MSE News: Car insurance costs up annually, but down over past three months

Former_MSE_Helen · 25 April 2012 at 8:10AM

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"The sharp increases in motor insurance premiums over the past few years has ended, says the AA"

Read the full story:
Car insurance costs up annually, but down over past three months

DavidCH · 25 April 2012 at 9:41AM

Basic advice, shop around for car insurance, because most companies will beat your existing insurer's renewal quote.
I've used comparison sites for some years now, but they all seem to be subject to the same trick of promoting the inferior "packaged" policies by boosting the excesses. This makes it hard work to get the cover you really want, so now I use the Which? list of recommended insurers (such as LV, NFU, Nationwide, Saga, 50plus and others) and get quotes from those that get nearest to my preferences. When you do this, you often find that the discounts are just as good. This year, my renewal quote from Saga was £310 with a £250 excess, for a maximum NCD. Marks and Spencer quoted £192 with a £100 excess. Broadly speaking, basic comprehensive cover was available from several firms for £190 to £210, and enhanced policies were on offer from £220 to £260. One more tip; ALWAYS try reducing the excess and recalculating; in many cases, it makes no difference to the premium, so if you do have a claim, you don't get stung as badly when the repairs bill arrives.

StevieJ · 25 April 2012 at 12:58PM

But not for long, according to that link

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says "I can't see this drop in premiums being sustainable for long. My fear is that if prices do continue to drop, we'll see a repeat of 2009, when industry losses led to premiums suddenly rocketing up following a long period of little movement.

Butterfly_Brain · 25 April 2012 at 2:04PM

Insurance companies are legalised scammers who know - especially with car insurance which is compulsory, they have you over a barrel and see it as a licence to squeeze as much out of you as they can.
They still promote uninsured driver premiums, when legislation has been brought in that these cars can be seized and scrapped from the registered keepers property.

weejonnie · 25 April 2012 at 9:05PM

I think that we are seeing the start of the 'gender war'. As we know, gender won't be allowed to be a rating factor from December so I suspect insurance companies are trying to get as many females on their books as they can.

The alternative view is that perhaps Claims Management Companies are not making as much - so claims costs are coming down - Didn't Admiral report this? If this is the case then there will be a gradual drop in premiums (but not too much as insurers have to make good their losses).

Insurance companies are not scammers - people claiming so have no idea as to the overall operating ratio that most of the motor insurance companies are suffering.

mikey72 · 25 April 2012 at 9:12PM

My insurance came £30 dearer than last year at renewal, shopping around got it £10 cheaper, then topcashback will give another £28, so it's cost £150 this year for me. That's cheaper than 4 years ago, and I was on max no claims then. I have increased my excess slightly though this year.

MSE News: Car insurance costs up annually, but down over past three months

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