Length of car ownership determines policy prices

tsam19

Hello all

Its that time of the year again to renew car insurance. Like many of you, I started using these comparison sites to search for a better deal.

Now as a car driver with over 20 years experience and a no claims bonus retention for nearly the same amount of time. I was always lead to believe that car insurance companies rewarded good drivers .offering a discounted policy the year after to keep customers who didn't claim and built up a good driving record.

However I have found the opposite and over the last 5 years I have had to hop to other companies for a better deal.

After using the comparison sites and playing with the settings and driver options. I am alarmed to find that the policy price decreases, the longer you've had the same car for!

Not for how long you've been driving or for how many NCB you've got either.

For example next time your on a comparison site, have a look yourself i.e the car V5 log book shows when you took ownership of your vehicle.

Put in the original date from V5 and generate quote.

Then go back and change the date and generate the quote and see the big price difference.

My question is, why is a car insurance policy price lower for a driver owning that same car for a longer period ?

Why is an experienced driver, their driving experience and lack of claims not counted instead ?

It doesn't make sense to me. Why should I be discriminated against because I haven't owned the same car for a long time?

When I quizzed various insurance reps over the phone they couldn't or wouldn't tell me.

So if anyone on here can tell me I'd like to know.

Lastly I am not recommending to anyone to lie about when they took ownership of their vehicle when renewing car insurance to get cheaper insurance, we all know the outcome of that scenario :cool:

martinthebandit

It is just one of the many factors insurance companies take into account, I suspect it has been found that people who own a car for a long time tend to look after them carefully and people who look after their cars carefully tend to drive carefully as well.

It's all statistics init

fred246

It's probably because sensible people keep their cars for a long time.

BodyOfBones

I would say that its down to the fact that if you can afford to keep buying newer cars you can afford to pay higher premiums for the cars.

tsam19

Surely the proof a person is a good, safe, carefuil, sensible driver is the 'no claims' proof that you build up the year before and carry forth to the next policy?

And also the length of driving experience should play a part also.

As for being able to afford buying a newer, new car(s) every year.........I wish :rotfl:

:beer:

JP1978

BodyOfBones wrote: »

I would say that its down to the fact that if you can afford to keep buying newer cars you can afford to pay higher premiums for the cars.

Really?

Dont think that the OP said anything about buying a newer car - many people just swap them for something bigger, more fuel efficient, smaller, petrol not diesel.....

jk0

I wonder if careless drivers regularly writing off cheap cars keep quiet about their scrapes, and so keep their NCD?

tsam19

jk0 wrote: »

I wonder if careless drivers regularly writing off cheap cars keep quiet about their scrapes, and so keep their NCD?

You maybe right on that one. However it would be a costly experience to the person writing their car off on a regular basis.And if another party was involved they could only keep their NCB if it was protected.

I have actually just been told by an insurance rep why 'the longer you have your car for' determines your policy price.

According to statistics, newer cars have safety sensors, auto emergency braking, dash cams, parking sensors. And the reasoning is a driver is more likely to have an accident in a new car (as their not used to it) compared to someone who has owned the same vehicle for a longer time.

So evidently all this new car safety technology implemented in todays cars still doesn't make people better or safer drivers..........according to insurance statistics....:rotfl:

So is car technology the problem or the driver?

What about all the motorists out there who have simple cars with no fancy technology in them?

neilmcl

tsam19 wrote: »

Now as a car driver with over 20 years experience and a no claims bonus retention for nearly the same amount of time. I was always lead to believe that car insurance companies rewarded good drivers .offering a discounted policy the year after to keep customers who didn't claim and built up a good driving record

Really, I've never known this to be the case, and tbh it doesn't make much business sense as they offer deals to get new customers rather than keep the odd few that actively look around.

Takmon

tsam19 wrote: »

You maybe right on that one. However it would be a costly experience to the person writing their car off on a regular basis.And if another party was involved they could only keep their NCB if it was protected.

I have actually just been told by an insurance rep why 'the longer you have your car for' determines your policy price.

According to statistics, newer cars have safety sensors, auto emergency braking, dash cams, parking sensors. And the reasoning is a driver is more likely to have an accident in a new car (as their not used to it) compared to someone who has owned the same vehicle for a longer time.

So evidently all this new car safety technology implemented in todays cars still doesn't make people better or safer drivers..........according to insurance statistics....:rotfl:

So is car technology the problem or the driver?

What about all the motorists out there who have simple cars with no fancy technology in them?

The age of the car and the technology in the car isn't linked to the "How long you have owned it" statistics. Someone could buy a car produced in 1990 or a car produced in 2018 they would both have a higher risk due to owning the car the car for a short period according to the insurance statistics.

To me this makes perfect sense I know a few people who say they find it difficult to get in a different car and drive it and get used to it; so as they are concentrating more on driving the car they are more likely to have an accident.

tsam19

neilmcl wrote: »

Really, I've never known this to be the case, and tbh it doesn't make much business sense as they offer deals to get new customers rather than keep the odd few that actively look around.

Of course it makes good business sense to keep the same regular customers.

Insurance companies, all companies in general hate losing customers. That means they have to come up with new deals to entice people to come back to them. Yet if they rewarded the existing customers there'd be no need for them to be constantly fixing their prices.

Years ago I was always told, if you dont make a claim. Your policy price would decrease the year later if you stayed with the same group. We like to keep our customers. We'll beat any other quote so check witth us first before moving on.

That all seems to have changed now. Its now all about how long you've had your car for. Your not merited for how long you've been driving nor how many claims you havent had. As thats the way it used to be years ago. Any driver from the 80s or 90s will know this.

And as for people buying new cars who find them difficult to drive and for fear of having an accident in them for not concentrating on driving. But focussing more on the actual features in the cars. Probably should have taken them on a test drive first.

Why anyone would spend good money on a car they aren't comfortable driving is bizzare.:eek: