Several car insurance companies are now offering `offset’ car insurance deals. First seen early in 2007, these carbon neutral policies are now becoming more popular as motorists and seek to appease their guilt.

Car insurance companies, you can be sure, are not quite as altruistic, but nevertheless have seen a way to underline their green credentials at the same time as exploiting a new market niche.

CO2 is one of the chief elements of so-called greenhouse gases, the build-up of which is helping to raise temperatures around the world, and could lead to catastrophic climate changes including melting of ice caps, rising sea levels, fierce storms and heatwaves.

Motor vehicles account for around 25% of CO2 emissions in the Western world. The best a motorist can do to reduce their share of emissions is to drive less. If that’s not possible, say the motor insurers, who really don’t want motorists to change to pedal power, they will offer to pay to offset part of their customer’s car emissions

For a limited period, ibuyeco, part of the BGL Group of companies, will pay to offset 100% of their customer’s car emissions.

More Than will offset the first 3,000 miles of a motorist’s carbon emissions, using the CarbonNeutral Company as a partner.

A point to bear in mind is that it generally costs around £10 to offset 3000 miles, so when comparing quotes remember that you can always go direct to a carbon offsetting firm (i.e. Climate Care) and buy credits yourself. It may work out cheaper in some cases to use a cheaper insure like Swiftcover and do your own carbon offsetting.

See our daily-updated table of car insurers here.

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A post-Budget poll has revealed that 50% of people thinking about buying a new car are now significantly less likely to buy a high-emissions vehicle.

Direct Line Car Insurance commissioned Opinium Research to conduct the survey of over 2000 UK adults to assess the demand for high-emissions vehicles in the wake of the government’s new vehicle tax regime.

A further 14% of respondents said that they were ‘a little less likely’ to purchase a petrol-guzzling vehicle like a four-wheel drive. In all nearly two thirds of the total said that their future vehicle buying decisions were going to be affected by the tax hike.

Men in general and drivers over the age of 55 were most likely to be put off buying high-emission vehicles in the future. Of those aged between 18 and 34, only 44% said their buying decisions would be affected by the levy.

Jennifer Culley, of Direct Line, said that the shift in public opinion demonstrated that by hitting people’s pockets, the Chancellor has made a difference to vehicle buying behaviour. “Darling has made people think twice before heading to the forecourt”.

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Here’s a handy guide to the new car tax bands as announced in the March 2008 Budget. 

The thirteen tax bands are calculated by the amount of CO2 your car produces.

Any car producing under 100 CO2 g/km range is not taxable at all, whereas gas guzzlers including top-end sports cars to Mercvedes SUVs will pay a whopping £440 per annum.

Band M - £440 road tax
Band L - £415 road tax
Band K - £300 road tax
Band J - £260 road tax
Band I - £205 road tax
Band H - £175 road tax
Band G - £150 road tax
Band F - £120 road tax
Band E - £110 road tax
Band D - £90 road tax
Band C - £30 road tax
Band B - £20 road tax
Band A - no road tax

Find your car on our 2008 Car Tax Chart

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Easter will see many UK holidaymakers heading for the sun.

But, according to excess insurance experts, Insurance4carhire.com, those people renting cars on the continent are vulnerable to massive excess charges of up to £1000. European car rental firms will often just take this off the credit card details they have for the driver.

Insurance4carhire.com carried out a survey just recently which revealed that the top destinations in the Eurozone this Easter are the Canaries, Malaga, Malta, the South of France and Portugal – and these are precisely the regions where the Brits are getting stung with ‘excess Excess Charges’.

Worse still, 4 out of 10 drivers are totally unaware that they were liable for the excess charges. Even when they pay the excess cover from the car hire company, in many cases they will still be liable for any damage to the windows, tyres and undercarriage as these areas are often not included on the policies, particularly in France. In the busy rush periods like Easter, people often don’t take the time to properly read their policies. 

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Prior to his first budget, Alistair Darling decided to delay applying the 2p charge to fuel tax for another six months.

At the risk of damaging his green budget this year, Darling has taken into consideration the rapid rise in the price of oil as well as increased pressure from motoring organizations and consumers. 

Darling was keen to show the consumer his concern over rapidly rising costs. The reason for the eventual application of the tax in six months time is environmental and will be applied to the price of fuel at the time. 

Fuel tax has long been an issue amongst business owners who rely upon fuel to make a living as well as the environmentalists who see a tax on fuel as the only way to cut down on emissions. 

Vehicle congestion is seen as a key contributor to climate change and the car driver has been heavily penalised in an effort to make the larger less fuel efficient vehicles unattractive to new car buyers.  

The 4×4 has already come under attack through Ken Livingstone’s low emission charges and will be affected the most when the fuel tax is eventually introduced. 

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Motor industry analysts have indicated that the depreciation rates for cars are getting worse. Low confidence over the economy together with the introduction of green taxes and low emission charging zones has had a negative effect on the value of cars at resale. 

A report from the market analyst Eurotaxglass’s has predicted a reduction in the value of used cars by 8% by the end of the year.  

It is no coincidence that the smaller more fuel efficient car will hold its value more than the larger family sized car and the 4×4. 

A brand new car loses in the region of 12% the moment it leaves the showroom and this news will add to that loss percentage wise in the family sized and 4×4 markets.

 The recent credit crunch as well as the slow in the housing market has affected the motor industry as it has always done in recent years. Whenever the housing market slows or the economy shows signs of weakness, the motor industry always suffers.

The consumer is being advised to look at resale value when buying a car to avoid losing money when it comes to selling the vehicle in the long run.

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For the first time in fourteen years, UK motor insurers are set to make a profit. In 2009 a small profit is forecast as the income from premiums will outstrip the cost of claims for the first time.

The rise of personal injury claims has seen the cost of claims across all sectors rise significantly for a number of years. In addition to this the fierce competition in this market has meant the cost of premiums has stayed low to retain market share. 

The UK consumer is price driven when choosing motor insurance, especially when buying online. The insurance companies have had to compete purely on price making the cost of premiums less than the cost of a claim.

If the prediction is right it could drive down the cost of motor insurance as the underwriters see a small profit for the first time in fourteen years. 

The author of the report Andrew Haslip said: “While insurers have needed to raise their prices, they’ve been unable to do so due to the level of competition between insurers and the fact that the vast majority of consumers buy on price.”

Tough competition within the market will see the profit disappear again by 2010. UK customers are driven on price when choosing their motor insurers.

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Drivers will soon have the option of paying a toll to drive in the fast lane or hard shoulder of the UK’s busiest motorways. Extra lanes will be made available to enable drivers to opt to use a toll lane on the motorway.

The extra lane will be taken from the hard shoulder or will be added to the most over congested motorways. The toll will apply to all drivers with the exception of those travelling with at least one passenger who may be allowed free access at certain times of the day.

Drivers will use pre-pay tags on display in windscreens that can be picked up from overhead CCTV cameras, similar to those used for congestion charging. 

The cost has not yet been decided but in the USA where this system is already in place, the charge is equivalent to about £5.

The motorways that are likely to be picked out to participate are: parts of the MI, M4, M3, M5, M6, M20, M23 and M62. Plans to abandon the widening of these roads in favour of the tolls will save the highways agency in the region of £1 billion.

Heads of business welcomed the announcement whilst expressing concern that use of the hard shoulder would not be as beneficial as widening the road in the long term.

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A sneak preview of a cracking good offer from MORE THAN.

All new car insurance customers will be eligible for:

* One months FREE car insurance in the first year and
* Two months FREE car insurance in the second year, and every year after that unless there is a claim.

Monthly payments will be spread across 12 months.

To be launched very soon, probably as early as 2nd January 2008.

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UK law is defined by the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA 1988) amended as the Road Traffic Act 1991 (RTA 1991). It states that every driver of a vehicle using a public road must carry a current insurance policy of at least third party status.

The insurance company providing cover for a driver will issue a policy certificate that gives legal evidence that the driver is fully covered by at least third party car insurance.  The driver or named drivers, on the insurance certificate are the only authorised persons to be able to drive that vehicle.

If the driver is stopped by the police for any reason they may be asked to produce their insurance certificate. If unable to do this on the spot, the police will give the person seven days to take the certificate to a police station to prove that they are insured to drive that particular vehicle.

The main reason for insurance being a legal requirement in the UK is to protect those who suffer road traffic accidents. If a driver is involved in an accident that causes damage to another car or person, their insurance will provide financial cover to repair any damage or offer compensation for injury.

An insurance company will cover a car for ‘use’ on a public road. This term applies not only to driving the vehicle but also if the car is being towed, tested or pushed on the road if the vehicle has broken down.

When the insurance policy has been agreed with the driver the insurer can hold the policy on their behalf before the certificate has been sent out. This enables the driver to be insured immediately and won’t have to wait for the document to arrive in the post before driving the car.

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