Car Insurance Article Discussion

foxette37

njb55rtd wrote: »

Firstly, the local garage mechanic says that he has heard of at least one insurer actually checking the values of cars, via the internet etc, that are available in the real world (as opposed to a desk with little black books) and settle accordingly. Has anyone come across this and willing to share the name of their insurer?

Hi njb55rtd, apparently my insurer (Admiral) checks the value of cars by looking at Autotrader, as well as getting a valuation from Glass's (they state te info about Glass's on their website). I found this out during a telephone call with Admiral (me calling them as always, they never call me) following an accident in my Mitsubishi Shogun 2.8 Auto TD LWB DOP 97R, which they declared as a total loss. Those robbers tried to tell me that the Shogun was worth only £2800.... I paid for a Glass's valuation myself (£3) and found that what they offered me was only £100 over the recommended TRADE-IN price!!!

I was absolutely disgusted! The Glass's recommended 'private sale' price is £3662, while recommended 'retail sale' price is £4980 (due very low mileage for it's age + special model). It has been over a week since I gave Admiral a copy of the Glass's valuation, and copies of 2 ads from Autotrader to support the Glass's price range, and they have still not given me a new valuation.... probably hoping that if they draw this out, at this time of year I'll just give in seeing as I really really need a car.... bad move on their part - I'm not giving in and the next step is a friendly chat with FOS.

They are thieving, lying robbers, I would never recommend them to anyone. :mad:

My advice is always always always pay for your own Glass's valuation + do your own research, never ever take their first offer without this info......

Rightlaugh

I cancelled my car insurance due to finding a cheaper one after the automatic renewal. They sent an e-mail saying I had to reply within 7 days acknowlledging the fact I was aware I was driving without insurance. Upon speaking to them again they said I was advised that I should have cancelled on the date the new insurance started and not to backdate, which I have records to prove of no such advice.
They now want to charge £50+ to cover this period to prove I had insurance. This is panicing me as I have never been without insurance and with the new laws I may incure a fine and points from the law. Although no accident or speeding offence has taken place..
But I thought I was actually covered with the 14days cooling period, alsoI stopped my Direct debit before any monies went out.
Do I ignore the mail and request and a possible fine?
Pay the money?

System

Rightlaugh wrote: »

I cancelled my car insurance due to finding a cheaper one after the automatic renewal. They sent an e-mail saying I had to reply within 7 days acknowlledging the fact I was aware I was driving without insurance. Upon speaking to them again they said I was advised that I should have cancelled on the date the new insurance started and not to backdate, which I have records to prove of no such advice.
They now want to charge £50+ to cover this period to prove I had insurance. This is panicing me as I have never been without insurance and with the new laws I may incure a fine and points from the law. Although no accident or speeding offence has taken place..
But I thought I was actually covered with the 14days cooling period, alsoI stopped my Direct debit before any monies went out.
Do I ignore the mail and request and a possible fine?
Pay the money?

What did it say on the renewal documentation that you should have received before the date the old policy expired ?

You should have followed the instructions on the renewal notice. You should have contacted them before the policy was renewed to inform them that you did not wish to renew.

You can provide proof of the date when your new policy with a different company actually started. If it started on or before the old policy expired, then you can show that you have not needed cover on the auto renewed policy so should not have to pay them for the cover they say you have used, but there may be an admin fee to pay since you did not inform them of your intentions.

However, if you did not start a new policy on or before the old policy expired, then you have used the auto renewed policy and hence you are liable to pay for the period of cover and admin fee to cancel.
(You do not get free cover during the 14 day cooling off period)

landimad

Why is it that insurance companies have free will when it comes to No Claims Protection. This can range from 0 to 13 years maximum. I find that even if you protect your no claims you do not get what you have asked for by the company. With over thirty years motoring I still do not understand why the companies can get away with this.
Joe Public will pay because of loopholes like this in the insurance industry. Why can they not unify this part of the industry so everyone benefits not just those with deep pockets.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Twiggy_34

Think I may just have learned that it pays to sign up to promotional emails from companies...

Car insurance is due next month and I'm starting to search around already. I received an email today from Swinton with "Exclusive offers available only to email subscribers". I'm quite impressed by this as usually emails of this nature are simply to make sure you're the first to know about special offers which are available to everyone, but on closer inspection I see that this email gives me discount codes to receive up to double the cashback others might get by visiting their site directly.

It looks set to reduce my insurance from £225 to just £145, bargain! :j

My advice? Do what I do, set yourself up with a 'junk' email account soley for signing up to things like this. I'll definitely be agreeing to promotional emails more often in the hope of further exclusive promotions.

My only quandary is whether to risk doing it via quidco as well who offer an additional £22 cashback... or do I run the risk of them saying I can only receive one cashback offer and they reject the £80 one? Does anyone have experience of doing this?

jufer4uk

Hey up just wondering what your advice would be on this.

Took out insurance with ecar in june 2010 and cancelled it in march 2011 - on the setup of my insurance can remember paying more ££ than i do normally for each month at the end of my insurance i missed a payment and they are now chasing it up 9months later saying i owe them £572.39 as a result of balance owing for the full years premium following a claim on your policy.

Can remember my policy been £220 per month for 9months so am i right thinking that i paid more in my first month to cover the other 3 months and if so do they also owe me money back? know they bumped up what i owe for late payment/admin chargers ect if i send them a letter about what they owe me can i also charge them a admin charge ect for it back


Also seems they have my address wrong by not having my street name on it so any letters for me would have been sent to some one elses house not to happy that some one else knows my name ect and my debts is there any way to complain about this or any law been broken which could have ago at my car insurance company

tina_x

hi !!
i am about to take my driving test in feb and have been looking at insurance quotes on comparison websites and there shocking prices!!!! quotes from 2500-10000 can any 1 help find a cheap car insureance for over 25's and 1st time drivers ??

Steve_xx

tina_x wrote: »

hi !!
i am about to take my driving test in feb and have been looking at insurance quotes on comparison websites and there shocking prices!!!! quotes from 2500-10000 can any 1 help find a cheap car insureance for over 25's and 1st time drivers ??

You may be able to reduce the costs by adding a 'named driver' or two onto your policy. Also, where you live affects the price. If you are able to garage it overnight as opposed to parking it on the road, then this willl help.

You may be able to opt to do low mileage each year and that may reduce the cost.

Small cars with low-powered engines, say 1000cc are going to cost less to insure than Chelsea Tractors.

Flytine

Hi there, has anyone used 'Quote Me Happy' for their Car Insurance? I have my cheapest quote through them but haven't heard of the company before. Thanks!

System

Flytine wrote: »

Hi there, has anyone used 'Quote Me Happy' for their Car Insurance? I have my cheapest quote through them but haven't heard of the company before. Thanks!

Have you looked on their website ?

http://www.quotemehappy.com/about-us

Who is Quotemehappy.com?

We are a small part of Aviva that specialises in selling car insurance online – here on our website, and through the price comparison sites. That’s means we can keep our costs down, but still offer all the excellent service, features and reliable cover you’d expect from one of the UK’s largest insurers.

I assume you have heard of "Aviva"

I've not used them personally, but a member of my family has, they are one of the cheaper online insurers that has popped up relatively recently and they mainly insure lower risk clients.