Car Insurance Is Now Becoming Ridiculous

stevepb101

Car insurance is absolutely ridiculous nowadays.
The companies are using any excuse to inflate insurance premiums all based on 'statistics'
My daughter recently had her car written off through no fault of her own,she has purchased another car and was told the premium is higher because she is not experienced in her new car and 'statistically' she is more likely to have an accident.....what rubbish!!:mad:
In the 80's when i started driving my insurance was just £75 for the year fully comp and it was just the car and your driving record it was accessed on now it's your individual postcode,(which in the 80's everyone's was the same apart from central London and certain parts of Bradford),10 insurance groups have become 50,if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??),and the list goes on!
My wife's insurance went up when she passed her test then they added another £15 on her premium because she has an automatic license and not manual!
They are taking the pee now and something needs doing about it!!

Gloomendoom

stevepb101 wrote: »

Car insurance is absolutely ridiculous nowadays.
The companies are using any excuse to inflate insurance premiums all based on 'statistics'
My daughter recently had her car written off through no fault of her own,she has purchased another car and was told the premium is higher because she is not experienced in her new car and 'statistically' she is more likely to have an accident.....what rubbish!!:mad:

On the other hand, I had my premium reduced when I told my new insurer that I had been driving my car in its modified state for the previous three years. Experience does make a difference.

shaun_from_Africa

stevepb101 wrote: »

My wife's insurance went up when she passed her test then they added another £15 on her premium because she has an automatic license and not manual!

But if statistics show that a driver of an automatic car is more likely to have an accident than a driver of a manual car, why shouldn't the premium be higher to reflect this higher risk?

Aylesbury_Duck

stevepb101 wrote: »

Car insurance is absolutely ridiculous nowadays.
The companies are using any excuse to inflate insurance premiums all based on 'statistics'

The problem is, too many people are having accidents, bumps and scrapes and expect their car to be put back as it was. There's also been the increase in personal injury claims. How do you think all those claims are financed?

My daughter recently had her car written off through no fault of her own,she has purchased another car and was told the premium is higher because she is not experienced in her new car and 'statistically' she is more likely to have an accident.....what rubbish!!:mad:

Sounds reasonable to me. She has been involved in a claim so has shown to be someone at risk.

In the 80's when i started driving my insurance was just £75 for the year fully comp and it was just the car and your driving record it was accessed on now it's your individual postcode,(which in the 80's everyone's was the same apart from central London and certain parts of Bradford),10 insurance groups have become 50,if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??),and the list goes on!

Isn't it better that there are more categories and greater differentiation between drivers? Who wants to be lumped in with everyone else in just one of ten categories?

My wife's insurance went up when she passed her test then they added another £15 on her premium because she has an automatic license and not manual!

See shaun's point.

They are taking the pee now and something needs doing about it!!

What do you propose?

Me? I try and drive carefully, choose cars that are cheap to insure, don't claim for minor scuffs and bumps, shop around and negotiate every year. I've made one claim in the last five years but still manage to get two family cars insured for under £400 a year.

Car_54

stevepb101 wrote: »

Car insurance is absolutely ridiculous nowadays.
The companies are using any excuse to inflate insurance premiums all based on 'statistics'
My daughter recently had her car written off through no fault of her own,she has purchased another car and was told the premium is higher because she is not experienced in her new car and 'statistically' she is more likely to have an accident.....what rubbish!!:mad:
In the 80's when i started driving my insurance was just £75 for the year fully comp and it was just the car and your driving record it was accessed on now it's your individual postcode,(which in the 80's everyone's was the same apart from central London and certain parts of Bradford),10 insurance groups have become 50,if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??),and the list goes on!
My wife's insurance went up when she passed her test then they added another £15 on her premium because she has an automatic license and not manual!
They are taking the pee now and something needs doing about it!!

Even in the 80s, your occupation was also a factor.

The amount of data available, and the systems to analyse it, have changed immeasurably since then: why wouldn't they use it to assess risk more effectively? Did you complain during the recent years when average premiums actually fell?

It's normal for a premium to increase after test. A new unaccompanied driver is much more likely to have an acccident than a supervised learner.

iolanthe07

if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??)

Because it is a no claim bonus, not a no blame bonus. Actually, I think car insurance is quite reasonable. I pay under £200 for each of the family cars (Mazda MX5 & Kia Picanto), fully comp, wife and I named drivers.

DUTR

stevepb101 wrote: »

Car insurance is absolutely ridiculous nowadays.
The companies are using any excuse to inflate insurance premiums all based on 'statistics'
My daughter recently had her car written off through no fault of her own,she has purchased another car and was told the premium is higher because she is not experienced in her new car and 'statistically' she is more likely to have an accident.....what rubbish!!:mad:
In the 80's when i started driving my insurance was just £75 for the year fully comp and it was just the car and your driving record it was accessed on now it's your individual postcode,(which in the 80's everyone's was the same apart from central London and certain parts of Bradford),10 insurance groups have become 50,if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??),and the list goes on!
My wife's insurance went up when she passed her test then they added another £15 on her premium because she has an automatic license and not manual!
They are taking the pee now and something needs doing about it!!

In another thread you mentioned when your daughter had failed her test, one of the reasons you mentioned in that post was being in an incorrect lane for much longer than necessary, sometimes with accidents it's not just about blame or lack of it, but being defensive and avoiding the agro and drama of claims in the 1st place.

Joe_Horner

DUTR wrote: »

[...] sometimes with accidents it's not just about blame or lack of it, but being defensive and avoiding the agro and drama of claims in the 1st place.

Yep, pretty sure we all know someone who's "never had a fault claim" but racks up non-fault ones (which they could never have anticipated / prevented / avoided with a slight change in approach) on a regular basis.

stevepb101

iolanthe07 wrote: »

if you have a non fault accident your premium goes up (why??)

Because it is a no claim bonus, not a no blame bonus. Actually, I think car insurance is quite reasonable. I pay under £200 for each of the family cars (Mazda MX5 & Kia Picanto), fully comp, wife and I named drivers.

One of my mates was across the other side of his road talking to a friend,it had been snowing,a bit icy etc when a women driving along the road skidded and hit his car.
There were around 30 cars parked up on both sides of his road and she could have hit any one of those but unfortunately it was his.
On renewal he was told his premium was raised by £200 due to his 'claim' ??
How can they say he is 'statistically' a bigger risk when he was no where near his car and nothing to do with him??
Years ago this would have had no effect whatsoever on his premium and it is totally ridiculous and a money making exercise and surely no one can agree with this and think it's right???

DUTR

stevepb101 wrote: »

One of my mates was across the other side of his road talking to a friend,it had been snowing,a bit icy etc when a women driving along the road skidded and hit his car.
There were around 30 cars parked up on both sides of his road and she could have hit any one of those but unfortunately it was his.
On renewal he was told his premium was raised by £200 due to his 'claim' ??
How can they say he is 'statistically' a bigger risk when he was no where near his car and nothing to do with him??
Years ago this would have had no effect whatsoever on his premium and it is totally ridiculous and a money making exercise and surely no one can agree with this and think it's right???

He may have ost some no claims discount due to making the claim, He may not have been near his car but the car is parked on the road which in itself is risky and certainly more risky than parking off road.

tho_2

Devils advocate - your mate could have factored in the snow, the ice, the corner, realised the chance of a out of control skid was higher and parked somewhere else?