Are Insurance Companies ripping us off?

[MancMike]

Oh , I've moved around a few times during my life , and lived in some less salubrious places than where I am now , but have NEVER paid stupid prices for insurance .

But you wouldn't, would you? You're already the age you are, and when you were insuring things in less nice places, insurance wasn't the price it is today. If you could become twenty something again and live in a high risk postcode area, you'd find yourself in the same boat with no choice but to either pay up or get the bus.

Have a look at this for postcode insurance risk areas: Post Code ratings for Car Insurance

 

[MancMike]

Thanks for checking Alex. Yes it's annoying when I read stories like Gunning's. £1700 for a CLS55 at the age of 21...

If I lived in your postcode area, I'd be driving an AMG now. I do sometimes get quotes dreaming when I realise I can afford a CLS55/63 but then the cheapest quotes I'm getting are nearly as much as the car, per year.

I'll do it again now incase anything has changed.

£4240 for an 08 C63, that's with a compulsory 3k excess, so obviously a no go. There's a cheaper quote of 3.5k but that comes with a telematics box which is obviously stupid for the car. Cheapest with a reasonable excess is £5,334.23 if I want to pay 700 excess, and £12,252.43 if I want to pay 400 quid excess.

I'll move to a nicer area at some point. Then it'll be AMG V8s all the way. :bannana:

 

[AMGeed]

^ Just to cheer you up Mike, I renewed my insurance today, but not with the company that sent me my renewal. Hastings wanted £488 for my E55. I paid £280 last year.
Shopped around and found it for £257 so rang Hastings to cancel.

The usual happened. "Hold on a moment sir and I'll see if we can better the renewal price."

They came back with £332 to which I said, I could have got that the day the renewal came in. Why wasn't I given that price then? Plenty of bluster about it changing day to day but they had their chance. Its a game to be played annually.

So, living in sunny Poole with 9yrs NCB protected is costing £257 for a supercharged 5.4litre E55 worth around £9k.
I honestly feel for those living in high price postcodes.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Similar Hastings story here Rodger. High renewal, got a price from Admiral. Then Hastings said 'We'll match it Sir!'

No you won't, you'll beat it if you want my business. Needless to say Admiral got my money.

Nothing at all for loyalty.

 

[ToeKnee]

Can some of you who are getting cheap insurance please post the companies involved so we can enquire. Appreciate all quotes will be different but you may be using a company I've never heard of. Thanks.

 

[Piff]

I have a multi car policy with Aviva for several years now.

I find their prices very reasonable and I get a further discount each year for completing the Aviva Drive app

What's the Aviva Drive app?
We are insured with them but hadn't heard of additional discount

 

[Piff]

Similar Hastings story here Rodger. High renewal, got a price from Admiral. Then Hastings said 'We'll match it Sir!'

No you won't, you'll beat it if you want my business. Needless to say Admiral got my money.

Nothing at all for loyalty.

Have you tried Aviva? They do a great price for our car & L200. This year £482 for both.

 

[AMGeed]

Can some of you who are getting cheap insurance please post the companies involved so we can enquire. Appreciate all quotes will be different but you may be using a company I've never heard of. Thanks.

MoneySuupermarket is the best comparison site for me and came up with a few cheapish quotes.

Tesco
Privilege
and Hastings were the cheapest for me.

I found A-Plan the best high street brokers. I'll avoid Swintons on account they sold my personal details and I got bombarded with spam.

Always take the lowest quote to your current insurer on renewal and ask them to at least match it. I guarantee it will drop from the renewal quote you have been given.

 

[AMGeed]

Have you tried Aviva? They do a great price for our car & L200. This year £482 for both.

Its horses for courses I've found.
Aviva were one of the dearest for me at £780

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Have you tried Aviva? They do a great price for our car & L200. This year £482 for both.

Strangely enough I've never even thought about multi vehicle. (Car & van) probably because we've always swapped and changed the vehicles at different times of the year.

I just tend to spend an hour on the computer a few weeks before renewal. Go.compare-Confused.com-moneysupermarket.com etc. then buy the cheapest. I assumed everyone did that nowadays.

 

[Piff]

Strangely enough I've never even thought about multi vehicle. (Car & van) probably because we've always swapped and changed the vehicles at different times of the year.

I just tend to spend an hour on the computer a few weeks before renewal. Go.compare-Confused.com-moneysupermarket.com etc. then buy the cheapest. I assumed everyone did that nowadays.

Some don't come up on the comparison sites - Aviva is one of those.
You can take out cover for one vehicle then when the other comes up for renewal they can add that to the policy for the remainder of that year.
The price for the E Cab is not the best but the L200 is less that half of the quotes I was getting elsewhere. In fact the overall price for the two is less than what I was paying for the L200 alone!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

You only know if you are getting good value for money when you make a claim.

 

[addbuyer]

It's a three year cycle for me, Admiral then Hastings then Aviva.

I have to move every year as the renewal price is always unessecceraly high, they just don't want repeat business

Just moved to Aviva after Hastings wanted a further £315 than last year to stay with them. Next year it will be back to Admiral.

The cheapest quote this year was £297 but who the Fcuk are Go Skippy??

 

[markjay]

What's the Aviva Drive app?
We are insured with them but hadn't heard of additional discount

It's an app (available for iPhone and Android). It monitors your driving over 200 miles. If you get a score of 7.1 or higher (out of 10), you are entitled to 20% disount off your annual premium.

(But if you have a multi car policy, the discount is applicable only for the first car).

I have been doing this every year for the past 4 years.

https://www.aviva.co.uk/car-insurance/drive/

 

[Meldrew2]

Can some of you who are getting cheap insurance please post the companies involved so we can enquire. Appreciate all quotes will be different but you may be using a company I've never heard of. Thanks.

2 cars with LV. One with Co-op.

 

[markjay]

Strangely enough I've never even thought about multi vehicle. (Car & van) probably because we've always swapped and changed the vehicles at different times of the year.

So do I - but it makes no difference. You just call them up and change the vehicle info for one or both vehicles (or you can also do this online). They will then tell you that the premium is unchanged, or that there's an increase for the pro-rata period till the end of the policy, or that you are entitled to a refund (that happened to me when changing my car from a V6 to a 4-pot....)

 

[Black Scorpion]

The problem with using comparison sites is that they do not have the same after sales service as going into your local broker.
Like has already been said the test comes if you need to claim.
I have used some of the companies already mentioned but moved away due to the poor reviews from people who have tested their services.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Cheers MJ.

I'll give it a go next time. Paying under £500 combined on car & van so easy to get a comparison.

 

[MancMike]

You only know if you are getting good value for money when you make a claim.

When you're paying 6.5k for insurance, the last thing you want to do if you have an accident is make a claim. You're desperate for it to go down next year, not up. If it was to go up, I'd have effectively been banned from driving as it'd be completely unaffordable.

I did have a little bump as it goes, with another "newish" driver, both screwed up a bit. Both keen to not knacker our chances of being on the road next year, I paid for part the cost of their damage (500) and fixed mine myself.

Believe me that is very very common with those paying thousands for insurance. I know it's not the rules and I'll undoubted by shot by many here, but you're desperate to look out for your own interests, and so are the other party.

So the insurance company win twice, they lighten you of 6.5k because of the risk, but knowing you'll lose any NCB you've got and have to pay the excess anyway (which is likely more than the repair would be), you deal with it yourself. At the time, btw, my excess was 750, so it was cheaper anyway.

I feel like I'm over that hurdle now. My Mrs' last year's policy she was paying 180, which is the lowest she's ever paid. Now she's getting quotes under 100 quid/month.

 

[erdnase]

Churchill renewal price £660 , quick look on money supermarket £478 . I did call them to see if they would match or do a better deal. No dice so best shop around.