Car insurance.... Increase

[Welshbeef]

desolate said:

sidicks said:

I think some insurers see it differently.

I'd be interested in knowing which ones as I have been an insurance broker since 1994 and I don't know of one that asks and none of the quote systems have the ability to reference the information.

Even if they did they couldn't decline a claim on such grounds.

However there is nearly always an argument regarding value.

Privilege certainly hence me adding this info on for the last 6 odd years I've been with them - pre that I'd not even considered factory order options a modification/hand even thought about and likewise wasn't asked.

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

Privilege certainly hence me adding this info on for the last 6 odd years I've been with them - pre that I'd not even considered factory order options a modification/hand even thought about and likewise wasn't asked.

I'd be very interested in seeing the question asked and any specifics in the policy booklet. Other parts of the same group don't care.

[sidicks]

desolate said:

I'd be very interested in seeing the question asked and any specifics in the policy booklet. Other parts of the same group don't care.

Admiral have asked for details of factory fitted options for the last few years.

[anonymous-user]

sidicks said:

Admiral have asked for details of factory fitted options for the last few years.

If they specifically ask for options then give them the options.

If they ask for modifications then there would be no need and they would get nowhere if they tried to decline on that basis.

[sidicks]

desolate said:

If they specifically ask for options then give them the options.

If they ask for modifications then there would be no need and they would get nowhere if they tried to decline on that basis.

Agreed.

[Welshbeef]

So looks like direct line have come in at £325 - exactly the same at Privlidge.


I'll give them the opportunity to retain me as a customer if they match or better the price - but if that's how they treat loyal customers it's not great. Imagine those who never switch and just accept the price year on year - no doubt many of those are people who need £ the most.

[Jobbo]

Welshbeef said:

Imagine those who never switch and just accept the price year on year - no doubt many of those are people who need £ the most.

Do you think there's a single person on PH who just accepts the renewal figure without checking it's competitive?

[Welshbeef]

Jobbo said:

Do you think there's a single person on PH who just accepts the renewal figure without checking it's competitive?

Nope but I'd wager there are thousands of not maybe millions of people who don't.

[Sheepshanks]

Jobbo said:

Do you think there's a single person on PH who just accepts the renewal figure without checking it's competitive?

I just let both of ours auto-renew and didn't check them.

[otherman]

Try changing your occupation. It can make a substantial difference. I've found if I'm a project manager is cheaper than being a civil engineer or a construction manager.

[MitchT]

Welshbeef said:

Still 54% uplift is a piss take IMHO

I've had worse. Endsleigh sent me a renewal of £911 a year after charging me £234. No change in my circumstances. That's a rise of 289%! Needless to say I jogged on to another insurer.

[lbc]

sidicks said:

Admiral have asked for details of factory fitted options for the last few years.

They have never asked me.

What was the exact question you were asked?

[lbc]

Welshbeef said:

Jobbo said:

Do you think there's a single person on PH who just accepts the renewal figure without checking it's competitive?

Nope but I'd wager there are thousands of not maybe millions of people who don't.

That's their loss then for being ignorant or too lazy to make a phone call.

[Welshbeef]

lbc said:

Welshbeef said:

Jobbo said:

Do you think there's a single person on PH who just accepts the renewal figure without checking it's competitive?

Nope but I'd wager there are thousands of not maybe millions of people who don't.

That's their loss then for being ignorant or too lazy to make a phone call.

But these people are often old people who don't have he money to waste. They are your grandparents/parents why should hey on fixed low income get mugged off?

Oddly loyal customers are treated badly where is the logic in the business model? Retention is key for a business and it's far far cheaper then trying to win new customers / growth elsewhere.

[iphonedyou]

Welshbeef said:

But these people are often old people who don't have he money to waste. They are your grandparents/parents why should hey on fixed low income get mugged off?

Oddly loyal customers are treated badly where is the logic in the business model? Retention is key for a business and it's far far cheaper then trying to win new customers / growth elsewhere.

It's perfectly logical. They retain lots of customers on 'inflated' premiums because those customers don't bother to check elsewhere. They understand the risk profile of those customers having insured them previously.

Very sensible.

[Jobbo]

As I mentioned earlier on this thread, eSure's renewal quote has now twice been lower than their new business quote for me. So I've stuck with them, but even when the premium has gone down I've still checked it's competitive.

If you don't check, you might think £150 is a low premium but I still rang round when renewing my second car insurance; three years now it's been under £90. So I'm glad I checked.

[Sheepshanks]

Jobbo said:

three years now it's been under £90.

Who is that with? A lot of insurers have minimum premiums of around £200 now.

I've checked ours in the past and found them there or thereabouts so if the premium feels about right I just let it renew. Both cars are with LV who have looked after us when called for so it would take a lot for me to move.


Be careful checking with the same insurer though - I did that one year and the quote was a chunk lower than the renewal. They said OK but it had to be a new policy. Turned out the new policy was more of a minimal thing and much more restrictive in terms of mileage, treatment of points, European cover etc.

[Jobbo]

It's a classic/specialist policy with Footman James, 3k miles per annum.

[walm]

Welshbeef said:

But these people are often old people who don't have he money to waste. They are your grandparents/parents why should hey on fixed low income get mugged off?

Oddly loyal customers are treated badly where is the logic in the business model? Retention is key for a business and it's far far cheaper then trying to win new customers / growth elsewhere.

If you don't have money to waste then you can "earn" good money by spending your time online/on the phone finding a competitive price.
Why would it be grandparents or parents in particular?
Frankly I imagine they are the ones with more time on their hands than the time poor people who have jobs to do during business hours.

The logic in the business model is simply that the revenue generated from the lazy auto-renewers is higher than the revenue lost to those who shop around.
In any case, most will revise their renewal price down to close to market if you bother to call them up directly.
Retention is important for sure but it isn't like say Sky where they have to throw a new box and router at new subs, it's just throwing some SEO dollars at PCW or GOOG.
Furthermore they want to balance their books for various risks and if you happen to be in a demographic where they are over-weight and looking to reduce that balance they may actively want you out!

[anonymous-user]

walm said:

If you don't have money to waste then you can "earn" good money by spending your time online/on the phone finding a competitive price.
Why would it be grandparents or parents in particular?
Frankly I imagine they are the ones with more time on their hands than the time poor people who have jobs to do during business hours.

There is a whole raft of people that are poorly served by the current model.
I am involved in a broker that whilst it doesn't really do private punters, it does have a high street shop front and we regularly get enquiries from people who walk in and want/need to go through their insurance face to face.

The fact is for "normal" car and home insurance there simply isn't the margin to provide any sort of service. We can do a commercial policy and earn £400 in income in the same amount of time it takes to do a private punter and earn £40. Even at the top end it is very price driven so there simply isn't enough margin to provide the right service.