Damien Duff ignites Hibernian team
16 January 2003: Irish international soccer star Damien Duff came to Ireland to drive the Hibernian Insurance promotional bandwagon yesterday to highlight the company's 'Ignition' safe driving programme.
The Blackburn Rovers midfielder said Hibernian has adopted 'a very novel approach' to reducing motor insurance and rewarding safe drivers. Ignition is a one-day driver training course that has been specially tailored for less experienced drivers and was originally launched in August 2001 in association with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) in the UK.
The company says that an additional 20,000 places on the scheme for 2003 increasing to 25,000 the number of places available across Ireland.
Ignition allows inexperienced drivers to get a minimum motor insurance discount of 20% by successfully completing the course, which combines an interactive “classroom” session with on-road training. The course focuses very much on hazard awareness and encourages participation from all delegates in discussions about safety and driving habits.
Applicants for Ignition must have a full clean driving license; they must also own or be seeking to buy, in the next 6 months, a vehicle of 1400cc or less. Ignition is open to all individuals who meet the qualifying criteria, whether they have been customers of Hibernian or not. On the successful completion of the Ignition training day the participant is rewarded with a minimum motor premium discount of 20%, up to a potential 40% for exceptional driving skill. Candidates can also opt for an additional 10% discount for voluntarily refraining from driving between the hours of 11pm and 6am.
Hibernian covers the full cost of the training and cars are provided by the IAM for delegate’s use on the day. A refundable fee of E225 is charged to delegates to prevent absenteeism. The scheme is run at the following venues - Dublin North, South and West, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Waterford, Sligo, Mullingar, Dundalk, Limerick, Gorey and Letterkenny.
Potential delegates for Ignition should contact their own insurance provider, broker, Hibernian branch or phone Hibernian on 1890 33 22 11. Details can also be obtained at Hibernian’s website at www.hibernian.ie