Car insurance needed

andygb

I have managed to cancel the auto renewal on my car insurance, so am looking at insuring our latest purchase. I have had good quotes from the following - Go Skippy (never heard of them before), Churchill, Direct Line, Sheila's wheels and Tesco. Would anyone recommend any of these?

flaneurs_lobster

Well, I've used two from your list to insure my car, reasoning was that they were the cheapest quote from a company that I had actually heard of.

By recommend, do you mean from people who have actually made a claim on a policy from one of these companies?

andygb

flaneurs_lobster said:

Well, I've used two from your list to insure my car, reasoning was that they were the cheapest quote from a company that I had actually heard of.

By recommend, do you mean from people who have actually made a claim on a policy from one of these companies?

Just ease of using the sites, value for money, easy to contact (One Call Insurance were not easy to deal with), because like your self, I will go for the cheapest quotes. All the ones I mentioned, were within £10 of each other. Cheers for replying.

MyRealNameToo

andygb said:

I have managed to cancel the auto renewal on my car insurance, so am looking at insuring our latest purchase. I have had good quotes from the following - Go Skippy (never heard of them before), Churchill, Direct Line, Sheila's wheels and Tesco. Would anyone recommend any of these?

Go Skippy is a broker, the other four are direct insurers. Churchill and DL are both brand names of UK Insurance these days (they used to be sister companies but many such firms consolidated to reduce regulatory burden). 

There are those that hate certain insurers, some rationally and others less so but mainly based on a single personal experience but realistically everyone messes up occasionally and a single incident really isnt really how you should compare a massive corporation. 

I've been insured by 3 of them, never made a claim on them so can only really comment on their pricing and thats a very personal thing. 

flaneurs_lobster

andygb said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Well, I've used two from your list to insure my car, reasoning was that they were the cheapest quote from a company that I had actually heard of.

By recommend, do you mean from people who have actually made a claim on a policy from one of these companies?

Just ease of using the sites, value for money, easy to contact (One Call Insurance were not easy to deal with), because like your self, I will go for the cheapest quotes. All the ones I mentioned, were within £10 of each other. Cheers for replying.

OK, Tesco website is easy to deal with, think there's a small discount for Clubcard holders. Direct Line trouble with registering online, maybe linked to long-ago policy - call centre sorted OK.

sheramber

Had write off claim with Tesco . Easy to deal with and happy either way pay out.

Eve n better was the fact that renewal next year for replacement car that was newer model, so worth more, was cheaper than the previous year, despite the claim. 

Don't know how they are to deal with now but you can make changes online with no charge. 

MyRealNameToo

sheramber said:

Had write off claim with Tesco . Easy to deal with and happy either way pay out.

Eve n better was the fact that renewal next year for replacement car that was newer model, so worth more, was cheaper than the previous year, despite the claim. 

Don't know how they are to deal with now but you can make changes online with no charge. 

How long ago was that @sheramber? Tescos have been through a few iterations starting out as a JV with Direct Line Group, then moving to another affinity partner before finally creating their own insurance company.

andygb

Just been on GoCompare, showing £376 for the Tesco. When I click on it and go to the Tesco site it is £398. Has anyone experienced this before, because I think it is a bit cheeky.

sheramber

MyRealNameToo said:

sheramber said:

Had write off claim with Tesco . Easy to deal with and happy either way pay out.

Eve n better was the fact that renewal next year for replacement car that was newer model, so worth more, was cheaper than the previous year, despite the claim. 

Don't know how they are to deal with now but you can make changes online with no charge. 

How long ago was that @sheramber? Tescos have been through a few iterations starting out as a JV with Direct Line Group, then moving to another affinity partner before finally creating their own insurance company.

It would be around 2010.

Also found them very good when my husband died , one month after renewing in 2019. They continued that policy as an executry and then credited me with my husband’s NCB when I took out a policy in my own name. 

Left them last year as found a policy cheaper elsewhere. 

MyRealNameToo

That would have been during their time with Fortis (who renamed to Aegis). They became their own underwriter in 2021 but suspect that was them just buying Aegis out of the deal so would have been fairly invisible from a customer perspective. 

davidbrooks55

Congrats on snagging some solid quotes after ditching that auto-renewal—smart move, saves a headache every time.

I've dealt with a couple of these over the years, and honestly, it really depends on what you're after (price vs. ease if you ever need to claim). Go Skippy's super cheap, which is tempting, but I've heard mixed stuff—some mates love the no-fuss setup, but others gripe about long waits on the phone or surprise fees if things go sideways. Churchill and Direct Line feel more reliable to me; Direct Line especially handled a minor bump claim for me a while back without too much drama, and their app's handy for updates. Sheila's Wheels is fine if you're cool with the basics (and hey, open to everyone now), but I skipped it once because the excess felt steep. Tesco's my current one—decent Clubcard perks if you shop there, and they paid out quick on a windscreen chip last year. Just double-check the small print on excesses and any add-ons, as they can sneak up.