Motorists Intend to Cut Back on Car Cover in 2011 but Will They Get Stung by a 'Scorpion' Insurer?

By Allianz Insurance Plc, PRNE
Sunday, February 6, 2011

LONDON, February 7, 2011 - Your Cover (www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk/), the new online-only
insurance offering from Allianz, is asking the 1 in 10 motorists who intend
to cut back on their car insurance (
www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk/en/products/car_insurance.html) cover in
2011 to check and see if they can keep the same level of cover AND save
money!

A recent independent survey carried out for Your Cover (
www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk/), revealed that in an effort to save
money in these difficult financial times, 10 percent of motorists intend to
cut back on their insurance expenditure in 2011. Car owners said they
intended to:

    - Remove legal protection or courtesy cars from their policy (9.0%)
    - Increase their voluntary excess (7.0%)

In many cases, these additional extras are automatically included in
insurance packages, so customers don't even get to choose whether they want
to pay for them or not.

Your Cover is asking motorists to shop around to see how flexible some
insurers can be with their products and who knows, they may be able to
maintain their level of cover and save money at the same time, IF they choose
the right provider. But beware of the choices you make says Andy James, head
of direct customer marketing. He said:

"We would advise motorists to think carefully about the kind of car
insurance policy they want in terms of cover and to avoid insuring themselves
with a 'Scorpion' insurer i.e., there's a 'sting in the tail'. For example, a
policy may seem cheap, but there is a wide variation in the level of charges
imposed by insurers for things like mid-term adjustments, cancellation fees
and paying by direct debit. These can all make a policy much more expensive
in the long-run.

"51% of the people in our survey said that shopping around online had
made it easier to find cheaper insurance. Motor insurance is one area where
it is possible to save money and there is a lot of choice out there. What
Your Cover does is allow motorists to build their policy themselves, adding
on additional extras such as Legal expenses only if it suits their individual
budget and lifestyle needs. ."

Other results from the survey include:

    - 35.0% said they intended to review their outgoings and make
      cuts where possible
    - 22.0% intend to spend less on luxury items
    - 12.0% said "I am going to have to make large cuts to our
      outgoings"

Media Notes:

1. Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and
part of the Allianz SE Group, the largest property and casualty insurer
worldwide. Reassuringly in these uncertain financial times, in July 2010 the
Standard and Poor's rating for Allianz Insurance was reaffirmed as AA- with a
stable outlook and the rating of Allianz SE was also reaffirmed as AA with a
stable outlook. Also in July 2010, Allianz Insurance won the General Insurer
of the Year title at the prestigious British Insurance Awards, the third time
the Company has won the award in the last six years.

2. Allianz Retail provides a wide range of personal lines products
distributed through brokers, retailers, affinity partners, veterinary
practices and direct marketing. For more information please visit to
www.allianzretail.co.uk.

3. *A survey of 4,000 motorists aged 18+ living in the UK was carried out
by the research company OnePoll in October 2010.

4. Your Cover quotes are available online at
www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk.

For further information contact: Daniel Tunna, external communications team leader, Allianz Insurance plc, Tel: +44(0)1483-552969, Mobile: +44(0)7891-486640, Email: daniel.tunna at allianz.co.uk

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