Car insurance up for renewal – need advice

shoe_dog

My car insurance is up for renewal in 2 weeks and i want to make sure i’m getting the best deal but i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the options available when selecting the right policy and cover.

I'm currently paying £720 annually to 1st Central Premier for fully comprehensive cover including Key Assist, Legal Assistance and Breakdown Cover (UK roadside, home & recovery).

Questions are…

• There seems to be a number of different policy types available including pay-per-mile, telematics, plug and drive etc. What are peoples views on these versus a normal policy and is there such a thing as a ‘normal’ policy anymore?
  
  
• Is it a good idea to include all the extras i have been doing i.e. legal assistance, key assist, breakdown cover and should i do it all under the same policy with the same insurer or split things out for the best deal?
  
  
• With regards to breakdown cover, is it worth going with EU cover too in case we did a short road trip in Europe next year or is it more economical to take out individual trip insurance if / when the time comes?
  
  
• Should i be looking to get quotes from my home insurance provider (Admiral) and could i expect a better deal doing it this way?

Any tips on finding the best insurance and picking the right add-ons would be great thanks!

Bigwheels1111

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.
Fully comp,Legal,hire car and protected bonus.
£235 parked and paid upfront, then 5.4p a mile I drive, billed at the end of the month 28th like a mobile contract.
150 mile max charge per day. 10,000 mile charge limit per year. Anymore is free.
All I did was plug in a little black box into the obd 2 port and leave it there, fourth year with them.
Got AA cover with 3 members of my family.

SaverRate

shoe_dog said:

My car insurance is up for renewal in 2 weeks and i want to make sure i’m getting the best deal but i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the options available when selecting the right policy and cover.

I'm currently paying £720 annually to 1st Central Premier for fully comprehensive cover including Key Assist, Legal Assistance and Breakdown Cover (UK roadside, home & recovery).

Questions are…

• There seems to be a number of different policy types available including pay-per-mile, telematics, plug and drive etc. What are peoples views on these versus a normal policy and is there such a thing as a ‘normal’ policy anymore?
  
  
• Is it a good idea to include all the extras i have been doing i.e. legal assistance, key assist, breakdown cover and should i do it all under the same policy with the same insurer or split things out for the best deal?
  
  
• With regards to breakdown cover, is it worth going with EU cover too in case we did a short road trip in Europe next year or is it more economical to take out individual trip insurance if / when the time comes?
  
  
• Should i be looking to get quotes from my home insurance provider (Admiral) and could i expect a better deal doing it this way?

Any tips on finding the best insurance and picking the right add-ons would be great thanks!

Personally wouldn't bother with key assist but depends how likely you are to lose your keys etc, would keep legal cover and would compare prices for breakdown cover.  Look at AA,RAC, Greenflag, Start Rescue, Britannia Rescue etc. 

I would also recommend hire car plus cover. Alot of insurers do this and basically means you can get a hire car if your car is written off (most policies only cover courtesy car when if for repair as standard) for a set period. Check the working of this policy and decide if its beneficial to you as not always beneficial depending on individual circumstances. 

How careful of a driver are you? You will then be able to answer if plug and drive, telemantics is suitable. 

How many miles do you do per year? Is it the same every year? Does it work out cheaper? This will answer if its suitable for pay per mile policies. 

If no to the above policies then go for a 'normal' policy.

Cant answer on the european breakdown cover as never looked into it to be honest. Why dont you get some quotes for short term cover for your specific car then make the decision?

Your home insurer wont necessarily be the cheapest for car insurance. Go onto a comparison site and find the best value policy, Note - This does not mean the cheapest in price!  you could then go back to 1st central and ask if they could match the price. Have done this on my sister in laws policy at the start of the year.  

Top tip - Compare all of the comparison sites. The same insurer may be cheaper on one site than another. Check cashback sites like top cashback but they arn't guaranteed so don't rely on it - dont buy a policy if cashback makes it cheaper than another one as you may not get the cashback! 

shoe_dog

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.

We averaged about 4000 miles this year which will probably be the same next year, that's relatively low milage right?

shoe_dog

SaverRate said:

How careful of a driver are you? You will then be able to answer if plug and drive, telemantics is suitable. 

In terms of speed reasonably careful yes but we live in central London and the roads constantly switching between 20mph and 30mph limits can easily catch you out. We had a black box policy once and it was stressful. What other criteria other than speed do plug and drive and telematic policies monitor?

SaverRate said:

How many miles do you do per year? Is it the same every year? Does it work out cheaper? This will answer if its suitable for pay per mile policies. 

About 5000 on average i'd say.

SaverRate

shoe_dog said:

SaverRate said:

How careful of a driver are you? You will then be able to answer if plug and drive, telemantics is suitable. 

In terms of speed reasonably careful yes but we live in central London and the roads constantly switching between 20mph and 30mph limits can easily catch you out. We had a black box policy once and it was stressful. What other criteria other than speed do plug and drive and telematic policies monitor?

SaverRate said:

How many miles do you do per year? Is it the same every year? Does it work out cheaper? This will answer if its suitable for pay per mile policies. 

About 5000 on average i'd say.

Okay so you need to get a quote (comparison sites will show this) for pay per mile, telemantics, plug and drive and a normal policy. Nobody can tell you if its cheaper without you doing this.

If its stressful for telemantics and plug and drive then dont go for one of those policies. 

Bigwheels1111

shoe_dog said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.

We averaged about 4000 miles this year which will probably be the same next year, that's relatively low milage right?

Yes quite low, when I do high mileage it’s all on one day so get charged for 150 miles max.
5.4p x 150 = £8.10p.

3000 chargeable miles at 5.4p = £162 + £235 = £397.00 for the year.
A referral gets the referrer £100 of free miles.

The tracker is good, it’s been used to prove I was not at hospital parking bay for 16 hours and Tesco for 47 hours.
Saved me paying parking tickets.

A few of my statements.

jimjames

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.
Fully comp,Legal,hire car and protected bonus.
£235 parked and paid upfront, then 5.4p a mile I drive, billed at the end of the month 28th like a mobile contract.

I guess that's fine if you've got a high premium initially. I did 300 miles last year and my standard policy was £140 so ByMiles would have been vastly more expensive.

Bigwheels1111

jimjames said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.
Fully comp,Legal,hire car and protected bonus.
£235 parked and paid upfront, then 5.4p a mile I drive, billed at the end of the month 28th like a mobile contract.

I guess that's fine if you've got a high premium initially. I did 300 miles last year and my standard policy was £140 so ByMiles would have been vastly more expensive.

Yes, mine is very high and I don’t know why.£750-£1000 quotes if not more.
1 at fault claim, 10 years protected bonus, over 50 and only group 19 car.
Had lots of more powerful cars that cost half the price to insure.
My 2.0l Vectra Sri 180 hp estate was £200 fully comp. Group 21.

shoe_dog

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.

I looked into Bymiles, the quote still coming out around £700 a year based on an estimated 4,000 miles. With my current insurer i can get fully comp plus legal assist, key assist, breakdown cover, courtesy car and more all included for £720. 

Bigwheels1111

shoe_dog said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use Bymiles, works great for low milage users.

I looked into Bymiles, the quote still coming out around £700 a year based on an estimated 4,000 miles. With my current insurer i can get fully comp plus legal assist, key assist, breakdown cover, courtesy car and more all included for £720. 

Its pot luck with them.

My car is not covered with them, as black box does not fit. Glove box will not close.

It does when they provide a type of flat scart lead.