Nuclear scientists = bad drivers

So, it seems the trend for silly stats is spreading…

A few weeks ago I brought you research that actually claimed that the date of your birth could determine your competence behind the wheel. Crazy indeed!

(If you missed that, check it out here…)

The statistics I have for you today are, to be fair, not quite as silly. This research from moneysupermarket.com lists the least and most likely professions to have a car accident/crash and the results are not quite what you would have expected.

GPs, surgeons and nuclear scientists are in the top 10 professions most likely to crash. To think, we trust them with our lives! And top of the list it’s, wait for it, BUS CONDUCTORS, with almost one in six of them causing crashes whilst in their own cars. Well, that makes my journey home look a lot more frightening…

The top 10 professions least likely to crash are less surprising. At number eight on the list its driving examiners practising what they preach with less than 1.5% responsible for motoring accidents. Luckily for busy parents, au pairs also feature on this list, along with butlers and milliners. For those of you who are as naïve as me, a milliner makes hats (apparently).

Other interesting professions we see grace the lists are party planners, gravediggers, chimney sweeps, golf caddys, ice cream vendors and bingo hall staff. See if you can guess where they featured…

While these statistics are interesting, your profession will not necessarily have an affect on the cost of your insurance policy. However, from older drivers to younger drivers and from those with driving convictions to those who are lucky enough to own a high performance car, there are specific insurance policies which depend on certain criteria.

When looking for the cheapest insurance policy, make sure you shop around and remember that you can sometimes get cheaper deals from certain companies, just for fitting into certain categories.

Top ten tips for cheaper car insurance >>>

Compare car insurance >>>

Birthday driving safety?!

Today I discovered a piece of research that actually claims that your date of birth could determine your competence behind the wheel. No joke. Tell me, is this the most outrageously wasted time of a research team ever?

Just to clarify, this is not about which decade you were born in (which perhaps would be slightly more credible), but the actual date you were born - the month and day of your birthday.

Yes, those clever people at elephant.co.uk have managed to produce a list of the “safest” and “worst” drivers, according to their birthdays. I bring you the top five:

Safest drivers

1. 31 May
2. 1 February
3. 1 June
4. 1 September
5. 1 March

Worst drivers

1. 16 September
2. 29 February
3. 24 December
4. 9 December
5. 9 March

But what do these lists mean? If our friend falls in the second list should we politely decline any lifts they offer? Should we inquire of our driver’s DOB every time we hail a taxi? How can you possibly judge someone’s motoring skills based solely on the day they were born?

Clearly I think these lists are a load of rubbish, but then again, maybe I’m just bitter - you see, I appear rather high on one of these lists (and not the good one!).

But seriously, if you crunch enough data you will always find that some form of pattern emerges (just like if you give enough monkeys typewriters you will get the entire works of William Shakespeare). This is all well and good – I have a soft spot for Shakespeare and monkeys - but it means nothing.

You can’t get a cheaper insurance policy based on your birthday, and I can’t see them introducing them any time soon. However, there are other factors which can affect your policy premium…

From older drivers to younger drivers and from those with driving convictions to those who are lucky enough to own a high performance car, there are specific insurance policies which do depend on certain criteria.

When choosing your insurance policy, make sure you shop around and remember that you can sometimes get cheaper deals from certain companies, just for fitting into certain categories.

Ten top tips for cheaper car insurance>>>

Compare car insurance >>>

The Matiz post MOT

Tuesday 19th August, 2008 - £8,078.83 in debt…

I woke up today in what I can only describe as a chipper mood. The sun was shining, Rafael Nadal had claimed his place as tennis’s world number one, and I was looking forward to booking my holiday. I tra-la-la-ed my way to the front door, a skip in my step, picked up the post, and discovered that I’ve been mis-sold some Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) by Endsleigh. Hooray!

I have a car insurance policy with Endsleigh, and it’s not due for renewal until January, but I called them on Friday to add my boyfriend (who’s learning) to my policy. This went as well as could be expected, and will only cost me an extra £20 for the rest of the year. When my new credit agreement arrived this morning, it included an extra couple of quid per month for PPI, which I hadn’t asked for and hadn’t been asked about. 

“Oh, how charming!”, I thought. “How lovely of them to assume I’d benefit from PPI and add it to my policy without wasting my valuable time by asking me!”. Perhaps if I’d been in a worse frame of mind I might have marched down to Endsleigh’s Plymouth branch and fire-bombed it. Who knows?

Whenever I’ve been asked whether I want PPI, I’ve always said no. It’s a waste of money and, frankly, if I ever find I can’t afford £18 a month for my car insurance, I’d be better off selling my car. I’m 100 percent sure that I wasn’t consulted about this.

My first step was to become slightly enraged and then get over it. I checked the smallprint so that I could phone Endsleigh and bellow “how DARE you change my policy?” down the phone. But, as it turned out, they’ve been charging me for PPI since January! This is what happens when you don’t pay any attention to your finances for years.

So, I’ve tried phoning Endsleigh and emailed them when I couldn’t get through. I’ve explained what’s happened and asked to cancel my PPI. But can I reclaim what I’ve already paid?

Money Saving Expert says I can reclaim mis-sold PPI on loans, credit cards and store cards, but doesn’t mention dodgy insurance policies. What do I do next…?

Update!

I’ve emailed the Endsleigh complaints department, explained everything and asked for a refund of all the PPI charges I’ve paid so far. I’ve backed up my claim by referring to the FSA regulations Endsleigh is subject to. If you’re thinking of making a similar complaint, you can check whether the company in question is on the FSA register by going here.