car insurance whats gone wrong

rover25man

hi all. im in my 40s with a clean licence, no accidents,9yrs no claims. I live in Birmingham. Last year my insurance was £700 which is a lot but I know I live in a bad area. I wanted to change my car rover 25 1.4. to the diesel version but my insurance company hasting want another £400 to change it over. so I asked for a new quote and it came out at over £3000. I have been to the online sites and the cheapest is £1700.why is it so much. I have spoken to hasting and all they say is that's what the computer said. how can I find out why the insurance company's think im such a bad risk. I cant afford such prices and I need to find out what is making it so high. plase any ideas welcome

forgotmyname

My insurance is actually cheaper this year. Saved £100 from the renewal price.

Diesel models do tend to increase the premium. But such a big jump they either pur the wrong details in or its a very high risk car for some reason.

I know a lot of the old Montego/Maestro diesels were stolen for the engines. Something to do with converting them for marine use i think.

Johnmcl7

I don't know how up to date this postcode rating is but some areas of Birmingham are listed as amongst the top ten most expensive post codes which seems to tie in with your experience:

http://www.motorcarinsuranceuk.co.uk/post-code-ratings.php
http://www.visitcars.co.uk/car-insurance/insurance-post-code-risk.html

John

Shaolin_Monkey

Just having a browse on the Parker's site I see the diesels in that model are 6-8 insurance groups higher than the 1.4 petrol. But they are still relatively low in the scheme of things. Group 17 for a 113ps 2.0 TD for example. I know insurance groups are at best a very rough guide, but I can't think why it would warrant an increase from £700 to £3000! I recently got a quote for an increase from a Group 31 car to a 40 and it was a hefty increase, but nothing like that.

Are they getting the car details (of the diesel) from a reg number? If so, does the model of car tally exactly with the reg number? Have you tried getting quotes on other diesel cars of a similar type? Just in case for whatever reason there is a poor claims history with that model, or something like that.

shaun_from_Africa

rover25man wrote: »

how can I find out why the insurance company's think im such a bad risk. I cant afford such prices and I need to find out what is making it so high. plase any ideas welcome

It's not that you personally are such a bad risk, simply that you are living in an area that tops the league for fraudulent claims and the insurers are probably just increasing premiums to try to cover their losses.
http://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/birmingham-top-hotspot-for-motor-fraud-keoghs/1407994.article

SailorSam

The Tv news that car insurance was falling. I heard them say 'cos they were cracking down on fraudulent claims such as .... crash-for-cash. They could cut premiums even in the bad areas.

stef73

Im not sure the prices have come down as the tv news said ive just renewed mine(last week) and its gone up from last year and that was comparing on 3 sites.

arcon5

That is a lot! In another area you could be paying a third of that!
Try adding a second driver - that can often bring a quote down

rexmedorum

Do try some online quotes for other diesel cars and see if it's something to do with the particular car
Birmingham is known to be terrible for car insurance though

InsideInsurance

Shaolin_Monkey wrote: »

Just having a browse on the Parker's site I see the diesels in that model are 6-8 insurance groups higher than the 1.4 petrol. But they are still relatively low in the scheme of things. Group 17 for a 113ps 2.0 TD for example. I know insurance groups are at best a very rough guide, but I can't think why it would warrant an increase from £700 to £3000! I recently got a quote for an increase from a Group 31 car to a 40 and it was a hefty increase, but nothing like that.

Insurance groups only reflect the cost of repair and the safety/security features of the vehicle. Most insurers dont use them at all anymore.

What the key thing they are missing is the, "what type of person owns this car?" If you look at two identical grouped car but one is typically owned by 19 year old boy racers who frequently wrap them round trees injuring the 4 mates they've crammed in and the other is typically owned by the 45 year old mother of 2 who only uses it for the 2 mile school and supermarket runs then the second car will be much cheaper to insure.

I went from a group 32 to a group 50 car worth over 10 times the price but my insurance only went up by £100 (about 15%) as the car is not typically owned by boy racers or footballers etc.


To the OP - if you do a dummy quote with your old vehicle again what sort of prices are you coming out with? If its also much higher then it is something to do with you. If its much lower then its something to do with that particular vehicle and I would consider looking at something else instead.

ilikewatch

Jesus, that sounds like a phenomenal amount to pay! I'm late 30's with 3 years NCD and was quoted £180 (£150 after cashback) TPFT for my Volvo S40 1.9 TD. So glad I live in a low risk LN2 postcode!