Everyone knows that you need decent vehicle insurance for your business. Not only is it a legal requirement for any vehicle that you or your company own to be insured in order to be on the road, but it’s also a way to protect the employees who use the vehicles and the cargo they are transporting.

You may be tempted to choose the slightly cheaper option of naming drivers on your insurance policies over paying a little more for an ‘any driver’ policy. It may seem worth saving a little here and there on policies where you can, and if for the most part, there are just two or three of the people in the company who drive the vehicle. However, you quickly lose out if you have to insure any temporary employees who need to use the vehicle while employed by your company.

It will cost you more to do this for a couple of weeks a year than to pay a little more on an annual premium and make it ok for any driver to drive your business vehicles.

Similarly, if you are ready to buy a new work vehicle, it’s worth checking out the insurance costs associated with the vehicle you are considering before you go ahead and buy it. Each vehicle will belong to a different insurance group and the cover can vary dramatically.

And the type of fuel may make a difference, too. For example, some insurers might offer lower rates for low emission cars and hybrids as they have an eco-policy. Other insurers may consider these cars more costly to replace and repair, so might increase the premiums compared to conventional cars.

Often, 4×4 cars like a Honda CR-V or similar vehicles have higher premiums attached to them as although they will provide their driver and passengers more protection in a collision, because of their solid manufacture, they may cause more damage to any pedestrian or damage to another vehicle in a collision.

The best way forward is, as with most things in life, to do your research before making any costly decisions you may regret.

Many of us have the vaguest idea of what solar power actually is, but the reality is that it’s a great alternative energy source which could soon do everything from heat water to power different modes of transport.

In a close coupled solar water heating system, the tank storing your water is mounted just above the solar collectors on your roof or even on top of your car garage. Hot water rises without the need for a pumping system into the tank through a process called thermosiphon flow.

A pump circulated system is slightly different. Here, the storage tank is on the ground or floor – and is located below the collectors’ level.  A pump circulates the water and heat transfer fluid between the tank and the collectors.

Using either of these systems, you can pretty much get enough hot water for the year. During some cold spells in winter though, it may be that there’s not enough solar heat gain to heat the water sufficiently.  Most systems have a booster powered by gas or electricity to provide a back up way of heating the water during these times.

Once you’ve installed one of these solar water heating systems, you can carry on just as before – taking showers and getting out the Pantene whenever you want to. There’s no danger of the hot water running out mid-hair wash, when you’re up to your elbows in Fairy Liquid doing the washing-up or even rinsing off your car.

The payback period for a solar water heating system in Britain is around 18 years. So, if you’re thinking of moving home anytime soon, it’s probably not worth fitting this kind of system. However, if you’ve decided to stay put for life, then the quicker you install a system like this, the sooner you’ll reap the benefits – both for your pocket and for the planet!