There have been dire warnings of the effects that the new legislation might have on insurance renewal costs post the start of the new year.
I have two policies up for renewal in the next month, both with the same insurer on a "multicar" basis.
The first renewal notice has just come through (for the Volvo). The last payment was only part-year (and actually a rebate, reflecting, I thought, mostly the removal of breakdown cover, given the new car warranty), so the calculations are a bit iffy, but the insurer has quoted what would have been the full-year cost last year for the Volvo, and it looks convincing (lower than the BMW by a small amount).
There are no other changes that should have a significant effect on the price (one year's extra NCB, but that is high anyway) and the renewal cost is c17% lower than the calculated value for last year. So much for all the scare stories.
(Obviously, insurance background varies dramatically between individuals and location, but I don't think £184 p.a. is bad for a new, reasonably powerful, £40k car).
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£184 pa sounds too cheap to me.
Do a bit bit of digging on the reputation for paying any claims reasonably efficiently, valuations in case of a write off, small print exclusions etc. In my (fairly limited) experience insurance companies will do all they can to avoid claims.
Last year I tried NFU Mutual as they seem to have an outstanding reputation - they were twice as much as my current insurer. Quite simply you get what you pay for.
Damage to other vehicles is less of an issue - the insurance company will deal with it. It really hinges on how concerned you are about any claims you may make.
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..it's a "top-drawer" insurer.
I've had them deal with a (non-fault*) accident in the last three years, the outcome being very satisfactory (including retaining my NCB).
I do live in the more impoverished (former red-wall ;-) ) part of the country, so the premiums tend to reflect that.
* stopped in Lincoln to allow an ambulance through lights on the wrong side of the road. The chancer behind me shot the lights on amber at speed, and found me stopped round the corner, and he couldn't :-(. At least he admitted responsibility.
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I don't think it sounds too cheap. My new motor is costing me £220 I think, which was a tenner or so more than my previous one.
The lower spec version without the driver "aids" is 5 groups higher, so I read. Not sure how that translates to money.
Cheap isn't always bad, I have a bolt on for the holiday insurance which covers car hire excess for about £11 pa IIRC. I claimed €500 this year (my fault damage to car again!) and it was paid within days.
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Just had renewal for wife's Tiguan and it's over £400 - 10% more than last year and I recall last year was a chunky jump too.
We seemed to have had years of paying around £250 each for both cars (mine is 2005 C Class) but then last couple of years, when many said insurance was getting cheaper, both have gone up. Could be it's connected to LV= changing hands - they're owned by Allianz now.
I've stuck with them as they've always been good deal with but I wasn't thrilled with how they handled non-fault write-off of daughter's car.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Sat 8 Jan 22 at 14:58
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>>10% more than last year and I recall last year was a chunky jump too.
Time to invest a quiet hour scouring the comparison sites - £500 for 2 cars becoming possibly £800 - you have to look to change.
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>> Time to invest a quiet hour scouring the comparison sites - £500 for 2 cars
>> becoming possibly £800 - you have to look to change.
>>
It's a little complicated with wife's car as both our adult daughters are named and with full business use - I looked some years ago and that was difficult to replicate elsehwere. In practice they never drive the car, but I've always gone with it 'just in case'.
I've also railed against people who use 'cheap' insurers only to moan about it when they need to claim. So I was dismayed by the way LV= dealt with the write-off incident. To be fair, they probably think they did a good job, but to achieve that they steam-rollered through the process.
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SWMBO had me and daughter on her insurance till last year, when she discovered how much extra it was costing her. I don't remember if it was for both of us, or one was more than t'other, but daughter got booted off (as she hardly ever used it anyway) and I'm still on it. I probably drove it more than SWMBO does anyway, though less so since my new wheels arrived!!
Then sure enough last month there was a four day period when she could have done with car. The insurer wanted mega bucks (£80 rings a bell) for it, so she coped without.
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(Obviously, insurance background varies dramatically between individuals and location, but I don't think £184 p.a. is bad for a new, reasonably powerful, £40k car).
I was with L&V for the V60 and XC40 (when it arrived) the renewal was £330 ! Direct Line's Comprehensive Plus was a hundred quid less. I could have had fully comp with other companies for around £180 - The basic Policy from DL was £190 (+ or -). Bye Bye L&V
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Aren’t the new rules governing prices to stop new customers being offered deals that aren’t available to existing customers? On that basis, once these are bedded-in, the prices for renewing customers, who stay put, should come down. They won’t be subsidising new customers.
I’ll believe it when I see it but that’s the theory.
I will still shop around in future but have been with LV for 9 years and have never found comparable cover that’s cheap enough to tempt me away.
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...in my OP I highlighted the fact that I was awaiting a second renewal notice (for the Smart). That came through today and is 32% lower than last year!
Given I was happy with last year's pricing, I shall, of course, be renewing.
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Direct Line. Been just under £200 for a number of years which I'm happy with. Last year it edged over that figure to £206 and this year its down to £185. Same vehicle. I'm happy with that.
I accept however that in theory the value of my vehicle is depreciating (or is it at the moment?)
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...as we've already touched on, the s/h market at the moment is crazy.
I bought the Smart pre-registered (less than 3 months and 9 miles on the clock) for a smidgin' over £9K. (Over £14K list, which is a joke!). Currently, forecourt prices for higher mileage, similar vintage and spec cars start at over £8K, and that's for 5 and a half year old vehicle.
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I don't understand our car renewal either! Multi-car deal for 7(!) cars in our household, 3 of which are driven by young drivers (under 21), 2 of whom have had claims already(!). Last year was £3,400. This year £2,200. And I had shopped around in the past. Bizarre.
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Following earlier post I had a bit of back and forth with LV= but wasn't getting anywhere with cost over £400 for wife's Tiguan. Then one of the people I spoke to said "of course, you've got one of our old policies - it might be worth you trying a new quote and seeing what happens".
Did that - £100 cheaper! I've no idea what the difference is between old and new policies on this occasion - they seem fundamentally the same. I recall now that this happened years ago on my Merc with LV and the premium became bonkers but that policy didn't care about penalty points, mileage, foreign use etc where these days they're all accounted for.
I did also want to look at Aviva's Premium policy - turns out they've stopped doing it.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Thu 27 Jan 22 at 10:11
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'Old' and 'New policy price difference. Is this some get around for not offering the same price as a new customer which they are supposed to do now?
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>> 'Old' and 'New policy price difference. Is this some get around for not offering the
>> same price as a new customer which they are supposed to do now?
>>
It would seem so, although there's an article on the ThisIsMoney site that suggests some people have been given the lower pricing and told it was a new policy only for the "new" policy to be the same policy number as their existing one! I certainly wasn't offered that - I had to go off and sort it out myself, did it through the Boundless (former CSMA) site as wife is member.
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-10429981/LV-customer-gets-450-renewal-quote-finds-policy-310.html
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Just had my car insurance renewal come in - £211 for a 6 year-olde 2 ltr auto Subaru. Down from £246 last year [GA]
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This article suggests it is still worth shopping around as your insurer may still not be offering you their best rate as there are many loopholes in the new rules:
www.theguardian.com/money/2022/may/28/car-insurance-costs-loyal-customers-renewals
Last edited by: zippy on Sat 28 May 22 at 12:38
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Its renewal time again :(
Some may recall last year an issue with Direct Line where they had not renewed due to old card details but My Dashboard indicated it would auto renew and they did not inform me there was an issue. As I said at the time good job I wasn't using the vehicle ;)
This years renewal has landed. Its been just under or over the £200 mark for a number of years.
Last year it was £181 and the renewal is £250. Thats a £70 increase, roughlyish 30% :( . No claims or convictions, exactly the same terms.
So I've been on a comparison site and crunched some numbers and looked at the offerings.
I don't need legal assistance or breakdown as its taken care of elsewhere.
I really am not sure of this NCD protection. I think its a racket like the Mortgage Indemnity premium because your still going to get stiffed with an increased premium if you make a claim. The maths are hidden anyway so you cant be certain if your NCD protection would have been of benefit.
It seem the majority of policies are underwritten by Ageas.
What was of interest and of note was the windscreen cover or lack of. Digging down the cheapest policies windscreen cover was within the Excess, so in essence there was no cover. The slightly more expensive had cover for windscreen and side glass only and sunroofs weren't covered. Varying amounts of customer excess below £100. The slightly higher priced policies covered sunroofs as well. As mine has a panoramic sunroof suitable cover is a must, I'd hate to think what the replacement cost would be.
So as usual you get what you pay for but it can be hidden in the small print. Just need to do a full comparison with my current providers and the offerings I've been considering with a view to having something to negotiate with Direct Line or to move on to another provider.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Mon 17 Apr 23 at 17:35
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I've recently had a 'screen replaced. Apart from the 1 hour wait to let the 'goop' dry, I found out they have to re-configure the auto-dim rear mirror, auto-dip headlamps, auto-sens wipers and various other 'autos' is why it cost me £70. The only thing they had to do was stick my mirror back on..................................................................!
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If your NCD is 60 or 70% and your premium is £200 then the NCD is about £700, all of which you would lose in a claim, and then have to build it back up over 5 years at a total cost of say £2k - seems worth insuring if it's £20 or so a year to do so....
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You make a good point. I'm fairly sure in the event of one claim you don't loose all your NCD, maybe 2 or 3 years.
Being the suspicious person I am we only know the final figure as we give them the information they require and we hear he tapping of a keyboard in the background.
We don't actually know the top figure when we declare a claim before they start knocking off bits of alleged NCD.
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Re Direct Line, when I was with them I always call them and say I've called for the usual chat, how much can you drop it by this year? All very friendly (they probably think I'm a know though).
However every year it comes out not dissimilar to previous years sometimes a bit more, sometimes less. Always try it in preference to the comparison sites.
I only left when I got the MG5 and it wasn't on their list of covered cars as it was a new model at the time. Maybe back to them this year, as they've been good over a couple of claims I know about.
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>> Re Direct Line, when I was with them I always call them and say I've
>> called for the usual chat, how much can you drop it by this year?
Just done the exact same thing with DL. House insurance with them is due on Friday, with a price increase quote of £33.
Phone them to ask if the price has changed since their original renewal quote provided on the 25th March.
"let me have a look for you sir. The best quote we can offer is £144, which is an increase of £7, and not the original quote increase of £33"
I had a ballpark figure of around £140 after getting quotes from a couple of other insurance providers. So staying with DL for another year.
It really narks me when I hear people just pay the renewal quote without quibbling it or shopping around, or even worse, letting it auto renew.
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 18 Apr 23 at 11:33
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Car insurance renewal from Direct Line came through the post yesterday. An increase of £120 over last years price, making it just over £400!!!
Been with them since 2015, never made a claim, same car. Highest renewal price was in 2018, when it was £389. Since then it's come down every year.
Not due to the start of June, so I'll be phoning them nearer the end of the month to see if they can bring it down to a sensible figure.
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Wife's has been going up since she passed 70. Years, not mph.
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My insurance with LV was due in March and was about £30 (£360 total) more than last years premium and that was about £20 more than the competition. I like LV so I stuck with them.
Mrs Z is with Admiral. Her premium went from £220 to £370. She did the online quotes and got Aviva for £223 for better cover. She called Admiral to see if they would match and they said the best that they could do was £300. Mrs Z went with Aviva.
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Not motor related, but I had a council mowing machine knock down my garden wall last year.
I found it very difficult to find the relevant council department and then deal with them (almost as if deliberate obstructions were put in the way).
I eventually got a contact with the insurer. They never answered their 'phones, or returned calls to messages left on answering machines. emails also went unanswered.
In desperation, I contacted my own insurer, who agreed to deal with the claim. I had to pay the excess (which the council insurer, finally re-imbursed).
This was all while the house was up for sale! I don't know how many prospective buyers were put off by the property looking unloved, but I did hear of one prospective purchaser who drove by and said 'I didn't like the look of the area'.
The property was sold and the insurance premium on my new place was increased because I had a claim, wiping out my previous 9+ years of no claims record.
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One morning last summer an ambuance crashed through the garden wall of a house on the outskirts of the city, bit embarrasing. The was was re-erected over the following weeks by a stone mason. Must have cost the Trust's insurers a bob or what with traffic lights and that. Despite being on a main route there was nothing reported in the local media, one would think that even a photo of the scene of doom would have made it somewhere on line.
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Direct Line wanted over £400 for the Audi. Went with Lloyds Bank insurance in the end, £260 - bargain.
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>> Direct Line
Just noticed they've also put the price of a windscreen replacement up from £75 to £115, and repair up from £15 to £25.
You'd have thought with all their staff WFH these past 3 years, the prices would come down, not go up.
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>> >> Direct Line
>> Just noticed they've also put the price of a windscreen replacement up from £75 to
>> £115, and repair up from £15 to £25.
>>
I have had my windscreen replaced in the last year so that was lucky to only pay £75.
The screen had two cracks at the base close to where the connections for the heated elements are.
The fitter had to sort out trim etc where Jaguar had not done a very good job on the production line.
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b Tom,
Just out of curiosity..when the council dragged their heels, why didn’t you give them notice of intention explaining the property was on the market , get your own builder and send them the bill + legal expenses via a solicitor ?
If they didn’t pay up then proceed via the Small Claims Court.
Last edited by: legacylad on Fri 19 May 23 at 10:54
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I had a real problem trying to find a builder who would re-build the wall for me. They all seemed to be on much larger projects and couldn't be bothered with three metres of one metre high wall. Leaving it to my insurer meant they went through a claims management company who hired a surveyor. It then went to a national building agent who found a sub contractor. I hate to think what it cost the council's insurer with everyone taking a slice of the cake.
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To be honest, surely the Council had a surveyor and a maintainence department that would have the in-house skills to do such a job.
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Seems quite a few drivers on the GTi forum I'm on have found using the insurance provided by VW/Audi to be a fair bit cheaper which surprised many, also any work is done at a VW garage using genuine parts - only thing that isn't covered (unlike LV) is fully comp cover if driving abroad.
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>> To be honest, surely the Council had a surveyor and a maintainence department that would
>> have the in-house skills to do such a job.
Not nowadays, it seems everything's farmed out to contractors.
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>> Car insurance renewal from Direct Line came through the post yesterday. An increase of £120
over last years price, making it just over £400!!!
Ah, the delights of dealing with corrupt insurance companies who seem to make the prices up as they go along.
So, shopping around today, cheapest prices were around £335 to £340 with both Compare The Meerkat and Confused.com. Unheard of names, so someone else's bargepole can deal with them.
Tried Swinton (who I have the bike insured with). £508.
Tesco, £468 (with clubcard discount).
Tried a few others, all either around the £340 for unknown companies, leading up to £730!!!
Anyone would think I'm trying to insure a Ferrari, instead of a 2013 2.0 CDTi Astra.
Anyway, phone Direct Line, and I moan I'm not happy with the £120 increase over last years price. "Have you had any other quotes?" the lady from the Indian call centre asks me.
"yes, approx £330 to £350" I reply.
"well sir" she says, "lets see what we can do for you, but bear in mind all insurance prices have gone up recently". Long pause, then "The best we can quote you is £336, with the exact same cover again"
I don't think I've said "yes" as quick in my life before.
An increase of £54 is a whole lot better than £120. Last year I saved approx £50 by haggling with DL, so looks like I've pretty much broke even.
We shouldn't need to haggle though? These insurance companies, utility companies, and the like must be laughing their socks off at those people who just accept the increase.
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Last year I halved my RAC sub by quoting the online new joiners rate and telling them I'd cancel then renew immediately if they didn't match it. They did.
This year the same scenario played out, only now I've saved a further twelve quid over last years premium.
On the Insurance myself and Mrs O'Reliant saved about £100 apiece by switching from Tesco to Esure and the AA respectively. Esure have been our House insurers for a few years and I got around another hundred knocked off that by quoting a few online offers from other (Unknown) insurers.
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Our 2009 FRV was insured by Direct Line - called them to switch it over to a new MG HS PHEV in March - no extra premium, no admin fee.
Called them yesterday to switch it again from the MG to a KIA Sorento PHEV (missus wanted 6+ seats and the ability to drive on electric to work & back) - again no extra premium, no admin fee.
Quite surprised they didn't at least do a medium gouge going from a banger worth a couple of grand tops, to a £40k+ bus.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Thu 25 May 23 at 22:16
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Just renewed my breakdown insurance -£17. Renewal cost was higher, but by going in as a newbie..........................................
I thought that practice was made, erm, not legit?
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So has the MG departed the fleet already??
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When Mrs A retired last year my insurer, LV, changed her status without charge. Her own insurer, Churchill, charged her. Nearly £20 from memory.
She used to be with LV too but they became uncompetitive despite her low risk car and occupation. She has had to change a couple of times at renewal to keep a good price. Quite why LV have a good price for me but are expensive for her is an insurance mystery.
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Insurance Renewal - Terry
