Online Auto Insurance Network

If you’re considering taking the whole family – including the furry members – for a road trip, you must remember to take the appropriate safety precautions when transporting your pets.

Usually, a trip in the family car, long or short, can cause a great deal of “excitement” for some pets. This can become a dangerous distraction for the driver and dangerous for a rambunctious pet in a moving vehicle. Before setting out on a trip with your pet, be sure to follow these tips:

• Restrain your pet – This is perhaps the most important tip because it keeps your pet from sitting in your lap or obstructing your vision. If you can, use a pet-specific seatbelt or a crate to keep your pet in one spot. If a seatbe

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Motorists in Northern Ireland are hopeful of a better deal, following the launch of a campaign by the regions Consumer Council to reduce the cost of car insurance.

Premiums across the Province have shot up by almost 73% in the last two years, with younger drivers worst hit and typically paying more than double the price for being legally on the road than in 2009.

The Council wants the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to grant it permission to examine the market in Northern Ireland, and is inviting consumers to give their support via an online petition.

Those taking the trouble to log on get the opportunity to tell their own story regarding the purchase of car insurance, with both the petition and anecdotal evidence eventually gathered up and submitted to the OFT.

The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Justice Committee can also expect to hear from the Council, as it demands a full examination of the impact on premiums of the costs associated with claims.

The watchdogs chief executive, Antoinette McKeown, comments: “The average yearly car insurance premium is now £923.90 and with the increasing cost of fuel the Consumer Council is concerned it will force some people off the road altogether, or lead to an increase in motorists driving illegally without insurance.

Historically residents of Northern Ireland have paid on average £300 more for their car insurance than in the UK generally.

In addition, they have faced the highest price within the UK for petrol, diesel or both, every month so far in 2011.

Although caravan insurance is not a legal requirement in the UK, caravan theft is becoming more common and therefore may be the biggest reason to insure your caravan.

Whilst you are towing your caravan you are covered by your motor insurance policy and so you may wonder whether caravan insurance is worth the cost, but as soon as the caravan is un-coupled this is no longer the case and not really worth the risk.

It is estimated that around 3,000 touring caravans a year are the target of crime. This includes anything from the actual caravan being stolen through to personal items being stolen from within the caravan itself.

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An eighteen-year-old motorcyclist is fighting for his life in the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria after he was struck by a heavy goods truck at Fountains Circle this morning.

The cause of the accident and the series of events leading up to it remain unclear and will form the subject of a South African Police Force investigation. Common cause information indicates that the motorcyclist entered the traffic circle and was struck by the heavy goods vehicle. The force of impact saw the man thrown from his motorcycle.

Netcare911 advanced life support paramedics arrived at the scene to find the rider in a critical condition, having sustained significant abdominal trauma.

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Motorists are being advised by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) not to risk leaving their cars unattended.

As cold weather once again closes in, many will leave their cars unattended whilst they defrost and warm up, but the ABI is advising motorists to stay with their cars and not run the risk of theft.

Last year there was a spike in thefts of cars that were left running but without their driver in sight.

In addition to the risk of theft, leaving a car unattended with the keys in the ignition could invalidate insurance policies.

ABI Director of General Insurance Nick Starling warned motorists to never leave their cars unattended whilst waiting inside for it to defrost and get warm.

In the recent harsh winters police have recorded a surge in such crimes, and two years ago a gang of thieves known as The Ice Bandits received custodial sentences.

Nine people have been arrested in Pietermaritzburg and Chatsworth for defrauding the Road Accident Fund of nearly R5 million.

Police spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge, said eight of them were also held for alleged fraudulent claims – that have not been paid out – of R92 million.

“The SAPS was inundated with reports of alleged fraud from the RAF forensic investigators who became suspicious about the number and the exorbitant claims that had been received from certain claimants.

Mdunge said Percy Kali, 47, of Chatsworth, was arrested on Sunday. He ap

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The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil) is warning that legislation going through Parliament to change no win no fee will fail to address the problems in the personal injury system.

Instead, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill could be a charter for the insurance industry to print money at the expense of injured individuals, the group claims.

Concerns have also been voiced by the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) whose chair, Donna Scully, says: “The Government has completely missed the target here.

She adds: Worse still, it has hit the wrong targets namely the seriously injured, those injured at work or in a public place and, indeed, all genuine claimants.”

Apil and MASS are therefore calling for personal injury clauses to be scrapped from the Bill in favour of:

1. A b

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Question:

Some-one called my offices today and told me that the car strap clip is illegal. See below and advice if this is true? This device helps to stop children from getting out of the car straps in their baby car seats.

I did my research when developing the product but I will need confirmation from an expert like you if it is ok to market to the public.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Ever wonder what those nifty shapes emblazoned on the front and back of your automobile are supposed to mean?  I mean really, what do two over-lapping ovals have to do with the Japanese auto maker Toyota?  The wonky ‘h’ used by Hyundai sort of makes sense to me and the masculine blocky ‘H’ of Honda is also logical because both auto makers used the first letter of their company name to create an easily recognized logo.

Really, a logo is supposed to create brand recognition in sort of a short hand, visual way. It is the advertising equivalent of making an ‘x’ for your mark instead of a full signature.  Logos are very effective. Not many peopl

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Pedestrians are becoming more of a hazard for road users as they talk into mobile devices, email and text while stepping into busy traffic.

According to research from LV= car insurance, one in 10 pedestrians are likely to be crossing the road while using a mobile gadget, although one-third of those doing so will agree that their ability to cross safely is extremely impaired because they are distracted.

Mobile phones, and smartphones in particular, would appear to be the most absorbing devices for pedestrians, so the problem is likely to get worse with the number of smartphone users in the UK having risen 41% in the last year, to around 20 million.

Like most addicts, those unable to tear themselves away from their gadgets whilst en-route appear to be underestimating the dangers they face.

In fact, some gadget addicts were unaware of the direction of traffic at busy junctions and many seemed to blindly follow other pedestrians rather than making their own judgments, the research revealed.

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