News

Truck Drivers Need To Check Their Vehicles For “Clandestine Entrants”

As you are no doubt aware there are numerous attempts by illegal immigrants to gain access to our country by hiding in the likes of trucks and vans to avoid having to pass through UK border control. The UK government refers to these as “clandestine entrants”.

We thought we would highlight the potential implications to the haulage firm and the driver of the vehicle if such people attempt to gain access to the UK in this way using your vehicle and some of the steps the haulage business owner and driver should follow to prevent this happening. After all, we are sure you will agree it is better to be forewarned.

The law relating to clandestine entrants covers every arrival coming into the UK whether that is through the likes of seaports in other European countries and the Eurotunnel Shuttle. Insurance Illegal Immigrants

The vehicle must be secured to avoid the above happening. If you do not do so and you are found with illegal immigrants in your truck you will be fined. This is also referred to as a “civil penalty”. The amount of the fine can be anything up to £2,000 for every clandestine entrant found on your lorry and you need to be aware that the owner, driver or hirer of the vehicle can be fined. If you do not pay the fine or there is some doubt that you can pay the fine your vehicle can be detained.

Therefore, it is vital that your company has a reliable system in place for ensuring your vehicle is secure. That includes such measures as: –

• There have to be suitable security devices to ensure the vehicle, load space and load is secure.
• You have to provide the driver(s) with instructions in writing about how to operate the system.
• You must make sure that the instructions given to your driver(s) are being adhered to.
• You must give your driver(s) vehicle security checklists.
• It is a requirement that you have to provide your driver(s) with suitable training about using the security devices and systems.

There is a code of practise about the prevention of clandestine entrants that you should study.

The system that your driver(s) must follow includes: –

• The meticulous checking of the vehicle and the security devices before coming back into the UK and following every stop made.
• Once the vehicle has been loaded, suitable vehicle security devices such as seals, padlock and tilt cord have to be used.
• A record should be kept following every check on a “vehicle security checklist”.
There is a guide that must be studied by each driver called: “How to avoid a penalty: 10 steps to an effective system for drivers”
If the driver suspects that someone has hidden in the vehicle they should make contact with the police, border control or Border Force. If there is anybody hiding in the vehicle your driver should not approach him or her.
We hope that the above is of assistance.

Sabre Insurance Company added to existing Panel

AIB are delighted to announce adding well-respected motor insurer Sabre to our existing motor insurance panel.

As a provider of UK motor insurance products, Sabre are one of the UK’s leading motor insurers with over 30 years’ experience in providing cover to the motor sector and will assist AIB with our clients private cars, taxis and individual commercial vehicles insurance needs. They can cover modified vehicles too and almost any age driver.

Sabre are committed to providing a personal, flexible and tailored service to all their business partners which was why they were ideal for us. It is down to their wealth of industry experience and a real broker understanding and AIB are delighted to welcome Sabre on board.

Let’s hope our partnership is both fruitful, mutually beneficial for clients, AIB and our new partners, Sabre.

So who are Sabre Insurance Company?

Sabre Insurance Company Limited is a UK based insurer authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

Sabre underwrites only motor insurance, including private cars, taxis and individual commercial vehicles, principally through intermediaries, but also directly through Insure 2 Drive , Go Girl and our telematics product Drive Smart.

Based in Dorking, Surrey, Sabre was formed in 1982 and operated as an underwriting agency, until the launch of Sabre Insurance Company in 1991. The business was acquired by General Accident in 1996 and, following a series of mergers with Commercial Union and Norwich Union, the company was sold to BDML Group, an independent company specialising in the insurance sector.

In 2005 BDML Group sold its broking subsidiary, BDML Connect, to Capita and changed its name to Binomial Group Limited. Sabre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Binomial Group Limited.

Introducing Lydia Price – Our Newest Team Member

We are delighted to announce Lydia as our latest successful applicant to join the ranks of Airsports Insurance Bureau this month as part of our on-going apprenticeship scheme within our Eastleigh office.

The role will see Lydia gain extensive knowledge in all aspects of a busy, fast paced, expanding insurance brokers.

At AIB we pride ourselves on the quality of our staff are and the personal relationships we’re able to build with our clients and our insurer partners. We will encourage our apprentices to reach their full potential and give them the tools and resources to gain a professional qualification.

Lydia said: “I am very pleased that I have been offered the position to join AIB and am really excited about being part of their growth plans. I look forward to gaining my qualifications and developing a long term career as well as playing my part in a successful organisation.”

Lydia is partly Australian, an accomplished dancer, lives locally in Hedge End and has a cat called Miss Thomas. She is excellent on a trampoline; however, even Lydia is not perfect as she is a huge Harry Styles of One Direction fan!

So, how does the apprenticeship work and for how long?

The apprenticeships scheme runs for 12 months and is a full time position, 35 hours per week. Lydia will email and telephone clients and insurers, file, deal with post, data entry, answer the telephone as well as general office duties. As Lydia develops her role will develop too and she will learn travel, home, motor, liability and landlords insurance too.

Like other apprentices, Lydia will be assigned an experienced Assessor who will visit her 3-4 working days after the start date to carry out a full induction. The assesor will run through everything with Lydia regarding the training programme and how it works. The tutor will then visit every 2-3 weeks throughout the 12 months for feedback and coursework settings.

The apprentices are initially employed with us for a 12 month period and after this period will normally be offered a full time permanent position within the company or the opportunity to continue studies further.

What are the Qualifications?

The Apprentice gains an NVQ level 2/3 qualification in Business Administration or IT.
We continue to look for talented, enthusiastic individuals who have a desire to work within the insurance industry and if you feel you are the right candidate, please enail us your CV to info@www.aib-insurance.co.uk

Five Things To Take On Holiday

If you are planning to take your family on holiday at half term in a few weeks time and fly off to some exotic overseas location there are a number of items that you may wish to pack. So, let’s have a look at some of the most important ones: –

Clothing

Depending upon where you are going, you will need to take suitable clothing to cater for the weather that is expected. For instance, you will need a selection of items such as shoes, dresses, trousers, shorts, jackets, shirts, blouses, t-shirts, hat and underwear. Don’t forget to pack swimwear, sunglasses and perhaps a beach towel.

You will also require toiletries plus things like sun cream, travel sickness tablets and don’t forget any medication. If you have a baby you will need nappies, nappy cream, wipes, baby food/milk, changing mat and arrange/take a child/booster seat if hiring a car.

Passports

You will need to have a passport for each person otherwise you won’t get beyond the check in desk which could prove a costly mistake if you have to re-arrange a flight for another day. Do you need to arrange visas as well?

Don’t forget to bring your airline tickets with you and print off the boarding passes that some airlines now require. Bring any paperwork relating to your holiday accommodation. If you are hiring a car you will need your driving license as well as any supporting car-hire documentation.

Money

You won’t get very far if you leave your wallet or purse at home. Make sure that you have some currency with you such as Euros or US Dollars depending upon the country that you are travelling to. You will also need to bring with you a debit card(s) as well as a credit card(s).

Travel Insurance

You are under no legal obligation to arrange travel insurance but it would be a sensible thing to put in place prior to setting off on your much-needed holiday. It could provide cover for you and your family against things like your holiday being cancelled unexpectedly, the cost of hospital treatment overseas and repatriation back to the UK the cost of which could run into many thousands of pounds. Do remember to bring the paperwork with you on holiday. Don’t forget your European Health Insurance Card(s).

Mobile Phone

It is amazing how much we depend on our mobile phones these days. Make sure that your supplier has put you onto a package that reduces the cost of making and receiving calls/texts when used abroad as the cost can be prohibitive.

You may also want to bring your tablet and e-book reader.

Enjoy your trip and should you need insurance, give the team a call here at AIB on 02380 268351.

Ten Per Cent Of Registered New Vehicles Are Vans

Have you by any chance happened to notice that there are more new vans appearing on our road system here in the UK than ever before? Well, your observations would tie in with information produced by the Department of Transport.

Apparently, in 2013, vans accounted for 10% of all new vehicles that were registered in the UK making them a very popular choice for the business user. Over the last 5 years, the new van market has grown by 5% in respect of registrations and from 2012 to 2013 a staggering 3% rise.

The data also makes interesting reading as far as which parts of the country have seen the most new van registrations. In top spot, we have Darlington up in the north of England. In 2013, there were 611 new vans registered in respect of every 1,000 residents living in Darlington. Over the whole of the UK, the average was only 68 new van registrations per 1,000 residents.

In second place, there is a significant drop to 370 new van registrations per 1,000 residents and that is in Slough. In third place, we have Swindon with 204 new van registrations per 1,000 people.

If you live in Coventry, you will have witnessed a rise of 293% in new vans being registered whilst in Bristol it was only 13%.

It has also been revealed that it can pay to try to negotiate about the price a dealer wants for a new van. An average saving of £1,210 could be made off the price of a new van if someone is prepared to start negotiating about the price. An impressive 10% of purchasers of new vans were able to get as much as £3,000 plus knocked off the original price.

It probably will not surprise you to read that it tends to be the older van driver who will endeavor to get a few pounds off the price. The research revealed that over half, 54% to be precise, of those aged 35 to 54 tried to get a reduction in the asking price yet only 24% of those in the 18 to 34 years of age bracket did the same.

So, the new van market is certainly extremely buoyant with numerous sizes and shapes of new vans on our roads. No doubt, over a period of time, this will filter through to the second-hand van marketplace.

We hope that the above has been of interest and just for a bit of fun, can you name the film and television series the van below featured in?

Policyplan appointed to our panel of insurers

Many of our business and private clients come to us because we are able to arrange competitively priced quality insurance cover for specialist markets. To help us achieve this we have an extensive panel of insurers that is constantly under review.

In this respect, we are proud to welcome Policyplan that is our latest addition to our ever-growing panel of top quality providers of insurance products. Let us tell you a little bit about them.

Policyplan is a part of Staveley Head Ltd with the later having been established back in 1991. They focus their attention on providing niche insurance products but with intuitive systems and adopt a flexible approach to underwriting.

They have an experienced team of staff in place who are committed to providing outstanding customer service ensuring that business is conducted as effortlessly as possible.
Their product range includes insurance cover for: –

• Courier vans
• Motorhomes
• Motor trade road risks
• Trucks up to 44 tonnes
• Tools/own goods in transit
• Liability cover.

We very much look forward to working closely with Policyplan to help provide our clients with the tailored insurance products they require.

You can read more about them by visiting their website at: – http://www.policyplan.co.uk

AIB Supports Wild Camping Competition

Here at AIB Insurance, we love arranging motor home, campervan and RV insurance, providing our clients with competitive quotations from an extensive panel of well-known insurers with our nationwide renowned ‘personal’ service.

Over an extended period of time we have been insuring an increasing amount of business for members of www.wildcamping.co.uk who love to get out and about to all sorts of places both here in the UK and overseas. In fact, their full members benefit from a 15% discount off motor home or camper insurance arranged through us.

If you have not come across them before you really should take a look at their website. It has an excellent forum where members are able to seek advice about so many different things to do with their motor home or hear about some fantastic, unusual camping sites to park up for a night or two. Why not take a look at the forum and you will see that there is an active dialogue taking place on a daily basis between like-minded motor home enthusiasts.

Anyway, to show our appreciation for all the business that we get from Wild Camping members, we agreed to put up some prizes for a competition they were running for full members. Our prizes were a voucher for £200 off motorhome insurance arranged through ourselves to the person coming second and a voucher for £50 off motorhome insurance taken out through us for five of the runners up.

The draw was made by Wild Camping on the 31st August and we are pleased to inform you that S Lee from Herefordshire has been awarded the “£200 off voucher” with the five runners up prizes of a “£50 off voucher” being won by N Brown from Bristol, R Smith from Neath Port Talbot, R Williams from West Yorkshire, G Kirby from South Yorkshire and Mrs B from Brighton. Well done to you all and we look forward to you contacting us to use your vouchers.

Other prizes in the competition were a first prize of £400 of Love2shop gift vouchers and another three runners up prizes from Gas IT who provided a 3-part adaptor kit with a value of £21.

So, if you are looking for a great deal to insure your motorhome, motor caravan, RV or campervan with benefits such as unlimited EU cover, personal effects and camping equipment cover, why not give us a call on 02380 268351 to discuss your requirements with one of our experienced team who can arrange an instant quote and cover.

Michael Schumacher Returns Home To Recuperate

Those of you that have an interest in Formula One motor racing will know that Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest racing drivers ever to take to the track being compared with the likes of the legendary Ayrton Senna. He was renowned for his aggressive style of driving and won 7 world championship titles.

Let’s briefly look at his career: –

Born in Germany in 1969, he took to go-karting at the age of 4 as many Formula One racing drivers do. By age 6, he had won his first club championship.

After a period at the wheel of other racing cars, he made his Formula One debut for Jordan in 1991 at age 22 and then went on to join Benetton in the same season.

In 1994, he won his first Formula One World Championship title with Benetton having controversially collided with Damon Hill in the last race. He retained the title with Benetton in the following year.

In 1996, he joined the struggling Ferrari team but he helped turn their fortunes around and from 2000 to 2005 he won 5 world championship titles in a row. In 2004, it was estimated that he had an income of $80 million per annum making him the world’s second highest paid athlete.

In 2006, he retired but by 2009 he had returned to Formula One to cover for the injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. He had obviously enjoyed this as, by the end of 2009, he had made a permanent comeback signing for Mercedes for three years on an annual salary said to be £21 million.

In 2012, he retired for the last time with his best finishing position with Mercedes being third at the European Grand Prix in Valencia in June 2012. He then spent some time supporting the Formula One Ferrari development team.

He holds a number of records in Formula One including the fastest laps, winning most championships, most pole positions, most race victories and jointly holds the record for the most races won in one season (13).

On a personal basis, Michael is married with two children age 17 and 15 and lives in a Swiss mansion that cost £25 million to build by a private beach on Lake Geneva. He has a private jet that is currently for sale for $20 million. He is estimated to be worth about £500 million. He has donated millions to charity.

Unfortunately, on 29 December 2013, whilst skiing off-piste with his son in the French Alps, he fell over and his head collided with a rock. Had he not been wearing a ski helmet it was felt that he would probably have been killed.

The accident was thought to have caused Michael to suffer a traumatic brain injury so, after two operations, he was placed in a medically induced coma at Grenoble Hospital.

It was reported by his doctors in March 2014 that he was stable and the following month he was gradually brought out of the coma. By mid June 2014, he had been taken out of intensive care and placed in a rehabilitation ward. He then regained consciousness and was transferred to the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland.

On 9th September 2014, we are pleased to say that he left hospital to recuperate at home.

The above just goes to show that you can never tell what life has in store. Michael had spent years driving at dangerously high speeds in Formula One cars yet never suffered as serious an accident as he did when out skiing with his son towards the end of last year.

We hope that Michael’s health continues to improve.

Landlords To Check Tenants’ Citizenships

You will be well aware of the focus the UK Government is placing on identifying and removing illegal immigrants from our shores. On a frequent basis, we hear about another batch of such people being caught in the back of a lorry trying to gain access to the UK mainland.

Despite the valiant attempts made by those responsible to stop illegal immigrants taking up occupancy here, there are some that still get through the various rigorous security checks. Presumably, few come to the UK with sufficient funds to purchase a property so the majority no doubt often end up in some form of rented accommodation.

Well, as a landlord you will be interested to read that the first phase of what is called the “right to rent” scheme is being introduced on the 1st December 2014. It applies to those privately renting out their investment properties in the Black Country and Birmingham.

Such landlords will be required to check their tenant’s citizenship and identity by examining a biometric residence permit or passport and retain a copy for a year. This scheme has been introduced to create what is being called a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants.

This new system should not be taken lightly by landlords in the West Midlands as they could face a fine of as much as £3,000 if they do not carry out the above checks on prospective new tenants. The only new tenants that do not need to be checked in this way are the likes of immediate family members, those under 18 years of age and those in local authority housing, refuges, hostels and students nominated by colleges.

For their part, the Home Office has confirmed that it will reply within 48 hours to landlords checking the status of new tenants that have appeals and immigration applications pending. It is expected that such checks will be gradually brought into other parts of the UK in 2015.

We would welcome any comments from our landlord clients in respect of the above i.e. do you feel that it is right that you should have this requirement placed firmly on your shoulders.

Do You Know The New Car Tax Rules?

Did you know that, from the 1st October 2014, the Driving Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) is no longer going to be issuing you with a paper tax disc to display on your car windscreen? It would not surprise us one little bit if your answer was a resounding: “No!”

A recent survey revealed that around 50% of motorists did not know about the forthcoming changes with almost 33% having no intention of looking into the pending alterations. Perhaps, if those that weren’t initially interested knew that they could face a fine of up to £1,000 they might start to make some enquiries!

So, we thought we would do our bit and make our readers aware about these new car tax disc rules.

The car tax disc has been around for 93 years but, in less than a month, it will no longer be issued. However, don’t think that you will no longer need to pay car tax – you most definitely will. The DVLA will have a digital record of the cars whose owners have paid their car tax and those who haven’t. It will be possible to check if you have not paid your car tax by the authorities using the likes of number plate recognition cameras.

When you receive your reminder that your car tax is due for renewal from 1st October 2014 you can either sort this out by calling into the Post Office to pay for it, phone the DVLA or apply via their website.

In the past it has only been possible to pay for 6 or 12 months tax but, if you prefer, you will now be able to pay monthly by direct debit although this will mean paying an extra 5% of the annual car tax fee. If you pay by credit card you will pay a surcharge of £2.50.

There are some changes if you are buying or selling a second hand car. The seller must notify the DVLA immediately that they have sold their car or face a hefty fine and, potentially, other charges. They will get a refund of any full months of tax that they had paid. The buyer will need to register the car and pay car tax from the outset or face a hefty fine – in the past they have not needed to pay for car tax until the existing tax disc has run out.

This new system appears to be a positive step as it is going to be less of an administrative burden both for the motorist and the DVLA and is estimated to result in administrative savings in the UK of about £10 million per annum. Also, it provides more ways of paying and it will be easier to identify those avoiding paying car taxes.

We hope that the above has been of some help.