Car Insurance Renewal - ALWAYS Challenge!!

sbradnam

So the RAC sent me a renewal quote for my car insurance (£298), claiming in the email that it was competitive, and similar to what a new customer would get - it was a £70 increase on last years, and I have no claims/issues.

Logged on to the RAC insurance portal, said I did not want to renew, because of cost, and was IMMEDIATELY offered an £80 discount on the price…….go figure!!

Anyway, used comparison tool from here, and got a deal with all the same features, for my 6 month old car/2 drivers for £170 with Swinton. No brainer.

Shop around folks!!!

Best wishes, Stuart

IOWJJBTM2025

Thats great news - over £100 saving. I remember Martin Lewis saying on the TV that there is no reward for loyalty any longer. Always use a comparison tool to check that you are not paying more than you need to.

luci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657492/car-insurance-renewal-always-challenge

I have always got new quotes every year. Sometimes they could beat the renewal price, sometimes not. I now need to get new quotes every year, as I switch the car insurance between myself and the OH to keep both our NCD.

I have never gone with the lowest price. I choose the insurer based on the cover provided and whether they are a respected company. Some insurers don't include windscreen cover. Even though I enter my criteria on comparison sites, the some of the results ignore them. I opt for a low excess, the results from some companies have a much higher excess.

Ms_Chocaholic

Don't forget to also use a cashback site, I have just renewed and used Top Cashback and am expecting £45 cashback on top of the saving compared to auto renew price. I know TC/Quidco aren't guaranteed but I've always been lucky.

eschaton

I work on the NEVER challenge philosophy.

If any company wants to rip you off, then take your business elsewhere.

Don’t reward any business with custom that tries to rip you off.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81904740#Comment_81904740

Any longer? For decades there were penalties for loyalty, if you only consider premium, but for Home and Motor that was broadly made illegal a few years ago.

There have been a few posts here recently actually saying the opposite, that their renewal quote was cheaper than anything they could find elsewhere.

When the subject moves to claims however things can be a little different. A claim from someone who's just bought a policy is treated with more suspicion than a loyal customer. Certainly doesnt necessarily happen every time but where something is borderline some do consider the length they've been a customer before deciding if to accept or decline.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81905566#Comment_81905566

When my husband called to cancel his renewal the company offered to meet the lower price he had found elsewhere. He replied no thanks. You had your chance.

chrisw

My son's car insurance renewal was £250 for the year but the comparison sites came up with £220. I said leave it where it is but he insisted on taking the cheaper quote. When he cancelled the auto renewal online, it immediately knocked £90 off to make it £160 for the year. Which he accepted. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face!

IOWJJBTM2025

Wouldn't it be great if we could trust our insurance supplier to just give us the best quote to renew. In most cases they are simply renewing the insurance policy for a known person that has not had a claim in the last 12 months and only difference is that all the named drivers and the vehicle have just grown older by a year.

If we did automatically get a best quote to renew, we would not have to spend time endlessly searching for quotes, getting multiple credit checks on us and our personal information being uploaded to multiple databases for companies to sell to marketing companies or for hackers to steal our information when their websites are not found to be as secure as they had thought.

After we get our alternative quotes we have to check cover, excess amount, windscreen cover, courtesy car and the essential legal cover. Once we get the quote we are happy with we then have to pay and wait for the threat letter saying that unless you send a proof of no claims withing 2 weeks they will cancel the policy. So now we have to dig out the information from the previous insurer and see if their is something that is good enough to send that show proof of no claims.

If only the insurance companies had access to a database so that they could see that you have been driving for over 10 years without any claim.

At my last renewal I did mention that I had not walked under any ladders and had crossed the path of a black cat a few times. Not sure if this was actually factored into my lower cost or it could have been me not wanting the legal cover.

Rant over.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81906059#Comment_81906059

Its nothing to do with trust, if you are with Direct Line this year then at renewal they can only state what they are prepared to offer terms at, they can't say what Admiral, LV or anyone else is going to charge you. I mean you could use a broker who will then check their whole panel of insurers at renewal but they still can't check DL and Admiral as these companies dont sell via brokers.

So what's your proposal? DL has to do all the quotes with their competitors for you? That there should be some central db that contains live pricing for everyone selling insurance? These days AI is involved in setting prices so can't see how you are going to replicate that. Who's going to pay for it?

How are you factoring the different terms from different providers? More relevant for Home than Motor but applies to both. For example if seller A is offering a premium for £400 but seller B is offering the premium for £380 but if you claim there is an additional £300 excess if you choose not to use their approved repairer… is that worth the £20 saving or would you rather pay more and have free choice of repairer? Ask a hundred people and almost certainly not all will choose the same answer.

IOWJJBTM2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81906092#Comment_81906092

I am sure that we have all got different experiences. I understand that the insurance company is in business to make money, but I was talking in a thread where the OP had an increase in cost for renewal of £70 and the insurance company made a claim that the renewal cost was competitive. When the OP refused the renewal the cost was immediately reduced by £80. The OP then did a search and got a quote £48 less from another insurer with the same features.

Therefore the insurer has been named and shamed. It claimed the quote was competitive - it clearly wasn't.

The administration involved in onboarding a new client rather than retaining an excellent existing client, you would have thought they would want to keep the client by offering a competitive price, not chancing their luck to see if they just renew.

The insurance company spent money sending out renewal quotes, proof of no claims, offering a reduced cost and still lost a known valued client. If they do not know what a competitive quote is and how to keep valued customers who have not made any claims then they have got something wrong in my opinion.

If an insurance company was to get a reputation for looking after existing clients, and not having to pay commission to comparison websites, it would not be a bad thing would it?

There are clearly people who are insulted and vow never to use an insurance company again if they are not happy. Some people will even write on forums like this one and name and shame the companies along with their not so great marketing strategies.

So what is my proposal - look after your client, offer them a competitive renewal fee and therefore avoid having to pay commission to comparison sites - the cost you will need to pass on to other prospective clients who are looking for insurance.