Posts By: David Wilson

Motoring News, Travel

Driving Etiquette Around the World

Using some of the most popular destinations for British tourists, here's what you might need to know.

Posted by David Wilson
- 7 July 2015

Motoring News

Are these the 6 Ugliest Cars Ever Made?

These six seriously ugly cars are the most offensive cars to the eye on the road. If these aren't the ugliest cars ever, we'd love you to tell us which are.

Posted by David Wilson
- 9 September 2014

Motoring News

Is this the lamest attempted car insurance fraud ever?

This may well be the worst example ever seen of an attempt to defraud motor insurers. Purely in terms of execution it would be hard to surpass the poor quality of this Russian pedestrian's attempt to extort money.

Posted by David Wilson
- 5 April 2013

Motoring News

Can you turn a Rubbish Car into a Supercar?

I love a bargain banger. In fact the last two cars I bought each cost me less than £800 and, touch wood, they have cost me considerably less to run than the 'sensible' purchase I have run alongside them for the last three years.

Posted by David Wilson
- 2 April 2013

Household

7 safety tips for Christmas decorations

Christmas should be the time of good cheer, festive fun and happy family get-togethers. Unfortunately Christmas also brings with it an increase in accidents in the home and the festive decorations can sometimes provide more than just a little extra sparkle.

Posted by David Wilson
- 17 December 2012

Household

Winter Garden Jobs for Homeowners

When buying home and contents insurance homeowners often tend to forget to add the value of the tools, ornaments and furniture they’ve got in their gardens onto the policy.

Posted by David Wilson
- 15 December 2012

4x4

Top tools to keep in your car

It’s great to be prepared in the event of getting into car trouble when on the road. There are many kits and gadgets that can help you out in your time of need. But equally you don’t want to weigh the car down with an endless supply of unnecessary tools.

Posted by David Wilson
- 13 December 2012

Guides

Secret Santa ideas for Petrolheads

The real tip for buying Christmas presents is to think about who you are buying for; what are their interests, their likes and dislikes and their phobias! It seems obvious, but with a well targeted present you can get away with spending less and in today’s climate of cut-backs that’s got to be a bonus. What’s more, when it comes to the office Secret Santa no-one wants to part with too much money.

Posted by David Wilson
- 30 November 2012

Motoring News

Crash for Cash

How to spot crash for cash villains, and our top tips on what you can do to protect yourself from insurance fraudsters.

Posted by David Wilson
- 26 November 2012

Guides

Winter Boot Essentials

Although the UK does not suffer the severe winter conditions associated with other parts of the world, there can still be cold snaps or bouts of heavy and sudden snowstorms over the winter months. Because the UK’s weather is so changeable motorists are often caught out by a rapid transformation of climatic conditions and find themselves stranded without the proper equipment.

Posted by David Wilson
- 9 November 2012

Guides

Father’s Day Gifts for Car Lovers

Very few dads don't have at least some love of cars and it’s often difficult to separate a man from his motor. Father’s Day is the ideal time to treat the petrol-head pop in your life with a car related gift. Here are some ideas for motor-related gifts to bring a smile to your dad’s face this Sunday.

Posted by David Wilson
- 11 June 2012

Motoring News

Secret Santa ideas for Car Enthusiasts

Before your buy your Christmas presents try to think who you are buying for. What are their car interests, likes and dislikes and their phobias!

Posted by David Wilson
- 5 December 2011

Caravans, Campervans and Motorhomes

Winter Caravan Storage Tips

Laying up your caravan for the winter is not just a simple case of parking it off the road and locking the door. A surprising amount of damage can occur from the weather and general wear and tear if it is not protected properly. Even if you are lucky enough to have indoor storage for your caravan it is still at risk from small animals, nesting insects and dust.

Posted by David Wilson
- 30 November 2011

Motoring News

The World’s Dumbest Getaway Cars

Kia's new advert features a man inexplicably taking photos of a getaway car, for which purpose, the criminals have, even more inexplicably, chosen a Kia.

Posted by David Wilson
- 21 September 2011

Motoring News

Does My Insurance Cover the London Riots?

Does your insurance cover you for damage caused to your home, car or business during the London riots? Fortunately the answer is almost certainly yes...

Posted by David Wilson
- 9 August 2011

Motoring News

Top 16 Wacky Wedding Cars

Unless you actually do live under a rock, you cannot fail to have noticed that there is a big wedding taking place sometime next week. And while Wills and Kate have opted for a fairly traditional means of arrival, in the shape of a big old Rolls Royce, these days many brides and grooms have realised that the choice of wedding transportation is almost limitless.

Posted by David Wilson
- 20 April 2011

Motoring News

EU Transport Policy – Have Your Say

Unless you're an obsessive EU-rophile, you've probably not noticed the recent publication of the 'Transport 2050 Roadmap', or to give it its catchier title - "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area - White Paper on a Sustainable and Competitive Transport."

Posted by David Wilson
- 28 March 2011

Motoring News

Fastest Mobility Scooter in the World

Apparently there’s an interesting chap who lives in Stamford, who has a rather unhealthy obsession with mobility scooters. And rather than pootle around at the normal speeds of up to 8mph, Colin Furze has modified the scooter frames with a 125cc engine from a motocross racer.

Posted by David Wilson
- 16 November 2010

Motoring News

Hyundai Think Outside the Box

I have a certain amount of admiration for Hyundai. Having made a name for themselves with cheap and cheerful utilitarian fare like the Accent and the Sonata, they have not rested on their laurels, and, as even more cheap and cheerful rivals, like Kia and Daewoo/Chevrolet have entered the market they have striven to offer something more.

Posted by David Wilson
- 1 November 2010

Motoring News

Why do Adrian Flux Check your Driving Licence?

This is probably one of the most common FAQs that we are asked by our customers. Why is it that we sometimes require copies of your documentation when we issue a new policy?

Posted by David Wilson
- 9 September 2010

Motoring News

Insurance On A Chassis Number?

Insuring your car can be a total nightmare, if, for any reason your car doesn’t have a registration number. Although this sounds like a rare occurence, there are a huge range of scenarios that can see your car left without a UK registration, for example, if your car or bike has been imported, custom or kit-built cars needing an SVA, etc..

Posted by David Wilson
- 1 September 2010

Motoring News

Multimac Car Seats

Every so often you see a product so astoundingly brilliant in its simplicity, that you simply can’t believe that no-one has thought of it before. The Multimac car seat is just such a triumph of design and function and the problem it solves is one that all frustrated petrol heads with large families will appreciate.

Posted by David Wilson
- 2 July 2010

Motoring News

A Trip to the Bubble Car Museum

On the last Saturday in March, I decided to take the kids down the A17 to the Newark Air Museum. Like most boys, my children are obsessed by anything with a motor, so on the way we decided to stop off at the Bubble Car Museum, which is just off the A17 at a place called Byards Leap, between Sleaford and Newark.

Posted by David Wilson
- 8 April 2010

Motoring News

Mind where you Tweet…

Everyone loves social networking, and whether it's twitter (we're @adrianflux), facebook, or one of the other myriad social sites out there we are becoming a nation obsessed with the connectivity that the web 2.0 era has brought us.

Posted by David Wilson
- 22 February 2010

Motoring News

New Jeff Koons BMW Art Car

BMW have announced, at a glitzy shindig in New York, a brand new art car, which will add to the 17 already made by artists including Roy Lichtenstein's 320i, Andy Warhol's M1 and Ernst Fuchs 635CSi, as well as the 3 litre CSL by Frank Stella above.

Posted by David Wilson
- 4 February 2010

Motoring News

The Top 50 Cars Ever

The ultimate test of a vehicle’s popularity is its sales figure.

Posted by David Wilson
- 31 January 2010

Motoring News

Clunk, Click, Every Trip

It's a date that may have passed you by, but yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the humble seat belt - or more precisely the three point safety belt - patented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1958 and first fitted to a production Volvo PV544 on the 13th August 1959.

Posted by David Wilson
- 14 August 2009

Vans

Funny Van Drivers

Another Dirty Van Everyone has probably drawn a 'humourous' daubing onto the back of a dirty white van ...

Posted by David Wilson
- 28 May 2009

Motoring News

The AA, Nitrous & Bogus Stats

You may have seen, all over the BBC, that The AA president, Edmund King, has been banging on about Nitrous Oxide (aka NOS) on the premise that "Modified cars 'could put lives at risk'".

Posted by David Wilson
- 8 April 2009

Motoring News

The Indian Job

No, it's not another post about Norwich Union's Indian call centres!

Posted by David Wilson
- 19 December 2008

Motoring News

Am I insured to drive around the Arc de Triomphe?

One of our colleagues came into the office today and was telling us about a holiday in gay Paris. In the course of the conversation she mentioned that a tour guide at the Arc de Triomphe had told her that no car insurance policy in the world was valid on the crazy ten-lane, twelve exit roundabout / junction that encircles the monument.

Posted by David Wilson
- 26 September 2008

Car Insurance

FSA Criticises Car Insurance Comparison Sites

Insurance comparison sites are springing up at a rapid rate, as new entrants emerge onto the market every day to give confused.com, moneysupermarket and gocompare a run for their money.

Posted by David Wilson
- 12 May 2008

Motoring News

Sarah Bennett-Baggs a win

You may remember that we sponsor Sarah Bennett-Baggs, who last year drove a BMW in the Britcar series.

Posted by David Wilson
- 2 April 2008

Motoring News

“A Direct Line to your wallet”

That was the headline in the Guardian on Saturday, where Direct Line were lambasted for charging some fellow a much higher rate for his insurance renewal than they were quoting if he had been a new customer.

Posted by David Wilson
- 17 March 2008

Motoring News

Bonzer Car Insurance Deals?

The Guardian on Saturday had an interesting piece on the perils of buying your womens car insurance from a so-called "womens car insurance company", such as Sheila's Wheels, Diamond, Ladybird and Diva.

Posted by David Wilson
- 29 October 2007

Motoring News

Young Driver Insurance – To Front or not to Front?

I've mentioned fronting in a previous post outlining the perils of lying to your insurance company, but right now fronting - the term for when a young driver insures their car in the name of an older relative (usually mum or dad) - has been in the news of late.

Posted by David Wilson
- 22 October 2007

Modified Cars, Motoring News

The dangers of modifications

Today's Times carries the story of Welsh teenager Jessica Collins who was involved in a serious car crash in Germany. Apparently her injuries were exacerbated by her belly-button stud being pushed by her seat belt through her body and almost to her spine. Doctors described the injuries as being like a bullet wound.

Posted by David Wilson
- 2 October 2007

Motoring News

Who owns your insurer?

We reveal who owns different car insurance brands and comparison sites, to show you that comparing quotes isn’t always as objective as it may seem

Posted by David Wilson
- 8 August 2007

Insurance News

Direct Line vs. Confused.com

There's been a lot in the papers about the spat started by Direct Line, whose wheeled telephones (more of those in another post) have been gracing our screens for many years. As you may have seen, their recent commercials have pulled no punches in exposing perceived shortcomings with the price comparison "aggregator" sites, like confused.com, gocompare and insurancesupermarket.

Posted by David Wilson
- 6 August 2007

Motoring News

Top Ten Cars for Teens – Cheapest Young Driver Insurance Tips

We know that car insurance for young drivers can be expensive. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the top 10 cheapest cars to insure for teens in 2019.

Posted by David Wilson
- 19 June 2007

Motoring News

Vicki Runs the 2007 London Marathon

As you may have seen in our news item, Vicki Burt from our Household Insurance department recently ran (and finished) the London Marathon, raising over £9,000 for the African Revival charity in the process. Here is her account of an amazing two days.

Posted by David Wilson
- 31 May 2007

Motoring News

Robo VW Passat struts its stuff

The LUX Passat cost a whopping £1m to put together, which is expensive, even for a VW, but the money will have been well spent if their technology is used for any commercial or military applications, and, who knows, perhaps your car will be driving itself within a few years.

Posted by David Wilson
- 12 April 2007

Motoring News

Influx and Ferrari

Everyone with an insurance policy with Adrian Flux should by now have received their copy of influx, the Adrian Flux magazine. As we've mentioned before, we didn't want to just produce an ordinary, boring, corporate magazine that was full of puff pieces about us.

Posted by David Wilson
- 29 March 2007

Convictions

Speeding Ticket Misery

As we've noted before, it's becoming easier and easier for motorists to be caught speeding, although some drivers are successfully overturning unfair convictions.

Posted by David Wilson
- 21 December 2006

Motoring News

Kwik Fit Kok Up

In news you may have missed, Kwik Fit Insurance are in a pickle after a major balls up by their admin system let over 800 drivers get insurance policies they should never have been entitled to.

Posted by David Wilson
- 13 October 2006

Motoring News

Fraud for the Lord

You don't normally consider insurance fraud a higher spiritual calling. But Rev. Roland Gray insists that swindling insurers was part of his ministry.

Posted by David Wilson
- 18 August 2006

Motoring News

Are you a high risk driver?

Insurance is all about risk. The price you pay for your car insurance premium is determined, to a large degree, by a statistical calculation of the likelihood that you will be involved in an accident.

Posted by David Wilson
- 30 June 2006

Modified Cars, Motoring News

Adrian Flux Modified Nationals

Adrian Flux are the main sponsors of this year's Modified Nationals show at Rockingham Motor Circuit near Corby. We'll be going of course, and taking some awesome cars along for good measure.

Posted by David Wilson
- 24 May 2006

Motoring News, Travel

Travel News Websites

If you're planning a long journey of more than a few minutes, it may well pay you to check ahead that there are no problems on the roads. For all that modern Sat Nav systems, and local radio travel news can keep you up to date once you're in the car, there are many web services available, which are hundreds of pounds cheaper than a Sat Nav system with traffic capabilities and more comprehensive in coverage than your local radio station.

Posted by David Wilson
- 18 May 2006

Motoring News

Funny Car Insurance Claim Gaffes

Submitting a claim for car insurance is a stressful business, but it certainly pays to double check what you have written on your claim form, as the genuinely funny car insurance claims statements below prove.

Posted by David Wilson
- 5 May 2006