Why don't insurance companies insure the drivers?
Discussion
Why don't insurance companies insure the drivers and not the car they drive?
I realise they sort of do that now, but sheerly insurance cost shouldn't change between a £10'000 1.1L hatchback to a £10'000 5.5L 4x4 or £10'000 5L sports car.
I could cause as much damage in all of those cars, I could mow down a school trip patting the last panda on earth. If I was a drunken fool I would be more dangerous on a go-ped, but I could be a t total nun driving around in a zonda.
I realise the potential cost to replace the car has to be a factor, but its only a tiny percentage of the gamble next to £2m public liability pat of the insurance.
I realise they sort of do that now, but sheerly insurance cost shouldn't change between a £10'000 1.1L hatchback to a £10'000 5.5L 4x4 or £10'000 5L sports car.
I could cause as much damage in all of those cars, I could mow down a school trip patting the last panda on earth. If I was a drunken fool I would be more dangerous on a go-ped, but I could be a t total nun driving around in a zonda.
I realise the potential cost to replace the car has to be a factor, but its only a tiny percentage of the gamble next to £2m public liability pat of the insurance.
LuS1fer said:
I don't mind being assessed on the car but what annoys me is that I have 4 vehicles and can only ever drive one at any given time.
I agree with this. A 1 driver multi car policy should really be little more than the most expensive to insure + an element of theft risk on the other cars.They pretty much do.
Playing around with the comparison sites, I seem to be quoted almost the same premium for anything between a base Fiesta and a top of the range Beemer.
Even typing in “Porsche” only adds about £200.
I find the same with bikes – 125 or 1000cc makes next to no difference.
They're insuring me, not the vehicle.
(But then I am old and farty!)
Playing around with the comparison sites, I seem to be quoted almost the same premium for anything between a base Fiesta and a top of the range Beemer.
Even typing in “Porsche” only adds about £200.
I find the same with bikes – 125 or 1000cc makes next to no difference.
They're insuring me, not the vehicle.
(But then I am old and farty!)
Major Fallout said:
Why don't insurance companies insure the drivers and not the car they drive?
I realise they sort of do that now, but sheerly insurance cost shouldn't change between a £10'000 1.1L hatchback to a £10'000 5.5L 4x4 or £10'000 5L sports car.
I could cause as much damage in all of those cars, I could mow down a school trip patting the last panda on earth. If I was a drunken fool I would be more dangerous on a go-ped, but I could be a t total nun driving around in a zonda.
I realise the potential cost to replace the car has to be a factor, but its only a tiny percentage of the gamble next to £2m public liability pat of the insurance.
It's nothing to do with the value of the car - the theft and comprehensive part of the insurance tends to be party cheap compared to the third-party risk. It's to do with the likelihood of crashing it, the average person who chooses to drive one model of car can have a significantly lower risk than the average person who chooses to drive another. I realise they sort of do that now, but sheerly insurance cost shouldn't change between a £10'000 1.1L hatchback to a £10'000 5.5L 4x4 or £10'000 5L sports car.
I could cause as much damage in all of those cars, I could mow down a school trip patting the last panda on earth. If I was a drunken fool I would be more dangerous on a go-ped, but I could be a t total nun driving around in a zonda.
I realise the potential cost to replace the car has to be a factor, but its only a tiny percentage of the gamble next to £2m public liability pat of the insurance.
Surely it`s all about risk though.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
I still hate the attitude towards younger drivers, I've been driving for 4 years now without so much as a near miss let alone an accident, yet every time I try to get a quote I'm still priced as though I'm a timebomb.
I can understand them being wary for a year, maybe 2 but charging almost £800 to insure a basic diesel golf with 4 years of NCD is just ridiculous but they know they have you over a barrel as you have to pay it so they change charge whatever the f
k they like.
As for basing it on the vehicle I don't think that works very well, you can still drive like an idiot whether you're in a Fiat 500 or a maserati. The one thing I will say is that they don't seem to twig that although performance cars come with performance engines, they also come with performance brakes, steering and other safety features to make up for that so even if the car is more powerful it'll probably have a better breaking distance than you're average little 1.1l car anyway.
I can understand them being wary for a year, maybe 2 but charging almost £800 to insure a basic diesel golf with 4 years of NCD is just ridiculous but they know they have you over a barrel as you have to pay it so they change charge whatever the f
k they like.As for basing it on the vehicle I don't think that works very well, you can still drive like an idiot whether you're in a Fiat 500 or a maserati. The one thing I will say is that they don't seem to twig that although performance cars come with performance engines, they also come with performance brakes, steering and other safety features to make up for that so even if the car is more powerful it'll probably have a better breaking distance than you're average little 1.1l car anyway.
Fubar1977 said:
Surely it`s all about risk though.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
Not sure I agree with that. My motorcycle insurance carries the highest risk of death or injury but is my cheapest premium.A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
LuS1fer said:
Not sure I agree with that. My motorcycle insurance carries the highest risk of death or injury but is my cheapest premium.
The highest risk of you dying or being injured, but your insurance wont pay out for that. The chances of you killing or injuring someone else will be substantially lower on the bike. LuS1fer said:
Fubar1977 said:
Surely it`s all about risk though.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
Not sure I agree with that. My motorcycle insurance carries the highest risk of death or injury but is my cheapest premium.A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
dave7692 said:
As for basing it on the vehicle I don't think that works very well, you can still drive like an idiot whether you're in a Fiat 500 or a maserati. The one thing I will say is that they don't seem to twig that although performance cars come with performance engines, they also come with performance brakes, steering and other safety features to make up for that so even if the car is more powerful it'll probably have a better breaking distance than you're average little 1.1l car anyway.
You are missing the point. They do not "bias it by the vehicle" so much as "bias it by the type of people who are likely to buy the vehicle". The figures are almost entirely statistically derived, they can't really be "wrong". Whether a particular individual would be higher risk in one car or the other is largely irrelevant.
Fubar1977 said:
Surely it`s all about risk though.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
Yeah, my 350Z, with no NCD costs less to insure than our Galaxy with full NCD, so a fleet of three 350Z's is by far the best option for transporting a family of 5 A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
dave7692 said:
I still hate the attitude towards younger drivers, I've been driving for 4 years now without so much as a near miss let alone an accident, yet every time I try to get a quote I'm still priced as though I'm a timebomb.
Whose fault is that. My guess would be young drivers, too many of whom are morons behind the wheel. So leave the insurers alone and have a rant at your mates for driving your premiums up.TwigtheWonderkid said:
dave7692 said:
I still hate the attitude towards younger drivers, I've been driving for 4 years now without so much as a near miss let alone an accident, yet every time I try to get a quote I'm still priced as though I'm a timebomb.
Whose fault is that. My guess would be young drivers, too many of whom are morons behind the wheel. So leave the insurers alone and have a rant at your mates for driving your premiums up.
The insurers don't just shove up young driver premiums for the hell of it; it costs more to insure cars as a young driver because young drivers crash more and/or do more damage when they do. If you want to blame someone, blame all the drivers who crashed with four years experience. J4CKO said:
Fubar1977 said:
Surely it`s all about risk though.
A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
Yeah, my 350Z, with no NCD costs less to insure than our Galaxy with full NCD, so a fleet of three 350Z's is by far the best option for transporting a family of 5 A £10000 5.5 V8 may well be driven somewhat differently to a £10000 1.1 Hatchback.
Most of the risk the insurers are covering, especially these days, isn`t the damage to the vehicles involved, it`s the personal injury claims that tend to result.
For this reason a 7 seater people carrier can cost more than a 2 seat sports car of similar value.
£10000 BMW Z4 plus 2 occupants Vs £10000 7 seat Ford Galaxy plus 7 occupants, 5 additional injury claims (potentially) so more expensive as a result.
Apologies if I`ve missed the point but that`s how I see it.
Major Fallout said:
kambites said:
You are missing the point.
They do not "bias it by the vehicle" so much as "bias it by the type of people who are likely to buy the vehicle".
I see! So basically they already do. They do not "bias it by the vehicle" so much as "bias it by the type of people who are likely to buy the vehicle".
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