Car Insurance - a rant.

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gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
I had one insurer once say to me after I'd told them I didn't want to renew..
.'ok, but there will be an admin fee for cancelling the policy,

Cheeky ferker. I promptly replied....
'Err no you won't, I'm not cancelling, I'm not renewing, that's two different things altogether'

There are no depths they won't sink to.
 

steverob

Guru
Location
Buckinghamshire
I was pleasantly surprised when my wife contacted Aviva to tell them that she had a new car to replace her 6 year old one (same make, virtually same model) and they gave her money OFF her current premium, and no sneaky admin charges for doing so either. I think it worked out as about £25 less overall.

However they did then try to put that same premium up by over 15% at her next renewal a few months later, despite no other changes or claims being made, so that kind of took the shine back off my opinion of them quite quickly!
 

PeteXXX

Cake or ice cream? The choice is endless ...
Location
Hamtun
My insurance is with Jon Lewis. If I make a change (ie, change of details, address, add MrsPete etc) online, it's free. If I phone them to do it, I get charged.

Good price as well :okay:
 

snorri

Legendary Member
I knew the costs should have been similar. AA insurance were just chancing their arm, and I won't be using them again for anything. Direct Line are also on the "never again" list for being a similar shower of chancing bar stewards. As are Swinton, SAGA, and NPower.
Actually, they are all at the same game, customer loyalty to the company and vice versa is a thing of the past, just as many people will be going to Direct Line on the same day as others are angrily leaving.
Apart from the inconvenience to customers, the greatly increased churn must cost the companies something in additional admin. or maybe the fact the business is highly computerised makes little difference to admin costs.
I would not be inclined to have a personal black list of companies, these same companies might be happy to give you a lower quote next year, it's the way it works nowadays:sad:.
 
Good morning,

This may not be the rip off that you think it is although I certainly agree that changing insurer would be the right thing to do.

Most insurance companies have a range of "products", for example a young driver product, an older driver with and older car product, a high risk product for drivers with drink driving convictions.

The reason for having products is due to the calculation of the amount of premium and reserves needed to cover the risk across the whole book.

If an insurer had just one product then the risk if the whole book is filled with drivers with drink driver convictions is very different to having the whole book filled with safe drivers who all potter along at 30mph.

The boundary layer between products is never absolutely fixed, what happens is certain factors come with higher and higher premium loading until an extreme case is reached and only then is a decline reached. The insurer will know roughly where they become uncompetitive and that is the point of raising the premium, they don't really want the business.

This logic works fine at new business time, you simply select another insurer or possibly another product from the same insurer, but with mid term adjustments it can cause the situation that you describe, the new vehicle may have moved you out of the desired profile for the product that you currently have.

It should also be noted that the AA is both its own underwriter and a seller of other insurers' products, in effect a mini broker, so the cheaper AA quote may be from a different insurer to the one that you are currently with.

Bye

Ian
 

Drago

Legendary Member
But the problem is Ian that, despite what they claim, very little of their calculation is genuionely based upon risk. The larger part of it is based upon the targets ability and likely willingness to pay.

An example, one of many. 9 years ago I moved house. I moved from one village to the neighbouring one, a distance of 1.1 miles. The move took me from one nice, affluent village to an even nicer, more affluent one.

I phone my insurers, Swindles, and informed them of the move. Unsurprisingly, my insurance premium went up. It's the additional risk, you see Sir.

Risk? Really?

I went to work and immediately pulled up the crime data for both locations. New location had a lower reported theft of motor vehicle, and a lower reported theft from motor vehicle, and a lower reported rate of criminal damage to motor vehicle.

I then checked the RTA (as it was then) stats for both post codes. Lo! The new postcode had a lower rate, unsurprisingly, as it had no main road running through it.

I rang the insurers back and asked them to explain the source of this increased "risk". I got the usual blather, until I pointed out that I was a copper and had access to all the crime statistics - I was actually less likely to have my car stolen, less likely to have my car damaged, less likely to be in a collision, and had the data to prove this, so where did the extra "risk" come from?

Lots of "er" and "ahh" and "uuummm", and my premium was recalculated. Funnily enough, it was lower than it had been at my original address.

The algorithms that calculate your premium take you genuine risk into relatively minor account - you job, and hence your likely income, your credit record, all sorts of other data actually completely irrelevant to the calculation of "risk" are taken into account. "Risk" is an excuse trotted out, and 2/3 of it is a bare faced outright lie, as I demonstrated it to be in my case.
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
Not car insurance, but just had the renewal from RAC for breakdown cover. £37.00 "Arrangement & administration fee" WHAT! Doesn't take much to guess that we aren't with the RAC any more.

Autoaid £48 per annum for two cars and two people plus cover for same people as passenger in or driver of any other vehicle.

The Which? top breakdown cover provider for 2018 - CORRECTION 7th best provider, see later post in this thread

Why look anywhere else?
 
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vickster

Legendary Member
Autoaid £48 per annum for two cars and two people plus cover for same people as passenger in or driver of any other vehicle.

The Which? top breakdown cover provider for 2018.

Why look anywhere else?
Have you used them? On what basis did Which reach that conclusion?
At Home cover included?
 

PeteXXX

Cake or ice cream? The choice is endless ...
Location
Hamtun
I had one insurer once say to me after I'd told them I didn't want to renew..
.'ok, but there will be an admin fee for cancelling the policy,

Cheeky ferker. I promptly replied....
'Err no you won't, I'm not cancelling, I'm not renewing, that's two different things altogether'

There are no depths they won't sink to.
Three, mobile phone people, used the same weasel words when I wasn't renewing my contract.
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
Have you used them? On what basis did Which reach that conclusion?
At Home cover included?

Apologies I am wrong about the 2018 statement and think this must be from my memory of when I first used Autoaid in 2016 - I can't recall or demonstrate this. The attached shows the company as seventh overall with a customer ranking score of 84% against the top of 87% - the main difference apparently being response time. The survery being based on 7230 respondents to a Which? survey of people who had used a breakdown service in the previous twelve months. The AA and Saga are effectively the same product as the Saga cover is provided by the AA.

No I haven't used them but equally I haven't had to use any such provider in 25+ years.

At Home Cover is £65 contribution to call out and labour charges to start the vehicle or to recover to the nearest available garage.

breakdown.JPG
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
Most insurance companies have a range of "products", for example a young driver product, an older driver with and older car product, a high risk product for drivers with drink driving convictions.

But because pricing is driven by statistics, and statistics demands lots of data, most "products" are just for marketing.

It should also be noted that the AA is both its own underwriter and a seller of other insurers' products, in effect a mini broker, so the cheaper AA quote may be from a different insurer to the one that you are currently with.

It's not a mini anything. The last time I was hands-on, 18 months ago or so, it was one of the biggest and most aggressive brokers in the business, using statistical modelling of both risk and behaviour to drive pricing. The insurer's price is just the starting point for what the AA will decide to charge, and it will look to optimise its own profits.
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
I am sorely tempted to cancel my policy and take whatever they refund me, then insure the new car with one of the other companies on Compare the Market for around the £190 mark.
This has happened to me quite a few times when changing cars or motorbikes. You'll have to calculate how much you stand to lose if you cancel the insurance contract on your old car. Then weigh that up against how much you'd save on a new quote.

I would just take the hit and cancel the old policy. Then you'll have a shiny new policy which will end in a year, and you can do the usual shopping around for a better deal in 12 months time.
 

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
What pisses me off is when using a broker like the AA (yes, this happened with them in the past), they apparently get you 'the best' deal. Then when I don't take it up, I get a phone call asking why. I say I got cheaper insurance elsewhere, so then they say they can match/beat that price.
Sorry, no. [actually, I'm not sorry!]
You give me your best price right away or I'm not doing business. I'm not faffing about going back and forth. By offering to match the lower price, you've just demonstrated that you didn't give me your best price, and you've joined my blacklist for next time. You're out this time because I've already taken out the cheaper cover with your competitor.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Have you used them? On what basis did Which reach that conclusion?
At Home cover included?
Yes I've used them on 3 occasions, 1st time was when the MR2 Turbo gearbox oil seal failed, rang them up explained exactly what was wrong & they said they'd send a mechanic, I replied saying ti wasn't worth it as I knew exactly what the issue was, a low loader arrived 40 minutes later, he had a look at the seal, agreed with me & loaded us up. 2nd was in the Kit car when it was running an old A Series Mini engine, it snapped the fan belt, they came out & very luckily he had one on the van all covered in cobwebs, fitted it & off I went £5 for the belt I think. 3rd time was a bit sneaky as it was my daughter, she was out with both kids 2 & 5 at the time & a suspension arm failed, so I drove over swapped the kids into my car & she came home, I called them up & they sent out a recovery truck. On the 1st I had to pay once we got home on a credit card but the claim form arrived & we received a cheque within 7 days well before the CC had to be paid. I'm not sure if they have changed their procedures as that was 8+ years ago

What pisses me off is when using a broker like the AA (yes, this happened with them in the past), they apparently get you 'the best' deal. Then when I don't take it up, I get a phone call asking why. I say I got cheaper insurance elsewhere, so then they say they can match/beat that price.
Sorry, no. [actually, I'm not sorry!]
You give me your best price right away or I'm not doing business. I'm not faffing about going back and forth. By offering to match the lower price, you've just demonstrated that you didn't give me your best price, and you've joined my blacklist for next time. You're out this time because I've already taken out the cheaper cover with your competitor.
Had similar with a double glazing salesman, I even said to him before the 1st quote, make sure this is your best as you'll not get another chance, he clearly thought I was bluffing
For the past 9 years I have been driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla, now with 113k miles on the clock, and worth about £800 as a part exchange. Last weekend I agreed a deal on a Suzuki Swift (1200 cc, £30 VED, 55 mpg - so as sensible as they come). It's a 2014 model with 50k miles on the clock, worth about £5500....
I really don't want to defend any car insurance company as I believe I have said on here that the whole car insurance business is legalised theft, but not opening old war wounds, one of the issues with the Swift over the Corolla is the type of driver who normally drives them, the Swift will have loads of people (read Young People) with them on PCP's who will have more accidents than people with a 12 years old Corolla
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
Autoaid £48 per annum for two cars and two people plus cover for same people as passenger in or driver of any other vehicle.

The Which? top breakdown cover provider for 2018 - CORRECTION 7th best provider, see later post in this thread

Why look anywhere else?


I've just renewed my breakdown cover with AXA for £31 (was £36 last year) for at home, roadside assistance, onward travel, misfuelling, rescue & recovery, all within UK only.
This is based on the car so I'm not covered in other vehicles. I haven't had call to use them yet which is when the real test will happen but the price is a lot better than RAC or AA
 
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