Yes, your claims history will affect your coach insurance premium. If you have had an accident, fault or non-fault within the last 5 years then the cost of your insurance will unfortunately be more expensive.

This is because even if the accident happened in a private vehicle, you are still considered a slightly higher risk to an insurance provider than those whom have had fewer or no claims. How much higher will depend of whose fault the accident was and how much money was paid out to both parties.

Other factors which influence your insurance premium are the age and mileage of the coach, the area you would be driving in (for example London would be considered a high risk area to drive in) and the average distance the coach would be driving on a daily basis.

As one of the UK’s leading insurance providers, InsureCoach do not believe in turning people away and work hard to provide a competitive quote, no matter what their circumstances. We have an extensive panel of insurers which we compare quotes from to find the most cost effective , saving you both time and money.

For more information or to get a quick quote, call us now on 0800 142 2831. Alternatively, if you would like to complete our online form, one of our friendly and experienced consultants will get back to you with a competitive price

This is what happens when a double decker bus crashed with a crane arm. The top deck of the bus was left looking like a bomb site after the crane smashed through its window.

Picture from the accident

This image was tweeted by M.E.N. reader Andy Ogden.

It is believed that the incident happened on Tuesday lunchtime. The company involved in the accident later tweeted “112 Delays of up to 15 minutes due to a RTC near to Middleton Junction.”

Fortunately there was no one on the top deck at the time of the accident.

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach added: “At around 1.30pm today (Tuesday 23 September) one of our vehicles was involved in a low-speed collision with a crane which was overhanging the back of a lorry on Grimshaw Lane, Middleton.

“None of the three passengers on board the bus at the time, or the driver, was injured in the incident although there was some minor damage caused to the vehicle. Safety is our absolute priority and we are investigating the circumstances of this incident.”

A major incident has taken place after a school bus and a car were involved in a crash in Drumquin, Co Tyrone.

More than 50 people, mostly children are believed to have been involved in the collision with many of them suffering minor injuries.

Both the bus and the car ended up on their sides in a fied.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service spokesman John McPoland said: “Fifty-two people were treated at the scene but none of their injuries were serious. The vast majority were checked as a precaution because of their age.

“Six people have slightly more than minor injuries. This would include children who banged their headson the bus windows but no one went through any windows.”

A total of 48 people have been taken to the South West Acute Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital.

Omagh Road has been closed between Segully Road and Drumrawan Road. The bus was travelling from Castlederg to a secondary school in Omagh. The crash happened in Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness’ Stormont constituency.

He has tweeted: “Relieved to hear there are no serious injuries to pupils & adults in this morning’s bus & car accident on Drumquin-Omagh Rd #bestwishestoall.”

Sinn Fein Councillor, Frankie Donnelly, who represents West Tyrone, said the crash “had the potential to be a major disaster”.

He said: “This is obviously a traumatic incident for everyone involved, including the parents, so I would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response to the accident that ensured everyone was treated quickly and professionally.”

Information sourced from – https://uk.news.yahoo.com/major-incident-declared-school-bus-crash-085650608.html#RN2XFH7

A travel company owner who caught an illegal immigrant under his coach fears that he could be fined up to £2,000

Ross Patrick, 58, discovered a black male in his 20s perched underneath the rear axle as he dropped off holidaymakers in Newhaven on Wednesday night.

He believes the man had been underneath his coach for nearly 6 hours as it travelled through the Eurotunnel and then along the M25 and M23 to Sussex.

Mr Patrick heard banging and yelling from underneath the bus as about 20 passengers disembarked after a two-day trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer, organised by Mr Patrick’s company Victoria Travel Sussex Ltd.

He said: “I could not believe he had been under the bus all that time.

“He had obviously realised he was in England and was yelling to me to stop so he could get away.

“But I called the police straight away and they escorted me to Newhaven Docks where he was arrested by immigration police.”

Mr Patrick said he was “shocked” as he was then told he could face a fine for transporting the man into the country and fears it would stunt his recently launched business

He said: “The risk of being fined gives people like me no incentive to help the officials and makes me wonder if it’s worth travelling abroad at all.

“I only launched the company two and a half years ago and if I’m fined it will have a serious affect on my livelihood.”

One of the biggest teams in world football Bayern Munich have recently unveiled their new state of the art team bus, which will be used for the 2014/15 season to transport its players to their matches this season.

Bayern Munich even hired a magician to unveil their new team bus.

Teams often parade their new signings in front of thousands of fans but it is unheard of that a team unveil a new bus in front of its fans.

However this is no usual bus and Bayern Munich quite rightly wanted to show it off.

The new team bus has features such as blacked out windows, TV’s, a kitchen and overhead lockers as well as other brilliant features.

We believe this is the most modern and impressive bus that we have ever seen. If you believe that you have seen a more impressive bus then please e-mail us at alanc@countyins.com.

To receive a quotation for your bus or coach insurance call busandcoachinsurance on 07875 743 271 and our team of experts will help you will with all your enquiries.

Is your insurance broker doing the best they can for you?

When your policy is due for renewal, does your broker effectively re-market your risk to ensure that they are getting the best possible terms for you or do they simply give you the rate offered by your current insurance company?

Recently, I have had a number of potential customers ask me to quote for them against their existing broker/insurer.

I’ve beaten the renewal offer, only for the client to go back to their broker who miraculously offer a much lower rate than they initially offered.

Why?

Well, mainly because the broker hasn’t done their job correctly and has taken the easy option to quote only the current insurance company. The broker has been lazy, perhaps even taken the client for granted, by not carrying out a full “shopping around” exercise.

Does your current broker give you the latest claims experience as soon as you ask for it, or do they hang on to it for dear life?

From my experience, most brokers are very reluctant to part with this document.

Why?

Because they are afraid that you will find a cheaper price elsewhere! Sitting on the claims experience stops you from shopping around.

Would you prefer to do business with this type of broker or one who will offer you the following five pledges?

1       I will shop around for the best deal at new business/renewal stage, contacting all relevant insurers, not just one insurance company.

2       At renewal, I will contact you with the renewal invite price as soon as I receive this from your insurance company.

3       If required and relevant, I will furnish you with the most up to date Claims Experience from the insurance company as soon as I receive it.

4       I will convey to you the best price I obtain from the shopping around I undertake.

5       If another insurer offers me a rate lower than your current insurer, I will take that price back to them to give them another opportunity to retain your business.

If that sounds like the kind of service you expect from your insurance broker, then please call Steve Halliday on 07875 743 271 or e-mail steveh@countyins.com

Cash is now no longer accepted on London buses which will see a £24 million profit maximisation.

The change comes due to less and less passengers paying with cash on London buses.

Transport for London research showed that 99% of their customers were using cashless payment methods such as Oyster cards, prepaid tickets, contact-less payment cards and concessionary tickets.

This means that any passengers travelling on London’s buses will need to use one of these payment options otherwise they will not be able to travel. However last month the ‘one more journey’ feature for Oyster users was introduced which allows passengers to make one more journey if they have insufficient funds on their Oyster card.

Mike Weston, Director of Buses at Transport for London said: “The way our customers pay for goods and services is evolving, so we need to ensure our ticketing process evolves too”.

He then went on to say “Removing cash from our bus network not only offers customers a more efficient bus service but it enables us to make savings of £24 million a year which will be re-invested to further improve London’s transport network”.

Although there are question marks surrounding the new change. Green Party London Assembly member Darren Johnson highlights what would happen to passengers who have lost or had their Oyster cards stolen and if they would be allowed to travel or not. This comes after more than 2,100 Oyster cards were lost, stolen or had stopped working on the average day last year.

Darren Johnson said: “I am very concerned that Transport for London are only planning 19 new Oyster ticket stops in preparation for the cashless switch-over. This seems highly inadequate, especially when every ticket office across the tube network is going to be closed. I have serious concerns about the impact of which this sweeping change would have on vulnerable passengers”.

Due to this drivers have been issued refreshed guidance on how to deal with vulnerable passengers.

We at Bus and Coach insurance offer very competitive bus and coach insurance prices so for a quick quote call our specialist team today on 0800 980 3425

Driving for a living

Like all jobs, driving for a living has both it’s positives and negatives. Most bus and coach drivers get into this line of work because they enjoy being outside and on the road rather than working from behind a desk. Another common reason why they choose this career is because they like meeting new people and enjoy the social side of their job.

How do we know this?

Busancoachinsurance.net have been providing bus and coach insurance for over ten years now. During this time we have got to know our target market and their job roles really well.

One of the downsides to this profession that we’ve picked up on include the unsociable hours as many bus and coach drivers are required to work early mornings, late nights and weekends. Another thing that we  repeatedly hear from our customers is that other road users do not understand the challenges that they face when driving a large vehicle especially when pulling out of junctions and parking etc. Below we have given you some tips on being a Bus and Coach driver

Driving with the right attitude

Passenger- carrying vehicles (PCVs) are usually bigger than most other vehicles that are on the road, this can make it intimidating for other road users if they are not driven carefully and responsibly.

As professional drivers you should set a good example by showing care, courtesy and consideration for other road users. Also if you remain calm behind the wheel this will reflect the way you drive and will make your job more enjoyable

Looking after your passengers

As a bus or coach driver you have a duty of care to the passengers that are in your vehicle.

• Always look out for passengers waiting at the roadside who may not be able to see or hear the bus coming.
• When dropping off your passengers pull in close to the kerb to help passengers getting on or off the bus.
• Make eye contact to passengers when speaking to them as this is polite.
• Sort out money and tickets, and let passengers get seated, before you move off to reduce the chance of an injury.
• Use the internal mirrors to check the stairs on a double-deck vehicle, especially when you’re stopping, moving off or cornering.
• Check for passengers trying to get on or off the bus at the last minute before you pull away.
• Make sure the doors are shut before moving off.

Diet and driving ability

Good health is essential for getting and keeping your PCV licence. An important part of this is taking a healthy approach to what you eat and drink. Eating well can help to reduce your risk of developing serious problems such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. When at work drink as much water as possible. You can use drinks containing caffeine, such as tea, coffee and some soft drinks, to help you feel more alert however caffeine doesn’t remove sleepiness though it makes you feel more alert for a while but once this has worn off it will make you feel worse. We at insure Bus and Coach insurance would only recommend drinking this in an emergency or at the end of a shift

Carry water with you: staying hydrated will also help your concentration. You can use drinks containing caffeine, such as tea, coffee and some soft drinks, to help you feel more alert. Remember that caffeine doesn’t remove sleepiness though, it just masks it for a while and you’ll feel more tired when it wears off. You should only use it as a short-term emergency way of dealing with tiredness when you’re driving.

We at Bus and Coach insurance offer very competitive bus and coach insurance prices so for a quick quote call our specialist team today on 0800 980 3425

If you’re a coach or bus driver you would probably know by now that many people probably assume your profession is very dull. But what if here at County Insurance we could make them change their mind?

It has come to our attention that many famous people from not only this country but from around the world travel via coach or bus. It can be all types of profession and of course they would travel in style. So if you told your friends that you meet celebrities daily would they think it’s such a dull profession after all?

So what profession and people use coaches?

Nearly every football team in the country uses coaches to get to various locations. These locations include places such as airports if they need to travel abroad, to get to and from a opposition stadium or possibly a hotel depending on whether a team is staying overnight.   

Many other sport clubs like rugby and cricket will also do the same, epically at international level as they would have to travel to different venues over the world and with club level to travel around the country.

It’s not just sporting people that use coaches other professions like musicians and singers will use their own personal coaches to travel across the country or the airport to perform all across the world.  

We at Bus and Coach insurance offer very competitive bus and coach insurance prices so for a quick quote call our specialist team today on 0800 980 3425

Some interesting statistics regarding the bus and coach sector provided by VOSA, as at 1^st April 2013:

9475 Passenger Operator Licences are now in place.

95968 Passenger vehicles are currently licensed.

5924 S19 & S22 Permits are operating.

20625 local bus route registrations.

117 Public Inquiries into new passenger Operator Licence applications.

180 Public Inquiries for non-compliance.

11 Public Inquiries into bus punctuality/reliability.

DVSA

It has now been announced that DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) will begin operating in April 2014, following the merger of Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

The DVSA prime responsibilities will be setting, testing and enforcing driver and vehicle standards in GB.

In Northern Ireland this role is performed by the Driver & Vehicle Agency.

If you are interested in obtaining a quotation for your insurance requirements, be it for a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, please call Steve Halliday on 07875 743 271 or alternatively leave your contact details on this website (using quotation page or contact us page)

We can provide quotes and policies for your vehicle insurance, liability insurance, excess protection, breakdown and glass cover so why not give us a try and see if we can help you save on your insurance costs.

Finally, Steve Halliday and his team at BusandCoachInsurance.net wish you all a very Happy and Safe Christmas.