If you are thinking of buying car or van insurance online then the ABI, the British Insurers Brokers Association, has published a new guide to help you when buying motor insurance. The insurance guide has been developed in conjunction with leading insurance comparison sites and the consumer association Which?. It also covers general insurance such as home insurance as well as car insurance.

The key areas covered by the ”Good Practise Guide” are as follows;

- Policy information. Customers should being able to review all aspects of their policy before buying.

- Add-ons. It recommends that all aspects of what cover is being provided as standard should be made clear and what features are being sold as add ons.

-Excess levels. The level of any excess should be clearly displayed.

- Referrals. Customers to whom a quote cannot be provided should be directed to a possible alternative source of help.

The ABI Good Practise Guide is available @ www.abi.org.uk

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is backing moves by the latest Government proposal to fine motorists who are caught without insurance. The IAM backs the move which it claims will protect the vast majority of law abiding motorists – as long as the databases are accurate.

The Department for Transport, using the 2006 Road Safety Act, will insist that motorists and vehicles should be continuously insured, whether the vehicle is kept and used on a road or not. The proposal is that the DVLA will send reminder letters to motorists whose insurance is about to expire. If they then ignore this letter and don’t both to renew their insurance, they will be issued with an automatic fine.

IAM chief examiner, Peter Rodger, said “The proposal will help reduce the numbers of people who had genuinely forgotten their insurance was up for renewal. However, those who deliberately flout the law are unlikely to be phased by the new proposals as they will continue to find ways to work the system”.

The Goverment proposal depends entirely on the accuracy of the DVLA keeper records and the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and the IAM is concerned about their reliability. The IAM has asked that their concerns about database accuracy are addressed before the scheme can possibly move forward.