Norwich Union has rebuked a recent depiction of White Van Man (WVM) as a ‘mobile thug’.
Norwich Union has rebuked a recent depiction of White Van Man (WVM) as a ‘mobile thug’.
The company responded to a recent article in The Independent reporting on a 6 per cent increase in light van traffic in which David Marsh, a social psychologist who conducted the first research into the concept of WVM for the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, said: "Van drivers have taken on the mantle of what sociologists refer to as ‘folk devils’. He has overtaken even the football hooligan in the league of social undesirability. WVM is now most often viewed as a mobile thug and a dangerous threat to the decent, right-thinking majority."
Mark Keavney, from Norwich Union, one of the UK’s largest insurer of vans, commented: "As a major insurer, we have access to substantial claims data regarding van and car drivers - and there is no suggestion that van drivers are any more of a risk on the roads.
"While the ‘white van man’ title creates a stereotypical association with bad driving, research shows that they actually make less claims against their insurance policy than car motorists.
"Their reputation for cavalier driving has just made the general public more likely to register a bad van driver than a bad motorist."
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For further information, please contact: Debbie Wells at Staniforth on 0161 274 0100 or David Ross at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 65/07786 526350.
Notes to editors
About Norwich Union
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer with a market share of around 16 per cent and is more than 1.5 times the size of its nearest rival. It is also the largest personal lines insurer.
- It has a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses. It insures:
- One in five households
- One in five motor vehicles
- More than 700,000 businesses - Norwich Union products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies and Norwich Union Direct.
- Norwich Union’s news releases and a selection of images are available on the Aviva internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.
- An ISDN facility is available for studio quality broadcast. Call the press office on 08703 66 68 68
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