Car insurance

boots_babe

Until Covid, we never paid more than £400 for our insurance. Last year this went up to ~£600. Have just shopped around and cheapest renewal on offer was just over £2000!!! 

So for the first time ever, I've had to take the renewal quote with our existing insurer, at the 'bargain' price of £1100.

Mr.Generous

I've changed my car - new vehicle is in group 34 so I expected a hike. Just over £400 which I wasn't pleased about until I read this thread.

DullGreyGuy

Mr.Generous said:

I've changed my car - new vehicle is in group 34 so I expected a hike. Just over £400 which I wasn't pleased about until I read this thread.

Dont get hung up on groups, when looking at a group 30 and group 50 car, with the later being three times the price of the former the Group 50 was much cheaper to insure. 

Insurance groups are about how expensive the car is to repair etc, insurers also take into account the sort of person that owns them (through stats not people speculating) which can heavily skew the results

Jaybee_16

I'm insured with Saga on the 3 year fixed deal. Recently changed the car and premium increased by £40. Asked what the cost would be if I was applying as a new customer and told it would be £200 more than I'm currently paying. Currently on year 2 so not looking forward to 2025.

Peeved108

My renewal car insurance quote increased from £452 to £2884, a 638% increase.  Insurance customer service team could offer no explanation or justification.  No claims made in the year, full NCD, car a year older.  Via all the likely search engines, most competitive, like for like offer received was £1282.  A 284% price increase.  

I'm driving a 12 month old hybrid.  Can anyone offer any explanation as to the horrendous cost of car insurance? 

I am so appalled I have complained in writing to the FCA & HMG Treasury Sub Committee, along with joining this forum.  If you feel like me, I implore you to get vocal & highlight the scandal to anyone who will listen!

DullGreyGuy

Peeved108 said:
Can anyone offer any explanation as to the horrendous cost of car insurance?  

Not without knowing every detail about you and having access to all the tools a typical motor insurer does. Outside that its talking about generalities but they explain an average 40% increase not your level of increase.

When you shopped around last year were most prices around the £452 you accepted or were they generally higher? 

Peeved108 said:

I am so appalled I have complained in writing to the FCA & HMG Treasury Sub Committee, along with joining this forum.  If you feel like me, I implore you to get vocal & highlight the scandal to anyone who will listen!

The FCA only deals with whistleblowing and reporting of unauthorised firms/individuals from the public. They redirect everything else to the Financial Ombudsman reminding you to complain to the organisation first. 

NINJA59

Peeved108 said:

My renewal car insurance quote increased from £452 to £2884, a 638% increase.  Insurance customer service team could offer no explanation or justification.  No claims made in the year, full NCD, car a year older.  Via all the likely search engines, most competitive, like for like offer received was £1282.  A 284% price increase.  

I'm driving a 12 month old hybrid.  Can anyone offer any explanation as to the horrendous cost of car insurance? 

I am so appalled I have complained in writing to the FCA & HMG Treasury Sub Committee, along with joining this forum.  If you feel like me, I implore you to get vocal & highlight the scandal to anyone who will listen!

Impossible to say really as that is signifcantly above many others at a guess: 
1) You no longer fit their sweet spot and this is them trying to tell you to go elsewhere
2) The vehicle in question is considered an issue for them, you say hybrid, but is it anything LR, BMW (or I might say) even a Toyota RAV4 or Lexus RX/NX of some format? 

Sealate

DullGreyGuy said:

Peeved108 said:
Can anyone offer any explanation as to the horrendous cost of car insurance?  

Not without knowing every detail about you and having access to all the tools a typical motor insurer does. Outside that its talking about generalities but they explain an average 40% increase not your level of increase.

When you shopped around last year were most prices around the £452 you accepted or were they generally higher? 

Peeved108 said:

I am so appalled I have complained in writing to the FCA & HMG Treasury Sub Committee, along with joining this forum.  If you feel like me, I implore you to get vocal & highlight the scandal to anyone who will listen!

The FCA only deals with whistleblowing and reporting of unauthorised firms/individuals from the public. They redirect everything else to the Financial Ombudsman reminding you to complain to the organisation first. 

I was told by someone working in the industry (no proof I'm afraid) that the real reason is EVs.  They get written off easily because of two reasons.  Risk of future battery fires and lack of experienced mechanics.  ICE car insurance is subsidising or paying for this.  True EV only insurance would be so high as to deter the shift to EVs. I asked if Insurance could be separated but since ICE vehicles could be at fault with an electric vehicle we are screwed. The answer to the huge increases are down to the EV shift.  It will continue to get much worse, I am told.  My gripe is that an EV accident will always include an EV whereas an ICE vehicle may not.

DullGreyGuy

Sealate said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Peeved108 said:
Can anyone offer any explanation as to the horrendous cost of car insurance?  

Not without knowing every detail about you and having access to all the tools a typical motor insurer does. Outside that its talking about generalities but they explain an average 40% increase not your level of increase.

When you shopped around last year were most prices around the £452 you accepted or were they generally higher? 

Peeved108 said:

I am so appalled I have complained in writing to the FCA & HMG Treasury Sub Committee, along with joining this forum.  If you feel like me, I implore you to get vocal & highlight the scandal to anyone who will listen!

The FCA only deals with whistleblowing and reporting of unauthorised firms/individuals from the public. They redirect everything else to the Financial Ombudsman reminding you to complain to the organisation first. 

I was told by someone working in the industry (no proof I'm afraid) that the real reason is EVs.  They get written off easily because of two reasons.  Risk of future battery fires and lack of experienced mechanics.  ICE car insurance is subsidising or paying for this.  True EV only insurance would be so high as to deter the shift to EVs. I asked if Insurance could be separated but since ICE vehicles could be at fault with an electric vehicle we are screwed. The answer to the huge increases are down to the EV shift.  It will continue to get much worse, I am told.  My gripe is that an EV accident will always include an EV whereas an ICE vehicle may not.

First party risks (ie you own an EV) will be priced according to experience and so if EVs are more expensive to repair etc then premiums will be higher. There is no government mandate or such that says EVs must have preferential pricing so no cross subsidisation beyond the basic concept of the common pool in insurance.

Third party risks (ie you hit an EV irrespective of what you own) will impact everyone and so the increase of EVs is both driving up the average price of a vehicle and probably repair costs, I've seen stats of them being circa 25% more expensive on average claim. However TPPD is only one part of an insurer's total claims experience and not close to being the most significant part (own vehicle damage) and only 17% of new cars are hybrid or electric so it doesn't add up to be the driver of 45% premium increases. 

Having a quick look at the predictions from the likes of EY, PWC etc for the UK Motor Insurance industry they all predicted circa 45% increases and not one mentions EVs as the driver.

Don't know what the person does in the industry but I think they are grossly overestimating the EV impact compared to say the over 30% increase in secondhand car values seen in 21/22