Car insurance for the "unemployed"

bootjangler_2

Hello,

I did full time care for my mum until she died last year.
I gave up work in order to get everything sorted out.
I am self-sufficient, so no benefits etc.

What I have found is that when you say you are "not working" to insurance companies, the status is (probably obvious) unemployed and the premium shoots up.

For instance my car insurance renewal was £361, but when I said about my new status, it became £422. When I asked why, the lady said "you'll be driving more."

A few things on this

1. I'm driving less
2. The car is mainly on the driveway, rather than at a train station car park.
3. I have had a car stolen from a station car park in the past, while I was at work.

Therefore, am I not a lower risk?

If they reckon I'm driving more, then they must be calling me a liar for ticking the "how many miles a year?" box.

What if, at the end of the year, I show them my MOT/service details, which record mileage done. If it's lower of even the same as the previous year, do I get a rebate? No chance I suspect.

But if it's all based on "you'll be driving more", then that is completely unfair.

mikey72

No benefits, not looking for work?
Sounds like early retirement to me, not unemployment.

bizarebazaar

A few points to point out to your insurance company

1 You are only unemployed if claiming JSA
2 You can state you are a house husband....premiums stay the same if you are working, but at the insurance companies descretion.
3 Make sure you dont stay loyal to one insurance company or broker...they are not loyal to you so shop around!!

Good luck

B.E.N

mikey72 wrote: »

No benefits, not looking for work?
Sounds like early retirement to me, not unemployment.

I agree. Also, I've seen some insurance companies (Aviva, iIRC) that have options such as 'independant means', which would not be lying..

bootjangler_2

Cheers both.

I should say that I went back on quotes (online) and chose "retired" although I'm not sure if that means officially retired, and also "self-employed" because I could be
and may be looking for that.
House keeper as well. They were all higher than being employed.

And possibly about loyalty....I found AXA was was ok on a price comparison site, but when I went direct to AXA (online) it wouldn't insure me
when I put "unemployed".

Is there victimisation against people who are

a) Not working
b) Not on benefits
c) Between jobs

I'm just simply needing to sort my life out after a bereavement, and am not (as already said) on benefits,
but feel I'm being penalised.

bootjangler_2

B.E.N wrote: »

I agree. Also, I've seen some insurance companies (Aviva, iIRC) that have options such as 'independant means', which would not be lying..

Hi,

Yeah "independant means" was an option on a comparison site, but nowhere on direct sites.
Also, after using that status on a comparison site, going direct to the actual decent quote site,
it had no such status. So back to square one.

HappyMJ

bizarebazaar wrote: »

1 You are only unemployed if claiming JSA

Not quite true.... Statistics show that there about 2-3 million unemployed but only about 1-1.5 million JSA benefit claimants. I could get references for the exact figures....

I'd say self employed or of independant means. Depending on what is exactly done for money. Only need to do an hour a week of anything that is paid to be considered self employed.

CRuckley360

Budget Insurance Warning:mad:

Hello, I was unemployed in February when my car insurance was due. Got a quote for £289.00. Told them I was unemployed, quote went up to £432.00. When I asked why it went up the guy said it was because unemployed people are more likely to make a fraudulant claim. I was very insulted by that remark.

This month got a job, called budget, Thursday, hung on the phone for 1hr, no reply, Friday 1hr.

Today 3rd April called Budget Insurance to let them know I was now employed, would be doing 6,000 miles a year, commuting, car kept by day in works car park, spoke to a guy called Ryan. He said I had to pay another £151.53. When I asked why he said I would be doing more mileage.

I argued that my first quote in February was £289, exact details and working so why was it now going to be £485. He just waffled on about I would be using the car more. Very reluctantly I paid up, I am not happy, I feel I have been ripped off.

Decided to go online and get and edit my original quote with the changes and guess what? The quote was including Legal Cover £369.

Called Budget back, spoke to a guy called Fernando, told him what had happened and that I wasn't happy. He said he didn't know why I would've been charged. He left me on hold while he went to talk to a supervisor, next thing I know the phone went dead, the time 4.05pm. Checked their opening times and they close at 4pm. How nice of him to just cut me off [IMG]file:///C:/Users/Corrinne/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Corrinne/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png[/IMG]:mad::mad::mad:.

I will attempt to contact them again tomorrow, just to say I will definately not be using this company again even if they have the cheapest quote.

Would love to hear from anyone else this has happened to.

bizarebazaar

You've got to try other insurance companies/brokers

bootjangler_2

What does "JSA" mean by the way?

dacouch

B.E.N wrote: »

I agree. Also, I've seen some insurance companies (Aviva, iIRC) that have options such as 'independant means', which would not be lying..

"Independent Means" with a lot of Insurers can attract a significant loading and sometimes a refusal to quote. This is because it is the description often used by rich kids living off mummy and daddies trust funds