Updated Cheap Car Insurance guide - new system

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Comments

  • vbt
    vbt Posts: 68 Forumite
    I found the MSE guide really helpful, but one thing that was missing was about foreign licenses.

    My husband, a UK national, had a foreign-issued (and non-transferable) driving licence from when we lived overseas, he could only drive on this for 12 months once we returned to the UK, after which he had to take a UK test. Our no claims paperwork isn't worth the paper its written on apparently as its not from the UK/Europe etc which pushed the quote up even more.

    Most quotes (and lots of insurers it seems) won't recognise this driving experience, and so the quotes we were getting to insure both of us were around £2,000 with a £3,000 voluntary excess, dropping to £1300 with Admiral using a black box, and having a voluntary excess of £1,000 :shocked:

    I went through every single comparison site, rang various insurers until I eventually came across Bell - spoke to a lovely chap on the phone who gave me a quote of £625 for comprehensive cover including windscreen cover and hire car, which is a 10 month policy.

    After that time (all being well!) you're eligible for a full year's no claims discount - they call the scheme Bonus Accelerator. It also lets you get up to about 10% extra discount by plugging one of their telematics devices in for 3 months if you're in the top 55% of drivers.

    So definitely worth trying them if you're in a similar situation.
  • rudekid48
    rudekid48 Posts: 2,382 Forumite
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    Lol, bit of self promotion from admiral?
    All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.
  • vbt
    vbt Posts: 68 Forumite
    rudekid48 wrote: »
    Lol, bit of self promotion from admiral?

    Not at all actually! I have nothing to do with them - first time I've ever had to buy car insurance in the UK. Genuinely shocked at the quotes and happy when I managed to speak to someone who would take foreign driving in to account.
  • Peter_from_Cardiff
    Peter_from_Cardiff Posts: 1 Newbie
    Thanks for the guide MSE. The job picker reduced my quote (never thought i'd be happy calling myself a house husband), and by using the comparison sites I was able to secure the insurer I wanted cheaper than they would quote me direct. Better in my pocket than some one else's. Thanks again top job.
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    What annoys me about car insurance is that some insurers are willing to offer accelerated no claims - ie turning 10 or even 6 months into a full years NCD - Back in my day, you had to earn a years NCD by safely driving a year without any claims.
    How do they get away with this scam - and I hope that the NCD earned this way is NON transferable to other insurers ?
    Mind you - at age 50 plus - car insurance is chicken feed (2 new cars fully comp - for two drivers @ £230)
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    50Twuncle wrote: »
    What annoys me about car insurance is that some insurers are willing to offer accelerated no claims ...
    It's a marketing ploy, not a "scam"


    You will be equally annoyed to learn that if you have nil NCD at the start of your driving career you can easily get an introductory discount off most insurers which equates to at least 1 year's NCD!
  • n15h
    n15h Posts: 204 Forumite
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    Hi all,

    Just wanted to share my good news with my fellow MSE Savers!

    I recently bought my first car [astra 1.6 54plate sxi model]. Using Money SuperMarket and Go Compare gave me quotes of £1300 - £3000 for a fully comp policy. This is even after I added my parents as named drivers (I still remained main driver). I increased my excess but the cheapest deal I could get is £1200 (with a black box)!!

    I then thought to go direct to an insurance company [I chose Aviva]. Using the same details as I'd entered into the Comparison sites, Aviva gave me a quote of £682 including tax, legal services and a courtesy car! This is also with low excess (£350).

    I bought the policy via Quidco so am also due to receive £60 cashback which brings the cost down to £622. However, I'm a member of an employee union at my work. One of the perks is legal services including motor vehicles.

    That means I could possibly cancel the legal services aspect of the insurance policy, which means a further saving of £28 - and bringing my insurance down to £594.

    That's a saving of just over 50% than what I was being quoted on MSM and GC! Not bad for a first time driver on a fully comp policy as a main driver hey!!

    :beer:
    Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared - Buddha
  • rudekid48
    rudekid48 Posts: 2,382 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    Peter_from_Cardiff wrote: »
    Thanks for the guide MSE. The job picker reduced my quote (never thought i'd be happy calling myself a house husband), and by using the comparison sites I was able to secure the insurer I wanted cheaper than they would quote me direct. Better in my pocket than some one else's. Thanks again top job.

    Be careful with the job picker. If you declare house husband when you are unemployed and receiving JSA or the like then you could end up in a whole world of pain should you have a claim....
    All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    rudekid48 wrote: »
    Be careful with the job picker. If you declare house husband when you are unemployed and receiving JSA or the like then you could end up in a whole world of pain should you have a claim....

    Definition of a House Husband :

    A Man who lives with a partner and carries out household duties traditionally done by a housewife rather than going out to work....
    And ............??
    What about House Wives who are also unemployed ?
  • rudekid48
    rudekid48 Posts: 2,382 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    50Twuncle wrote: »
    Definition of a House Husband :

    A Man who lives with a partner and carries out household duties traditionally done by a housewife rather than going out to work....
    And ............??
    What about House Wives who are also unemployed ?


    Sorry, what's the point that you are making?


    If a person (male or female) is in receipt of JSA or an equivalent then they are seeking employment and are therefore unemployed.


    A Housewife/husband is not seeking work and therefore not in receipt of unemployment benefits.


    It's the same as the difference between being retired and unemployed.


    The danger with insurance is that an occupation of "unemployed" will often attract a higher premium with Insurers, therefore some people will change the occupation to something such as "House husband" to obtain a lower premium. If they do this, then they leave themselves open to being suspected of fraud should the truth be discovered when a claim happens or at any other time.
    All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.
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