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Car Insurance: 1945 - 1990
During the Second World War, predictably, the competition
for Car insurance subsided since, among other reasons, there
were far fewer vehicles in private use because of the exigencies
of war. In the post-war years, however, Car Insurers more
or less picked up where they had left off and one suspects
that the competition of earlier years would have been resumed
had it not been for the appearance on the scene of the so
called 'mushroom' car insurance companies.
Suffice it to say here that largely because of the impact
of these companies the 'tariff' was abolished in 1968 and
one wonders, in any case, whether it would today have survived
the scrutiny of the monopolies commission.
Over the years the Road Traffic Act has been
amended in the light of experience and compulsory third party
insurance law was consolidated into Part VI of the Road Traffic
Act 1972 which has now been subject to further amendments
by the Road Traffic Act 1974 and more recently the Road
Traffic Act 1988.
The original 1930 Road Traffic Act and the first attempt at
consolidating all the subsequent amendments issued in 1960
were drafted with the existing practices of car insurers in
mind, and far from causing changes the legislation tended
to inhibit them.
However, car insurers have become more self-critical and receptive
to new ideas and these were stimulated by the dissolution
of the U.K. Motor Tariff in 1968.
Legal Limits
While the Road Traffic Act, broadly speaking, requires there
to be insurance unlimited in amount in respect of personal
injury to third parties caused by the use of any motor vehicle
upon a road, car insurance policies are very seldom restricted
to this Road Traffic Act cover alone. It is usual for them
to give full third party car insurance cover at least and
to cover liability for damage to third party property as well
as personal injury and not restricted to car accidents occurring
on the road..
Until the early 1970's at least, the most popular
form of car insurance cover was 'comprehensive' , which also
includes damage to the insured's vehicle and various additional
benefits.
However, the ravages of inflation at the beginning and in
the middle of the 1970’s affected car insurers like
everybody else and the consequent sharp upwards trend in car
insurance premiums
more or less forced a large number of car owners to switch
from 'comprehensive' cover to third party, fire and theft.
It is difficult to say what proportion of all the motor vehicles
on the road is insured comprehensively today At present it
is mainly the better-off members of the community and those
buying a car with the aid of a finance house who still seek
comprehensive cover.
However with the arrival of the Internet - Comprehensive
cover for standard car insurance is often cheaper than third
party offerings elsewhere, and recent years and events have
seen a revival in comprehensive cover.
Some changes in cover provided have been brought about by
greater competition between insurers and by a greater awareness
on the part of the motorist of the wider forms of cover available.
The entry of the U.K. into the European Economic Community
has compelled other changes in car insurance practice.
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UK
Car Insurance Online
