Insurance renewal anomolies.....

[ITSv40]

I had been with Direct Line for 17 years with my previous Volvo V40 and paying around £350 pa. I then bought the current V40 and wanted to insure both cars for 1 month as I wanted to check over the new car whilst keeping the old one legal until the mot ran out.

Rang Direct Line to put the new car on the policy and no problem at all - an additional £28 - so all good. However, during the conversation a renewal premium of £700 was mentioned when the policy expired at the end of the month. I didn't query it as I thought they had misunderstood and assumed I wanted to keep both cars insured at renewal.

Renewal came and yes, premium £700. Phone call to explain I no longer had the old car and it was just the newer car I wanted to insure. Yes sir, that is correct, one car, premium £700. Both cars were 2.0lt petrol and same spec the only difference being the newer car was 5 years younger than the old one. No claims identical but they would not budge on the premium.

I then did a comparison - the first time in 17 years - and got it insured for just over £200. They lost a very satisfied loyal customer.

[Baxlin]

Just had my renewal from Admiral on 2 cars and the house. Both cars’ premiums were ok, on a par with last year, but looking on comparison sites for the household combined buildings and contents, they were out by just over £100.

So I phoned them (got through almost straightaway!), asking for a better price just on the household.

They brought it down by around £60, but offered to look at the cars.

Brought them both down, so the nett result was quite a bit more than the £100 or so I was looking for, in fact, overall now less than last year.

Add to that a decent MoT pass on the C70, and in the process of ditching BT for my landline and broadband for about a 40% cut in cost, and the last week or so hasn’t been too bad....

[S60RDesign]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

I had been with Direct Line for 17 years with my previous Volvo V40 and paying around £350 pa. I then bought the current V40 and wanted to insure both cars for 1 month as I wanted to check over the new car whilst keeping the old one legal until the mot ran out.

Rang Direct Line to put the new car on the policy and no problem at all - an additional £28 - so all good. However, during the conversation a renewal premium of £700 was mentioned when the policy expired at the end of the month. I didn't query it as I thought they had misunderstood and assumed I wanted to keep both cars insured at renewal.

Renewal came and yes, premium £700. Phone call to explain I no longer had the old car and it was just the newer car I wanted to insure. Yes sir, that is correct, one car, premium £700. Both cars were 2.0lt petrol and same spec the only difference being the newer car was 5 years younger than the old one. No claims identical but they would not budge on the premium.

I then did a comparison - the first time in 17 years - and got it insured for just over £200. They lost a very satisfied loyal customer.

You were satisfied but sadly they’ve probably been screwing you for years. You have to shop around or you’ll probably pay well over what you should be, it’s the same with home insurance, gas and electricity, mortgage when they come to the end of their introductory offers

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by S60RDesign

You were satisfied but sadly they’ve probably been screwing you for years. You have to shop around or you’ll probably pay well over what you should be, it’s the same with home insurance, gas and electricity, mortgage when they come to the end of their introductory offers

Yes, indeed. If they hadn't been so bl**dy greedy, I would still be with them as they were very easy to deal with. Ironically I am now with Privilege - best quote I can get, and miles cheaper than Direct Line - who are part of the Direct Line group.

[steve 1550]

I had my renewal through end of August with Admiral and they quoted me £270 which was up £40 from last year. I decided to take an additional driver off my policy and was stunned when he came back and said' How does £170 sound'.
I literally bit his hand off and renewed.

[TeamG]

You want to move to S Wales. My XC60 costs me £120 to insure (a little more than it could be as I wanted to limit the total xs to £100.

[EssexExile]

Originally Posted by TeamG

You want to move to S Wales. My XC60 costs me £120 to insure (a little more than it could be as I wanted to limit the total xs to £100.

My dad was paying more than that a month for his Nissan Micra. That's what you have to put up with when you get to 99.

[anotherv60]

My Friend the actuary told me years ago that car insurance premiums are more reflective of where you live and how closely you match the typical owner category for that make / model than anything else.

[TeamG]

Originally Posted by anotherv60

My Friend the actuary told me years ago that car insurance premiums are more reflective of where you live and how closely you match the typical owner category for that make / model than anything else.

So for me, 45 years old, wife, 2 kids, 3 dogs, boring (to the insurer) job, quiet area, that makes sense. Best quote I had for my old V70 was £86.

[DAN AT ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.
If anyone ever needs any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.