new vans, one powered by electric, the other using a hybrid engine and both covered by vehicle insurance cover. The change to green fuel may pose some problems in the coming months for the local authority because efforts in the Highlands to have a fleet of vehicles powered by electric were cut short during last year’s harsh winter. The vehicles used had to be taken off the road because they could not cope with the low temperatures, but it is a problem that the council are aware of, and one that they are confident of resolving.

Head of environmental and consumer services Keith McNamara said: “There is still some way to go before the council is in a position to replace its entire fleet. I would like to say that all refuse collection vehicles will be LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) soon, but technology is still not at that stage. Electric and hybrid cars are fine to an extent, but we need to have something that will deliver what we need and when we need it. At the moment, we don’t quite have the technology.”

Two months ago councillors backed plans to apply for almost £500,000 to establish a three year project to cut air pollution caused by heavy goods vehicles. Under the scheme, deliveries would be made to a central location before being brought into the town by an electric vehicle or one with a cleaner engine. Supporters of the scheme feel that by doing this it will go some way to cutting the one thousand lorries that enter Perth on five days of the week.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, going green, Hybrid Vans, van insurance
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Charity hope to save money by spending money

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Animal welfare charity, the RSPCA, will be installing Trimble’s Telematics technology and Geo safety devices into all of their vehicles to help workers rescue and collect animals of all shapes and sizes throughout England and Wales.

The installation will start this month, with their transit vans being the first to benefit from real-time visibility of the location of the vehicle. This will help dispatchers make an informed decision about which vehicle is best equipped and also closest to an animal who is in need of assistance. The system will also help with the RSPCA’s charitable objectives. Directors of the charity believe the systems will benefit the RSPCA with greater effectiveness in fleet management through reduced fuel use and lower CO2 emissions; the anticipated lower mileage may even bring down the cost of their annual commercial vehicle insurance bill.

As a charitable organisation, the RSPCA need to be as cost effective as possible, and using Telematics technology will help them achieve a much more efficient operation. They will also be able to identify any potential faults before a breakdown happens, keeping vehicle downtime to a minimum while at the same time optimising the effectiveness of their fleet.

Nigel Yeo, director of operations at the RSPCA, said “It is incredibly important that we make the most of every penny we receive in charitable donations. Investing in Telematics technology can help our inspectors in their daily work. RSPCA field staff can spend many hours on the road travelling to deal with complaints of cruelty or to attend to an abandoned animal. Some of the locations can be remote or difficult to find and having technology that enables us to find who is the closest at any given time will mean an animal is found much more quickly and this can help our staff enormously.”

Tags: Charity, commercial vehicle insurance, Money saving, van insurance
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Recession will not stop the toll increase on the Severn Bridge

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Firms who regularly cross the Severn Bridge are angry that from January 1st they will be hit with another price increase. The M4 Business Network has issued a warning that some business may be forced to leave the area and they are urging the Welsh Government to address the issue of rising costs.

The Federation of Small Businesses in Wales has condemned the move and there are also concerns that the increase will be a blow to tourism. The toll for cars will now increase to £6 and small vans which are typically protected by vehicle insurance cover will see an increase of sixty pence, taking it to £12.10p. Heavy goods vehicles and full-size buses will have to pay £18.10p. Companies are appalled, claiming it is just another tax on business in the South-East of Wales and that it would act as a deterrent against investment in an area that is already fighting hard to survive.

Plaid Cymru Westminster Transport Spokesman, Jonathan Edwards MP, said “Each year the tolls on the Severn Bridges continue to rise alongside RPI, the higher measure of inflation, because of the inflexibility of the Westminster Act which introduced them. Estimates presented last year to the Welsh Affairs Committee suggested that the bridges cost £15m to operate but rake in £72m each year. The cost of company vehicles crossing the Severn bridges could be cut by two-thirds or three-quarters and be self-sustaining. This would markedly reduce the impact on the Welsh economy.”

Businessmen the area are convinced the extra toll will drive business away from the area and point out that a similar scheme, the Humber Bridge in North East England, is having its toll charges halved. For the time being motorists seem to have no option but to pay up or face the long trek round the coast that puts hours on their journey.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Recession, van insurance
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Fuel duty rise cancelled as Chancellor backs down

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Drivers across the UK get a welcome bit of relief yesterday as Chancellor George Osborne bowed to pressure and announced the proposed increase in fuel duty for early next year was to be cancelled.

Speaking before the House of Commons in his Autumn statement the Chancellor announced that the 3p rise in fuel duty due to begin on January 2nd would now be scrapped and a further planned 5p increase in August would now be just 3p. The news will be welcomed by motorists all over Britain but particularly so by drivers who rely on their vehicle to make a living.

The increase in fuel and commercial vehicle insurance has crippled many businesses over the last 12 months and for some the January increase would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Mr Osborne said he realised that for many people a car was no longer a luxury but a necessity and that is why he withdrew the levy.

Theo de Pencier, the chief executive of the Freight Transport Association, said “We have avoided a horrendous New Year’s hangover… January’s rise would have cost the industry around £325m. But while we are relieved that the Chancellor has steered us out of immediate danger, it is obvious that getting the UK back on the road to recovery requires a long-term fuel duty strategy, and one which doesn’t make tough times that much tougher for businesses in an already uncertain economy. Today’s decision will help to keep the wheels of industry turning and shows that Government has listened.”

The cancellation of the fuel duty rise was one of the few snippets of good news in an otherwise bleak assessment of the UK’s economy and drivers along with the rest of the population have been warned there are tough times to come.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Fuel Prices, van insurance
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Drivers cutting corners in a bid to save cash

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

According to a report released today, drivers across the UK are putting their safety and other motorists’ safety at risk as they look to save money on their every day motoring. The same survey revealed many motorists are now getting motor insurance quotes for third party insurance instead of comprehensive cover as they look for other ways to keep their cars on the road.

The survey conducted by a car rental company revealed just how desperate some motorists are to keep their motoring costs down. Over 2,300 drivers were questioned and the results were alarming to say the least. Over 30% said they had postponed a car service because they could not afford it, and 20% even said they were driving on bald and worn tyres even though they knew they were dangerous.

Some drivers even admitted they should have new brake pads fitted but were reluctant to have them done because of the cost. Managing Director of Car Rentals, Gareth Williams, said “It is understandable that drivers want to make whatever cost cutting measures they can but we do not advise cutting back on essential road safety checks and car maintenance.

“Britain’s roads and motorways can become very dangerous in the winter weather so we think people should think about other areas where they can make cuts – clothing, holidays and so on – areas which don’t put themselves or other motorists’ lives at risk.”

The survey also revealed 1 in 10 drivers had changed their van insurance cover company to save money, and 30% said they had changed to smaller less expensive cars and vans. Over half said they no longer took their vehicle for servicing at authorised garages but found cheaper, independent garages to do the work.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Money saving, van insurance
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