Escape Of Water Campaign

With winter now well and truly here, we are reminding customers about the importance of taking simple measures in helping stop the escape of water through freezing pipes and joints, leaks and internal flooding. Sudden freezes can and do cause havoc with thousands of homes and businesses, causing millions of pounds of damage and untold disruption and destruction to customers.

We should know, in the last 6 months we had an escape of water claim in our office. A washing machine leaked from a flat above, although maybe not a lot of water from a single wash, it caused nearly £5,000 worth of damage to electrical equipment, computers and general contents. It took weeks to get the office running back smoothly again and this was a fairly minor incident compared to some.

While we cant control the weather, we can help ourselves by reducing the risk in the first place. We have teamed up with one of our partner insurers Fortis to bring some handy hints and tips in how to avoid an Escape Of Water disaster striking you.

Escape of water insurance claims costs are spiralling and ultimately it will be customer who will pay the premium in increased premiums. In 2008 3 out of 10 claims were for Escape of water incidents and claims costs have doubled from £46 million in 2006 to £93 last year, so it's a growing concern.

To help you, just click here which takes you to the Fortis Insurance website and download your FREE toolkit, and make sure you are not one of those above stats. There is one which is aimed at private homeowners and one which is for business owners.

Good luck with it and have a great Christmas and Happy New Year !!!

Christmas Opening Hours & Merry Christmas Everyone !!!

We would like to wish all our customers a Happy Christmas and hope you all have a great new year, don't drink too much. We will be open over Christmas, below are our opening hours:

Opening Hours Over Christmas

Tue 23rd. 9 - 5
Wed 24th. 9 - 12
Christmas Day. Closed
Boxing Day. Closed
Sat 27th. 9 - 12
Sun 28th. Closed
Mon 29th. 9 - 12
Tues 30th. 9 - 12
Wed 31st. 9 - 12
New Years Day. Closed
Fri 2nd. 9 - 5

Merry Christmas !!!

Small Business Owners Warned About Reducing Cover To Save Costs

Insurance companies have been sending out messages warning small business owners about reducing cover on their insurance policies.
With the credit crunch affecting the majority of businesses in the UK, everyone is obviously looking to save money where they can, but reducing cover on their insurance could have a reverse effect. It's easy to remove cover on a shop for perhaps stock, or reduce the sums insured on your buildings or contents, but in the event of perhaps a fire or flood you could be even more out of pocket, not being reimbursed for your loss or if underinsured possibly not being paid enough to get your business back where it was before the claim and putting your business at more risk of going under.
Our recommendation.... Speak to a professional insurance broker who will be able to give you advice on what you should insure and for what amount and only remove the covers which are unnecessary for your business. They should then be able to search the market and find you the right product, and at the right price!!

New Online Quotes Available For Classic Car Insurance & Pleasure Boat Insurance

Two new additions have been added to the GJT Hodgson Insurance Services online product range.

The first is for Classic Car Insurance and we have teamed up with Lancaster Insurance to provide owners of older and classic vehicles with a specialist policy which can cover vehicles on an agreed basis. Lancaster will quote for all types of vehicles including cars, classic vans, classic motorcaravans like VW Campers, American classic cars, classic 4X4s amongst others. Checking over 20 specialist companys, discounts are also available for limited mileage, Classic Car Club member discounts, garaging discounts, no claims and limited drivers discounts. Breakdown cover and legal expenses cover is also available. Best of all you can get an instant quotation online in minutes and if acceptable cover can be given there and then . Just log on to Classic Car Insurance for your instant quotation.

The second offering is for owners of pleasure boats. Again this is an instant online quotation system for customers to get instant quotes on. Through the UK's number 1 motor boat and yacht insurer, Navigators and General (Zurich Insurance), competitive quotes can be given in minutes for craft including dinghies, general small boats, narrow boats, inland craft, cruisers, powerboats and others up to a value of £10,000,000.

Do you have to have boat insurance ???... Yes and No, Evidence of third party insurance is compulsory at most marinas, harbours and in recognised mooring areas. To obtain an inland waterways licence, you need to produce proof of third party insurance, most lakes and reservoirs require the same.

Again check the site out for a quotation at boat insurance and get that competitive quotation now.

Short Term Car Insurance

People looking for quick cover to insure themslves on a car temporarily then look no further. Via GJT Hodgson Insurance Services we can offer you cover for up to 28 days on any type of private car or small van from our partner Temporary Cover Limited. Maybe you want to insure yourself on a friends vehicles for a few days or maybe you have a relation staying and you want them to borrow your vehicle. Whatever the reason you can get an instant online quotation and take up instant cover if the price is acceptable and the take up is high with it's competitive pricing. You do need to be over 21 to take out this cover through and you can pay online through a secure payment facility.
Just log on to our site here 'Short Term Car Insurance Here' and get an instant quote now.

New Insurance Scheme For Guest House Owners

GJT Hodgson Insurance Services have just set up a new guest house insurance scheme. A new website has been created for customers to send their quotations through, and already is very popular with extremely competitive prices being provided. We have a panel of top insurance companies including Norwich Union, Royal & Sun Alliance, Axa, Primary, NIG & Fortis to provide the best policies on the market for the guest house owner. Cover can include buildings ,contents (business & personal), stock, guests effects and of course public liability cover.
View the new website now at www.guesthouseinsurance.co.uk

Childcare Insurance Specialists Receive Top Award

Top Award for Morton Michel

Childcare insurance specialist, Morton Michel has received a top award, Schemes Intermediary of the Year, in this year’s UK Broker awards, which are run by Insurance Age. Morton Michel has been specialising in insurance for childcare professionals for more than 40 years and is now the established leader in this field. Its insurance schemes are underwritten by Sterling Insurance Company and support virtually all areas of professional childcare.

Over 500 people attended the UK Broker awards ceremony, which took place in The Brewery in the City of London. Morton Michel was presented with the award by Irish comedian, Ed Byrne, who said, “Schemes Intermediary of the Year is always a popular category in these awards with a large number of superior entries. The winner was extolled as a real gem by the judges and it has dominated an important sector of the market – childcare insurance.”

Morton Michel partner, Samantha Beere, received the award with her two partners, Nick Beere and Jerry Beere. “We are just thrilled to receive this award,” said Samantha, “it is wonderful to have this recognition from our peers for all the hard work that we have put in over the years.”

For the category Schemes Intermediary of the Year, the judges were looking for a company that could demonstrate a commitment to meeting customer needs and to delivering a high quality of service across all its activities. This had to be coupled with a proven track record of successful and innovative expansion into new or existing markets.

Insurance Age received over a hundred entries for its awards with a particularly high number of entries for the Scheme Intermediary of the Year. “This is one of the most hard fought of all the categories,” said editor of Insurance Age, Michelle Worvell. “Furthermore, the quality of the entrants was exceptionally high this year and there were some real top players competing for this particular award.”

Morton Michel are the preferred insurance company used by GJT Hodgson Insurance Services. As you can see they are the No1 in the childcare insurance sector. We can provide insurance through them for all child care sectors including:
Day Nurseries, Social, Voluntary, Educational and Charity Groups, Residential Children’s Homes, Children’s Activity Areas, Crèches, Childminders, Pre Schools, Out of School Clubs and Children’s Sports Clubs. If you are looking for insurance then please contact our office on 01288 353999 or visit our website at www.hodgsoninsurance.co.uk

Car Breakdown Cover From Just £ 25.20 A Year

We can offer you car breakdown cover in the UK from JUST £ 25.20 A YEAR. Our policies are the most competitively priced policies in the UK, and we offer 6 different levels of breakdown cover, so you can choose the right cover for your needs.
The prices are based on one specified vehicle and covers anyone who may drive that vehicle. Cover is available for cars, motorcycles, motorised caravans, light vans, estate cars, and 4x4 sport utility vehicles. All vehicles must not exceed a gross vehicle weight of 3,500kg, a length of 7m, a height of 3m and a width of 2.25m.
The breakdown service is provided by Europ Assistance. They have over 5,000 trained mechanics throughout the UK to respond to your breakdown and they currently have an average call out time of just 35- 40 minutes, which is quicker than a lot of their competitors.

Why choose Europ Assistance?, Who are they?They are the worlds most widely used breakdown emergency assistance company, protecting over 109 million people worldwide, that's a lot. In the UK, Europ Assistance work with a network of over 5,000 trained mechanics, to provide national coverage and rapid response times. Their team of expert co-ordinators work around 24/7, 365 days a year to make sure all emergencies are quickly and safely dealt with, allowing you to continue your journey with as little disruption as possible.

To see the up yo date prices just click here and go to our breakdown cover page

Allianz Cornhill To Offer Recycled Parts In Repairs

Allianz Cornhill has launched a three month pilot project to test the use of recycled parts in repairing vehicles. From 1 October 2006 policyholders from the public and commercial sectors, who own vehicles of five years and older, will be invited to consider the use of recycled parts to repair their vehicles. The insurer said that as well as reducing the environmental impact of repairing vehicles, it would look at whether the scheme helps to reduce claim costs. Allianz Cornhill said 'The use of recycled parts will be entirely voluntary. Policyholders will have a 24-hour cooling-off period during which time they can change their minds and decide for or against using recycled parts.' The parts will be distributed by vehicle salvager Car Transplants to the ten Allianz Cornhill approved repairers from across the country that are taking part in the pilot.

Many companies have been trying this recently without much success and we cant see it working for the long term. We feel if customers want their vehicle repaired they will want them repaired with the same spec parts they had on their vehicle before. If insurance companies want to make a go of it they must covince the public the parts are just as good as originals, 'recycled parts' just don't seem quite that safe!!

Holiday Home Insurance

More and more people are buying holiday homes throughout the UK for holiday letting or using it themselves or thrir friends to just get away from it all. If you have a Holiday Home then you must have specialsed insurance for it. A standard house insurance policy will not cover it if's not your main residence and are unoccupied for long periods of time. If you are looking to insure it then contact us now for a competitive quotation. We have been insuring holiday homes for over 25 years and search a panel of the top UK insurance companies including Axa Insurance and Towergate Insurance amongst others.

Call us today on 01288 353999 for a quote or visit our website and complete a quotation form. Click Here

Motor Cycle Insurance For People Over 50

Many insurance companies now are looking very carefully at how they rate premiums for motorcycles for people over the age of 50 who have not ridden a biike for years. The reason basically is that vthe statistics have shown an alarming rise in older bikers killed in road accidents. This is mainly because these bikers now have more money to buy bigger bikes than they did when they were 16 but the power and performance of the bikes is far higher than the equivalent bikes were back then. Plus there is a lot more traffic and faster roads. If a dog runs out in front of a car at 80mph you kill the dog. If a dog runs out in front of a bike at 80 mph the biker is killed or at the least usually injured

I have just started biking again after 30 plus years and I drive very warily and defensively and would advise all older "born again bikers" to stand back and acceot that the bikes are now different and you wiill enjoy safe biking for many years

Be safe

If you are looking to insure your motorcycle we can arrange instant online quotations and instant cover with prices the most competitive in the UK. Please visit our site. Click Here For Quote

Graham Hodgson
Company Director

New Safeguards For The Public

New safeguards for the public came into force from January 2005. Anyone trading in insurance in the UK will have to be registered with the FSA (Financial Services Authority) which means that they have got to stick to very strict guidelines or they will not be able to trade. The public can feel rest assured that their money should be safe with a FSA registered broker as well as getting the best possible advice.

GJT Hodgson Insurance Services are pleased to confirm that they are FSA registered so you can be assured you are dealing with a compliant and professional insurance broker