Car insurance - is it all a con?

[Dippy]

Renewing car insurance has always been an unpleasant experience for me. I just hate the routine of phoning up brokers and going through all the details again and again, especially when I have mods and an import. One moment its all OK and the next its - sorry - the underwriters have now decided...

I suppose 'cos I have an engineering background I feel that insurance should be logical. I'm also a project manager so I know all about risk management. Just quantify the risks and add them up to calculate the premium. Although its annoying to find that if you live in one postcode area you have to pay more than another because of crime statistics, at least you can understand the decision process and live with it.

But now with my recent renewal experience I believe this is all BS.

I had a renewal notice for 685 and a clear statement the the broker had searched the market, found this was the best price, and if I get a better one I should contact the broker because clearly the cover wouldn't be as good.

So, following the advice on here I shopped around and got a quote of 539.

So I phoned my broker and asked for the proof of NCD. First I was told that it was 8 years and not 9 as I believed, but second they suggested that they could get a better deal. I mentioned the wording in the letter and they said they will reconsider it for the future.

So next they come back with a price of 515 for exactly the same policy.

That sort of thing pisses me off. Obviously 685 was NOT a fair premium if they are willing to reduce it to 515 just because I said I had a quote from somewhere else of 539.

What would have happened if I had lied and said it was 450 for example?

Anyway I examined both policies and decided that the 539 policy had better cover which for me was worth the 24 difference. Plus the behaviour of my current broker had annoyed me. But not as much as I am annoyed now.

I just got my proof of NCD. It shows 9 years as I had thought is should even though the broker said it was 8. It also shows the renewal premium.

593

FFS!

So the whole business is just a ****ing street market! He who bargains well gets the best deal. He who does not bargain gets screwed. And he who does not pay for any insurance at all just laughs until he gets a miniscule fine and then laughs even more.

Rant over.

[bobbler]

It is deliberately indecipherable to prevent you (average Joe) from figuring out how to get yourself a good price. Also remember that a good price is no indication of how good the service will be should you actually need to use the insurance cover for a claim.
At the moment I am going through the mill with my bike claim and it is diabolical to say the least, despite not being the cheapest cover I could have had. In reflection, Tescos when I claimed via them could not have been easier despite being the cheapest by a country mile.

Pray you never have to deal with Bennetts, waste of bloody space. They do nothing for the money other than send you a bit of paper, every step of the claim process I have had to ring them multiple times to even find out what is going on and even then most of the times I have still known more than they do! Then I still have to end up arranging the rest of it myself by talking directly to the underwriters.

[PhilT]

Share your sentiments guys... I've found that my only comfort is to build a relationship with a broker to the point where you hope they look after you. To date, I've got to say that Noel Dazely have done me and a few memebrs of my family proud....

[s4woody]

Noel Dazely

when i got my current car and asked for a change they said they cant insure me..they then said they would quote me and quoted £2000..i asked are you kidding and did you just make that figure up..there reply was no were not kidding and yes we dont want to insure you so we just plukked a sum out of our head...
i told them to stick it and found it miles cheaper..for that reason i have stopped telling my mates about them and others have stayed away...robbing bastards...

[rikrose]

Specialist insurers seem to have areas they really like, and places they REALLY hate. It seems like they're completely bipolar.

This year my when shopping for my insurance, I called every specialist that had advertised on the site. They all quoted, and they all quoted over 2,000 pounds. Then I called the non-specialist insurers and got quotes from 1,500 to 1,100. Then I got a phone call while I was at MRC from a company the Halfords are partnering with. They found me a quote at 700 quid.

In the end, I went with the same company that I was with last year (A-Plan, for the record), because they had a better cover than the 700 quid option. They charged me 850.

I really want some specialist insurers to read this, because I'd like them to know that they're being completely outclassed on their own products.

[victor2vt]

Try this,
When you get your renewal from your present insurer, go onto their website and get a quote for the exact same vehicle they have already quoted you for, everytime i've done this it has been cheaper than the renewal quote !!
They must hope you just send off the money without doing any price comparisons, especially on their OWN site !

[NumberoftheBeast]

I'm with Noel Dazely, took up the policy with them in January of this year, having been recommended them by a whole family who use them.

They seem excellent to me and knowledgeable of not only the cars, but their customers also.

Got a great price on my RS6, beating all my other quotes, which I was delighted with given my age at the time of 24.

[victor2vt]

Will contact them for a quote

[NumberoftheBeast]

Ask to speak to Dean, top guy and say David from Manchester with the RS6 said to call.

[dubwhizz]

Dean from NG was unable to beat Herts Insurance today on my new S4. Herts were 40 quid cheaper with a smaller excess.
I'm 31, full NCB, 8k fire claim last year. which herts dealt with impeccably. I'm quite glad they're cheapest cos I value the way they dealt with my claim and believe they'll look after me again should i need them to.

Matt

[Dippy]

It was the behaviour of Noel Dazely which prompted me to write this post. However in my case they would have been the cheapest.