Car insurance insane costs!

PurpleBanana

Hey everyone

I passed my driving test in January. It wasn't long before I got a car and was looking for insurance quotes.

I searched on a number of different individual websites and also done a number of comparing quotes. It kept on coming up with the same insurance company as the cheapest. First Central. I was happy with that as I understand insurance is expensive within the first couple of years and also I'm 23, so I was sure it could have been higher if I was younger

I did not opt for a black box as I felt it would be too restricting and heard plenty of negative things, however I have been talking to a couple of friends, aged 22 and 19, whom are in their first year of driving.

They both opted for a black box and their insurance is £80-100 cheaper than mine PER MONTH. is this really how much a black box can reduce your prices?? I pay £180 a month for my insurance, my 19 year old friend gets hers for £103 a month and the 22 year old gets his for £80 a month (he has also done the pass plus as well though).

Talking to my cousin, his insurance was round about the same, however he has diabetes, would is insurance been more expensive because of that? I just feel like I got such a bad deal even though I searched for hours for a good quote.

Someone said that I could include my provisional licence and driving lessons as 'driving for one year' and therefore put '2 years of driving' when I applied for the insurance. I didn't feel this was correct so didn't put that.

Is anyone's car insurance this high???

Edit: My cousins insurance was without a black box. Also my cousins was 18 years old at the time (couple years ago) so 5 years younger than me.

bazzyb

Do your two friends and cousin all drive identical cars to you? Do they all have the same job as you? Do they all live in the same street as you?

There are many reasons why insurance costs could vary. The 'black box' will almost certainly make a difference but it is unlikely to be the only thing that will cause the costs to differ.

PurpleBanana

We all live in the same road yes, and drive cars 1.2 engine however different cars but all same year.

It's just the fact that everyone's seems to be better than mine one way or another.

Prothet_of_Doom

The black box will measure Speed, and know what the limit is where you are through GPS, and acceleration and more importantly deceleration and when and where you drive .

Which means that in order for them not to penalise you, all speed limits must be observed, you much accelerate like a nun, and have plenty of anticipation, and not be driving in rush hour, or the middle of the night.

Like having my Mother in the passenger seat really. Less likely to have a crash. so lower premiums.

I wish I'd got my daughter a black box, after one of her friends joked that she was an adventurous driver. I didn't because I use the car occasionally, and have a reputation of making rapid progress in even the slowest of cars, especially on tight country b roads that I know. due to erm years of experience on said same roads. I thought that every time i drove it, they'd be ringing us up trying to cancel the policy.

aoeiiking05

@PurpleBanana


Try this insurance comparison site:


www.mustard.co.uk


I found quotes on here myself which were noticeably cheaper than any other major price comparison website (inc gocompare and comparethemarket etc).


Also, its worth checking out cars in a lower insurance group. This list shows which models (spec and year) are in each group:


http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/insurance/car-insurance-groups/

dunstonh

My daughter, 18, is in her first year of driving and her insurance was £248 a year. We specifically made sure she had a low risk car. She doesnt have a black box.

and drive cars 1.2 engine

Is that a modern 1.2 or an older 1.2? For modern cars, 1.2 can be quite powerful on a small car. Or if its something like a corsa 1.2 then its a higher risk car (for that age group).

pinkteapot

First thing you can easily check is the insurance group of the three cars in question. Find the EXACT engine and trim level on Parkers, and it lists the group. Just because they're all 1.2's, doesn't mean they're all the same group.

Two people with the same group car won't have exactly the same price because of all the other factors, but if your car is a higher group then that'll explain some of the difference for starters.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/car-specs/

Eg Vauxhall Corsa 2006-14:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/vauxhall/corsa/hatchback-2006/specs/
Looking at 1.2 engines ONLY, the insurance group still varies from 4-9, depending on exact 1.2 engine and trim level.

mattk_180

dunstonh wrote: »

My daughter, 18, is in her first year of driving and her insurance was £248 a year. We specifically made sure she had a low risk car. She doesnt have a black box.

How?! I assume from your post it's in her own name right?


I'm not doubting you at all but I haven't seen an 18 year old pay those kind of premiums in probably the last decade, so interesting to know how you managed it.




Back on topic though, as others have said, a lot more would have been taken into consideration when quoting your premium compared to theirs, although a black box may well have made quite a difference. You just need to make sure before you commit to it that you can stick to the rules 100%. A couple of sharp brakes and they'll be chasing you for extra hundreds.

rudekid48

mattk_180 wrote: »

How?! I assume from your post it's in her own name right?


I'm not doubting you at all but I haven't seen an 18 year old pay those kind of premiums in probably the last decade, so interesting to know how you managed it.




Back on topic though, as others have said, a lot more would have been taken into consideration when quoting your premium compared to theirs, although a black box may well have made quite a difference. You just need to make sure before you commit to it that you can stick to the rules 100%. A couple of sharp brakes and they'll be chasing you for extra hundreds.

Not all black policies charge extra as you've described. Carrot & More Th>n Smart Wheels being good examples. Drive lick a complete nutter and they'll cancel but stick to the rules and they give money back...

dunstonh

How?! I assume from your post it's in her own name right?

its in her name as owner and main driver. no fronting.

I'm not doubting you at all but I haven't seen an 18 year old pay those kind of premiums in probably the last decade, so interesting to know how you managed it.

I was surprised as well. Indeed, we were expecting around £1000 a year. However, we Admiral quoted £426. Then they phoned a few days later promoting their multi-car policy. i was sceptical of savings as all three of our other cars come in around £160 each a year and there is only so much to save when you pay that much. However, all the cars were priced cheaper and the discount on her car brought hers down to that level.

It should be noted that we are in one of the cheapest areas in the country for insurance.

Prothet_of_Doom

Take an old Corsa 1.0 3 cyclinder, in group 2 I think, and compare a 1.4 jazz in group 4, IIRC. The Jazz will have cheaper insurance.

Why. NOBODY ever crashes a Jazz, because they do not appeal to young men, who crash.

If you treat all satistical factors equally for causation, then a 17 year old in a Jazz is less likely to crash than one in a corsa. Why that might be, is probably the same reason they chose a nice reliable granny car to drive.