Absurd insurance

[otolith]

The value of the car only matters in a write-off or theft situation. Otherwise, the cost of repairs will be the same, the cost of third party claims will be the same. The effect on the premium will depend on your particular risks.

[andyjo1982]

torqueofthedevil said:

Why is it awell that the fact that as your car gets older and so is now worth a lot less (and therefore the insurance companies don't pay out as much) does the premium not do down. They say that you are insuring against hitting ppl etc not really the value of the car. It that is so, why is the premium the same as brand new cars. Why can't you insure your car for a set value and automatically get that if u write it off???

Our insurers have very bad loss ratios with low value vehicles and as such, are reluctant to offer competitve quotes for cars that are valued less than £2000. The problem with low value cars are that usually they are the vehicles that do the most miles, they're most likely to have faults, because they are low value, the owners dont tend to take as much care, they're left in vulnerable places as again, the owners aren't that bothered about them.

There are policies out there that can offer what we call, an agreed value, so if it is a total loss then you get a set value.

But generally, on values between around £2000 and £25000, the premium wont change.

[Blakeatron]

My apprentice has just passed his driving test at 17. His insurance tpft for a 2002 1.2 corsa sxi is £4100.

They would not even quote to have him on the company connect.

[Brink]

Spent 5 hours shopping around and managed a £60 saving. Otherwise it would have been an increase of £70 over last year.

I would have thought it was in the insurance companies' own interests to keep their customers coming back, rather than drive them away with price hikes.

Whenever money is involved, the GREED is not far behind.

[LukeSi]

Cheapest I've found on something modern is 3.2k on a Panda 1.1 Active. For that I would have to be a motor mechanic who works for a car sales company and would have to of been driving for 5 months. Insurance is bloody pathetic how much it costs.

[refoman2]

my insurance on my works van went up £400 this year with an extra years no claims and im a year older and due to various problems with the vehicle ive had to change the reg 3 times and have been charged £80 each time,bearing in mind its exactly the same vehicle just a different reg! work that one out

also on my road car,mondeo st200,when i moved addresses my previous insurer wanted an extra £180 even though the car was now parked in a electric gated car park and not on the road,in the same town! work that one out!

problem is,they know we have to have insurance so can charge what the hell they like

[johnpeat]

There are 2 separate discussions going on here

1 - the fact insurance is going-up for almost everyone (seems to be true)
2 - the crazy prices new drivers will pay.

2 is easily explained tho - young drivers are fking mental!

No, really, the statistics are appalling. Teenage drivers are FOUR TIMES more likely to have an accident than any other age bracket. They're also more likely to be involved in fatalities (whether they are the cause or not) - all of that EASILY explains the premiums.

Premiums are, of course, based on actual statistics - so if teenage drivers stopped behaving like pricks, premiums would fall. This seems unlikely - on the whole - however.

I'd just get used to it - or buy a moped

[Waynester]

My 523I SE E39 BMW insured with Swiftcover, re-newal increased by £120 to a shade over £500 TPF&T.

I'm 39 with 9 years ncb!

Tried the shop around bit with Go Compare...

New company, new quote..£286, with lower excess too!

Just to mention... Swift Cover said..No Quote!

.com!!

[OdramaSwimLaden]

I moved from Richmond to Clapham and the insurance went up because of "the area". When I moved from Clapham back to Richmond, you guesed it, it went up "because of the area"!!!!

[johnpeat]

I have to admit I thought TP and TPF&T were things of the past - for the simple reason that every quote I've looked at in the last 5 years has been MORE for TP and TPF&T than for FC!!

I guess I've been insuring cars I'd be expected to own and that it may come into it's own when you venture outside the insurers 'ideal world' but the 'comprehensive' bit of insurance has always been the cheap part for most people (e.g. you tend to do more damage to other people!!)

[Mr POD]

torqueofthedevil said:

Can only emphasise with parents of young drivers, I thought ppl getting 5k quotes just weren't looking properly but it would seem this is the state of insurance now.

One other point, ok premiums are going up due to a rise in personal injury claims etc. But what about all those people not claiming because they don't want to increase their premiums! I know plenty of people, myself included who have not bothered involving their insurance where possible for this very reason.

£2200 to add my son as a named driver onto the cavalier we've had since 2000.
A fairly safe handling, not particularly fast, hack.

They say premiums are rising due to personal injury claims. This is only part of the story.

Insurance companies take your money and invest it in the stock market.

So lets pretend we set up an insurance club.

Out of 10 people we expect one claim that costs us £3000. So we charge each person £310 and make £100 profit.

Now by the law of averages we have 1000's of people and on average some crash on day one and some crash on day 364, but it all averaged out to a claim six months in.

So from those 10 people we took £3100. and we could invest it for 6 months by the law of averages.

Say we made 10% That would be £310 profit to add to the £100. Not a bad return.

Now : mismanage the claims side, so that the claim cost £3310, and we are still making a profit. Now screw up on the investments and make a fecking big loss.

Then colude together to make excuses and go in hard for massive increases.

Okay so my figures are ballocks, but It shows what's happening.