Cut Your Car Insurance In 4 Steps Discussion Area

hostertlady

what do you mean a forum for my car? on moneysaving or just clio site.

shudder

bruirn wrote: »

Got a cheaper quote than my existing insurer and decided to go with the new company and paid a deposit. My existing insurer has since come back with a much cheaper offer. If I stuck with my existing insurer would I lose my deposit?

If the cover hasn't started yet you should be entitled to a full refund. If the cover has started and it is within 14 days of the inception you should be entitled to a pro-rata refund under the 'cooling off' period so long as you haven't made a claim

shudder

Grieve wrote: »

Having just sold my car, I rang Tesco to cancel my car insurance. They told me that there would be a cancellation charge, broadly equivalent to one month's premium. I have looked through the documentation, and this charge is stated on the policy schedule.

Can they do this? It seems mightily unfair to me. They have been happily collecting my monthly premiums for about 4 years during which I have made no claims. Also, given I pay monthly, they add on a whopping credit charge.

It is fair as the charge is disclosed, you should also check with any insurer the basis on which they set up the DD as some of them are like a credit arrangement and you can still be liable for the full annual premium.

shudder

Bristim wrote: »

Hi, without wanting to duplicate, I have started a relevant new thread regarding car insurance and which companies offer the best value - based on a section of AUTO EXPRESS (20 June issue). Just thought worth mentioning, otherwise it might be missed and I guess everyone wants the best value as well as the cheapest to save money in the long and short term.

Hope that helps!

One problem is that a company may offer the best value this month and not another. Insurance companies tend to alter the rates charge dependant on their cash reserves to meet claims. This can happen monthly or I have even heard of daily for certain direct underwriters.

shudder

RobertinHerts wrote: »

My wife called the Post Office Insurance to renew, not much more than AA so less hassle to remain with the Post Office, and informed them of our change of address.

They wanted extra for the new postcode and £16 for a documentation charge. That works out at about a pound a day as that's about what's left on the existing policy. Do other car insurance companies make a similar charge?

Robert

Car insurance policies have a rating factor for the area in which you live mainly dependant on the crime rate although it can include demographics for accidents.

So in answer to your question yes it is the market norm and can differ considerably for only moving half a mile up the road.

As for the admin charge you will be hard pushed in todays insurance age to find a company that doesn't apply admin charges. Some companies charge up to £25!

Tika_2

Martin's advice is that a new policy from the same company may be better than renewal. I found this to be true with the AA - my renewal is about £400 but a new online quote was £264. However, they state on their site right at the bottom in small writing that the online quote is for new, not existing customers. Therefore, is it legal and in the event of a claim, would they pay or use this as an excuse not to?

WestonDave

Just wiped 50% (or £300) off our car insurance bill - we've got two basic cars both renewing around the same time - went screen scraping (via confused) for mine and one of the cheapest was Admiral - there was a note at the bottom mentioning Admiral multicar which you had to go direct to as they don't quote via confused. Upshot was a quote that was way below what I expected because we were doing both cars. Mine renews 15 days after OH's so my policy this time is 15 days short (at a reduced price) so the renewals match next year. They also maintain OH's seperate no claims so it seemed a no brainer.

If you've got more than one car in the house it is worth checking this scheme out.

trinidadone

Anyone know how to find out how much your car is worth when completing car insurance?

harryhound

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/

could be a good place to start, if you want to try and argue the toss.

Is this a write-off argument?

Is the insurance on the car fully comp. or third party ?

Harry

helpmtkc

Some of the savings are superb - just a word of caution
1. Check the damage excess you have accepted - someone told me the other day that the average damage claim in the UK was £600 - may be wrong but taking a big excess on a policy to save £50 in the short term is a big risk.
2. A lot of online providers make a big number of assumptions (which are usually in their terms and conditions) - check what assumptions have been made about before you to take the policy.
3. Never tell fibs about the cover you require - whilst it may save you money in the short term - it could exclude you from a claim in the long term.
4. Match what you have asked for against what you get - so often the original price quoted changes when you get close to the end and wanting to proceed. Don't get caught out!

Other than that I agree with what Martin says - but don't always rely on search engine rankings and assume those at the top are the best - they could have paid to get up there - so do your research first!