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Need help with car insurance

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  • nemo183
    nemo183 Posts: 637 Forumite
    jem16 wrote:
    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.

    Well, all I can say is I admire your son for doing the PassPlus, and then also doing the IAM - which is really not an easy qualification for anyone to gain, let alone a new driver!!! Whereas PassPlus is just really a series of extra driving lessons (so very handy for the driving instructor), the IAM is a seriously hard qualification to gain.

    Just out of interest, how much did he save with PassPlus?

    When people in insurance start telling you that PassPlus is better than IAM, you really have to question just how seriously insurance companies are truly estimating premiums based on true risk, rather than bland stats.

    Without wishing to sound like a cynical old duffer, I reckon their premiums are based on what the competition is offering, and their real efforts and investment are probably being spent in the area of reducing claim values, and the installation of voice stress telephone equipment when you report an accident by telephone - which is probably a good reason for making any claim in writing......
  • jem16
    jem16 Posts: 19,592 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    nemo183 wrote:
    Well, all I can say is I admire your son for doing the PassPlus, and then also doing the IAM - which is really not an easy qualification for anyone to gain, let alone a new driver!!! Whereas PassPlus is just really a series of extra driving lessons (so very handy for the driving instructor), the IAM is a seriously hard qualification to gain.

    Thanks - I was really proud of him too. I also feel safer when he's driving as opposed to his big brother. He passed his driving test in February and the IAM test in August of last year. The local association offered a series of 6 sessions through his school and I encouraged him to do it. He was quite keen unlike his 2 year older brother who had the same chance but wasn't interested. I believe one of the LA members was a parent of the school and his own child had been the friend of someone at the school who had died in a car accident the morning after the senior dance - since then they had done this course on a voluntary basis. After the 6 sessions it was left up to the pupils whether they wanted to sit the test - quite a few do. After that he was teamed up with a local member who took him out for more sessions until he was ready to do the test which he passed first time. Unfortunately not one insurance company, other than Elephant, acknowledged this. However I'm still really glad that he did it for experience and proud that he saw it that way too.
    Just out of interest, how much did he save with PassPlus?

    I can't remember to be honest. I remember NU saying that it gave me about 48% of a discount but I'm sure it wasn't that much. Around a £100 from a very vague memory with Elephant giving him another £100 or so for IAM. However Elephant's quote was dearer overall.
  • nemo183
    nemo183 Posts: 637 Forumite
    jem16 wrote:
    Thanks - I was really proud of him too. I also feel safer when he's driving as opposed to his big brother. He passed his driving test in February and the IAM test in August of last year. The local association offered a series of 6 sessions through his school and I encouraged him to do it. He was quite keen unlike his 2 year older brother who had the same chance but wasn't interested. I believe one of the LA members was a parent of the school and his own child had been the friend of someone at the school who had died in a car accident the morning after the senior dance - since then they had done this course on a voluntary basis.

    That's a sad sorry - but at least some lasting good is probably coming from such a terrible event. There does seem do be a pattern, though, that people only take road safety seriously after some direct experience of these awful accidents.
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    maclean2 wrote:
    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.

    Best of luck

    alasdair

    companies wont reduce premiums once you pass your test. premiums are actually lower for a learner on a provisional than they are for a newly qualified driver. the reason being, that someone on a provisional can only drive if they have an experienced driver sitting next to them, which makes them less of a risk.

    a newly qualfied driver, is more likely to take risks, show off in front of mates, and have an accident, compared to a learner, who is more than likely sitting next to their mum or dad, who will confiscate the keys, if they so much as go 1mph over the speed limit

    although i must admit £1600 for a provisional driver is really high. Most quotes tend to come in at around £1000 for a learner driver, with the premiums coming down by about £100 for each named driver you add (depending on their experience/driving history)
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