Cut Your Car Insurance In 4 Steps Discussion Area

sullly

recently bought a megane vvt 1600 , was insured with halifax so asked for a quote for fully comp with protected ncd , £395.

checked the confused .com search engine and got a quote from norwich union for £254 , so phoned halifax and asked them to price match that price as i would rather stay with my current insurer, the girl i spoke to told me that they do not have the facility to price match any other insurer's offer ,

what kind of service is that , so thats me changed to norwich union, who i was originally with 3 years ago .

jomio123

Trying to get insurance is driving me round the twist!
Tried BOTH these sites - unfortunately, the car we're buying isn't on the drop down menu & neither is daughter's occupation!

When I phone the ins.companies to check the quotes I've been sent ( by putting the nearest options) the quote suddenly bumps up by at least £200

any ideas please?

Bubba_Shaboo

Received my renewal from Liverpool Victoria (previously Frizzell) for my 2.0 Honda Accord - £528.24 (I pay by 12 monthly instalments and have been with them since Noah had that accident with a mountain in his Ark).

Used both comparison sites and opted for More Than through confused.com (not the cheapest but not far off and it was a name I was familiar and happy with). End result was a similar policy (£50 more on each excess) for a total of £326.16 (again 12 monthly payments).

Phoned Liverpool Victoria to haggle but was told the couldn't improve on their quote!!!

End result - one new More Than customer £202.08 better off.


:money:

Cheers,

Bubba

RichTbiscuit

Does anybody here know if all UK car insurers compulsorily have to provide an unlimited number of days of the year EU wide cover at minimum 3rd party liability insurance.

To be clear: I am not talking about the minimum number of days insurers advertise that they provide you with at a level to match the full policy you have with them. (normally this is 60 or 90 days.) Instead, I am wondering about the basic 3rd party insurance which I believe all insurers have to provide in the EU by EU law. Trying to get a sensible response from insurers themselves is proving to be very difficult. (I am guessing they all want to keep this compulsory cover rule quiet.) However, I could be wrong. Does anyone know for sure?

Many Thanks!

RichTbiscuit

I have been trying to dig out info to answer my own question and this is what I found at the official EU information site:

THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY COMMUNITY LAW
You can insure your car with any insurance company licensed to issue such policies in any Member State of the European Union. This entitlement applies both to compulsory insurance policies in the field of civil liability and to optional insurance policies covering supplementary risks (such as theft, fire, etc.).

If you wish to take out an insurance policy for compulsory civil liability with an insurance company licensed and established in another Member State, the company is entitled to sell you such a policy only if it satisfies the following conditions:

The insurance supervisory authority of the Member State where the vehicle is registered has been notified by the supervisory authority of the company’s home Member State that the company intends to underwrite motor insurance risks in that Member State;
it must be a member of the national motor vehicle insurers' bureau and the guarantee fund of the Member State in which your vehicle is registered;
if it does not have an establishment in the Member State in which your vehicle is registered, the company must have designated a representative authorised to settle claims in that Member State.
You are obliged by law to take out insurance against personal injury and material damage caused by your vehicle. This guarantee covers all the passengers in your vehicle including the members of your family. The green card or the insurance certificate issued by your insurer on conclusion of the contract is taken as proof that you have fulfilled your insurance obligations with regard to civil liability for motor vehicles.

This insurance covers your civil liability throughout the European Union, no matter where the accident happens. Thus under no circumstances may you be required to pay a supplement for this mandatory civil liability insurance when you travel to other countries of the European Union. When you travel to another Member State, presentation of your green card or your insurance certificate is not normally necessary because the licence plates of your car are taken as evidence that you have taken out compulsory civil liability insurance in your Member State.
But if you also want insurance against other hazards, such as fire or theft abroad, the insurance undertaking is entitled to demand a supplement if the cover under the insurance contract is limited to the Member State in which you reside.

The quote is from here:

http://europa.eu.int/youreurope/nav/en/citizens/factsheets/uk/car/insurance/en.html

The key bit I think is the section I have emboldened - particularly:

"under no circumstances may you be required to pay a supplement for this mandatory civil liability insurance when you travel to other countries of the European Union."

It sounds like the car insurers compulsorily have to provide year round civil liability insurance (Third party - I guess) for all EU countries and are not allowed to charge extra for this. This would suggest that the days abroad allowance which they mention refers to fully comp and fire and theft benefits.

Ok - I am no legal expert and would really appreciate anyone who knows about this to help. I reckon it is interesting info for those who want cover to stretch whilst abroad...

Also how many people actually tell their insurer everytime they go abroad now? You no longer need a green card for EU countries so what exactly are you gaining from doing so. Presently I do ring but would like to cut the hassle of telephoning every time I leave the country if I knew that I already had cover.

I have tried getting a specific answer to this question from several insurers but they are all in the end very vague.

Any thoughts about this one anyone?

Rave

Just wanted to say: confused.com just saved me over £120 on my renewal quote, and I'd not heard of them until I read Martin's article. Many thanks mate! I'd have spent the rest of the month properly skint had I had I not got such a cheap deal.:money: :dance:

alinort

Hi, Just to say thanks for the advice; read it on web and also caught this one on the radio. My car insurance is due in 2 weeks and had renewal quote. Registered with confused.com and got further quotes. Then I rang my existing insurer and told them what figure I had been quoted by another company and what terms; they then matched the quote, saving me the hassle of registering with another insurer AND saving me £70 on the original renewal figure!

:T

Tianguis

I know many of you will not believe me but HSBC gave me a very competitive quote on my car insurance (also a Honda); despite having tried confused.com and others, I 'negotiated' a deal and found out, much to my (and now your) interest, that they have at least a 17.99 flexibility if you have a better quote. Please note that they didn't check the validity of my quote. I know this doesn't sound much, but hey, rather in my pocket etc... This is interesting because they allow that the 'legal cover' can be paid by them and not me!! Be warned though, the info was garnered by from a girl that realised afterwards that she shouldn't have told me. I wonder though, are there other 'freebies' to be had from the giant?

chillipepper_3

Anyone renewing between july and september (infact you even can do this september up to 90 days before your renewal!) may want to have a look at this promotion draw now in the competitions forum.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=702507#post702507

Every single day a person that gets a Quote will be entered into the draw for a years policy costing £1, but you have to tell them you got the number from a branch of the HALIFAX and ensure the operator logs the branch name against your Quote. You can only enter the once and winners are notified within 5 days.

kaziewazie

i tried confused the cheapest i got fully comp was £629
liverpool victoria quoted me £524 over the phone
this is on a provisional