Michael Portillo: thought-provoking speech
Business Car Manager: Editor’s Blog
I WAS at the BVRLA dinner last night – the bash of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. In other words, all the big-wigs from the leasing and contract hire companies. It’s the first I’ve been to.
I was on the guest tables and the host on my table was none other than Nigel Stead, boss of the now huge Lex Autolease operation. Given the task of integrating the Lloyds TSB Autolease contract hire company with its former Lex/HBOS rival, Nigel looked remarkably fit and well on it.
There were two well-balanced speakers on the line up. The first was former MP Michael Portillo. Now Portillo always has something interesting to say, and last night was no different. He beautifully described the way the election numbers system worked and how a hung parliament was almost a certainty – because of the size of the swing needed if the Conservatives were to achieve a majority. Along with the perils of inaction on the national debt.
One of the key points was something he described as the ‘phoney recession’. “A bit like the phoney war of 1939 where we didn’t seem to be involved in the war, I believe we’ve had many people who simply have not been affected by the recession – it has been a phoney recession for them,” said Mr Portillo. “They still have their jobs; prices are competitive; mortgage interest payments are low. The problem will come with rising taxes, perhaps rising interest rates, too – then, the recession will start to hit those who have remained largely immune to it.”
At the other end of the scale we had comedian Frankie Boyle: funny, rude – no, make that very rude – Boyle’s time on the stage went far too quickly. And the gags I can remember aren’t suitable to be repeated here.
One of my immediate guests was Mike Paterson from Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre. “We can tell business car managers how safe their cars are; how secure; and how easily repairable they are,” Mike explained. “In fact, at the moment we’re putting together a list of the safest cars you can get based not only on the EuroNCAP safety star ratings – which we helped establish – but also on the car seat whiplash test results we carry out.”
It was interesting, finding our a lot more about Thatcham than I did before. “Our overriding aim is to make cars safer and more secure for the car insurers,” added Mike.
My actual beef with insurance companies is that the pricing is so opaque in what always appears to be a deal driven environment come renewal time. At what point does you no-claims bonus count? And why do I have to apply for a certificate rather than being sent one? None of it is easy.
The whole car insurance things smacks of self interest and backhanders – although I have no evidence for the latter. Is it any wonder that we have that proliferation of solicitors offering no fee, no win consultations – companies paying for lists of accident victims in the hope of representing them. That can’t be right? Where’s this money coming from? Well, inevitably us at some stage.
But, frankly, I’d like to see the insurance companies get together to offer a proper service that’s transparent, understandable and fair. They need to set some standards – and stop treating their customers like commodities. Perhaps I should point Frankie Boyle’s acerbic tonque in their direction: they’d soon start taking notice.
