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DaC Health Insurance
Reading Mr Geoff Fenton’s (E01) letter in last month’s Call Sign
concerning his resignation from the DaC health scheme has prompted me to pen a
long overdue comment on the same subject.
When the DaC Health and Sickness scheme was
first muted some 15 years ago, ironically I was the only member of the
then-Board who opposed the idea and then after being outvoted, I was given the
task as acting Welfare Officer to oversee its inception. That original scheme
which was brokered with Archway Insurance, appeared on the face of it to be
worth joining and the fact that it was my job to sell it to the members, meant
it would have been rather hypocritical had I not joined myself! So I did…
Unfortunately, as with so many things that
are open to abuse and one of the reasons I originally opposed it, claims for
sickness benefit was such an example and such was the abuse of the scheme that
it quickly became financially unviable to the brokers, so premiums were raised.
By this time, the responsibility for the scheme had been passed to a newly
elected Board member whose ticket to get on the Board was a promise to get a
far better PHI and sickness deal than the one we had. Unfortunately promises
are very easy to make particularly at AGM’s, but not so easy to carry out
when there is little or no business acumen to support them. This became evident
when, prompted by the misconception that there would be a queue of brokers
fighting for our business, our insurance company’s contract was terminated
before first finding an alternative. The ensuing result was panic, as there was
nobody queuing and when a broker was eventually found, the premiums were not
only higher than from the company we had taken the business away from, but
there were also a number of unexpected exclusions as well - in particular those
concerning back problems.
Nevertheless, those in the scheme who at
that time numbered around 600, myself included, chose to remain and accept the
higher premiums. Since then the problems have continued, new brokers have come
and gone and the scheme’s membership has slowly dwindled to a still
decreasing 100 or so. On a personal note, during the whole of the 15 years I
have been with the DaC health scheme, I have not claimed a penny even though
during that period I have been sick several times and on one occasion quite
seriously so with prostate cancer. I didn’t claim because I was back to work
before the beginning of the third week when the sickness payments begin. Sadly,
like Mr Fenton, I am now no longer a member of the DaC health scheme with the
reason this time involving ageism. Firstly my premiums were doubled; I then
suffered the indignity and insecurity of being assessed on a yearly basis with
exclusions. Needless to say I feel aggrieved, particularly at an age when
I am likely to need it most and equally so by the fact that I have never made a
claim.
However, having said that, I still believe
in the principle of having health and sickness cover because for the
self-employed and in particular cab drivers, it is absolutely essential. As the
old adage goes: it’s better to have insurance cover and never have cause to
use it, than having no insurance at all. In hindsight, when joining the DaC
health scheme I was too eager to see it become a success rather than personally
shop around to see what else was available in the market place, something that
specifically suited me. I later discovered that there are numerous policies on
offer, far superior to the DaC scheme and to suit all requirements.
For example, there was one scheme that
apparently involves a lump sum payback in the event that no claims are made
throughout the life of the policy. So to all of you who don’t yet have any
health and sickness cover, take heed of a health scare that I suffered only
very recently which could have resulted in my being off work for some time.
With no insurance cover, I could have had the added worry over a lack of
finances, so I seriously recommend you do so - but first shop around.
DaC and TaxiCard
In addition to Mr Fenton’s letter, there was also a letter by Mr David
Kupler (Y74) in the same issue of Call Sign on which I again would like to
expand on the
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same topic - namely the handicapped.
To those of you who are unaware,
several disabled, handicapped and social services contracts are up for
tender from Westminster City Council. The first involves the disabled
TaxiCard contract that we have had the pleasure of
servicing for the past 12 years and which, having reached the end of its
present 4-year tenure, is once
again up for tender. Also up for tender are the Social Services and
Passenger Transport Service tenders, both of which we have also been proud
to have serviced for several years. Lastly, the Home to School contract
which we successfully serviced for several years until two and half years
ago, when we lost the contract to a competitor whose bid was more
competitive than ours.
Needless to say the Council, as with companies in the
private sector, are looking to get the best deal available together of
course with the best overall service. In Westminster’s case, the cost
factor has I assume, been influenced by the effects of Congestion
Charging. This has caused a reduction in the revenue generated from
parking meters and fines which, I’m led to believe, assisted in the
subsidising of the various taxi transport services. The immediate knock-on
effect of this loss of revenue has resulted in cut backs on the services
themselves, particularly with regards to the TaxiCard account, with
reductions being made on the number of journeys allocated to individual
card holders. Exactly how long these cut backs will remain is uncertain
and could possibly depend on the future policies of the Mayor’s office.
As is typical when negotiating taxi
contracts, very little can be done with regard to meter fares, so the
emphasis is placed either on our peripheral charges, such as admin,
gratuity, run-ins, waiting time etc or a mix and match in the vehicles
they use. In the past, this has been limited to licensed taxis only, but
with licensing of private hire and the likelihood of radio circuits
introducing alternative vehicles, there are now more options both in
vehicles and the method of allocating the work. It was therefore with no
surprise when reading their tender specification document, to see for the
first time the breaking up of one of the contracts - namely the Home to
School - into 5 separate options. For example, applications can be made to
service only those trips that involve wheelchairs, or the trips without
wheelchairs, or transporting a greater number of children in larger
vehicles such as people carriers etc. Whether or not transporting larger
numbers of children in one vehicle is cost effective, practical or
suitable to the parents or schools, only time will tell.
Some of you may be wondering why I’m
relaying all this detail to you? Well it’s for two reasons. Firstly, as
Dave Kupler said in his letter, prior to his temporary confinement to a
wheelchair he admitted giving little thought to the lack of mobility of
the handicapped. It grieves me to say this, but that attitude is not
uncommon within the cab trade as a whole, particularly when it involves
passengers in wheelchairs. There are, of course, justifiable reasons why
some drivers avoid this type of work, such as for health reasons. There is
also the aggravation and inconvenience - especially in bad weather - when
using ramps or straps etc. But in far too many instances, it is simply a
lack of consideration or effort to get out of the cab to assist.
Fortunately, the number of members on our circuit with this attitude is
relatively few, but having said that it is often the few by which we are
measured.
So to all of you who are capable of
transporting the handicapped, please make a concerted effort to show your
willingness to offer the identical service you would to the able bodied.
Be the passenger in a wheelchair, blind, deaf, mentally or physically
disabled, please show the patience and courtesy to which they are
entitled. It is not a free service, you are receiving the exact same fare
as from a fit member of the public. It is also very valuable business,
particularly at this moment in time.
Now the cynical among you might ask why
I'm wasting my breath, we might not get any of the business anyway. But
that brings me to my second point, because as I write we have just
received official notification that we have been successful in |
retaining the Westminster TaxiCard contract for a further five
years, commencing on 1 April 2004 until 31 March 2009.
Admittedly, as I’ve already mentioned, the
size of the contract is not of the same volume as previously, but nevertheless
winning it against such stiff competition is still a great achievement.
However, I feel it prudent to mention that in accordance with the policy of
most government taxi contracts and the same policy now being adopted by
Westminster City Council, the driver’s gratuity will no longer apply. Prior
to submitting our tender, I spoke to a number of drivers who regularly covered
TaxiCard work and the consensus of opinion was they would willingly accept the
loss of gratuity (a maximum of 90p) if it meant retaining the contract.
Unfortunately, since the licensing of private hire where gratuities, run-ins
and various other peripheral charges don’t exist, the licensed taxi trade is
now entering an era that could see a number changes in the manner in which we
operate compared with the past. More and more companies are showing resentment
at the idea of a compulsory gratuity, especially when they have had cause to
criticise the manner in which the journey was taken or the manner of the
driver. In their opinion, it should be voluntary and the amount stipulated at
the end of the journey, as is the case when using taxis off the street. So
getting back to the TaxiCard account, please don’t let the loss of gratuity
affect your coverage of this work. It’s important to remember that the manner
by which this work is covered could have a strong influence on the decision
makers who decide on who gets the other three council tenders that we are
applying for.
DaC Female TaxiCard
Almost finally, it’s quite possible there could be many of you who have
neither covered, nor even heard of the Dial-a-Cab Female TaxiCard service. It
was a service we introduced several years ago in response to a number of
assaults on women when using minicabs.
The demand for this service continues to
trickle over, but not in the manner in which it could - particularly since the
introduction of our on-line credit card booking service via the Internet. The
principle of the Female TaxiCard cash paying service was to assure females
travelling alone that they could travel in safety right up to the moment they
reached and entered their point of destination.
In the likelihood of a campaign to
regenerate this service, with possibly the backing of various prominent public
figures, I would simply like to remind you of your role when undertaking
rides of this nature. When accepting a Female TaxiCard trip - the status of
which will show on your screen - details of your vehicle registration number
and call sign will all be available to the passenger for security purposes so
that they can verify who you are when you arrive at the pick-up address.
On execution of the journey, which will now
be payable by credit card, the driver is requested to delay moving away from
the destination address until the passenger is safely inside. There is nothing
exceptional about the service, but when compared to the adverse publicity of
the dangers of using bogus minicabs, it could certainly be conceived as being
very special.
And Finally…
Lastly, and on a personal note, I would like to thank the many members who
emailed and sent kind messages concerning my becoming a life fellow of the
Institute of Direct Marketing. I qualified as a member some 10 years ago and
out of the blue I was invited to become a life fellow. It’s nice to see any
achievement acknowledged, particularly in the cab trade where far too many
cabmen play down their ability, preferring instead to emulate the public’s
perception of cloth cap and muffler.
Allen Togwell
DaC Marketing
allent@dialacab.co.uk |
