There is no worse feeling for any driver than returning to your car only to find that it has been broken into, or even worse has been stolen all together. Whether it’s your £300 P Reg Fiesta or your £1m Bugatti Veyron, there is always the fear that when you leave your car, you’re leaving it in the hands of opportunistic car thieves.
Search the web and you’ll find thousands of articles that give you advice on how to keep your car safe. Here at eInsurance, we’ve decided to compile the best bits of advice from these articles into one handy list that will hopefully minimise your chances of becoming the latest victim of car theft.
•Buy a Ford Ka.
Between 2004-11, confused.com claimed that not one car theft had involved a Ford Ka. When questioning ex-burglar Michael Fraser, they discovered that one of the possible reasons for this may be because they are not very desirable cars in terms of ‘street cred’ in the crime world. Therefore cars such as BMWs, Jaguars and Range Rover Sports should be replaced with a Chevrolet Matiz or a Hyundai i10 Comfort, which are much less at risk to car theft, even if you may lose some ‘street cred’ points in the process!
•Get a tracker fitted.
A study has found that over 90% of vehicles with a tracking device installed that were stolen in the first half of 2011 were recovered, with 80% being returned to the owner within 24 hours. As many car thieves have discovered, it’s becoming much harder to physically break in and steal a car, which means that they focus on home burglary or assault in order to obtain the keys. A tracking device is an extra layer of security for your car should all else fail. Our sister company CVD have teamed up with security specialists Sure-Track to save you over £100 on the purchase of a wireless tracking unit. Many sites say that this should be a necessity for all vehicles, so click here to find out more and save money.
•Turn your wheels when you park/ ensure you steeling wheel is locked.
Many people advise that when you park your car, you should always turn the wheels to face the curb or towards another car next to you. This makes it much harder for thieves to move it, meaning they would have to put more time and risk into stealing it, thus making it more likely for them to move on from your vehicle. Most cars should now have a steering lock system installed, where the steering wheel will lock into place when the keys are pulled out. It’s always a good idea to ensure that your steering wheel is locked into place before leaving your car, which again will make it much more difficult for car thieves.
•The usual...
Make sure your car is locked, keep any valuables out of sight (or take these with you) and wipe off any marks on your windscreen that might have been made from your sat-nav holder. These may all be pieces of advice that people have heard a thousand times, but many still fail to abide by them. Anything that is left on show that can suggest to thieves your car will contain something of value will make it more of a risk. So regardless of the situation, if you’re running late or in a hurry for example, always ensure you follow these basic rules.
•The importance of having the right insurance.
Earlier this year, the government made it compulsory for everyone in the UK who owned a car to have it insured, whether you were driving it or not. But making sure you have the right type of insurance for you is very important. When getting a new policy, always ensure you’ve told the truth on your insurance application to ensure you are fully covered for any situation. For car insurance, honesty really is you best policy.
Whilst many of you may already know what is written above, the fact is that those who are victim to car theft are found to have not followed these pieces of advice. Car thieves hunt for those who are in a hurry or the ‘it won’t happen to me’ types of people. So the one time you may leave a valuable item in the back seat may be the time you find that your car has been broken into.
Whist all these things may be seen as an inconvenience or an extra expense you could do without, it can only take one moment of negligence to find that you have fallen victim to car theft. Security measures for vehicles are always changing, as are car thieves’ methods, so it’s always a good idea to keep up to date with the latest security measures and to ensure you keep as safe as possible.
If you want to sort out your car insurance right away, visit eCar, an online insurance solution that will let you manage your car insurance whenever is suitable for you. As well as annual car insurance, we provide short term car insurance from 1 to 28 days and monthly car insurance in the form of a flexible Pay As You Go car insurance policy.
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Friday 19 August 2011
Tuesday 9 August 2011
Pets really are good for you!
For those of you who don’t own pets, you may not fully understand why pet owners dedicate so much of their time, effort and attention to their furry members of the family. Recent stories have shown the extremes of this recently, with some pet owners finding their dogs a suitable partner to marry and 1 in 10 pets now having their very own Facebook pages!
But why is this? Why are these animals getting pampered to a life of luxury when some believe they will give nothing but a mess in the back garden back? A recent study published by the American Psychological Association may have the answer to this.
Most people generally depend of human interactions for social support, but can your pet cat give you similar results? It has been widely reported that for people with health problems, animals have been helpful in facilitating that said person’s emotional well-being and physical recovery. But this new study gives evidence that suggests that you don’t have to be ill to benefit from the company of animals.
Three studies aimed to see if everyday people did in fact benefit from their pets. They found that they had better self-esteem, were more socially communicative and generally less fearful than those who did not have an animal companion in their lives. They also found that when a participant had experienced rejection in their lives, their pets would give them a good level of support to make them feel better.
Participants were also asked to write about their favourite pet and one of their friends. The results from this showed that writing about a pet has the same positive effects as when they are writing about a friend.
This is the first study of its kind to focus on the benefits of pets to everyday people. Past studies have only focused on the benefits pets have to owners who are struggling with health problems.
So if your parents or loved ones are sceptical about adding a furry edition to the household, it might be worth bringing up the fact that pets have shown evidence of positively changing your life.
It may also be worth considering that if your pets are giving your all of these benefits to you, maybe it’s time to return the favour and show how much you care...
Visit ePet for pet insurance to protect against unforeseen incidents that can affect both your pet and your pocket. ePet offers a variety of policies to suit you and your pet. Each year 1 in 3 pets are injured or become ill and need urgent veterinary treatment. We can help cover the cost of these unexpected bills for as little as 13p a day, leaving you with the important job of helping your important member of the family back to full recovery.
Read more about this story here.
Visit eInsurance Group for your insurance needs
Follow us on Twitter
Friend us on Facebook
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But why is this? Why are these animals getting pampered to a life of luxury when some believe they will give nothing but a mess in the back garden back? A recent study published by the American Psychological Association may have the answer to this.
Most people generally depend of human interactions for social support, but can your pet cat give you similar results? It has been widely reported that for people with health problems, animals have been helpful in facilitating that said person’s emotional well-being and physical recovery. But this new study gives evidence that suggests that you don’t have to be ill to benefit from the company of animals.
Three studies aimed to see if everyday people did in fact benefit from their pets. They found that they had better self-esteem, were more socially communicative and generally less fearful than those who did not have an animal companion in their lives. They also found that when a participant had experienced rejection in their lives, their pets would give them a good level of support to make them feel better.
Participants were also asked to write about their favourite pet and one of their friends. The results from this showed that writing about a pet has the same positive effects as when they are writing about a friend.
This is the first study of its kind to focus on the benefits of pets to everyday people. Past studies have only focused on the benefits pets have to owners who are struggling with health problems.
So if your parents or loved ones are sceptical about adding a furry edition to the household, it might be worth bringing up the fact that pets have shown evidence of positively changing your life.
It may also be worth considering that if your pets are giving your all of these benefits to you, maybe it’s time to return the favour and show how much you care...
Visit ePet for pet insurance to protect against unforeseen incidents that can affect both your pet and your pocket. ePet offers a variety of policies to suit you and your pet. Each year 1 in 3 pets are injured or become ill and need urgent veterinary treatment. We can help cover the cost of these unexpected bills for as little as 13p a day, leaving you with the important job of helping your important member of the family back to full recovery.
Read more about this story here.
Visit eInsurance Group for your insurance needs
Follow us on Twitter
Friend us on Facebook
Tune in on YouTube
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