Need help with car insurance

mitch010

hi guys and girls.

sorry if i've posted in the wrong section. Just bought my first car today :j (2000 X Reg Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25).

I'm 20 yrs old and i'm currently taking lessons so only have a provisional license. Every company i've tried a quote for is over £1600. Is this normal?

If anyone can recommend me any companies or any advice that would be cool!

Many thanks :T ,

Mitch

Davidboy

Hi Mitch,

Fraid so mate.... rip off innit????

Basically shop around and make phone calls. Try Admiral, and always make sure you add older people, aunties, mums, dads, that helps to bring the price down. Insurance companies have spells of offers etc. so you just have to shop around. I been through all this with both my daughers, and Diamond to re-insure was 570, Admiral (same company!!) 470. Diamond I know is cheaper for girls, but for blokes as you are a bigger risk just costs more especially as you have not passed your test yet.

Sorry!!

MarkyMarkD

£1600 is not that ludicrous.

If you haven't already done so, select the largest possible excess on your quotes, or get a quote for third party fire and theft - your car can't be worth much compared to your insurance quotes at the moment.

isayoldchap

mitch010 wrote:

hi guys and girls.

sorry if i've posted in the wrong section. Just bought my first car today :j (2000 X Reg Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25).

I'm 20 yrs old and i'm currently taking lessons so only have a provisional license. Every company i've tried a quote for is over £1600. Is this normal?

If anyone can recommend me any companies or any advice that would be cool!

Many thanks :T ,

Mitch

Mitch
Use the links above your post for confused and insuresupermarket.This will also benefit the site.Then select the better quotes and do a requote from their site.Wait for a return email from the companies as some will offer a better quote if you telephone afterwards.A good example of this was Auto Direct who at the start were the most expensive and then through some haggling on the phone ,without reduced cover ,they worked out the cheapest.Watch out that your excess doesn't go through the roof just incase you do have a prang.
Have a look here www.quidco.com if they give you an extra % off the price in cashback for using their link.Registration and login required.Examine all options
and do your homework.Get a checklist to tick your cover requirements.
Use google where possible.Enter 'young drivers insurance' under 25yrs old car insurance etc.Consider if you can go on a family policy.
Finally pay by creditcard if you can for that extra % bonus from the credit card company and maybe do a balance transfer to pay it off over 9 months while you can save the money for some good interest.

nemo183

Well, sadly £1600 isn't that expensive.

Cheapest companys I know - Tesco and Norwich Union.

Also, don't forget, as someone has already said, esp with NU to load up your policy with as many squeeky clean drivers as you can - each one can reduce the premium by £50.

Finally, consider all the places you are likely to keep your car - and run each postcode through - especially if one of them has the possibility of parking in a garage.

marilynp

Hi Mitch
I have just managed to get a very good quote for my 23yr old son who has been a named driver up to now on his father's insurance. The company is Bell, a subsiduary of Admiral. As someone else suggested put your Mum and Dad on it as named drivers as it reduces the cost. I went through Martin's site and used the two named search sites. the second one came up with Bell.
Good luck and drive carefully, your excess will be high!!

maclean2

Hi - Mitch

Yes insurance at your age is a killer but here are a couple of points which may save you some money once you have passed your test.

Firstly a few companies will reduce the premium once you have passed your test so ask the ones who have given the best quotes if they will refund part of the premium.

Secondly have you heard of PassPlus ? It's a scheme involving 6 further driving lessons covering night driving/motorways/bad weather driving etc and costs the price of 6 lessons.About a dozen insurance companies will allow you a discount normally equivalent to one years No Claim Discount.Look at https://www.passplus.org.uk for more details and a list of the companies in the scheme.Tesco/Direct Line/ Privilege / Provident / Norwich Union are included.You would have to pay the full price but you will get a refund once you pass the driving test and the passplus couurse.Suggest you ring the companies to check the discount and how they refund it.

Finally try the easymoney site which uses Zurich insurance and ring a branch of A Plan - see https://www.aplan.co.uk for details and a branch locater.They are a very helpful broker.


Best of luck

alasdair

nemo183

maclean2 wrote:

Hi - Mitch

Secondly have you heard of PassPlus ? It's a scheme involving 6 further driving lessons covering night driving/motorways/bad weather driving etc and costs the price of 6 lessons.About a dozen insurance companies will allow you a discount normally equivalent to one years No Claim Discount.Look at https://www.passplus.org.uk for more details and a list of the companies in the scheme.Tesco/Direct Line/ Privilege / Provident / Norwich Union are included.alasdair

Although I agree that PassPlus is a great idea, very few of the companies they provide links to on their website actually offer you the opportunity online to enter the fact you've done the course. E.g. Tesco's - link on the PassPlus site, but no opportunity on Tesco's web site to record the fact you've done it.

The very few companies that do ask you if you've done the course have always ended up with a quotation which is way over a bog standard Tesco's quote.

I'd be very interested to know if anyone has ever found one of the small number of companies that recognise PassPlus has actually provided a competitive quote.

My impression is that for what ever reason, the PassPlus concept seems to have fallen into disuse, and that their website is well out of date.

scheming_gypsy

My dad managed to cut his insurance costs by quite alot by joining the NFU (National Farmers Union) even though he isn't a farmer. The NFU do their own insurance as well which is apparently a lot cheaper than the usual companies.

jem16

nemo183 wrote:

Although I agree that PassPlus is a great idea, very few of the companies they provide links to on their website actually offer you the opportunity online to enter the fact you've done the course. E.g. Tesco's - link on the PassPlus site, but no opportunity on Tesco's web site to record the fact you've done it.

The very few companies that do ask you if you've done the course have always ended up with a quotation which is way over a bog standard Tesco's quote.

I'd be very interested to know if anyone has ever found one of the small number of companies that recognise PassPlus has actually provided a competitive quote.

My impression is that for what ever reason, the PassPlus concept seems to have fallen into disuse, and that their website is well out of date.

I certainly found that having Pass Plus helped my son's insurance. However what I did find with NU is that there was nowhere to enter it online - once I had done the online quote I had to phone up and tell them about Pass Plus and quote his certificate number. At that point the price was reduced further. Tesco is of course the same being underwritten by NU. His first year with NU as a 17 year old was about £600 less than the nearest competitor, including Direct Line and Elephant.

What did annoy me is the fact that none of the insurers recognised that he had also passed the Institute of Advanced Motorists test with some telling me that Pass Plus was much better! It was only the very helpful NU chap who agreed that it was much better ( he had passed tha IAM test too ) but apologised that he couldn't give me an extra discount for it. I got the opinion that the government are partly funding the discounts.

waterbaby

jem16 wrote:

What did annoy me is the fact that none of the insurers recognised that he had also passed the Institute of Advanced Motorists test with some telling me that Pass Plus was much better! It was only the very helpful NU chap who agreed that it was much better ( he had passed tha IAM test too ) but apologised that he couldn't give me an extra discount for it.

I had the same from Diamond. It's crazy. Now I have done the IAM test I can see how much better IAM drivers are from the norm.

Driving isn't the only risk, there's still vandalism, theft etc in which case it doesn't matter how good your driving is. But I still want recognition of my reduced risk while driving!!