VULNERABLE MOTORISTS DESERTED IN HOUR OF NEED

Britain has today been exposed as a nation of selfish drivers as a new survey reveals that three quarters (75%) of broken down drivers received no assistance from passing motorists.  The survey also shows that a third of motorists (33%) would not stop to help someone stranded on the side of the road and that only one in twenty (5%) of Brits would definitely help out a marooned motorist.

The report also reveals the best and worst places to find yourself stranded on the roadside**.  London is where you are most likely to be helped out by a passing motorist, followed closely by Wales and with the North West of England in third place.  But those travelling through the East of England and the Midlands had better beware as breaking down in these areas could mean a long wait for help from a good samaritan.

Worryingly, just over eight out of 10 (83%) of those surveyed  aged 55+ were not helped when stranded on the roadside, compared with a massive 81% of the 18-24 year olds surveyed who were helped by a member of the public.  The report goes onto reveal that over half of older drivers would feel anxious if broken down, and a mere 3% would be confident that someone would stop to help.

Jeff Morris from Age Concern Insurance Services says: “Our research shows that you cannot rely on passing traffic to stop and help. This is particularly worrying as such a high number of people aged 55+ were not helped when they broke down.  We provide roadside assistance, recovery and home assistance from only £59*** per year.

“Good breakdown cover means that you don’t have to worry about flagging down help should the worst happen, so it is always reassuring to know that prompt roadside rescue is just a phone call away”.

There is a wide range of breakdown insurance on the market, but prices and quality of cover vary immensely. Age Concern’s motor breakdown cover is available for people of all ages, with benefits such as restarting your car at home and emergency travel and overnight accommodation included as standard in the policy.

For a free, no-obligation quotation or immediate cover for Age Concern Motor Breakdown Services call 0845 601 2235^.

- Ends -

For further information please contact Elly Kestenbaum, Imogen Davies or Jess Baker at Trimedia on 020 7025 7500 or email elly.kestenbaum@trimediauk.com, Imogen.davies@trimediauk.com or jess.baker@trimediauk.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

^ If you call the 0845 number you will be dealing with Equity Red Star Services Limited, an Appointed Representative of Equity Syndicate Management Limited, which administers Age Concern Motor Breakdown Services.

* The survey was conducted online on behalf of Age Concern between 30.06.08 – 07.07.08.  The total survey sample was 1113 motorists from England and Wales.

**

*** Roadside assistance, recovery and home assistance from £59 per year for vehicles under 11 years old

About Age Concern Motor Breakdown Services

·         Roadside assistance, recovery and home assistance from £59 per year for vehicles under 11 years old.

·         No upper age limit

·         Cover available for any eligible vehicle regardless of age

·         Up to three additional vehicles can be added for 50% or less of the cost if kept at the same address

·         Age Concern’s Motor Breakdown service is provided by Equity Red Star who currently protect around 350,000 vehicles through its network of over 1,200 approved garages

·         Emergency vehicle repair at the roadside

·         If your car cannot be repaired at the roadside, the vehicle and occupants will be transported to the nearest garage available garage or a destination of your choice in the UK

·         If you or a passenger are hospitalised more than 50 miles away from your home during a journey, the cost of medical transfer to a hospital nearer home will be paid

·         If you break down more than 25 miles from home and your vehicle can’t be repaired or transported to your chosen destination that day, emergency travel or accommodation costs of up to £100 are available

·         Message relayed to family and friends to advise of unforeseen travel delays following a breakdown

·         Optional European cover from £30

AGE CONCERN INSURANCE SERVICES

Age Concern Insurance Services was created in 1983 to offer better value insurance for older people. General insurance was an area in which over-50s had been ill served for a long time. Starting as a local service, it has grown to be one of the UK’s leading brands regarding general insurance for older people.

Today Age Concern Insurance Services plays a dual role. It endeavours to offer some of the best value policies available while ensuring that these products are designed to meet the specific needs of older customers.  All profits generated by Age Concern from selling products and services go directly to support Age Concern’s charitable activities.

Age Concern Insurance Services’ product range has developed through demand to include home insurance, contents, travel insurance, motor, and motor breakdown insurance.

Policies can be bought either direct by phone, or through any of the around 250 trading locations operated by participating Age Concerns. In an age which is becoming more technology driven, Age Concern is invaluable in offering older people a personal service at a local level with which many feel most comfortable.

Age Concern Insurance Services is a trading name of Age Concern Enterprises Limited (ACEnt) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for insurance mediation.  If you call the 0845 you will be dealing with Equity Red Star Services Limited, an Appointed Representative of Equity Syndicate Management Limited, which administers Age Concern Motor Breakdown Services.

AGE CONCERN & WHY IT TRADES:

At a local level, Age Concern offers a range of services for older people, such as day centres, luncheon clubs, and advice and information services.

At a national level, Age Concern campaigns with and for older people: developing policy; influencing Government; training care professionals; supporting local Age Concern bodies, financially and professionally.

To fund this work, Age Concern needs a constant flow of independent income. It seeks to achieve this through a balance of traditional fund raising and trading activities.

Age Concern’s trading activities include a range of products such as General Insurance and Energy Services which are designed with the needs of older people in mind.

Fortis (Insurance UK) is a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the UK and was named 2007 General Insurer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards. Its customer-centric strategy has been to align its activities to how customers want to buy insurance, based on delivering high-quality products, manufactured at costs better than market norms.

Its unique multi-distribution capability enables Fortis to deliver products face-to-face, by phone (inbound and outbound), over the Internet and via SMS technology. Aligning its business activities with its partners' general insurance strategies enables Fortis to offer end-to-end white label and branded capabilities in product development, marketing, campaign management, sales, fulfilment and award-winning claims management, providing a seamless integration with partner brands. 

Insuring in excess of 6.7 million customers and working with a range of partners, Fortis is recognised for delivering consistent and high-quality customer experiences. It employs 2901 people as of 31/12/07 with a head office based in Eastleigh and Belfast, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Haywards Heath, Redditch and Stoke-on-Trent. In 2007, its profit before tax and interest (excluding impact of weather related events) was £92.2 million and its GWP was 757.8 million. More information is available on www.fortisinsurance.co.uk