Car insurance as 'new customer'

whosthatgirl1989

I have just received my car insurance renewal quote from Direct Line. I did a quote with them online which was £100 or so cheaper than what i've been quoted for my renewal. It says it is for 'new customers'. If I didn't renew with Direct Line, and waited a week (i'll have had my full licence a year a week after my insurance runs out) could i get my insurance at the new customer price?

zkw29

Yes you can set up the online policy as a new customer. Just remember you won't have any insurance for the week in between. Also check your current policy isn't due to renew automatically - you might need to call them to cancel.

SemperFi

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=57&t=636793&nmt=RE:%20Time%20Up%20for%20Uninsured%20Drivers

Be aware of the proposed legislation. If the vehicle is not SORN, it MUST be insured.

whosthatgirl1989

zkw29 wrote: »

Yes you can set up the online policy as a new customer. Just remember you won't have any insurance for the week in between. Also check your current policy isn't due to renew automatically - you might need to call them to cancel.

could i do it straight away to avoid being uninsured for a week? only problem is when i enter period full licence held for 0 years (date on licence 5th march even though i passed my test 27th feb) and put in 1 years no claims, it says u cant have no claims longer than u've had your licence. but u can get no claims on a provisional anyway...

Quentin

SemperFi wrote: »

Be aware of the proposed legislation. If the vehicle is not SORN, it MUST be insured.

This is misleading.

The relative word here is "proposed".

This is not law yet, and you do not have to insure a vehicle that is off road (whether or not it is SORN).

pollypenny

I posted yesterday that I had a dispute with a stroppy lad from the Post Office as they wouldn't insure me as a new customer, even though Moneysupermarket showed £50 less than PO's renewal quote.

I fear that if a company has your details they've got you all ways.

zkw29

whosthatgirl1989 wrote: »

could i do it straight away to avoid being uninsured for a week? only problem is when i enter period full licence held for 0 years (date on licence 5th march even though i passed my test 27th feb) and put in 1 years no claims, it says u cant have no claims longer than u've had your licence. but u can get no claims on a provisional anyway...

Do what you can with the quote, save it and call them. They can make the changes to your online quote to show the correct NCD etc. If it still works out cheaper than your renewal they can match the price for you. However, I imagine they will still make the policy say you've had a full licence for less than a year if you are setting up/renewing before the date on your licence.

SemperFi

Quentin wrote: »

This is misleading.

The relative word here is "proposed".

This is not law yet, and you do not have to insure a vehicle that is off road (whether or not it is SORN).

How on earth is it misleading? I said it's proposed

Quentin

You then went on to say (note the capitals are yours):

If the vehicle is not SORN, it MUST be insured

Which was misleading in the context of the op, and the problem about being uninsured shortly.

zkw29

whosthatgirl1989 wrote: »

only problem is when i enter period full licence held for 0 years (date on licence 5th march even though i passed my test 27th feb)...

This was really puzzling me earlier but I didn't have my licence handy to check (I assume you're looking at you're photo part). I only have my photo part with me just now so I appologise in advance if it turns out I'm talking rubbish

The dates on the front (5th March in your case?) show when the photo card is valid from - a 10 year period. If you look on the back of the photo card it shows the dates your actual licence is valid from - the day you passed your test (27th Feb in your case?) until the day before your 70th birthday. On mine the card is valid from a few days after the day I passed my test and got my licence.

The insurance company are only interested in how long you've had your full licence for - not when your photocard was issued. This means if your renewal is due on the 27th Feb or later you can say you have had your full licence for 1 year :T.

Hope this helps

whosthatgirl1989

i phoned direct line and asked about why my renewal was a lot higher than the online price. said i knew it was for new customers and asked what they meant by that. she then said she could match the online price which meant i have saved £140 just for asking :j