Insurance craziness, changing vehicle
Discussion
I sold my M140i today, replaced with a Kia Picanto 1 litre turbo. £20k 340bhp car gone, replaced with a £14k 100bhp, 20+ insurance groups lower. Everything else stayed the same.
The BMW was insured through Saga, 11 weeks left on the policy. I tried to change vehicles on line, but ended up phoning them. They wanted £4 extra!
Makes no sense to me at all.
I had the same model Kia 4 years ago, insured with Saga for less than £200. BMW was £400. Online comparison site, best quote for the Kia was £182 with Tesco, same level of cover (low excess, business use, protected bonus, legal cover, etc.). Plenty of other insurers well below £250, but Saga want more than the M140i - unless I take out a new policy with a different underwriter for £280. No refund on the unused portion of the existing policy though.
I ended up changing the vehicle on the existing policy, and Saga dropped the extra charge.
I'll be shopping around at the end of May.
The BMW was insured through Saga, 11 weeks left on the policy. I tried to change vehicles on line, but ended up phoning them. They wanted £4 extra!
Makes no sense to me at all.
I had the same model Kia 4 years ago, insured with Saga for less than £200. BMW was £400. Online comparison site, best quote for the Kia was £182 with Tesco, same level of cover (low excess, business use, protected bonus, legal cover, etc.). Plenty of other insurers well below £250, but Saga want more than the M140i - unless I take out a new policy with a different underwriter for £280. No refund on the unused portion of the existing policy though.
I ended up changing the vehicle on the existing policy, and Saga dropped the extra charge.
I'll be shopping around at the end of May.
I went with Saga last year for the first time.
I changed my Z4 M40i for another identical new model and the cheeky barstewards went from under £400 to almost £900. !! WTF it's an identical model so no increase or decrease in risk apart from a rise in the value of the car being new one vs a 4 yr old.
Needless to say I politely declined there kind offer and went elsewhere.
I changed my Z4 M40i for another identical new model and the cheeky barstewards went from under £400 to almost £900. !! WTF it's an identical model so no increase or decrease in risk apart from a rise in the value of the car being new one vs a 4 yr old.
Needless to say I politely declined there kind offer and went elsewhere.
clockworks said:
I sold my M140i today, replaced with a Kia Picanto 1 litre turbo. £20k 340bhp car gone, replaced with a £14k 100bhp, 20+ insurance groups lower. Everything else stayed the same.
The BMW was insured through Saga, 11 weeks left on the policy. I tried to change vehicles on line, but ended up phoning them. They wanted £4 extra!
Makes no sense to me at all.
I had the same model Kia 4 years ago, insured with Saga for less than £200. BMW was £400.
£200 annual difference in your favour, say 6/8 weeks to run, refund of say £26. Admin fee to change, £30, balance you owe, £4. The BMW was insured through Saga, 11 weeks left on the policy. I tried to change vehicles on line, but ended up phoning them. They wanted £4 extra!
Makes no sense to me at all.
I had the same model Kia 4 years ago, insured with Saga for less than £200. BMW was £400.
k me that is extortionate.Saga? Average age of their 'clients'? Average age of Kia Picanto drivers?
Maybe they insure a disproportionate number of the Picantos (Picantoes?) on the road and have paid out significant sums for Picantos through shop windows, driven down steps, driven off harbour walls etc., so they classify them as higher risk and load them accordingly.
Naturally, as an M4 driver, the above wouldn't apply.
It does seem odd, however, but it wouldn't be the first time a specific company has taken such a stance: a few years ago my ins. co., despite having been with them for years and having four other cars with them, said 'Sorry, we no longer offer insurance for XX , you'll need to go elsewhere at renewal time for that vehicle'.
Maybe they insure a disproportionate number of the Picantos (Picantoes?) on the road and have paid out significant sums for Picantos through shop windows, driven down steps, driven off harbour walls etc., so they classify them as higher risk and load them accordingly.
Naturally, as an M4 driver, the above wouldn't apply.
It does seem odd, however, but it wouldn't be the first time a specific company has taken such a stance: a few years ago my ins. co., despite having been with them for years and having four other cars with them, said 'Sorry, we no longer offer insurance for XX , you'll need to go elsewhere at renewal time for that vehicle'.
My first policy with Saga was for a basic Skoda Citigo, £180. Swapped that for a Picanto turbo, went up by a few quid. Swapped for a 10 year old C220 coupe, went up by a few quid.
Tried to swap again when I bought the M140i - underwriter wanted loads more info, unlikely to get it insured, so started a new policy. Pretty much double the premium.
I suppose it's possible that the underwriter only wants to take on "performance" cars, and sees baby warm hatches as a bigger risk.
The one thing I didn't try was getting a fresh quote on the M-lite. Owners groups are awash with people complaining that their renewal price has doubled. Most likely because they are nickable, and reasonable prices mean they are within reach of the street racer and modding brigade.
I guess it just goes to show that the best time to change cars is just before one's insurance is due for renewal, and be prepared to shop around and start a fresh policy.
Tried to swap again when I bought the M140i - underwriter wanted loads more info, unlikely to get it insured, so started a new policy. Pretty much double the premium.
I suppose it's possible that the underwriter only wants to take on "performance" cars, and sees baby warm hatches as a bigger risk.
The one thing I didn't try was getting a fresh quote on the M-lite. Owners groups are awash with people complaining that their renewal price has doubled. Most likely because they are nickable, and reasonable prices mean they are within reach of the street racer and modding brigade.
I guess it just goes to show that the best time to change cars is just before one's insurance is due for renewal, and be prepared to shop around and start a fresh policy.
It makes sense but it’s too boring repeating the same thing on the endless threads of this sort to bother running through it.
Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
Edited by Dingu on Saturday 25th March 19:40
Dingu said:
It makes sense but it’s too boring repeating the same thing on the endless threads of this sort to bother running through it.
Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
I have just re-run quotes for both cars on Money Supermarket. Exactly the same details, apart from the car.Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
Edited by Dingu on Saturday 25th March 19:40
Tesco are the cheapest fror both, £182 for the Kia, £318 for the BMW.
In general, quotes for the BMW are coming in at 80% to 100% more than the Kia.
Saga are quoting £242 for the Kia, £473 for the BMW - almost double.
Dingu said:
It makes sense but it’s too boring repeating the same thing on the endless threads of this sort to bother running through it.
Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
Also, it’s bad enough trying to apply logic to these things when it’s an insurance company, but completely pointless when getting quotes from a broker like SAGA - they’ll be using different underwriters for each car.Edit: to give a brief version it is of little irrelevant how fast the car is and how much power. It matters far more how often they are crashed and how much it costs when they do. I doubt many mature drivers crash high powered BMWs as they will be enthusiasts in the main and take pride in the car. Little 1.0 hatchback? Probably not so much the case.
clockworks said:
I have just re-run quotes for both cars on Money Supermarket. Exactly the same details, apart from the car.
Tesco are the cheapest fror both, £182 for the Kia, £318 for the BMW.
In general, quotes for the BMW are coming in at 80% to 100% more than the Kia.
Saga are quoting £242 for the Kia, £473 for the BMW - almost double.
Those Saga quotes are with the same underwriter as your current policy? Tesco are the cheapest fror both, £182 for the Kia, £318 for the BMW.
In general, quotes for the BMW are coming in at 80% to 100% more than the Kia.
Saga are quoting £242 for the Kia, £473 for the BMW - almost double.
You have altered at least one detail in the comparison above, the year the car was bought, assuming you’ve owned the BMW for longer than a few months admittedly.
TarquinMX5 said:
Maybe they insure a disproportionate number of the Picantos (Picantoes?) on the road and have paid out significant sums for Picantos through shop windows, driven down steps, driven off harbour walls etc., so they classify them as higher risk and load them accordingly.
]
This was on the news the other day. I'm sure the car in question is a Picanto! I suppose cars favoured by nonagenarians are likely to be deemed a higher risk to insure, despite having small engines.]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-650...
As you pointed out OP, insurance companies here do not give 'fair' refunds. I think they all still say any cancellation after 8-9 months means zilch back.
So for Saga only to request £4 is not so bad at all. They were not going to refund you the remaining 3 months anyhow so could have demanded much more and you'd still be best off staying with them. (You would also lose a years NCD proof if you cancelled,although I don't think Saga go over 9 years anyhow?)
I'd look on it that you had no choice on the 'contract', it was going to run (be charged to you) for another 11 weeks whatever you did, and so £4 to have it run on the new car (which became zero) is a decent deal.
So for Saga only to request £4 is not so bad at all. They were not going to refund you the remaining 3 months anyhow so could have demanded much more and you'd still be best off staying with them. (You would also lose a years NCD proof if you cancelled,although I don't think Saga go over 9 years anyhow?)
I'd look on it that you had no choice on the 'contract', it was going to run (be charged to you) for another 11 weeks whatever you did, and so £4 to have it run on the new car (which became zero) is a decent deal.
jondude said:
. I think they all still say any cancellation after 8-9 months means zilch back.
100% not true. There will come a time at which a cancellation fee, for examples sake of circa £50, will offset any premium refund but otherwise no. Obviously on a £200 policy then that would mean after 9 months no refund but on a £2000 policy you’ll be good till about 10 days before the end. 
Other companies (Direct line for example) only go to 9+ .Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff