Annual insurance shuffle - Standard practice?

[triggerhappy21]

My car insurance is up for renewal.

BMW E91 335d. 10000 mile/year. Age 34 with 8 years NCD. Typically pay around £650 in a single payment for fully comp.

However, every time my insurance renewal comes up, the price is hiked to over £1000. I end up on comparison websites and eventually find one I'm happy with, back around £650.

This means for around the last 5/6 years I haven't stayed with an insurer for more than 1 year. I've reached the point where if I'm asked, I couldn't tell you my insurer without checking my emails...

Is this standard practice, or am I missing something? Surely with my NCD increasing, my premiums should be reducing.

My only thought is these insurers are enticing me with a reduced price, and relying on me blindly renewing.

Ideally I'd like to find an insurer I can stick with and, without claiming, see my premiums reduce annually.

[the_kato]

I've been with Admiral for about 15 years. Every year they jack the price up, but then match the cheapest price I find elsewhere. The premium reduces every year by a few quid

Edited by the_kato on Wednesday 22 March 11:38

[Alex_225]

I stuck with Elephant and Admiral for a few years until they wouldn't match prices elsewhere.

Then moved to Esure who were good, matching no claims across four policies but eventually not being able to beat other prices.

So now, it'll be a case of moving around come renewal time. I took out an agreed valuation on one car and will do the same with another later in the year though.

[davamer23]

Your NCD won't be increasing, the period claim free will but the discount will only ever be a maximum regardless of number of years. 60% sound about right? Anyway, it won't automatically mean that your premium will reduce year on year, it will only mean that the premium generated will then have your NCD applied. If the premium generated has increased then after discount the premium you pay will be higher.

Best bet as said is to ring renewals and ask if they can match/beat the cheapest online quote you have received.

[Audemars]

Yes it is standard practice just like

Energy Provider
Broadband Provider
Mobile Phone provider
Home Insurance
AA/RAC

Etc.

If you aren't changing companies every year you are getting ripped off unless you get a price match

[MitchT]

I tend to change every couple of years. I usually get a good deal from an insurer first time followed by a renewal that's good enough to prevent me from hitting the comparison sites, but then at the end of yr 2 I get a piss take renewal and take my business elsewhere. Funniest I ever had was Endsleigh - £234 one year, £911 the next - no changes to my criteria!

[slipstream 1985]

the_kato said:

I've been with Admiral for about 15 years. Every year they jack the price up, but then match the cheapest price I find elsewhere. The premium reduces every year by a few quid

Edited by the_kato on Wednesday 22 March 11:38

Same but this year they couldn't get near Tesco. I even said to them on the phone just match tesco and i would stay but they couldn't

[Glasgowrob]

got the wifes Kuga insured through privelige, last couple of renewals have been pretty much exactly the same as the previous year give or take a pound or 2. no inclination to even look elsewhere so unless they decide to suddenly stick an extra 50 quid on it one year I doubt we would even consider changing

[eztiger328]

triggerhappy21 said:

My car insurance is up for renewal.

BMW E91 335d. 10000 mile/year. Age 34 with 8 years NCD. Typically pay around £650 in a single payment for fully comp.

However, every time my insurance renewal comes up, the price is hiked to over £1000. I end up on comparison websites and eventually find one I'm happy with, back around £650.

This means for around the last 5/6 years I haven't stayed with an insurer for more than 1 year. I've reached the point where if I'm asked, I couldn't tell you my insurer without checking my emails...

Is this standard practice, or am I missing something? Surely with my NCD increasing, my premiums should be reducing.

My only thought is these insurers are enticing me with a reduced price, and relying on me blindly renewing.

Ideally I'd like to find an insurer I can stick with and, without claiming, see my premiums reduce annually.

Wow £650 is pretty high for your age and NCB regardless of insurer. Sounds like you may no longer fit your insurers demographic and they are trying to get rid of you with the silly renewal quotes.

Try esure, I'm 36 with 7 NCD and just insured my e36 328 fully comp with 11k mileage + legal protection + NCD protected for the princely sum of £256. Over the last several years I seem to bounce between them and Zenith as they are consistently cheaper than the rest.

I think the days of sticking with an insurer and getting cheaper renewals every year are long gone.

Edited by eztiger328 on Wednesday 22 March 13:25

Edited by eztiger328 on Wednesday 22 March 13:25

[triggerhappy21]

I do often request for my renewal company to match what I've found, but I've had no joy yet. The problem seems to be the renewal price is usually in the region of 50-60% higher than what I find on comparison sites (and 50-60% higher than their own price the previous year...)

I have moved to Esure again this year. The last 7 years have included Admiral, Esure, Legal & General, Direct Line, Hastings plus others I forget.

Seems to be the same farce with each of them:

Quote about £600-700 for policy, up it by about 60% for renewal, refuse to match another quote of £600-700, move to new insurer, repeat...

Oh well, at least it's only once a year

Edited by triggerhappy21 on Wednesday 22 March 13:42

[TwigtheWonderkid]

eztiger328 said:

triggerhappy21 said:

My car insurance is up for renewal.

BMW E91 335d. 10000 mile/year. Age 34 with 8 years NCD. Typically pay around £650 in a single payment for fully comp.

However, every time my insurance renewal comes up, the price is hiked to over £1000. I end up on comparison websites and eventually find one I'm happy with, back around £650.

This means for around the last 5/6 years I haven't stayed with an insurer for more than 1 year. I've reached the point where if I'm asked, I couldn't tell you my insurer without checking my emails...

Is this standard practice, or am I missing something? Surely with my NCD increasing, my premiums should be reducing.

My only thought is these insurers are enticing me with a reduced price, and relying on me blindly renewing.

Ideally I'd like to find an insurer I can stick with and, without claiming, see my premiums reduce annually.

Wow £650 is pretty high for your age and NCB regardless of insurer.

He hasn't said where he lives, his conviction history, his occupation, other drivers, etc etc. Not sure how anyone can say it's cheap or expensive.

He could be living in Central London with a previous drink drive offence and a 17 yr old girlfriend on the policy for all we know.

[caelite]

I have been with Hastings for the last 3 years. Every year they have bumped my policy up by around 50%. The first 2 years I just cancelled the policy and took out a new quote via confused.com. Last year when I called them up to cancel my renewal they said they where actually able to match the confused quote for the first time on my ongoing policy.

They chance it because people are lazy and it's easy money.

[Sheepshanks]

triggerhappy21 said:

Ideally I'd like to find an insurer I can stick with and, without claiming, see my premiums reduce annually.

Once you max out your NCB I doubt you'll find one that drops in price.

LV= don't seem to jack the price up though. Mine and my wife's cars are bother with them and I generally just let it auto-renew. My Merc just renewed and it was £252. It was near-as-dammit the same last year.

As others have mentioned, Admiral were a nighmare when we had both kids cars with them. Massive battle every year to get the premium back to a reasonable. Then very oddly as this happened with both of them, when they turned 25 Admiral wouldn't play ball. Other well-known companies were much cheaper - one went to Lv= and the other Aviva.

[Mound Dawg]

I've shuffled every year because of this except for the last renewal for the Alfa which was lower than the previous year ( I turned 55 last year so I guess I went into the next age group).

It was nice to be able to just call and pay as the car's modified and on a classic policy so I can't just ask the Meerkats to get me a cheaper quote, I have to call around which takes most of a morning and ends up saving about £10.

[GSalt]

I use a broker, and they do the shuffle for me. It seems to bounce between three providers, never the same one two years running.

Couldn't face doing the ringing around the direct insurers and the market comparison websites myself. I've tried to beat the broker's quote a few times, but never managed to make a worthwhile saving.

[Nedzilla]

Yep,exactly the same. It's easily sorted now though on the comparison sites. I don't even give my existing insurers the chance to price match the new quote,I just change each year.

[horsemeatscandal]

I was quite surprised to find my renewal reduced by a few quid this year. Checked comparison website and I couldn't even find a quote as good as last year, nevermind the renewal quote. Not even from my insurer! Crazy times.

[MorganP104]

GSalt said:

I use a broker, and they do the shuffle for me. It seems to bounce between three providers, never the same one two years running.

Couldn't face doing the ringing around the direct insurers and the market comparison websites myself. I've tried to beat the broker's quote a few times, but never managed to make a worthwhile saving.

Same here - though I "do the dance" myself. It's a pain, but there's a certain satisfaction in taking a renewal quote, and smashing it with an hour's work on the laptop.

[anonymous-user]

I just renewed my motorbike insurance and took a new policy out via a comparison site with my current insurer as the agent couldnt match that price, yep she told me to buy it on line as she couldnt match it - so I cancelled an MCE policy and replaced it with an MCE policy.

Bizarre.

Then again once all your info is on a comparison site you only need to change the dates so its really quick to do

[Hackney]

Audemars said:

Yes it is standard practice just like

Energy Provider
Broadband Provider
Mobile Phone provider
Home Insurance
AA/RAC

Etc.

If you aren't changing companies every year you are getting ripped off unless you get a price match

It's mind-boggling that all the businesses listed prioritise new business over loyalty.
Customers are incredibly frustrated that they have to do this research, phoning around etc every year, when what they would prefer is to stick with the current supplier knowing their loyalty counts for something.