Anyone recommend a good car insurance company please?

blackstar

Please can someone recommend a good company to get a quote from directly and/or a quotation website as my wife is getting a new car and wants to change insurance company?

I never know what's best when using a quotation website and getting a quote and going though it that way or to then see who gives the best quote and then to goto the company directly?

Advise most appreciated please 

Grumpy_chap

This guide might help
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/

Stubod

..just go on a comparison site and select the quote with the lowest price from a company name that you recognise the name of?

Bigphil1474

I wouldn't do what Stubod says. Do all the comparison sites but look closely at the company ratings and reviews. Some are cheap for a reason e.g. they are a waste of space when it comes to claiming, or they are impossible to get hold of if you need to make changes, etc. I tend to stick with my current provider unless I can make significant savings elsewhere. It's worth doing a bit of work to get the right deal - sometimes going via comparison sites is cheaper, sometimes direct is cheaper. Try both. Might mean a few hours in front of the computer, but should be worth it in the end. 

I'm with Liverpool Victoria (LV) - if you are a Unison member you get a discount on the price. Been with them a few years and their renewal prices have always only gone up by a few quid, rather than some I've had before that go up by £100's on renewal. I've not had to make a claim, but found them easy to deal with when I had to change my vehicle in 2020 even during lockdown.

blackstar

I have just spent alot on my new car (well the cheapest new car you can find but still alot for me) and really don't mind to pay a little extra in insurance in return for a company who is good at customer service and who doesn't make things hard when making a claim. 

blackstar

Looked at reviews on trustpoilet on LV and also AVIVA and vast majority of reviews on making a claim were diabolical, maybe that's the same for all companies if I was to look or maybe its just because those who had a bad experience when making a claim spend time writing a review. 

blackstar

Anyone know which.co.uk ratings for car insurance?

DB1904

blackstar said:

Anyone know which.co.uk ratings for car insurance?

What's wrong with your current insurance company?

Ebe_Scrooge

I've been with Direct Line for a few years now - I always shop around every year, but their prices are always very competitive.  I've never had to make a claim, but their customer services have always been excellent when I've needed to make changes (adding temporary drivers, changing cars and whatnot).

Sandtree

Bigphil1474 said:

I'm with Liverpool Victoria (LV) - if you are a Unison member you get a discount on the price. Been with them a few years and their renewal prices have always only gone up by a few quid, rather than some I've had before that go up by £100's on renewal. I've not had to make a claim, but found them easy to deal with when I had to change my vehicle in 2020 even during lockdown.

LV= car insurance is no longer part of LV however having been sold to Allianz a couple of years ago

Car insurance is the ultimate commodity distress purchase, 99% of people buy on price and will switch from a known brand to some offshore unknown to save less than £5 per year. Even people buying £100k cars still buy the cheapest insurance they can find.

Difference between the product itself is generally not that big until you get into high net worth car insurance and most of those policies are limited to sales to those holding HNW home insurance with the same insurer. You are therefore looking at minor differences (eg if it has Driving Other Cars) and service levels.

Personally find the Which? scores amusing given I've seen them rank 3 brands from the stable as H/M/L directly in line with the claimed proposition (ie high end, mass market, budget) and explicitly comment on the claims experience despite the fact that all three brands were serviced by the same claims teams which had no differentiation between the brands. 

Admiral is one brand to be careful with if your car has any optional extras, even factory fitted ones. There are a variety of bottom feeding intermediaries out there that will check every date you give them and any discrepancies come with a notable bill for processing your mistake

motorguy

blackstar said:

Please can someone recommend a good company to get a quote from directly and/or a quotation website as my wife is getting a new car and wants to change insurance company?

I never know what's best when using a quotation website and getting a quote and going though it that way or to then see who gives the best quote and then to goto the company directly?

Advise most appreciated please 

As per Grumpy Chap's comment, there is a guide on MSE for this.

One thing i would add is that many of the comparison sites also have a customer rating for the insurance provider including pay out rate if there is a claim, etc.

Personally, i use the MSE ordering of checking for the best prices, i check any rating there is and i try to stick to a brand i've heard of.