Cheap car insurance needed!

cymruchris

Just as a comparison what did you pay last year ? 

I just started a policy with admiral where they’ve told me I’ve got an extra new customer discount - and that my renewal
would Likely go up next year / I wonder if you had something similar at your last renewal? 

cymruchris

There are a few things to do that lower your possible quote - what sort of mileage would you do in a normal year ? 

jimjames

It's worth trying some different parameters to see if that makes any difference. So adjust the excess, if your mileage has dropped then check that. Anything you can try that may legitimately impact on the price. If you have more than 1 car then seeing which works cheapest to keep on the road or garage may also be worthwhile. Numbers do sound a bit on the high side, I'm similar age but working and am looking at £200-250 for my cars.

Grumpy_chap

How does the £400 you've been quoted compare to last year?
You can shop around (comparison sites), change some parameters (but not too wildly and not too much).

For a comparison, I renewed my insurance for 21st March on the 1st and the premium was £260 with General Accident and I don't see anything so different between your stated characteristics and my own.  According to the "experts", 21-days ahead is the optimum for lowest premium, so you may find that with only a week to go, the premiums are creeping up.

One word of warning, you may find the cheapest quote is not the best.  I certainly did when I did the other car back in January and the computer spat out RCIB as the lowest - it is the first time I've had a really poor experience with any car insurer and (fortunately) I've not needed to claim.

Nobbie1967

Did you enter your driving license number on the comparison website. I tried some quotes under a fictitious name and they were coming out at over double what I got when I put in proper details and DL number. Also check you are on the electoral roll.

Also double check all the options you’ve ticked, may be a mistake in there.

riotlady

Have you tried calling up and speaking to your insurance company? My original renewal quote was high but they ended up knocking £300 off when I called up and told them I’d found cheaper elsewhere 

theshed

Hi all.
I currently pay £280 fully Comp' for a Landrover Discovery full NCB no convictions etc. I know that is not a huge amount in comparison so that is not my issue. My problem is with comparing insurers.
Not had a claim for over 20 years yet my current insurer only gives maximum 9 years and that's what it says on renewal.
How can I take my full NCB to next insurer ?
Also, I have tried Martins job picker tool but it doesn't really help.
I work in a large factory as an electrician. In the interests of commonality we where all referred to as 'Process Operators' which I could put in as job or even 'process worker' or at a push 'factory worker'. Now our job titles have become 'Associates'.
Associate does not appear in any job list, so, am I now an electrician or still an 'Operator' ?
How would an insurer view this in the event of a claim ? When you call for a quote the person you speak to rarely knows the reality and just says pick what most closely describes your roll.

Grumpy_chap

theshed said:

Not had a claim for over 20 years yet my current insurer only gives maximum 9 years and that's what it says on renewal.
How can I take my full NCB to next insurer ?

£289 per year is quite an affordable premium - you are still wise to shop around though.

You already take your full NCB by simply filling in the "9 years" box on the comparison site, as per your renewal.  You cannot prove anything else, nor do you need to.  The discount is based upon their recent deriving history, which works both ways:

• If someone is around 40 yo, then they are not penalised for misdemeanors in their youth
• If someone is turned 80 yo with slower reactions than they may once have had, the fact they drove impeccably when the children were in nappies is irrelevant.

As for your job roles, you can use your job title, or your profession / qualified role.  Be sensible and don't lie - a sensible approach to me is what would you say you do to your mates in the pub, or what would you say you do if presenting to impress?  In your case, you could put "electrician" (as that's your trade) or "process operator" (as that's your job title), or something similar such as "technician" (broader catch-all for trades) but probably not "electrical engineer" (as that implies a design role).

AdrianC

theshed said:

Not had a claim for over 20 years yet my current insurer only gives maximum 9 years and that's what it says on renewal.
How can I take my full NCB to next insurer ?

You are taking your full NCB.

Your current insurer recognises 9yrs as max. You have the max... You have 9yrs.
You probably only took 8-9yrs or however much to this insurer, because I bet previous insurers did the same. Some are as low as 6=max.

In practice, the difference between 9 and 20 (even if you could find an insurer that recognised 20, which none will do) is going to be nil.

Also, I have tried Martins job picker tool but it doesn't really help.
I work in a large factory as an electrician. In the interests of commonality we where all referred to as 'Process Operators' which I could put in as job or even 'process worker' or at a push 'factory worker'. Now our job titles have become 'Associates'.
Associate does not appear in any job list, so, am I now an electrician or still an 'Operator' ?
How would an insurer view this in the event of a claim ? When you call for a quote the person you speak to rarely knows the reality and just says pick what most closely describes your roll.

Describe your job, not the meaningless title. You're an electrician. You work in a factory, so you're a factory worker.

theshed

Thanks for the input.
I guess you are right with the NCB, it just  grates sometimes when doing comparisons and they offer a drop down list going to 25 years or sometimes more. And I think, that should be me. It should be an industry standard on 9 years or whatever they agree on. And again with the older driver, my Dad is now 83, not had a claim for at least 40 years yet his insurance is going up.
I occasionally go out for a drive with him. I find he is a safe driver but you can see the decline from when he was younger.

With the job title I am probably overthinking it. I just have an underlying worry if I was to make a claim and the insurer was to ask more questions they may not agree that an electrician in a factory is a factory worker or which ever way it falls.
I think factory worker it best to put as that is where I work.
On a slightly amusing and infuriating note. One insurer said they could not cover me as I work in the 'Motor Trade'.
I explained it was a car factory, completely different. But no. They seemed to have this idea that everyone in the factory joyrides around the streets in the cars as they come off the production line !