Car Insurance Article Discussion

Oblivion

northern_cynic wrote: »

One thing I would say is to be aware that when you start getting online quotes, you inevitably end up with insurers phoning you (as you have to give a contact number), but if you can handle this then it's worth doing as Martin suggests. When I clicked through to MoneyExpert to try and get cashback, they started phoning me while I was still online! Bit of a pain.

For this reason, when I am using a comparison site, I always put in a bogus phone number. If I'm interested in following up a particular quote, I just need to make a call to that company, and the rest don't pester me. :cool: Mind you, they might be pestering some other poor s0d whose number it is :rotfl: .

Dave.

lucylocket_3

When I renewed my car insurance I did a quick search and got a few comparasons 1st as suggested on MSN.
I wanted to stay with Tesco for the Club card points, however the post office was more expensive @ £233 and offered £50 cash back, Tescos was £200.00 and with no cash back.
I called Tesco told them what the PO was offering and they offered me the insurance for £200 and also sent me a £50 gift card and I got the club card points. Yippie

pollypenny

I have spent the morning following martin's advice while looking for car insurance. I had had an e-mail from Endsleigh last week, so got a quote. I then went through Quidco, for the first time ever, and the Endsleigh quote was £50 more expensive. Is this normal? The cash back from quidco was £45.

stubie

I have just done 3 car insurance quotes through Quidco, none of which offered the cashback that they quoted on the Quidco site.

caela_2

Last year I found out, as many people may already know, that car insurance is based on rates which fluctuate all the time. Therefore, you can get several different quotes from the same company over the course of a day.
This little lottery is how I make sure I get the cheapest car insurance every time. Simply spending a little time each day going online and re-entering details into as many comparison websites as possible gives you a range of quotes. Any decent quotes should be saved at this point, as rates can go up as well as down. The websites can remember your IP address also, so I was told by a sales man for one insurance company, that it is best to use a different computer if possible (I am thinking students use your computer labs or professionals, switch between work computers, home computers and library computers). I know this all sounds like a lot of work, but do it a week before your renewal is due and check daily for about fifteen minutes a day and you can literally save hundreds of pounds.
Recently, I bought my car insurance from Tesco. They offered me a cheap quote online, however, over the phone it was more expensive! I explained several times that I had a cheaper online quote which I would accept unless they offered to beat it over the phone. They refused to do this, although I could not see why. As a desperate bid before hanging up, I told them although Tesco was cheap, another company had offered me a cheaper quote by £10 and if Tesco could beat that, or match their online quote, I would pay them right now in full. Suddenly, I was offered my online discount (to match my online quote) and a further £50 cashback, as part of a deal expiring that day. I wondered why I had not been offered this before, but nonetheless, proved that a little persistence will go a long way. Remember, they practically make up car insurance quotes on the spot and they can change them to beat other quotes. Don't forget, you have the buying power and don't be scared to ask for deals (even if you sound a bit cheeky!).
My cheapest online quote with Tesco was £180 and on the phone with Tesco, was £240 (approx.) I removed legal protection (I have only ever had problems with legal protection in the past and you can just as easily use the Motor Insurance Bureau, but please check details first) and all the trimmings I had not wanted, slapped on the online discount and with my £50 cash back, managed to get the price of my car insurance down to £130 (one year, 3rd party, fire & theft, £0 voluntary excess). My highest quote on the internet had been somewhere in the clouds with around £800, my renewal quote was £240 (approx.) and with a couple hours research over a few days, I managed to save myself a lot of money.
Also, I would advise that you always check online reviews before buying, as you don't want to be stuck in a legal battle over a claim cos they won't pay out (I had this problem with Albany Assistance, a legal protection company that I am suing them for neglect).
I hope I have helped you save money in true moneysavingexpert style and welcome any replies!

CockneyBrum

I regret using beathatquote.com. I now get at least two emails a day from them, usually absolutely nothing to do with car insurance.

It takes "28 days" to unsubscribe. Funny, I don't remember signing up taking that long.

Their aggressive marketing has actually made me not want to use them even if they're quote was the cheapest (which it wasn't).

pollypenny

I have just had 17 e-mails re car insurance from Norwich Union! Grrr!

We used to get bi-weekly postal mail from them and I remember saying that I'd never use them as they waste too much money. No they've wasted my time!

Quote

caela wrote: »

I hope I have helped you save money in true moneysavingexpert style and welcome any replies!

No offence, but saving even £100 on TPF&T cover in the way you've suggested is a false economy, and almost completely pointless.

p1an0player

Quote wrote: »

No offence, but saving even £100 on TPF&T cover in the way you've suggested is a false economy, and almost completely pointless.

do you mean it's too time-consuming considering the discount available?

Quote

I mean that all the time that is spent searching for "cheaper" quotes adds up. And you'll never get it back.

£2 a week is not a lot of money, especially when under TPF&T cover plenty of things could happen to the vehicle which mean it might have to be written off without any cover.