The Beast Beaten by Speed Bump

Barack Obama’s presidential limousine, nicknamed ‘The Beast’ really is a sight to behold. This state of the art machinery was built especially for the president. Most of its details are top secret, but what is known sounds impressive. With its 6.5-litre engine with added supercharger, it goes fairly slow at a top speed of 60mph with it taking 15 seconds to reach. This isn’t surprising with a limousine that weighs over 6 tonnes.

The Beast is also prepared for all manner of incidents. It’s fully armour protected, with 5 inch windows sealed tight enough to fend off any chemical attacks. It also has its own oxygen supply and holes in the front of the car which fire tear gas and smoke grenades.

Now let’s compare this to my own version of ‘The Beast’: The Citroën C3, which also has a top speed of 60mph (which is more to do with an engine that has seen better days) but doesn’t have its own central locking system, let alone its own oxygen supply. However it does have its advantages over Mr. Obama’s super-motor. For example, it can do a more economical 74.3 MPG compared to Obama’s range of 8MPG. It can also go over steep ramps with ease, unlike ‘The Beast’, as the President’s entourage recently discovered in Ireland.

At the US embassy in Dublin, witnesses saw the car attempting drive out, only for its bomb-proof undercarriage to get stuck on a piece of metal on the ramp which is used to lock the gates in. Reports claimed to have heard a loud bang followed by a grinding noise until the car came to a halt halfway up the ramp.

A Secret Service spokesman however has confirmed that the Obamas were not in the car at the time and that this was only the backup car.

This is not the first time Mr Obama has had problems with the armoured car. In 2009, footage of The Beast attempting a three-point turn went viral.

So my advice to Mr. Obama on his next State visit to the UK? Buy a C3!

And let’s just hope his insurance covers those severe scratches on the underbelly or the backup Beast when he puts in a claim!

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 flexiblePay As You Go car insurance policy.

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Uninsured drivers running out of places to hide

The fight against uninsured drivers is moving ever closer to victory with recent news emerging that from 20^th June, those without car insurance will face fines and risk having their car being seized. The law previously stated that it was only an offence to drive without car insurance. This is no longer the case, as new rules state that those without cover risk having their car seized even when the car is not being driven.

This news comes as a breath of fresh air to those who have been affected by uninsured drivers. Road Safety Minister Mike ­Penning said: “Uninsured drivers are a danger on our roads, killing 160 and injuring a further 23,000 people each year and they cost honest motorists £500million in extra premiums.

 From 20^th June the message is simple – if you are an uninsured driver, you will face a fine, court action, or will have your car seized. Those who are found not to have car insurance will receive a letter letting them know that their vehicle is uninsured. If no action is taken they will receive £100 fine. If the driver still does nothing to insure their car they risk court action, where a fine of £1000 could be handed to the offender. They could also see their car seized, clamped or even destroyed if the uninsured car is found parked on public land. Only those who have declared their vehicle ‘off the road’ by contacting the DVLA with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) will avoid the fine. So it is good idea to double check if you have a SORN if you have declared it ‘off the road’ to avoid any hassle.

To raise awareness, a new advertising campaign has been launched by the government to highlight the change in the law.

Currently around 1.4 million motorists are without insurance in the UK.  With this new law being implemented, forcing these people to get insurance, it can only be a step in the right direction for honest drivers and will hopefully lower premiums.

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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Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/248238/Uninsured-drivers-face-losing-vehiclesUninsured-drivers-face-losing-vehicles#ixzz1NAC0BFfj

How would your family cope financially if you were not around?

The Daily Mail has reported today that the rising costs of living are affecting families by rising as much as £54 per week in the last six months alone.
The Mail reports: The typical family has been stung by an increase of £54 a week in their  bills over the past  six months, alarming research reveals today.

The report, from the comparison website Moneysupermarket, highlights the pressure on households on all fronts from petrol prices to energy bills.

Kevin Mountford, the website’s head of banking, said: ‘Many families will feel like their finances are approaching breaking point.’

It comes as official figures, published yesterday, show inflation surged to 4.5 per cent last month, the highest level since October 2008 and more than double the Government’s 2 per cent target.

It means homeowners could be hit by interest rates rises imminently, meaning their monthly mortgage payments will jump if they do not have a fixed-rate loan.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, expose crippling price rises, including air fares being 29 per cent higher in April than in March.

This is because airlines and travel agents ruthlessly hiked their prices to take advantage of the anticipated increase in demand during the double bank holiday weekend bonanza, which included the royal wedding.

At the same, time, the price of alcohol and cigarettes jumped by 5.3 per cent, the highest-ever monthly increase since records began 15 years ago.

By comparison, a typical worker’s pay is either being frozen, or is rising by a paltry 2.5 per cent.

They are also being hit by tax rises, such as VAT and National Insurance, and changes to benefit entitlements.

The Moneysupermarket research said petrol, food and energy bills are causing the biggest headaches for families.

Further pressure is on its way, with the Bank of England predicting inflation will keep on rising, with energy bills set for double-digit increases.

Angela Eagle, Labour’s Treasury spokesman, said: ‘Across the country, millions of people on low and middle incomes are being squeezed in every direction by rising prices made worse by the VAT rise.’

A rate rise would be a devastating blow for millions of homeowners who are already struggling to afford their monthly repayments.

The Bank of England has kept the base rate at an historic low of 0.5 per cent for more than two years, but a rate rise is widely expected later this year.

Howard Archer, chief economist at the consultancy IHS Global Insight, warned of the rise in inflation: ‘It is likely to significantly boost expectations that the Bank will act as soon as August.’

Yesterday business lobby groups and many economists urged the Bank to resist the temptation to increase the base rate.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘We expect to see interest rates increase later in the year.

‘But we urged the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to hold its nerve in the short-term to allow the economy to grow while absorbing the initial impacts of the measures to tackle the UK’s deficit.’

John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘The economy is not in a strong enough position to withstand an interest rate rise at present.’

For savers, low rates have been a major problem, with the income from their nest eggs slashed by rates as low as  0.01 per cent.

So taking into account overall rising costs, it is important to remember to get your affairs in order and finances under control, should the worst happen, by protecting yourself with life insurance cover. Find out more at www.einsurancegroup.co.uk today and see how little it costs to ensure your peace of mind.

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On-the-spot fines to be enforced for 'Anti-social' driving

Spot fines for careless driving could be on the cards according to the UK government, reports bikeradar.com today, with 2012 the likely date for their roll out in England, Scotland and Wales. Currently all motoring offences that are not admitted must be dealt with through the courts.

Responses to the new fine proposals have been mixed, however, with both the CTC (UK's national cyclists' organisation) and the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) doubting whether the fines will be effectively enforced.

Motoring sins highlighted as possibly incurring the on the spot fines include tailgating, undertaking and cutting up others. The minimum fine would be £80 and offenders would also get three points on their licence.

The proposals - revealed by Transport Minister Philip Hammond - and still to pass through Parliament - are part of a range of measures that aim to reduce the current rate of KSIs (killed and seriously injured) on the UK's roads from the current annual rate of around 25,000 to 10-15,000 by 2030.

Other measures announced include a rise in fixed penalty notices for motoring offences from £60 to £80-100, the possibility of a new offence of 'driving with a specified drug in the body', encouraging courts to make greater use of powers of seizure for the most serious offenders, compulsory retraining for disqualified drivers and more educational offerings for offenders.  

Fore more information, read the full story here.

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Is your pet insurance enough?

When soon-to-be-married Rick and Linda took their German Pointer puppy for his daily walk one day last summer, little did they know it would cost them their wedding!

The Sun reported that Rick and Linda planned to marry abroad in the sunny climate of Cuba with the date set to May of this year.  Both animal lovers, Rick and Linda decided to add to their family, settling upon a German Pointer puppy and named him Eli. One day, Rick, 37, took him for a walk at Elland Wood Bottom near their home in Halifax, West Yorks.

The dog was running about when Rick heard him suddenly yelp in pain. The ex-Mortar Platoon corporal saw a jagged fence end had speared the ten-month-old dog's neck and plunged six inches down inside his chest.

Rick says: "Blood spurted from his body like a fountain and Eli was sobbing and whining. He pulled himself off the fence and staggered about. I laid him down and drew on my 13-year Army and first aid training, put my arms around him and held him tight to apply pressure to try and stem the bleeding from a wound the size of a 50p piece.

"I got a passing walker to pull my phone out and call the vet. They arranged for Eli to be rushed there by the Yorkshire Animal Ambulance."

The vet told them: "You can either have Eli put down or I can try and save his life. There is no guarantee he will survive or recover from the operation and it will cost you a lot of money."

But Linda and Rick, who thought of Eli as their baby, did not need ten minutes. They looked at each other and straight away agreed to sacrifice their big day.

Eli went into shock and had to be given fluids. X-rays costing £200 a shot and a £1,200 CAT scan showed the stake had narrowly missed his throat but had damaged his lungs and heart.

"The costs were beginning to mount but we had pet insurance - though only up to £4,000. I thought that would be enough," says Linda.

"But that was nearly used up already. It took 48 hours to stabilise Eli and the vet then said the tests showed there was debris - bits of fencing, grass and twigs in his body. For Eli to survive, he needed to be operated on at a cost of cost £3,000."

Eli then underwent a three-hour operation and then had to spend a further four days recovering at the vet's and be given painkillers, each lot costing up to £60.

"The day after he was operated on, we were due to go on a £600 holiday to Cornwall but cancelled that to look after him," says Rick.

"We collected him the Tuesday - a week after his accident. Eli came home but had to go back for daily check-ups at £30 a go and it cost £120 to have his stitches removed and a further £110 for the pet ambulance."

But after a week at home, Eli relapsed and began bleeding from his nose. He was rushed back to the vets where they did another £1,200 scan and a biopsy.

Thankfully, Eli bounced back and is now in good health.

Rick, now an NVQ assessor, says: "That cost us another £1,600. Our bank account was well and truly emptied - we had no change from £10,000, including the insurance money."

Linda says: "Our friends who don't have pets think we are crackers. But our pals who have pets know exactly why we did it."

"It was worth every penny. We get so much pleasure from Eli. He is our baby. We are saving again now and hope to get wed in 2012. We hope to get to Cuba to do it."

"We've not once regretted shelling out for Eli. He's worth it!"

So, pet insurance could save the day when you least expect it! Ensure you have selected a decent level of cover for all eventualities - visit us at www.epetinsurance.co.uk for your quote today!

You can read the full article as featured in The Sun here.

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How much is your wardrobe worth?!

The average British woman owns nearly £400 of shoes they never or rarely wear, research by The Co-operative Insurance reveals.

The findings reveal that while women in the UK own an average twenty pairs of shoes, eleven of those pairs will remain hardly worn.

And while many pairs will be neglected, most women will continue to fuel their shoe habit, buying eight new pairs of shoes a year.

According to the survey, a pair of shoes will cost the average British women £36, meaning they clock up an annual average shoe-spend of £288. And 10% of the 3,000 women surveyed will spend at least £600 a year on shoes.

Lee Mooney, Head of Home Insurance at The Co-operative Insurance, said: "It's staggering to think about how much the average woman's shoe collection could be worth. The research shows just how much most women will spend on their footwear every year, and not only that, but how much many will spend on shoes they don't actually wear.

"Whereas a few decades ago shoes may have been considered an indulgent purchase, it's now the norm to spend a considerable amount of money on them every year. It's easy to forget the value of items like this when assessing the value of your household contents, but in case the worst happens it's worth making sure they're properly covered by insurance - particularly for those who have expensive shoes in their collection."

The research also shows that most women will wear a pair of shoes for three years before binning them, although more than a fifth can't bear to part with their footwear, with 21% admitting that they never throw old shoes away.

The age-old adage that retail therapy provides an endorphin rush is also confirmed, with more than a third of women (37%) agreeing they buy shoes to cheer them up. Other reasons women buy shoes are to go with a new outfit (52%), to stay on trend (18%) and to fuel a shoe obsession (10%).

The findings also reveal that a surprising number of women will spend their cash on ill-fitting shoes, with nearly a third (31%) admitting they've bought a pair of shoes that were the wrong size for them, just because they liked them.

And while more than half of women (55%) keep shoes stored safely in their wardrobe, one in five (22%) are more disorganised, keeping them in the living room, scattered around the house or even in the car.


The full article can be found here.

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Do you protect your home when you're on holiday?

Finding it strange being at work on a Monday?! It's certainly not what many of us have been used to these past few weeks. So when the post-holiday blues hit, what's the one antidote guaranteed to perk up your spirits? Book another holiday! :-)

But when you jet set off into the glorious sunshine of warmer climes, are you ensuring your home is best protected against crime while you're away. The Hazelmere Group has compiled a fantastic list of top tips to take heed of, to significantly reduce the possibility of your home being broken into. There is no 100% guarantee nowadays, but following are a dozen practical suggestions of things you can do to make your home more secure whilst you are away.

1) Don’t put your home address on any of your luggage labels - all it takes is one phone call from a 'source' at airport check-in advising burglars 'standing by' of properties currently empty

2) If you have any particularly valuable items, it would be wise to keep a list of them, plus put them in a safe place

3) Make sure your garage and/or shed are securely locked, so that your ladder and tools are safely tucked away out of sight

4) Ensure that both your buildings insurance and contents insurance are up to date

5) It is always a good idea to cut your lawn just before you go away as well as cancel any daily deliveries like the milk and newspapers

6) Make sure your property looks lived in. Get a neighbour or friend to put the mail out of sight each day

7) Don’t put your name and address on your spare keys if you lend them to a neighbour or friend

8) Leaving your curtains closed in the daytime is a signal that the property is unoccupied

9) Set up automatic timer-switches at different times in different rooms, so that lights/TV come on and go off when they should

10) Avoid leaving valuables in plain sight, such as Laptops, DVDs, Ipod, Mobiles and TVs etc.

11) If you are leaving a vehicle at your premises hide your spare car keys etc.

12) Just before you set off on holiday check all your external doors and windows are all locked and the burglar alarm is activated

Hopefully by putting into practice the relevant precautions, you will have greater peace of mind and therefore be able to enjoy your holiday more, as well as look forward to coming home. It pays not to advertise that you are going away, so only tell those that really need to know your holiday dates, like your closest neighbours, so they can keep an eye out for you whilst you hopefully relax and chill out.  

And don't forget the Travel Insurance for your trip itself - check out our prices at eTraveller to see how much money you could save.

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