Have the insurance comparison sites had their day?

[Levo-Lon]

Been shopping around for cover on the car..
Best i could get for comp on the car was £242 with windscreen on comparison sites.
I want courtesy car ,windscreen , legal cover.. Best quote was 300 ish on comparison sites.

I thought id try direct line for a laugh as they dont advertise on those sites..
Well that came in at £245 with everything including ncb protected..

I shall see what others are offering who dont use these sites.
I didn't see Hastings on my searches either so maybe they're off the compare sites too, they are always top of the compare prices whenever i look but need to be tweaked to suit your needs but often good value.

 

[cosmicbike]

I've always found them useless, generally providing quotes which do not offer the cover I want, and never cheaper than going direct to those who do not offer their services through these sites.
Direct Line have always come in with good prices, and I've only moved away from them for the campervan as they wanted trackers and allsorts before they would cover it.

 

[Glenn]

I've found using a broker, Chris Knott in my case, gets a better quote.

 

[welsh dragon]

Using a broker is a good alternative to using comparison sites. You can see them face to face, tell them what you want, and let them do all the work. And if you have an accident, it is part of their job to deal with it on your behalf. That is what you are paying them for.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I used to use a broker Ian Buddle but he ceased trading sadly..superb bloke and nothing was too much trouble.

There in short supply nowadays as it's all big companies like Churchill Aviva etc

 

[Drago]

The Meerkat did very well for me this year. Barely more than a hundred quid fully comp, NCD protected, legal protection, slimline salad dressing etc. Hastings wereny terribly competitive for me this time around (c.£175 IIRC), with RAC trumping them all through the Meerkat at £118.

 

[Piemaster]

Can't see them disappearing anytime soon. Theres a whole industry built on getting consumers to swap insurance, energy, credit cards, wives, whatevever. Think of all the marketing involved.
You would have thought it better to retain existing customers, but what would I know?

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Direct Line and Churchill are the same company so it's good practice to run ones quote by the other.

The comparison sites have their uses and have served me well in the past, but it's always worth checking others.

Despite my growing collection of meerkats I've had quotes from them beaten by the same searched out company on their own website.

 

[mjr]

Direct Line's parent UK Insurance offer similar deals through comparison sites when I've looked. The claim not to be on the comparisons seems mostly marketing. I suspect some of the other brands are handled by the same call centres and the workers being told which number you called, but I can't prove that.

Always worth keeping one eye on a comparison site because too many insurers will increase the price by nearly 20% a year if you don't shop around.

 

[cosmicbike]

[QUOTE 4913335, member: 45"]That's because they're comparison sites, not discount sites.

[/QUOTE]

Not convinced I said they were, just stated they are never cheaper...

 

[cosmicbike]

Always worth keeping one eye on a comparison site because too many insurers will increase the price by nearly 20% a year if you don't shop around.

SWMBO and the home insurance are on automatic renewal with DL, and every year the renewal is at least 30-40% higher. Then you run the numbers on their own website, and lo and behold it's the same as it used to be. Quick phone call later and they have always honoured the online quote, no questions asked.

 

[annedonnelly]

I've used a broker for years.Sometimes when the renewal is due they tell me that they've found a better deal with a different company. I don't even have to ask.

 

[Red17]

Hope they don't dissapear before Ive collected all the merekats

 

[mjr]

SWMBO and the home insurance are on automatic renewal with DL, and every year the renewal is at least 30-40% higher. Then you run the numbers on their own website, and lo and behold it's the same as it used to be. Quick phone call later and they have always honoured the online quote, no questions asked.

Why reward them for that behaviour with continued business? 30-40% seems like a steep penalty for not rekeying your data every year - and because they're clearly into sneaky practices, I'd wonder whether they'd use any mistakes in your rekeying to weasel out of a claim and possibly submit the report of differences to something like National Hunter. I'd be switching away and not using them ever again. Insurance is annoying enough without dealing with firms that have revealed themselves to be sneaky.

 

[oldfatfool]

Try top cash back even an higher quote with lge cb can work out cheaper.