Why is insurance so expensive?
Discussion
Before i start i would just like to say, i'm new here so please be gentle 
.
So i'm currently in the same position everyones been in at some point, trying to insure my first car.
Naturally i started pricing up something i liked a Toyota MR2 AW11 (un-supercharged version and i was quoted over £6000. At first i thought that was fairly reasonable but then i started to price up your typical hatchbacks.
I got quoted £4,818.26 on a 1.4 Honda Civic Tornado. That's almost 10x the price of the car. Even on a Peugeot 206 1.2 i'm being quoted over £3000.The cheapest price I've got so far is £1800 on an Austin Mini Mayfair 998cc. I would get one, if i could get a decent condition one for under £1500.
So is this normal or am i doing something badly wrong.
Also i would prefer to avoid a telematics quote if at all possible.
.So i'm currently in the same position everyones been in at some point, trying to insure my first car.
Naturally i started pricing up something i liked a Toyota MR2 AW11 (un-supercharged version and i was quoted over £6000. At first i thought that was fairly reasonable but then i started to price up your typical hatchbacks.
I got quoted £4,818.26 on a 1.4 Honda Civic Tornado. That's almost 10x the price of the car. Even on a Peugeot 206 1.2 i'm being quoted over £3000.The cheapest price I've got so far is £1800 on an Austin Mini Mayfair 998cc. I would get one, if i could get a decent condition one for under £1500.
So is this normal or am i doing something badly wrong.
Also i would prefer to avoid a telematics quote if at all possible.
Insurance is not just about damage to your car (comprehensive), it's about damage (or death) to other parties. If the statistics say that people like you are more likely to cause damage to someone else, then you all have to cover that risk - and it ain't cheap because some of you will injure or kill someone.
Its risk profile -young male drivers are the most likely of having an accident as such if you are in that age group you will be paying more. It is extortionate and potentially that it would be cheaper to get a taxi everywhere you wish to go...
The old Golf Mk4 1.9DS - non turbo diesel I think its 60bhp if your lucky something like that will help, add mum and dad to policy.
Look out for deals with brand new cars whee they give free insurance - Citroen used to do this with the Saxo VTR/VTS it was cheaper to buy a brand new car and get free insurance for 3 years from them (plus you got a car for free given what the premiums would have been)
The old Golf Mk4 1.9DS - non turbo diesel I think its 60bhp if your lucky something like that will help, add mum and dad to policy.
Look out for deals with brand new cars whee they give free insurance - Citroen used to do this with the Saxo VTR/VTS it was cheaper to buy a brand new car and get free insurance for 3 years from them (plus you got a car for free given what the premiums would have been)
Because you are (presumably) young and young drivers tend to have more accidents than older drivers - and also when having those accidents the 3 or 4 passengers on board (also young) tend to also claim.
Also the value of the car has little or no material affect upon your premium, since it's just as easy to paralyse a pedestrian/other driver in a £250 shed as it is to do so in a Veyron.
Having dealt with numerous insurance claims - admittedly not all motor - which ultimately settled at £1 million +, I can assure you that the £3 to £4000 you might pay per year for cover, makes a very small dent in such a settlement.
Also the value of the car has little or no material affect upon your premium, since it's just as easy to paralyse a pedestrian/other driver in a £250 shed as it is to do so in a Veyron.
Having dealt with numerous insurance claims - admittedly not all motor - which ultimately settled at £1 million +, I can assure you that the £3 to £4000 you might pay per year for cover, makes a very small dent in such a settlement.
Finally an advantage to being 40! I just grumbled because my insurance has gone up from £203 to £210.
As above, try the kind of car that young people don't drive so avoid the obvious little hatchbacks etc. Price is entirely based on stats so if lots of young drivers buy Corsa's they will naturally crash more of them. Didn't someone on here buy an old Jag and get insurance for half the price of a small 1 litre hatch? To be fair the fuel costs might negate that saving
As above, try the kind of car that young people don't drive so avoid the obvious little hatchbacks etc. Price is entirely based on stats so if lots of young drivers buy Corsa's they will naturally crash more of them. Didn't someone on here buy an old Jag and get insurance for half the price of a small 1 litre hatch? To be fair the fuel costs might negate that saving
As above - go diesel barge for a few years whilst you build up some NCD ...
Or if you won't be doing massive miles and want some fun look at a classic of some sort - Midget, Spitfire, Herald, whatever. Decent ones are getting expensive (see original mini prices) but some specialist insurers will consider you on a fixed mileage policy that means the overall cost is lower and you can have rear wheel drive fun at real world speeds and learn some spanner skills
Or if you won't be doing massive miles and want some fun look at a classic of some sort - Midget, Spitfire, Herald, whatever. Decent ones are getting expensive (see original mini prices) but some specialist insurers will consider you on a fixed mileage policy that means the overall cost is lower and you can have rear wheel drive fun at real world speeds and learn some spanner skills
As expected you told me what i already presumed.
Unexpectedly i got a lot of replies relatively quickly.
I have looked at classics policies but they just aren't suitable for what i need.
I would like a classic but i won't like the work and costs to keep it on the road.
So what fairly decent car is cheap to insure and isn't your typical hatchback?
Unexpectedly i got a lot of replies relatively quickly.
I have looked at classics policies but they just aren't suitable for what i need.
I would like a classic but i won't like the work and costs to keep it on the road.
So what fairly decent car is cheap to insure and isn't your typical hatchback?
I know you probably won't want to hear it but have you considered leasing a cheap hatchback with free insurance for a couple of years while you (hopefully) avoid a claim? I've never looked into the details (and I'm a long way older than you anyway) but every now and again I seem to see deals that sound cheapish for small shopping cars where they cover the insurance too. If you're being quoted thousands for just a year's cover maybe it makes sense to rent a car for a grand or thereabouts while they cover your insurance and in year 3 you buy your 15 year old Imprezza nutter banger and keep me up all night with your burn-outs and wastegate dumping?
Or are those sorts of deals not available to under 21s for obvious reasons?
Or are those sorts of deals not available to under 21s for obvious reasons?
As a young driver the easiest way to get cheap insurance is to have something unusual - something which noone else your age has, for example a big, old Volvo estate will be cheaper for you to insure than a Corsa, despite its bigger engine because there are less xx year olds driving big old Volvo's and as a result less xx year olds crashing them.
This is how insurance with all mods declared on my modified RX-7 comes to just £50 more than a 1.4 Focus. In fact, both my policies combined come out at less than if I insured a Clio 182, because more 22 year olds are claiming in accidents who own 182's than RX-7 and RX-8's!
This is how insurance with all mods declared on my modified RX-7 comes to just £50 more than a 1.4 Focus. In fact, both my policies combined come out at less than if I insured a Clio 182, because more 22 year olds are claiming in accidents who own 182's than RX-7 and RX-8's!
On compare the market:
Both parents as 2nd drivers on the policy (puts prices down)
8k miles per year
parked on street
Put the start date as far in advance as possible. You'll get a cheaper quote, just phone them up to see if they'll take it out instantly at that price. They normally do.
Just get a cheap hatchback for your first year, cheaper to insure the better.
Both parents as 2nd drivers on the policy (puts prices down)
8k miles per year
parked on street
Put the start date as far in advance as possible. You'll get a cheaper quote, just phone them up to see if they'll take it out instantly at that price. They normally do.
Just get a cheap hatchback for your first year, cheaper to insure the better.
scenario8 said:
I know you probably won't want to hear it but have you considered leasing a cheap hatchback with free insurance for a couple of years while you (hopefully) avoid a claim? I've never looked into the details (and I'm a long way older than you anyway) but every now and again I seem to see deals that sound cheapish for small shopping cars where they cover the insurance too. If you're being quoted thousands for just a year's cover maybe it makes sense to rent a car for a grand or thereabouts while they cover your insurance and in year 3 you buy your 15 year old Imprezza nutter banger and keep me up all night with your burn-outs and wastegate dumping?
Or are those sorts of deals not available to under 21s for obvious reasons?
Actually this is a good call, I think Vauxhall are doing one of these offers where you buy the car and it includes insurance, and if you're under 21, you have to pay £99 for insurance and agree to have a black box. Or are those sorts of deals not available to under 21s for obvious reasons?
Still a good option really, a new car and insurance that will cost you less over the X year period than those first few years of insurance will...
adam4472 said:
i was quoted over £6000. At first i thought that was fairly reasonable
reasonable... I do not think it means what you think it means 
Try quotes on cars that are not driven by young drivers, Volvo estates (no not the T5s), Merc diesel etc. I think the trick is to pick cars that tend not to get crashed a lot.
Insurance can be weird, I could insure a Jag S-Type R for noticeably less than an Impreza for instance, though neither would cost me much comparatively as I am an old git.
Looking at hatchbacks is never a great way to start.
I'm 19 and manage to insure a Smart Roadster (admittedly the engine is the same size as the iPad I'm writing this on..) with no NCD, living in a s
t area of the midlands for half of what I can insure say, a Corsa.
Try something unusual, or as others have said, a barge.
Also, if you are going to go with a small hatchback, I did find a Suzuki Swift/Fiat Panda to be the cheapest. I'm not sure whether it's possible to drive a panda while young though.
I'm 19 and manage to insure a Smart Roadster (admittedly the engine is the same size as the iPad I'm writing this on..) with no NCD, living in a s
t area of the midlands for half of what I can insure say, a Corsa. Try something unusual, or as others have said, a barge.
Also, if you are going to go with a small hatchback, I did find a Suzuki Swift/Fiat Panda to be the cheapest. I'm not sure whether it's possible to drive a panda while young though.
Urban Sports said:
adam4472 said:
I have an overall budget for car and insurance around about £3500.
The car will be used to mainly get me to uni and to the odd museum
I'm 18 and have got my father on my insurance policy.
Say that in my good ear The car will be used to mainly get me to uni and to the odd museum
I'm 18 and have got my father on my insurance policy.
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