Insurance News in Brief: The Fat Duck, Rutting Deer and a TV Presenter

NCD News: Insurance News in Brief: Duck, Deer, The RAC and The AA - 23.09.09

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Insurance News in Brief: The Fat Duck, Rutting Deer and a TV Presenter: >>>> Further to our news about cyber-theives earlier in the month, it has been revealed that Sutton Council has claimed £142,000 in insurance following the theft of lead from school buildings due to the actions of one man. Tom Berge used Google Earth to identify the schools and what type of roofs they had, before scaling the building and abseiling down with the lead. The schools involved have mostly decided to use alternative roof coverings to avoid the problem in the future.

>>>> The AA have surveyed 21,000 of their policy holders and found that 68% of drivers now aged between 18 and 24 got their first car when they were still in their teens. They also found that 3% of boys and 1% of girls bought their first car before they were even old enough to get a drivers license. They also discovered that teenagers are buying more powerful cars. The AA did point out though, that the earlier the teens buy insurance the earlier they can start to accrue no claims bonuses and reduce their premiums - how helpful of them. ;)

>>>> The RAC have also been surveying drivers and have launched a campaign to combat the rude behaviour of drivers. Their statistics which we highlighted recently, showed that the worst behaviour was tailgating. 1 in 3 drivers admit getting angry behind the wheel at least 3 times a week. Television presenter Suzi Perry has been roped in to front the campaign.

>>>> The "Deer Aware" initiative has been launched by The Highways Agency in an effort to reduce the number of deer collisions which occur each year. Apparently Autumn is deer "rutting" season and a time when deer become more active. With 1.5 million deer in the UK the RAC has warned that the chances of coming across one are significant. The advice is to take care, slow down and dip lights. If you do hit a deer contact the RSPCA even though your local butcher will probably give you completely different advice.

>>>> Swinton are bucking the recession trend and are to create 30 new jobs at their Norwich call centre, followed by 20 in Halifax. This is in addition to the 250 announced in April. Swinton are one of the biggest employers in Norwich and say that they are experiencing continued growth.

>>>> It seems that the image of Brits abroad is not too far from the truth. A survey by Essential Travel discovered that 1 in 3 Brits indulge in a "romantic" encounter while on holiday usually fuelled by drink. 15% started before they even left the airport. 56% of those surveyed went straight to the duty free alcohol section when they arrived at their destination and some were sick either at the airport or on the plane due to drinking. Essential Travel warns that excessive drinking on holiday can invalidate travel insurance - though we would warn that any drinking would invalidate most policies.

>>>> Diners who were ill following their meal at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant The Fat Duck are considering claiming legal damages. 500 diners came down with a sickness virus after eating oysters which had been contaminated with sewerage. A report from the Health Protection Agency came out earlier this month and said that the restaurant had food preparation problems and had taken too long to inform the Health Protection Agency about the problem. Mr Blumenthal dismissed the outbreak as a case of winter flu. There have been reports that some of the diners have not even been refunded for their meals which cost hundreds of pounds. If such is the case, we wish them all the best with their compensation claim. †