The Versatility Of Caravan Insurance
Mar 2, 2010 More Saving
The 1970’s rock band Caravan once released a rather oddly titled album called “For Girls Who Go Plump In The Night” which, let’s be honest, isn’t the kind of thing you’d expect to read in an article about caravan insurance, even if the writer owns one (a caravan that is!) An insurance man in a caravan is perhaps not that strange, but an insurance man in a caravan listening to Caravan? No way!
I’m not sure what got me thinking about this subject; I think it was looking back at some photographs of last years Glastonbury festival and noticing, in one guise or another, just how many caravans were there. Obviously as an insurance man I was thinking about their insurance cover and whether or not the underwriters were actually aware just what they were being used for.
If memory serves me correctly there were caravans being lived in, housing first aid helpers, acting as tea shops (and I don’t mean mobile catering units, I mean caravans, proper ones with curtains) used as rest homes for tired musicians and even as the home of paid for showers.
Over in the camping fields there were caravans sheltering security staff from the rain, acting as the temporary weekend home for ageing rockers (some may have even been fellow caravan fans who knows?) and as the meeting point for lost festival goers.
Of course, the musicians themselves are among the biggest users of caravans at music festivals, they usually use the huge ones with extra wheels on the front for steering and they use them for changing in, preparing for the show in, and then use them to indulge in general after-show rock-star behaviour which I think is probably best left to the imagination! I’m not sure if Caravan ever used one, I think that would just be too good to be true! Caravan in a caravan listening to their debut album (which was called, as you may have guessed, “Caravan”). Or even better, if they had arranged a convoy with some friends, a caravan of caravans including a caravan with Caravan in it listening to Caravan!
But anyway, before I started ranting about rock-stars in caravan convoys I was thinking about whether or not these caravans had the correct insurance cover and lets be honest, the answer is probably not. If you are considering taking your caravan along to a festival this year then it is well worth thinking about getting proper insurance cover for it. Caravans can be damaged in all kinds of ways, especially at festivals where the fun loving, free-partying atmosphere can sometimes cloud people’s better judgement and out of control festival goers and crowds and the like can do a lot of damage to your caravan, whether it is intentional or not. It could simply slide off on its own if the mud gets too wet, they can flood, catch fire, get blown away, and almost anything you can think of can happen. Fortunately you can insure caravans against more or less anything that could happen to it, even if it gets rammed into by an uninsured caravan being used as a refreshment stand!
Coversure are one of the country’s leading providers of caravan insurance if you are thinking about taking your caravan anywhere where it would be even remotely at risk, like at a music festival, you should think about looking into some caravan insurance just to be safe.
Tags: advice, auto, contract, finance, holiday, insurance, law, legal, leisure, misc, More Saving, protection, security, travel, vehicle
Driving Without A Licence
Nov 11, 2009 More Saving
One of the worst offenses on our roads is driving without a valid Drivers license. This is something that has been ingrained into us right from the first days when we start driving, but it is so surprising to note that there are thousands of violations reported each year of people driving without a license!
There are various levels of driving without a license, and the most basic of them is where people forget to carry their licenses and go out. When stopped by the police, the good answer is to be honest about it, and let them impound the car or tow it away to the nearest police station. You can go home, get your license, pay the fine, say sorry (and take whatever else they may hand down to you), and come home with your car.
The real problem is when people do not have a licence at all and are caught driving on the roads. Somehow, there are a handful of people whove got away with it and have put their stories up on various online forums and even on youtube. However, realistically, there is no way out if you dont have a licence and are caught driving.
The really big problems start arising when you dont have a licence at all and you are involved in a road accident. If you find yourself in this situation, well all I can say is God help you! The penalties for this (depending on the laws in the state or county) that you happen to be in range from a lifetime ban on driving, having your car impounded or a spell in prison.
The worst penalties however are for when a driver has had a driving ban placed upon him/her and then they are caught driving. Even if they have a temporary ban, the penalties are more severe for driving during that period than driving without a licence at all. Driving after having a permanent ban on your licence really is a shortcut to federal prison!
People driving without a licence is simply an attitude problem. If an understanding that the rules are there for our convenience can be achieved then that should put an end to the attitude problem.
For more information about driving without due care and attention and for free legal motoring advice, visit pattersonlaw.co.uk
Tags: advice, autos, education, law, legal, misc, More Saving, motoring, offences, outdoors, outside, Reference, society, travel, vehicles
The Dangers Of Careless Driving
Oct 16, 2009 More Saving
Where driving without due care and attention used to be something of a defence, it is now far more of an offence. Momentary lapses of concentration are no longer an excuse in a court of law, in fact, in some instances; it can be enough to land you in jail.
Powerful associations like MADD ” Mothers against drunk driving, and other such associations have been lobbying for such changes in the law for quite some time now, and several states have statutes which vary in degrees depending on the severity of the outcome of careless driving.
But what is so surprising is that people dont take driving without due care and attention so seriously. They sympathize with the offender and offer advice as to how they can get away from it all! On a legal forum, we came across a question put by a member who apparently was charged for spinning tires on a gravel road by virtue of going very fast. There was a petrol pump next to where he was fined and the officer mentioned in his report that the offender was driving without due care and attention, and that since the petrol pump was open and there were people in the area, he could have injured someone. Now, the question in the forum was whether proving if the petrol pump was closed will be beneficial to his case, and to our surprise, dozens of people gave advice as to how he could prove that something in the cops report was wrong! What citizenship!!
Every year there are thousands of deaths or serious injuries on the roads as a result of negligent driving and we dont really take notice. Tens of thousands of people lose their licences every year because of careless driving, at least temporarily and many of them just turn up back behind the wheel without a valid licence! Even though the people in the surrounding neighbourhood may well know about it, most people will not pull them up on it, and this is what causes most of the motoring offences on our roads.
Though driving without due care and attention is a relatively lower ranking offense when compared to drunk driving or cell phone driving, it still is one of the biggest causes for accidents, and needs to be addressed with greater authority.
For more information about driving without due care and attention and for free legal motoring advice, visit pattersonlaw.co.uk
Tags: advice, autos, education, law, legal, misc, More Saving, motoring, offences, outdoors, outside, Reference, society, travel, vehicles
Caravan Insurance
Sep 12, 2009 More Saving
It is important to buy caravan insurance because you want to protect yourself against the costs you might incur if your caravan is damaged accidentally or because of a fire, a theft, or bad weather.
Most caravan insurance policies will cover damage done to your caravan by bad weather, theft, accidental or malicious damage, fire and flooding.
Your removable belongings inside the caravan will also be covered up to a limit that would have been predefined in your policy (usually 300).
The possessions cover is intended to cover items that would normally be left in the caravan, such as furniture, cutlery, curtains and so on. Normally money and credit cards, jewellery and other valuables are excluded and should be covered on the all risks section of your household contents policy.
You have a duty of care to look after your property, so theft from your caravan will only be covered if it is properly locked up whilst you are away from it. So there will not be any cover if you leave it open, or you leave your belongings under an awning or in a toilet tent.
Similarly, if your caravan is stolen and it did not have a wheel clamp and hitch lock fitted, there will be no cover.
Check for restrictions due to the security on the caravan site. There may be different requirements for security, for instance an insurer might insist that a static caravan may only be stored on a registered holiday park (i.e. HPA or British Holiday Home Parks Association graded sites). In addition the insurer may insist that the caravan site is protected by hedging or fencing at its periphery.
If you wish to have damage to awnings included in your caravan insurance policy, then that is usually possible at a small extra cost, depending on how old the awnings are. Usually, if the awnings are older than 7 years then they cannot be covered.
This is only a breif summary of caravan insurance and is not intended to be representative of the covers or restrictions offered by any particular insurance or that all insurance provide the protection described. You can get a recommendation for insurance advice to suit your own circumstances or any of our other insurance products such as taxi insurance
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How Did The Automobile First Come About?
Aug 21, 2009 More Saving
The modern automobile is a convenience that we have all become so accustomed to that it is difficult to imagine what life would be like without them now. It is fairly well known that the motor vehicle became a refined method of transport in around 1900 and onwards, however how did the very first one come about? Who was the very first person that thought to try and take the horses off the carriage and make it move with a press of a pedal?
Ferdinand Verbiest is said to have made the very first construct that could reasonably be named an automobile in around 1672. It was a very small vehicle, incapable of carrying a driver or passenger, however it did move on its own through the power of steam. Verbiest built the small toy-like vehicle as a present for the Chinese Emperor of the time.
After this there were several attempts at a self-propelled carriage, the first of which can be accredited to Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769, however there was doubt surrounding his invention as to whether or not it actually worked.
1806 saw the invention of the first internal combustion engine by the hand of Franois Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss inventor and was powered by a mix of hydrogen and oxygen. The design was not particularly successful. It was, obviously, a comparatively basic engine and although, strictly speaking it was functional, it was not particularly efficient and most certainly did not accommodate a comfortable ride.
The man who is usually accredited with the invention of the modern automobile is Karl Benz, although there were others working on it at around the same time such as Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Siegfried Marcus. Benz completed his first Motorwagen in 1885 and was granted a patent for it in early 1886. He then began promoting the vehicles in order to try and sell them to the wealthy and between 1888 and 1893 he had sold 25 vehicles.
In 1890, Daimler and Maybach founded DMG (Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft / Daimler Motor Company) and used the brand name Daimler. Their first vehicle consisted of a horse drawn carriage with a fitted engine of their own design. They had built about 30 vehicles by 1895 and despite their achievements, they and Benz appeared unaware of each others work during the early days.
We then hit the 20th century, throughout which motor vehicles steadily became more and more sophisticated pieces of machinery and towards the end of which the piston and crankshaft engines came about. Mergers in subsequent years between Benz and DMG produced the Daimler-Benz company and the Mercedes-Benz vehicle range.
About the Author:
To buy or rent a luxury car for any occasion, contact www.sparkscars.com, a leading new prestige car sales. They have great relationships with all the well known dealers as well as a massive range of used cars for sale from their own site.
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