Car Insurance Article Discussion

crazyterrier2000

ekroys17 wrote: »

I am so mad! My car insurance is due in Aug, and have received my renewal notice from Elephant, using the same info as last year.
I paid £371 fully comp last year and my renewal quote has come back at £550 this year, A hike of £180!!!
I have called Elephant and the best they can do is £486, their excuse is that my area has a high number of uninsured drivers. I wouldn't mind a bit extra but an extra £180 is taking the p**s.
I have followed Martins advise and they are all coming in about £500. I have never claimed in my life neither has my OH, I always thought that insurance would be cheaper the older you get, the car's a 6yr old Jag estate not a porche!

Can anyone give me any advice on how to reduce the premium?

Thanks,

have you gone online to your present insurers site and got a new quote, renewals tend to be higher than new quotes, and it is perfectly legal to do this

crazyterrier2000

bern494 wrote: »

Hi
My niece who just has had a baby had her car pinched and wrecked by drunken thugs on Saturday. The car was taken away and put in a compound by the police. They say its a write off.

She has contacted the insurance company (Swinton Ins Brokers) and informed them but they have told her she has to pay the rest of the years premium of £1000, she has already paid 2 months off at 93.00 per month.

She is now without a car which is in the compound and has been told that she needs to pay £250 to get out and the fee goes up the longer it stays in there. She has to still pay the insurance payment,

What is going on here! Would like to hear from anybody to help her or offer any advice.
I have told to stop the insurance payment and leave the car where it is...and seek legal aid Am I right?
She is heartbroken
regards
Bern

when she took out the policy she is liable for the annual premium, Direct Debit is a convenient way to pay, but you are liable for the annual policy, so the whole premium. Do not cancel, you will be in breach of contract, I take it she is putting in a claim, if so my guess is that the car would now be her insurers problem, Contact the broker again & get full clarification on where she stands, in writing, please do get legal aid anyway.

bern494

Hi Guys
Thanks for the advice. I think the way to go will be legal aid.

Its so unfair though that the kid needs her car for work albeit that wont be for a few weeks yet because of the baby but even so it she has done no wrong... its the way of society today where have we gone wrong its a sham...

Bern

Quentin

Whatever happens, she needs to resolve the daily storage charges issue quickly. The insurance premium outstanding could be deducted from the settlement (assuming the settlement will be enough to cover the balance owing) - but there is no hope that the insurer will let her off paying the premium in view of the theft claim.

robbies_gal

just reading above posts- is it wise to go for 10 month accelerated bonus if companies arent even going to recognise it?

iwas going to do it this year and start building mine up quicker but whats the point if they wont take it into account the year after?

Candigirl69

I may totally be on the wrong thread, but I thought a good experience with an Insurance provider might be refreshing and helpful...

My partners renewal was due and he moved from Elephant after having a Bonus Accelerator programme with them for 4 years at TPF&T level. He wanted to change to Fully Comp, he rang them directly and received the most unhelpful customer service and a quotation that wasn't even of this planet. It was obvious they didn't value his 4 years of no claims and annually paid fees. So we decided it was time to change. I went on one of those compare sites for him, put in his details and it spat out the best deal as More Than. I thought there had been a mistake as the quote was so cheap, so instead of purchasing there and then, we called them. They were excellent, the quote was right, we paid there and then and we've been very happy with them. So my partner now has his Vauxhall Astra 2.0l GTE insured for £160.00 a year Fully Comp, rather than £465.00 TPF&T with Elephant for a 10 month policy! It would seem Elephants do forget their good customers!!

grange

My car was reversed into by a neighbour whilst i was in my house, her insurance has paid for the repair but quotes to swop my car and for my renewal which I had before the repair have risen by hundreds of pounds. My insurance company have still given me 1 years no claims discount but I am unable to get quotes from anywhere without a significant increase in premiums. Is there nothing i can do to prevent this blatant ripoff from car insurance companies? My neighbour had protected no claims so her policy hasn't altered but through no fault of my own I'm being penalised. Is there nothing I can do?

robbies_gal

lol i got to laugh got my renewal quote today from quinn

last year 550 this year...............

1381! yes a quote 1 and a half times more than last yearlol

what a joke

beast2912

Renewal quote from First Direct (through Equity Red Star) for 02/02 Alfa 156 £340. Best quote through Beat That Quote from Kwik-Fit at £298 + £20 cashback. Beware Kwik-Fit's website though - it has a habit of sneakily adding on extras (personal accident, key protection, legal cover etc) without telling you. When I went from BTQ to Kwik-Fit my quote had gone up by over £150 until I worked out what was happening! Beware!

qwertyman123_2

Hi there folks, just a quick one...not too sure if this has already been posted but as a current insurance broker advisor you learn quite a lot of ways to save yourself money on your insurance, so if you are looking to insure your own vehicle and if you have little or no no claims bonus but are currently driving other vehicles. You can save £100s off your policy.

Spouse/Commonlaw Mirror NCB - With many insurers if for expample you have been driving on your partner's policy for so many years, you can be given the equivalent to that many years no claims discount, something that cannot be entered into many price comparison websites. This is usually subject to qualifying criteria, usually providing that you have made no claims, and have none/minimal convictions they will be able to give you the discount.

Topping up NCB - Not as common as the one above, if you have earnt anywhere between 1-4 years no claims bonus or so, and you have more on your other vehicle, some will give you that extra bit of discount as they can offer you a policy at the equivalent discount as having the maximum to use. The good thing about mirroring and topping up of no claims bonus is that they are not affected by doing this and all that will be required if proof of how many years claim free.

Company Intro - Like a mirror of no claims bonus from your partner - You may be able to qualify for this if you drive vehicles or have done previously - usually within the last 2 years. This usually takes a letter from your current/previous insurer stating you have been claim free for XX amount of years without making a claim whilst driving their vehicles.

Mirroring no claims bonus even with a claim - In rare occasions, even if you have made a claim within the last year or so, a select amount of companies will insure you on a new vehicle with the discount, providing your no claims bonus was protected at the time. This is often another thing that does not quote on the comparison sites again. So find out who is quoted you the cheapest online, then speak to them over the phone and see what price you can NEGOTIATE from them (I promise you they will not offer you their best price when you do this, as they will be confident they are cheaper than your best price anyway)

Hope this is help to some if not all of you