Which car insurer to choose??

FTB83

Hi - bit of a dilemma. My car insurance is up for renewal at the end of this month - I've been on the price comparison sites, but Prudential (?!) has proven the cheapest at £365. I also had my renewal quote through from Virgin this morning - it was £420. I've been on the phone to them and got them to match Prudential's price and lower excess etc.

Hmm, through Quidco, I'd get £130 cashback if I bought the Prudential policy, effectively taking my policy price down to £235...BUT, I've never bought through Quidco and worry about the reliability. Plus, with Virgin, I could pay monthly at no extra cost = £30 per month, which would be handy. It would save me plundering my savings.

Just not sure what to do. So far I'm happy with Virgin as my insurer - I pay monthly at no extra interest charge and they don't charge for any changes to my policy (previous experience, another insurer charged me £20 for a car change!).

Anyone had any bad experiences with either provider?

Astaroth

Both Prudential and Virgin motor insurance is underwritten by UK Insurance (a part of the RBS Group) therefore from an experience in claiming perspective there is unlikely to be a vast amount of difference.

Whilst they are both underwriten by the same insurer there are some benefits of staying with the same insurer when it comes to needing "the benefit of the doubt" or speeding claims up etc and if you switch you obviously become a new customer again as you are not being loyal to the brand.

As with most partnerships, the brands are responsible for marketing etc hence why Pru gives affiliates money but Virgin dont (and quidco gives the affiliate money back to the customer)

FTB83

Thanks Astaroth - I think my gut instinct is to stay with Virgin purely because they've been fine so far (touch wood!) and I can pay more conveniently at no extra cost. I also appreciate what you say about the benefits of staying loyal, and the fact that Virgin came down to meet a competitor's quote.

Thanks for your post, really appreciated! :T

FTB83