Car Insurance Article Discussion

iamana1ias

mandycl35 wrote: »

Can anyone help me.............
My son is 18, he passed his driving test 1 year ago and has been using my car as a named driver on my policy. I have decised to give him my car and buy myself a new one. He completed and passed the "Pass Plus" test.
So my problem is - Does anyone know of an insurance company that wont charge me nearly £4,000.00 to insure him.
PLEASE HELP

A simple read of these forums/use of the search function will answer your questions.

sammyx

dacouch wrote: »

There are plenty of companies that will allow you to do this. It generally is subject to your wife having a good history eg no claims or convictions although sometimes they will accept some. In addition it is normally subject to your wife having a full uk licence for a few years.

You will normally be required to issue a letter agreeing to the transfer and stating you understand it cannot be transferred back to you at a later date (In a lot of cases eg your wife goes to a different insurer afterwards you can transfer it back).

Try speaking to a local broker (Not Swintons)

sorry for the belated reply dacouch but thank you all the same like i said last post i will post any results which is helpful to all once again thanks

Queries

Hope you don't mind me raising a couple of interesting points:

In January 2007, my L reg, Fiat Panda was insured for the value of £350, third party, fire & theft with the Post Office. It was then stolen. When I tried to make a claim (bear in mind one moment I had a useable car and the next I had no car to use), they said it was worthless and refused to pay out anything for it. When I queried whay I had been allowed to pay a premium to cover my car for £350 and not just for third party, the reply was something along the lines it was the law, i.e. a fob off. So, it may be worth checking the value of your car before insuring and if it is essentially worth less than the excess , insure accordingly.

I then had a P reg, Fiat Punto, which I insured with the AA. Somebody ran into the side of it damaging the driver's door and a part of the bodywork. Now if I had gone to my own garage I could probably have gotten it repaired for about £200, albeit with secondhand parts. However, I agreed to see the AA's recommended agent, who then wrote a perfectly good car off, as the cost of the parts new (and presumably fitted) outweighed what the car was worth (around, according to the AA, £800). When I queried why I could not have secondhand parts fitted, they said they would have to be new (which seemed rather silly since the car was secondhand). They also offered me less than I had insured the car for, and when I asked how they had come about this figure they had looked at cars of a similar age on the internet (including e-bay) and concocted an average figure.

These are just a couple of points worth considering when insuring and perhaps worth asking your insurer about!

stevemarsh1976

Hi Queries

Just because you insure a car for a particular value does not essentially mean that is the value for insurance purposes. The bes guidline for insurance value is auto trader beleive it or not as many insurers will use that to ascertain what they "could" purchase that car for.

as for the premium you paid, very very few insurers offer third party only any more and in all likelyhood may not have offered any savings for you so you have the lowest level of cover required by law in place.

your second point, you are able to buy back your car from the insurer and get the car repairred yourself. If its only cosmetic and not engine damage then its not difficult to reinsure it would just require an MOT doing after teh repairs

Quentin

stevemarsh1976 wrote: »

your second point, you are able to buy back your car from the insurer and get the car repairred yourself. If its only cosmetic and not engine damage then its not difficult to reinsure it would just require an MOT doing after teh repairs

No it wouldn't.

If the car had a current MOT prior to the accident, then that MOT will remain valid till its expiry date.

Queries

I was really just pointing out issues to be aware of. As regards getting the Fiat Punto repaired myself at my own garage, when I spoke to the AA about this, they said yes I could, but the car would be classified as an insurance write-off (or something like that), and that the DVLA would have that on its records. Can you imagine trying to insure the Fiat Punto as a write-off? Also, what would be the chances of selling it to anybody else (had I wanted to)?

As regards the Fiat Panda, the insurers over-insured it since third party was really the only suitable cover needed. And as I said before, one day I had a car which I could use and then the next day I had no car, but I was also (apparently) intitled to no pay-out, so I had to come-up with additional funds to replace my stolen vehicle.

Personally, I think that insurance companies are like banks, they are only too willing to take money off you, but should something happen and you need to claim - oh dear!

Quentin

It's quite normal to buy "write offs", repair them, insure them and use them/sell them.

eg An insurer looks for the cheapest way to settle a claim, and writing off a car with just cosmetic damage can be cheaper than repairing it, as it cuts out not just the repair bill, but associated costs (provision of a hire car etc).

lane_meyer

Hi People Im currently half way through my Policy with RAC insurance ( paid in full In January, currently about £500 per year for a 1.1 peugeot 1998 ) but Ive just bought a new car ( mini 2003 model ).

- Does anyone have any experience of how much extra Im going to have pay for my Insurance?
- Also If I cancel my Policy ( should they rise be Substancial ) will they refund me the amount my policy has left to run considering I paid my Insurance in full in Jan.

thanks guys!

iamana1ias

lane_meyer wrote: »

Hi People Im currently half way through my Policy with RAC insurance ( paid in full In January, currently about £500 per year for a 1.1 peugeot 1998 ) but Ive just bought a new car ( mini 2003 model ).

- Does anyone have any experience of how much extra Im going to have pay for my Insurance?

£147.93

(Of course we don't know. Phone your insurers and ask them!)

lane_meyer wrote: »

- Also If I cancel my Policy ( should they rise be Substancial ) will they refund me the amount my policy has left to run considering I paid my Insurance in full in Jan.

thanks guys!

No. Info about cancellation charges will be in your policy documents.

joshmann

can any one help me. im insured with churchill on my car insurance. i was previosly insured on a vauxall corsa untill i changed it to a mazda 323 which they charged me £21 admin fee. i had an accident in it and made a claim. after the inspected the vehicle they told me i had non standard alloys and a modified air filter which they then charged £228 extra on the policy. they classed the car as a catagory c write off and were going to salvage it so i cancelled the entire claim yet the charge remains. but the mazda was only insured for a total of ten days. so how can the full £228 charge still remain as i pay monthly and the £228 was based on the premise of it being divided up between my remaining 4 montly payments. i went back to insuring the corsa which they then slapped another £21 admin fee on there that they cocked up and got the right cars but the registrations the wrong way arond. so i am paying £228 for something i dont insure. i can understand if they put a bit more on for the ten days but what they have charged if you think about it is another £228 for every ten days of insurance. i have contacted them and they say the under writers have looked at it and it is the right price?