Anyone insured with Directline?

[ITSv40]

I had my P1 V40 insured with them for 15 years and a very happy customer. premium at the end was around £360 with full business use. I then bought the P2 and needed to keep both cars on the road for a month while doing some jobs on the P2. An extra £25 for the month cover and then £780 to renew as the cover on the P1 ended at the end of the month.

So fast forward to the end of the month, P1 has been scrapped and the P2 is up and running. Renewal comes through at £780 - I think, they do not realise I only have the one car and have quoted for both cars. A phone call and get the response - the premium is £780 for the one car and there is nothing we can do.

I then did a quick comparison search and found similar cover at £220 with Privilege who are part of the Direct Line group.

[Technician]

Have been with Direct Line myself for a long time. Switched to them when somebody in a Mondeo decided my Metro would make a good scratch post. (that was the Friday if the week when Britain was in a fuel panic because farmers decided to park there John deer's in front of refinery gates as they had nothing better to do).

Anyway they settled very quickly, the inspector even came to where I was to look at my battered Mayfair. Gave me £800! And I was still able to drive it (until the rust got it). Switched to them as soon as I could. Fast forward 10 or 12 years and I was the back car in a 6 car collision on the M1 caused by a low flying helicopter (just could not quite get the Sport Lux stopped in time so parked it in a nissan micra). They let me use my repairer of choice (Adrian Jess aka geezer), came out to assess the car where it was at my dads workshop. Initially offered me about £1200, until I asked the guy if he had got the model correct, whilst on the phone he checked the classes guide and immediately changed it to £3000, which was the market value. Cheque in the post the next few days. Car repaired for much less and still on the road at 227k.

Direct line is more of a 'we've got you covered' insurer, and therefore are not as cheap. It has use with your business and as I work in education at a college also covers students in the car, other insurers are keen to add £££'s for that.

Now what I have learned as one of their employees let slip is that their calculating algorthym takes into account previous costs they have incurred with that model of vehicle (e.g a S60 2.5t will cost more to unsure than a S60 T5 as more old men have pulled out on cyclists causing massive payouts than people who buy a specialist car like a T5 have crashed them), and most importantly how urgently you need the insurance. Best to quote and get sorted at least 20 days before you need it.

That's my tuppence as it were, but your train may have sailed by now as its been a bit since the first post.