insurance Renewal

[Old Sandy]

I am in that quagmire of getting various comprehensive insurance quotes. So far they range from £460 to £1552 (I kid you not) !  That's a clean licence and always been a good boy. There's no real common pattern to the quotes, the next one down from £1552 is £850. Just wondering if the £464 is a real bargain price that I think it maybe. It's a major insurer and includes, legal, extra loan car cover and protected no claims.

Or is there something better out there?

[Herbie]

Go for the £464.

Mine was £540 with business cover for both wifey and myself - policy is with LV through A-Plan brokers.

[Britprius]

Rick you are allowed to name the insurers. Two years ago after getting a big price rise for my renewal I changed insures, and went with the cheapest on compare the market "Saga" They were by far the cheapest, and with a low excess. After the first year my premium rose by £20, and near the end of the insurance year I had a no fault claim.
My renewal premium this year was exactly the same as last year.
My claim was completely pain free with no hassle, and the use of a new Mercedes C class for 7 weeks. This is exactly as insurance should be. I believe they are advertising car insurance at the moment with a guarantee of no price increase for 3 years

My premium for the GS450H was under £300.

John.

[ISJason]

So far as I understand I think insurance varies with the value of the car so if the car is newer it will cost more for the insurers to replace. I know this is obvious but I’m just saying maybe that’s why the top end comes out it is so high. Is it a new car?


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[katabrontes]

Try LV direct.  I got my last renewal with them, half the cost of Aviva and includes 12 months European cover.

[NemesisUK]

I went with SAGA this year after many years with Direct Line. The renewal quote from DL was a joke, nearly£200 increase!!

SAGA were one of the cheapest and low excess, plus they will hold the premium for three years as long as nothing changes..

[C Mclean]

I’m with DL and at the last renewal they bumped up the cost by a couple of hundred. Checked a comparison site and then told them what I could get insurance for, they matched it without any discussion. 

[StGeorge]

We have our insurance from Lexus Insurance. Why? Having used various others over the years, when the chips were down and we actually needed to use them, the others were, shall we say, less than satisfactory. Obviously, this is just my experience.

A rear end shunt was immediately transferred to a claims management firm who wanted to do all sorts (injury claims, when there were no injuries, expensive hire cars) and wouldn’t let the car go to a Lexus centre for repairs. I refused to allow them to take it elsewhere and had to shell out an additional excess for the privilege of having it repaired properly (a previous car had no end of issues having been to a generic body shop).

Having subsequently needed a repair under the Lexus policy, it was a doddle, it was picked up and taken straight to Lexus, got a loan car without any hassle and was all sorted with the normal excess. Yes, there may be cheap policies out there, but you get what you pay for when it really matters - who do you want fixing your car?

Our 2020 RX costs about £850 for the year, in London, with a clean license and protected max no claims. If you have Lexus breakdown cover too, you get a discount.

[NemesisUK]

46 minutes ago, C Mclean said:

I’m with DL and at the last renewal they bumped up the cost by a couple of hundred. Checked a comparison site and then told them what I could get insurance for, they matched it without any discussion. 

Well done, they wouldn't budge when I contacted them, saying I might be better going elsewhere!

I can take a hint ... 

[Old Sandy]

Thanks guys it makes interesting reading.

I am currently with LV and the policy was £486 last year, but the renewal with them came out at £780. I expected maybe fifty extra but 300 extra I though was taking the P.

The best quote of £464 is with General Accident which is part of Aviva these days, which I think wins the day.

It really does show the unjustified disparity between insurers. Thanks for all the replies and I reckon it shows we are just held to ransom by these companies.

[Barry14UK]

Hi Guys,

My experience was similar with LV as was Rick's.  Nothing had changed in respect of my details but my renewal quote was also upped by the best part of £300pa.  My research (which excluded fringe Insurers) showed that LV had gone from what was previously one of  the most competitive insurers to the second from most expensive.  This despite my having a discount from them as I was a member of the Civil Service Motoring Association and having my insurance for my motor cycle and property with them.  I did point out that I had been with LV for many years and they did offer a minuscule reduction but could give no reason for the massive increase.  In the end I went with "Saga" for my RX for their standard, rather than their guaranteed same premium for three year quote.  Direct Line were not far behind but Saga reviews seemed slightly better.  More recently I have also gone with "Saga" for my home insurance.  I have also gone with "Green Flag" for breakdown cover rather than Britannia who seem to be tied in with LV. 

It's unfortunate but it seems that it has become necessary to shop around for more competitive cover each year where your existing providers bump up premiums exorbitantly.    

[Garth-1]

Where are you all going wrong?  I can't remember the last time I paid over £300 for insurance.  This year I'm paying under £200 each for a Mercedes S-class, BMW 5-series, Lexus LX430 and under £150 for an MX-5.  Just shop around every year and insist on proof of NCD from all previous insurers.  It's nearly 50 years since I had a claim and 25 since my wife claimed.  (OK, I'm in rural Cheshire, but I hope you get the point about shopping around).

[Ken R]

For more than one vehicle I would recommend Admiral Multicar. I've been with them covering the family "fleet" for over 12 years now and they remain competitive year on year. 

[Malc]

14 hours ago, Old Sandy said:

Or is there something better out there?

probably but you might drive yourself mad trying to discover it 

I had silly quotes from Swinton this year, about double the increased Saga premium so i went with Saga again, but fixed the price for 3 years if nowt changes ( I'll be keeping this car for sure ) and bargaining on the price initially and when going for the " fixed 3 year " deal which i wasn't going to have they reduced the price a little and gave me a free one night only ( no breakfast though ) in one of a choice of about 100+ hotels throughout the UK !

And I had a ( my fault ) roundabout claim in August too that cost them a few bob

It's impossible to ever get to the bottom of it all 

Malc

 

I would NEVER use Adrian Flux again and if NatWest do car insurance I would NEVER NEVER EVER trust them to be on your side

[Thackeray]

The price also apparently varies according to how long before renewal you get a quote. Moneysavingexpert did a review and found that the cheapest quote was 24 days before renewal. The best range of quotes was between 26 and 20 days before renewal.Too close to renewal the price goes up, presumably because they think that the customer is less organised and therefore perhaps a worse risk. Or perhaps they just think they can charge more because the customer is in more of a hurry to take out insurance. Why they charge more for someone who gets a quote a month in advance I can't imagine.

[Mauler]

2 hours ago, Malc said:

I would NEVER use Adrian Flux again and if NatWest do car insurance I would NEVER NEVER EVER trust them to be on your side

I've been with AF for years and never had to make a claim - what's the experience putting you off them, Malc?

I've got an IS250 at the mo but my insurance is up too...

[Malc]

3 minutes ago, Mauler said:

what's the experience putting you off them, Malc?

I hope you just never have to make any sort of a claim with these guys, nor anyone makes a claim against you with these guys as your insurer

absolutely let me down totally and at the very last minute about 2 days before the scheduled Court Hearing, and after about 3 years of getting to that point ........  never trust them again nor their Parent nor their Claims handlers, they are a Group that in my opinion totally failed to support me, their client.

Very long story that I shan't bore anyone with .............. BUT you get my drift

Malc

Whereas Saga, well, what can i say, the epitome of outstanding EXCELLENCE 

[Mauler]

1 minute ago, Malc said:

I hope you just never have to make any sort of a claim with these guys, nor anyone makes a claim against you with these guys as your insurer

absolutely let me down totally and at the very last minute about 2 days before the scheduled Court Hearing, and after about 3 years of getting to that point ........  never trust them again nor their Parent nor their Claims handlers, they are a Group that in my opinion totally failed to support me, their client.

Very long story that I shan't bore anyone with .............. BUT you get my drift

Malc

Whereas Saga, well, what can i say, the epitome of outstanding EXCELLENCE 

Thanks man, much appreciated!  👌

[Mauler]

Turns out that Saga Insurance are for those who are over 50!  Counts them out for me 😄

[Malc]

Wow, you surprise me

I thought they were into any ages now for stuff they sell  ....  car insce, household insce, holidays, cruises, well well well

the one and only time it pays to be getting past middle age I guess 

Malc

[Barry14UK]

14 hours ago, Garth-1 said:

Where are you all going wrong?  I can't remember the last time I paid over £300 for insurance.  This year I'm paying under £200 each for a Mercedes S-class, BMW 5-series, Lexus LX430 and under £150 for an MX-5.  Just shop around every year and insist on proof of NCD from all previous insurers.  It's nearly 50 years since I had a claim and 25 since my wife claimed.  (OK, I'm in rural Cheshire, but I hope you get the point about shopping around).

Care to name insurer so other members might benefit?  I found cheaper quotes but not very good reviews.  Price apart, it's important to know that whoever covers you looks after you and gives you a fair deal when/if need arises.

[Farqui]

3 hours ago, Mauler said:

Turns out that Saga Insurance are for those who are over 50!  Counts them out for me 😄

...or if you have a named driver over 50 😉

[Mauler]

1 hour ago, Farqui said:

...or if you have a named driver over 50 😉

Oh you cunning... 😄

[Farqui]

Oh you cunning... [emoji1]

Crafty eh

[Garth-1]

7 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

Care to name insurer so other members might benefit?  I found cheaper quotes but not very good reviews.  Price apart, it's important to know that whoever covers you looks after you and gives you a fair deal when/if need arises.

At present I'm insured with Co-op (x2), Sainsbury's and Classic Line.  I also regularly use Saga and LV.  All have decent policies and ratings.  At one time I used NFU Mutual but they became too expensive.

All cars are comprehensively insured, parked in garage or on drive.  I pay for protected NCD (not that I've ever needed it) but no other extras.  Breakdown cover is provided by a separate policy (under £100) covering any vehicle I am driving.