Updated Cheap Car Insurance guide - new system

assessor69

I started getting quotes in mid-December for my car insurance. All were about the same level at about £240 pa, apart from RCIS who quoted over £500.
Eventually, I got my renewal notice from Direct Line and the difference was so minimal I stayed with them for the third year running. Last year I changed my car in February and, for the first time ever, I received a rebate from Direct Line, instead of being charged extra as I have been by other companies.
Today I received a projection from Compare for £20 less than the December figure. Seems that the computers have decided that my renewal date is now 22nd February!
Incidentally, has anyone ever met one of the 10%? You know who I mean. The 10% of 'new' customers who only pay £123 for their insurance.

winniethewitch

Another thread (closed) was about disabled driving. I think there is confusion.  It is NOT that insurers discriminate against the disabled...they DON'T as far as I know. The issue is many disabled drivers use a MODIFIED VEHICLE. This makes it more expensive for the insurer if there is a crash. My vehicle, a peugeot partner, has a ramp and winch for example with a lowered floor which would be dear to repair. This makes insuring the vehicle less attractive. You have to use a specialist insurer and THIS is where I and many like me, run into problems. Cheap insurance is NOT going to happen! Changing broker/company also a nightmare. I haven't managed it so far. Like Martin said on his roadshow too, I lost my hubby and my insurance rose.  I also had to pay to alter the policy. If anyone has any pointers on how I can find or lower my insurance it would be appreciated. I had to sort the insurance just two week after he died last year and its soon his first anniversary. I got cancer in January he died in Feb, 15 wk later lost our 3 yr old grandson(theyre in same coffin) & 3 other loved ones followed. Still on treatment so its very hard for me, but income down, need keep mobile, has be done. Is there any help? insurance due 13 March 2020

gbhawkeyepearce

I have owned a 53 plate bmw touring(estate)2.5 diesel for the last 5 years, which caused the previous owner(my daughter), problems as the rear air suspension kept failing. When I took possession I arranged for my local(bmw trained) garage mechanic to change to recommended coil springs, NOT lowered at all, and much safer. But when I get quotes some insurers refuse to to quote, while others insist I speak to their specialist department. Can  anybody help, or advise me?

molerat

gbhawkeyepearce said:

I have owned a 53 plate bmw touring(estate)2.5 diesel for the last 5 years, which caused the previous owner(my daughter), problems as the rear air suspension kept failing. When I took possession I arranged for my local(bmw trained) garage mechanic to change to recommended coil springs, NOT lowered at all, and much safer. But when I get quotes some insurers refuse to to quote, while others insist I speak to their specialist department. Can  anybody help, or advise me?

Irrelevant if lowered or not.  The car suspension is modified from manufacturer standard spec and some insurers are wary of this. You need to do as asked or go through a broker.

fatLamb

Hello all,

I followed the guide for car insurance quotes and found it to be very useful. I have a question though. The guide advises you to find the cheapest provider through comparison sites and then Step 5 sees if there is cashback available via a cashback site. However, I see many insurers in Topcashback prevent this, eg. Sheila's Wheels states 'If you have previously received a quote via a comparison site and then attempt to purchase that quote via TopCashback, the cashback will not be paid'. I remember last year, I got a quote via Confused and then bought an Admiral policy via TCB. Despite clearing cookies, cashback was denied due to being affiliated elsewhere. Has anyone else had this problem? thanks

twhatmough

My wife is some 20 years younger than I am. I turn 70 in October. We have one car and the insurance is in my name and she is a named driver.  She has a 2 year no claims discount from 2015. Would it be cheaper to switch the insurance to her name with me as a named driver?

ask66

twhatmough said:

My wife is some 20 years younger than I am. I turn 70 in October. We have one car and the insurance is in my name and she is a named driver.  She has a 2 year no claims discount from 2015. Would it be cheaper to switch the insurance to her name with me as a named driver?

Could be, depends on many things including your own NCD entitlement.  Are you able to try the two different scenarios in one of the online quote sites and see what comes up?  I have a feeling that the named driver is supposed to drive the car less (miles/often?) than the main driver, though I don't know how the insurers would ever prove this!

ask66

twhatmough said:

My wife is some 20 years younger than I am. I turn 70 in October. We have one car and the insurance is in my name and she is a named driver.  She has a 2 year no claims discount from 2015. Would it be cheaper to switch the insurance to her name with me as a named driver?

It might be expected that the main driver is also the owner and/or registered keeper of the car, you could check that out when you are entering the details online.

dpwolves

Hi,
I just wanted to share this - I used Quidco Compare earlier to get quotes for car insurance with a 'standard' £250 excess. I then tried reducing the Excess to £150 to see how much more it would cost, and was very surprised to see the cheapest quote was now £4 less than before! Certainly worth trying if you can get better cover for less money!

Micko48

fatLamb said:

Hello all,

I followed the guide for car insurance quotes and found it to be very useful. I have a question though. The guide advises you to find the cheapest provider through comparison sites and then Step 5 sees if there is cashback available via a cashback site. However, I see many insurers in Topcashback prevent this, eg. Sheila's Wheels states 'If you have previously received a quote via a comparison site and then attempt to purchase that quote via TopCashback, the cashback will not be paid'. I remember last year, I got a quote via Confused and then bought an Admiral policy via TCB. Despite clearing cookies, cashback was denied due to being affiliated elsewhere. Has anyone else had this problem? thanks

Yeah I took out a policy with Admiral via topcashback (no previous quotes) and they refused to pay out. I would not use them again.

My current policy is for Social, domestic, etc. and communting, but as I no longer drive to work and my mileage is half what it used to be my policy should reduce in price (some hope), if I contact my insurance company and tell them.