MSE advice opposite to my experience on car insurance renewal

bigpappa

So car insurance was £490 last year and renewal is £580 today but thats still cheaper than using comparison sites - so the advice about never auto renewing seems odd.

Or am I doing something wrong.

pramsay13

The advice is don't auto-renew without checking comparison sites.
You have checked and the comparison is showing other sites are more expensive so go with your current company.

mr_stripey

the advice (generally) is to compare  you renewal quote with other quotes and select the best one (based on price, quality, level of service).

If that happens to be your existing insurer, then all good.

CliveOfIndia

The advice doesn't say "Don't stick with your current provider".  It means don't blindly accept the auto-renewal without checking the competition first.  If your current provider happens to still be the cheapest, then great.

One thing to check carefully first though - make sure you're comparing like with like.  When looking at other quotes, do they provide the same level of cover?  Do they charge the same excess (both compulsory and voluntary).  The excess can make a big difference to the premiums, and different insurers will set a different default voluntary excess (which you can adjust) and have different compulsory excesses.  Do they provide a courtesy car?  Do they cover lost keys?  Do they cover windscreen repair/replacement?

There are a whole host of variables, which may or may not be relevant to your needs.  And different insurers will have some cover by default whilst others will charge extra for it.

WellKnownSid

Me last year £176. Renewal last week £204. Comparison sites £222.
Comparison sites bad.

Wife last year £203. Renewal this week £244. Comparison £151.
Comparison sites good.

Grey_Critic

There will always be an exception to the rules - count yourself lucky there are many who are paying a lot more this year.

forgotmyname

MSE advice is correct, dont just let auto renew happen without checking.

Seems insurers want to hold onto customers this year, myself, mum and daughter all got cheaper renewals than quotes on
comparison sites etc.   Direct Line used to be competitive and would drop the price if I found a cheaper quote but
one year they wanted £1000 where I paid around £300 the previous year and have never been close since.

tifo

WellKnownSid said:

Me last year £176. Renewal last week £204. Comparison sites £222.
Comparison sites bad.

Wife last year £203. Renewal this week £244. Comparison £151.
Comparison sites good.

Never seen these numbers with my quotes ..... (min £600 for decades)

CliveOfIndia

tifo said:

WellKnownSid said:

Me last year £176. Renewal last week £204. Comparison sites £222.
Comparison sites bad.

Wife last year £203. Renewal this week £244. Comparison £151.
Comparison sites good.

Never seen these numbers with my quotes ..... (min £600 for decades)

You can't possibly compare your quotes to those received by Sid.  You drive different cars, live in different areas, are different ages, have different driving histories, and there will be dozens and dozens of variables.  That's like saying "The quote I got for my Ferrari was much more than my Fiesta".

All you can do is make sure you shop around each year to make sure you're getting the best deal.

gbhxu

And don't forget to use cashback websites too