Insurance Rip-Offs

[corradoboy1983]

I know this is probably a regular topic, but I'm interested to hear what people are paying for insurance renewals. To give you recent history, I am currently 28 with no convictions, 10 years no claims, with class 1 business use.

I had a 2004 impress wrx that I was paying £1200 for. Bought a Mondeo Diesel as a cheaper car to get to work, and paid £550, changed that for a Puma (supposedly cheaper) and my insurance went up to £700.

I now have given up on anything remotely exciting for now, and bought a Toyota iQ with the 1.0litre engine. It's free tax, does 60mpg, and I expected cheap insurance. £968 premium!!

I moved insurers and now pay £275, but what is that all about? How can they even consider charging that?

Anyone else have a similar experience?

[Papa Hotel]

Hang on, your insurance is £275? What's the problem?

[trixyD]

Was in a similar position to you recently, I told Direct Line they could stick the renewal unless they matched the quote I got online, needless to say that saved me nearly £250.

I don't understand the people who just renew, especially when like me the renewel was a 30% increase

[PurpleMoonlight]

Papa Hotel said:

Hang on, your insurance is £275? What's the problem?

He has to drive a Toyota iQ to get it perhaps?

[Papa Hotel]

PurpleMoonlight said:

He has to drive a Toyota iQ to get it perhaps?

He's driving a perfectly serviceable new car, my sympathyometer isn't even flickering.

[jamoor]

Papa Hotel said:

He's driving a perfectly serviceable new car, my sympathyometer isn't even flickering.

Yeah, he should be glad he doesn't have to take the bus every day.

[MondeoMan1981]

Point the OP is making is the "think of a number and multiply it by five" approach to pricing by some insurers.

I'd love to see the OFT properly investigate pricing - especially renewals - one price through the post, oodles cheaper with same insurer on comparison sites...

[petrolsniffer]

MondeoMan1981 said:

Point the OP is making is the "think of a number and multiply it by five" approach to pricing by some insurers.

I'd love to see the OFT properly investigate pricing - especially renewals - one price through the post, oodles cheaper with same insurer on comparison sites...

Already in the pipeline http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19755037

2 years away from a conclusion though!

[Deva Link]

MondeoMan1981 said:

I'd love to see the OFT properly investigate pricing - especially renewals - one price through the post, oodles cheaper with same insurer on comparison sites...

I had that with LV= a few years ago and they said they couldn't match it but would let the existing policy expire and I could take out a new one.

Turned out the new one was a different policy, written much tighter than the old one I had - mileage had to be stated, and Euro and courtesy car cover were extra etc. OK, you could pick those up if you looked carefully but another thing they told me was that the old policy didn't care about speeding points, but the new one did.

I have to say that LV= renewals now (we have 3 cars with them) always are lower than doing a new policy quote.


This kind of thing might be more common than people realise - got the same thing going on with M&S travel insurance. Renewal premium is bonkers but they don't take new business on that policy any more. I can have the new, cut-down, policy much cheaper.

Edited by Deva Link on Saturday 29th September 12:51

[corradoboy1983]

Totally right Mondeoman - it definitely wasn't a "poor me!" Topic, as I have a decent new car and managed to get a good quote. But my point was about how inflated the renewal premium is.

The OFT need to get stuck in soon as we have all been ripped off for too long! Its no longer cheap to run a "cheap runabout" as you end up spending its value again over a couple of years...

[Engineer1]

And given how this works likely to result in higher prices as the initial new customer discounts won't be able to be offered. Or is that too cynical a reading of the potential results?

[lewisf182]

petrolsniffer said:

Already in the pipeline http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19755037

2 years away from a conclusion though!

I really can't believe its going to take them two years. Its quite obvious to everybody why the costs are so high and rising year on year, but the people who are meant to regulate it seem to have no clue. The main problem is insurers charging eachother stupid prices when an accident does happen and needlessly escalating total costs, they've identified that as a problem to be investigated, why inestigate, it's quite clearly a ridiculous practice so why not get them to stop it now! Insurance really pi**es me off as it just seems to be pie in the sky figures and highly unfair quotes from person to person