Following intensive lobbying by the British Insurance Brokers Association and other Insurance trade bodies, one of the last acts of Parliament from the previous Government sees the introduction of electronic motor insurance certificates being issued. The legislation responsible for this is the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Motor Vehicle (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972.

The move has been welcomed by most of the insurance industry including online brands such as Swiftcover. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 trees a year may be saved if electronic certificates are issued through email or login to an insurers secure website. It is not clear at this stage how many UK car insurers or brokers will use the email or secure website method of distributing the e-certificates.

BIBA are keen to point however, that if accessing e-certificates is not an option because online access is denied then paper insurance certificates must still be sent through the post. In addition, e-certificates that are printed out using a local printer must be legible if they are to be used at the Post Office for the purposes of renewing car tax. It goes without saying that it is an offence to make changes to the e-certificate.

What is clear is that certain insurance companies and brokers will seek to gain an immediate advantage by introducing e-certificates straight away, therefore, reducing overheads. One can hope that the cost savings are in part passed on to motorists through cheaper insurance quotes.

All the signs are looking good for UK car insurance comparison websites this year, especially following the news that Zurich intend to dramatically increase premiums following horrific rises in the cost of bodily injury and third party insurance claims.

According to Zurich car insurance rates will increase by as much as 20% across its Broker and Direct Insurance distribution channels and there are warnings premiums could rise even more especially if the cost of claims continues to rise.

Another factor which could further drive up the cost of car insurance in 2010 is the recent bad weather which has probably doubled the number of claims normally reported at this time of year.

Lastly, UK inflation is starting to creep up especially since VAT is now back to 17.5, this will mean claims costs will rise by at least 2.5% for insurers.

Price is often the main driver as to why the public use car insurance comparison websites and the news that insurers are all ready warning of price increases will only act as an incentive for the public to shop around even more in order to seek the best value for money.

In a bid to dispel the myth that cars are a subject that women know little about, Diamond Car Insurance ran a survey asking over 4,000 women drivers their views on motoring… and discovered some startling facts.

The survey entitled “The Diamond Women and Their Cars” revealed that 44% discuss cars with their friends and nearly two thirds admit to watching Jeremy Clarkson’s BBC2 hit motoring show Top Gear. Contrary to popular belief, less than 3% of women admitted to choosing a car based on its colour when the most popular reasons for selecting a vehicle were fuel economy and price followed by make and model.

In terms of practicalities, three quarters claimed to be able to check oil, water and tyre pressures with a quarter claiming to undertake the necessary checks before a long journey. Dispelling further myths, more women claimed to keep a torch and atlas in the glove compartment rather than make-up!

What this surveys highlights is the fact that many women are interested in all aspects of motoring despite the perception of some men that this is not the case. From a curiosity perspective, if Diamond Car Insurance were to survey the same women to find out their reasons for tuning into Top Gear, it could reveal some even more interesting findings!

The deepening recession in the UK has meant that the climate change debate has, to some extent, been kept off the front pages of newspapers and played second fiddle. However, all that could be about to change with revelations from the latest research that the Polar ice caps are melting faster than previously thought.

What has all this got to do with car insurance quotes? Some insurers, including Co-op Car Insurance and the Green car insurance company, are pledging to fight climate change through carbon offsetting schemes. Such schemes are an attempt by both insurers to reduce their policyholders’ carbon dioxide emissions through the funding of projects such as rainforest regeneration, renewable energies and energy efficiency. The Co-op for example, claim to offset 20% of a policyholder’s car CO2 emissions at no extra cost based upon the stated mileage at the time of the car insurance quotation.

For those motorists who are passionate about green issues and climate change, these types of car insurance products will be of great interest and with a growing market of consumer opinion, both aforementioned insurers could benefit. In times of recession however, competitive pricing of car insurance and most other products is paramount, simply because disposable income is less and consumers generally shop around even more. It remains to be seen, therefore, how successful insurers with carbon offsetting schemes will actuslly perform.

It emerged last week that Tesco is pressing ahead with plans to capture further market share over the course of the next few years in both the household and car insurance sectors following the formalisation of its partnership with Fortis (UK) Ltd.

The new partnership with Fortis effectively ends Tesco’s relationship with RBS-owned UKI Partnerships who previously provided underwriting and claims management services. Tesco claims that the new deal, which runs until 2015, will allow greater responsibility by the retailer for products, including pricing, sales, marketing and customer service. In addition it could mean a further 1500 new jobs will be created.

The deal also benefits Fortis in terms of consolidating its position as one of the major home, van and car insurance companies in the UK. It is estimated that a further 1.7 million customers will be added to Fortis’s existing customer base of around 7 million customers. The net effect of this would mean Fortis insuring over 2 million of the cars driving on Britain’s roads.

Only time will tell whether this new partnership is beneficial to Tesco customers, but what is clear is that this will come as a major blow to UKI partnerships who are owned by RBS, the consequences of which could result in a number of job losses.