Car insurance renewal... Every year's story.

[medoramas]

Have you ever had your insurance company sending you a renewal letter with the quote that didn't make you living them?

I don't get their strategies, but surely if it comes to my family's car they don't want to keep their customers with them. It seems to be some sort of a joke or something - I'm just "gocomparing" quotes, as the new we have received is even more expensive then we used to pay last year! No accidents and claims of course.

I've just received the results - the top ones are half of our (ex-)insurer quotes.

 

[Neil]

Have you ever had your insurance company sending you a renewal letter with the quote that didn't make you living them?

I don't get their strategies, but surely if it comes to my family's car they don't want to keep their customers with them. It seems to be some sort of a joke or something - I'm just "gocomparing" quotes, as the new we have received is even more expensive then we used to pay last year! No accidents and claims of course.

I've just received the results - the top ones are half of our (ex-)insurer quotes.

In a lot of cases, their initial "tempter" discount to attract new business, is frequently not sustained at renewal. Plus the factors used for premium calculations and actuarial factors may change - they may either target different demographs, or simply their decisions may change.

It's more likely, though, that it's a new business "discount" they apply that isn't maintained - and they'll be factoring in either some people being a bit lazy and sticking with them (which there will be some) and another new influx of different customers as comparison websites shunt them that way.

Every year, now, I use a couple of comparison websites, and tend to use that to get the best-ish premium (I do use other factors, though, like some of the other attributes of the policy, plus perceived, I suppose, reputation or recognition of the company names - which is probably not worth much, these days).

 

[saulus]

They really are hoping that people sign off the form and post it back. A broker admitted this to me. It :shock: me that people dont ask questions.
The last three years my renewal quote comes through and the figure offered is always around about 75% on top of the current premium. I ring them up, at/with them and it drops to around a £100 off the current premium.
I always use my current insurance premium as a haggling point to obtain quotes from insurers not the renewal quote, it's pointless.

Premiums are always going up, not even staying the same- wheres the bonuses for being a good driver gone :?:

 

[silverclaws]

It really miffs me when one loses their NCB by choosing to not drive a car for a couple of years, I lost 17 years of careful motoring, so when I came to insure my clio four years after not driving, I was being treated as a new driver the fookers. Anyway, got insured through Gibraltar, the cheapest quote by far.

'Ere seeing as we are in the European Union, can we seek insurance from Europe ? I have been told some are insuring through Eire.

But as to insurance, my thoughts are it being a gamble, the whole premise of insurance, and the premise that one is going to do their best not to have a claim and knowing full well the insurers will do their absolute best to wriggle out of their obligation should one need to make a claim, then the best insurance is the cheapest insurance, play them off against each other, minimise their profit.

But then I understand there is not much profit if any in the insurance game.

 

[Russell]

I'm with Hastings direct.

This year my renewal quote was cheaper than last years premium by £30, I chanced my arm anyway and called them up and they reduced it by another £60 to match the best online price I found.

One of the few companies that look after existing customers.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Here's a tale...

Some years ago I moved house from one village to the next. A total distance of about 1800 metres by road.

I rang my insurers to tell them and they jacked the quote right up on the basis that it's a "higher risk" area.

Bollocks to that. At work I checked the crime figures for the 2 postcodes, and the new one is lower, including autocrime. I checked the recordable RTC numbers, and again the new village was lower.

I rang the insurers, told them about my evidence and asked them to explain how a demonstrably safer place can present a highr risk. Instantly the cost went down to its previous level.

The new village is more affluent, do it is by belief that at this level of middle aged drivers with high no claims they use other indicators, such as your perceived ability to pay a higher premium based on your perceived affluence.

The whole things a sham. The Governments own research has proven no relationship between a cars performance and your likelihood of stacking it, yet insurers are allowed to pounce on that straight away as an excuse to stiff you.

 

[Bunneh]

My home insurance shot up every year and I admit I was lazy sometimes 'oh it's only another £5 a month' but then I kind of made a mental 'stamp my foot' and started shopping around.

Same with pet insurance, Aviva, Churchill etc all sky rocketed each year, and because my cat was over 12 years of age they banged it up more. Oh and the way they try and keep you locked in the deal with them, using pre-existing condition clauses so that if you have your pet on medication with them you can't effectively leave as other insurers won't cover for it.

I rang to cancel after my cat died, and the guy on the other side of the phone didn't even listen when I said I wanted to cancel because she had pass away; he just went into automated heart string pulling mode 'but you need the insurance, what if your cat becomes ill?'. I could have throttled him.

 

[silverclaws]

It would be interesting to discover if MP's have business interests in the insurance scam, the lengths they go to to ensure car drivers have insurance, it makes it look that way, the way the law is protecting an industry by making it unlawful not to have insurance and making it searchable through number plate recognition, oh and of course there is tax on car insurance as well.

But I got hit by an uninsured driver in Liverpool, he couldn't drive away nor run a way, he was trapped in his Orion when he piled into the back of my Cavalier, my damages were met by the motor insurers bureau, oh and my car was still drivable and I drove around for a year before the damage was repaired. So this what if one is hit by an uninsured driver premium is another scam, because the MIB protected motorists.

It is an industry that seriously needs looking into but although the public ask for this the government does nothing.

 

[Magsy]

Just go elsewhere or price match them because they usually fold. The internet has made it so easy, I used to spend a day ringing as many as I could!

They should remove payment for whiplash for starters, get rid of hire/courtesy cars and I'd argue if you have a smash you should lose all of your NCB (revalue it to actually mean something)

Maybe it should be like other coutnries where 3rd party is included in the road tax.

It is so expensive if you claim on your own policy I always take a £1000 excess because if it is under that, regardless of protected NCB, you get shafted as soon as they ask 'any accidents?' the following year. Better to pay out of your own pocket and not usng them.

 

[gerryattrick]

My insurance last year was £240. This year I was quoted at £308 because of getting 3 points on my licence. Fair enough, my fault, but I looked around and found comparable insurance for £223.

I always look around before renewing anything these days, it has saved me hundreds. I even phoned my Internet provider to tell them I was going to change to another provider and they reduced the price by £6 a month.

Virtually all companies rely on our apathy.