Insurance am I in the minority?

[DazBock]

Renewed my car insurance this morning. Now 7 years NCB but no other changes to the policy.

Was dreading doing it cos of all this stuff in the news so I call up my insurer (Churchill) and get a renewal quote of £75 more than last year. Whilst I'm on the phone I stick my details into a comparison site, get a cheaper quote tell the girl it is virtually like for like (few differences but generally balances out) and BOOM just like magic I am paying £40 less than I was last year.

Didn't seem hard at all.

Very suprised seeing as I am hearing people paying 30% extra...

I can't be the only one, surely?

[HellDiver]

Mine went up for £292 to £302. I was gutted.

[Bobby_Mac]

I think most of the time, the renewal quote that is given tends to be higher then price comparison websites. I saved almost £300 on mine by getting quotes from comparison websites which my insurer then matches.

I see the people that just accept their renewal straight away as subsidising the people that do.

[StottyZr]

The Crack Fox said:

Comparison websites are to be treated with HUGE caution, they will almost certainly bump the price up when you try to purchase as they can't cover your exact details on the website. For example... Got kids ? They don't ask you this online, but expect you to tell them, and will add £££ when you do.

Comparison websites are only fit for getting a cheapo screen price online, then getting your existing insurer to match it.

I've always gone through comparison sites. If I go direct to my insurer they quote around £400 more. I don't know why.

[richardxjr]

I now shop around each year: 2 cars and house. I pay less each year.

I always check the best premium offered by a price comparison site by then going direct to that insurer and drilling down some more. Worked well with LV.Com.

I will not waste my time going back to existing insurer if they'd tried to increase premiums and hoping I won't notice (Direct Line).

Each year, whoever wants my low risk business by offering the lowest premium without the need to haggle gets it.

[anonymous-user]

mine went up but not by much and by choice, probably only about £15 or so but its worth it knowing that postkat is on his way from meerkova right this very minute with a present from alexsander and sergei as a reward for me knowing the difference between www.comparethemarket.com and www.comparethemeerkat.com

having to call up the existing insurance provider and explain why i, a 32 year old man, was cancelling my insurance upon receipt of their renewal quotation and choosing to pay more simply to get a toy meerkat was somewhat humbling however.

simples.

[Marf]

Mine has gone down £40 a year for the past two years, despite having a £1500 fault claim against me

[OMNIO]

The Crack Fox said:

Comparison websites are to be treated with HUGE caution, they will almost certainly bump the price up when you try to purchase as they can't cover your exact details on the website. For example... Got kids ? They don't ask you this online, but expect you to tell them, and will add £££ when you do.

Comparison websites are only fit for getting a cheapo screen price online, then getting your existing insurer to match it.

I cant speak for all sites but moneysupermarket asks how many children under 16 you have.

Going through comparison sites has always been cheaper for us. The RAC tried it on with additional costs but we just said that we would go with Admiral who would honour their online quote and the RAC caved in and agreed to stick with their original price.

[ZeeTacoe]

I seem to be in the tiny minority where my renewal is cheaper than the comparison sites and my current insurer's website.



Still too bloody expensive though

[Simbu]

ZeeTacoe said:

I seem to be in the tiny minority where my renewal is cheaper than the comparison sites and my current insurer's website.

I had this last year. Didn't stop me having a friendly discussion with a lovely young Welsh lady and ended up paying less and adding more miles

[craigb84]

I used the kats and the fat man to look for a better price for my mums renewal. Neither of them could get anywhere near the renewal price of her existing (esure I think) insurer. They were all at least double. Thieves I tell you!

[Charlie Michael]

I renewed the insurance for my Focus and the premium went down by £170.

[Torquey]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. NCB has reached 7 years now. Quote has gone up £70 this year. Price comaprison sites are quoting more than my renewal (More than).

Dont know if I have the balls to ring and say "I can get it cheaper elsewhere, make it cheaper". Even though I have NOT found anywhere cheaper!

I'm useless at poker too!

[margerison]

For the past 2 years my renewals (different companies) have been substantially cheaper then the comparison websites. It's also interesting to see how different the quotes are for the same insurance company on different comparison sites (commission?).

[Tyngwndwn]

My van insurance went up from £148 to £238 not fair.

[skyline501]

I was pleased to pay only £178 against £244 last year.

[wiliferus]

ZeeTacoe said:

Still too bloody expensive though

Is it though, when you think about what you actually get? I pay about 350 notes, full comp plus business use. That 12 months of cover against having a prang, legal cover etc. Granted, if you don't claim, its money for nothing to your insurance provider, but one fault bump will cost them much more than your premium. Imagine how much it costs them when you crash and hurt someone - tens of thousands potentially!
I do think they take the piss out of young drivers, but I don't think all in all car insurance is all that expensive.

I'm not in the insurance business BTW

[MoonMonkey]

The Crack Fox said:

Comparison websites are to be treated with HUGE caution, they will almost certainly bump the price up when you try to purchase as they can't cover your exact details on the website. For example... Got kids ? They don't ask you this online, but expect you to tell them, and will add £££ when you do.


Comparison websites are only fit for getting a cheapo screen price online, then getting your existing insurer to match it.

I've gotta ask but how does having kids adversely affect the premium..??

[anonymous-user]

MoonMonkey said:

I've gotta ask but how does having kids adversely affect the premium..??

Have you got kids? Can you honestly say they have NEVER distracted you in some way?

[MoonMonkey]

Dave_ST220 said:

MoonMonkey said:

I've gotta ask but how does having kids adversely affect the premium..??

Have you got kids? Can you honestly say they have NEVER distracted you in some way?

Two of the little darlings thanks. I can't say they have ever distracted me to the point of making me a greater risk. Plus, out of the 20k miles pa I do probably less than 5% of that will be with the kids on board.

I would have thought the potential for carrying those things that are most precious around with you would have reduced your risk profile as you're less likely to tear arse around and crash into stuff.