why has my car insurance shot up

Marvel1

Gloomendoom wrote: »

And the boss of Admiral/Elephant rubbing his hands at the record breaking profits made... despite the above.

My mate is a manager for Admiral and they often have a night outs and paid for by the company! He wonders why I don't go out as often as he does.

Last year my insurance was £330, not looking forward to renewal time next month.

rumnraisan

dannymccann wrote: »

Cant believe you have stayed with the for 4 years to be honest! Nowadays there is no place for loyalty to these heinous companies profiting off the necessity to have insurance, they will take you for all you've got if you let them, so shop around and get it as cheap as possible, even making the smallest amount of effort on MoneySupermarket should save you a good £200, then dont forget TopCashback or Quidco, often for people in your situation you can halve your yearly premium (doesnt quite work that way for us young'uns )

stayed with them cos they where the cheapest..always do Moneysupermarket searches and have found the cheapest one worth going with was Tesco..couple of others where bit cheaper but after reading reviews of them on here i stayed well away.

Lum

Almost all insurance companies are crap when it comes to claims time. I see no reason why TSB would be any better.

I sometimes wonder if the rise in costly "accident management" companies is down to the number of poorly handled claims out there?

whatmichaelsays

Gloomendoom wrote: »

And the boss of Admiral/Elephant rubbing his hands at the record breaking profits made... despite the above.

They're businesses. That's what businesses exist to do.

The fact is that, for many years, favourable investment markets and comparison engines have meant that car insurance has been sold extremely cheaply (and in some cases, too cheaply) for some time. Now that the conditions are altered, companies aren't doing that.

Hintza

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

In short we have the following-
-Increase in claims
-Playing out more than they get in
-Low interest rates and economic factors mean decrease in income from other investments

Plus their new(ish) wheeze of claims management increasing car hire etc

Grade_A_Reject

You only have to turn on the TV during during the day and see the bombardment of "No win no fee" claim adverts to realise that, particularly with cash hard to come by these days, some people see a simple rear end bump that is some cases doesn't even leave any visible damage to the car as a ripe opportunity to get a whiplash claim in.

The cost of whiplash claims to the insurance industry in 2007 was £1.9bn. For some reason they find it easier to simply pay out rather than contest the claims and then recoup the money by bumping everyone's premiums up.

AdrianHi

Yep, increasing trend for personal injury claims and the effect of increase claims from the last two winters are the main factors. Lower investment values affect underwriting capacity but this is n't as bigger factor right now compare to the last time premiums spiked up for a while.
I know someone who has worked in the insurance industry since the late 1960's who is in touch with these things.

Try LV, got my insurance from them via Nationwides web site ("Nationwide car insurance")

BlueFox

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Price fixing.

In any other industry it would be illegal.

Write to your MP and moan about it. If everybody does it something might get done.

What a ludicrous suggestion! Insurance is the ONE industry where price-fixing does not happen.

I know someone who is an underwriter for one of the biggest UK insurers & they assess each case on it's merits - it's not a one-size fits all!

Some insurers may have an influx of high claims from a particular postcode one year so increase premiums in that area, yet a mile or so down the road it could be cheaper. There are lots of factors which decide your premium.

Of course, if as has been suggested on here, people don't bother to insure their car then it is likely it will get seized & possibly crushed, you will be prosecuted & then any insurance premiums in the future will rocket.

No Insurance is one of the police main targets at the moment.

BlueFox

rumnraisan wrote: »

For the past 4yrs i have been paying approx £180 with Lloyds tsb...this years policy renewal just came through..same address, 7 yrs no claims, no change at all and its £450.
How can they just do this?..i have checked all the comparison sites and they all come out around that price...i literally cant afford it!...the insurance is virtually more than the car is worth!

Don't just try the comparison sites as there are quite a few Insurers who aren't on comparison sites.

Direct Line is one, Aviva another & they are 2 who can often be quite competitive. By all means use comparison sites but go direct to other insurers too to make sure you are actually getting the best price.

wba31

Try NFU. I was recommended them by a poster the other day and they have offered me a very good quote.

http://www.nfumutual.co.uk/you/motor-insurance/car-insurance.htm