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Car Insurance Renewal
lordOfTime
Posts: 22,370
Forum Member
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My Car insurance is due for renewal, and this time I want to do some serious research into the best renewal prices I can get rather than just stick with my current renewal as I've done in the past.
I have an NCD of 4 years which has left me with a £490 approx renewal premium.
I've already seen a quote that I can get insurance with another company for £340 which would be a substantial saving.
Questions.
If I was to arrange insurance with this other company, do I have to tell my current insurer?
I'm confused about price comparison sites. I've been told they're a ripoff and you can get much cheaper by going direct to a company. But I don't think I'm going to get a much cheaper price than the £340 I've been quoted. Does that sound about right?
What are peoples experiences with haggling? I'm not sure I have the confidence to haggle on price to stick with my current insurer as it is basically a mickeytake on my part to pay less for my insurance than if we was to just keep quiet and pay my current bill.
I have an NCD of 4 years which has left me with a £490 approx renewal premium.
I've already seen a quote that I can get insurance with another company for £340 which would be a substantial saving.
Questions.
If I was to arrange insurance with this other company, do I have to tell my current insurer?
I'm confused about price comparison sites. I've been told they're a ripoff and you can get much cheaper by going direct to a company. But I don't think I'm going to get a much cheaper price than the £340 I've been quoted. Does that sound about right?
What are peoples experiences with haggling? I'm not sure I have the confidence to haggle on price to stick with my current insurer as it is basically a mickeytake on my part to pay less for my insurance than if we was to just keep quiet and pay my current bill.
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Comments
I always use price comparision sites to get the best quotes and I change my car insurance every year Your current insurers do not give any discounts for loyalty - in most cases your premium will increase from one year to the next if you stay with the same insurers. No harm in looking round, but do make sure the quote is a like for like policy,
1)When comparing premiums be very sure its on a like for like basis (eg same excess.)
2)If the best price with comparable cover comes from a comparison site so what!
3)There's no particular obligation to tell your current insurer if you're switching at the end of the current term, just be sure it's not an automatic renewal that they will charge to your previously provided bank or credit card that will kick in unless you contact them to say otherwise.
4)As far as haggling, I always get a comparison quote and ask my current insurer if they will match it and they've never said no.
In all years so far, my premium has never gone up! Just not sure if it's gone down quick enough. ;-)
That might be a good starting point when I'm getting in touch with them. I'm thinking of switching so please remove my details unless you can match my quote of [N] from another insurer.
A few pointers :
- Check a few comparison sites, not just one. Some companies that not on a certain comparison site might be on others
- Some companies are not affiliated to any comparison site (do not come up in their results), so find these out and grab a quote from them direct
- If you find a price you are happy with on a comparison site, note down the company, go to their site, and get an online quote direct from them. It may be cheaper than the comparison site quote
- Consider things like whether you actually need comprehensive insurance if you are driving an old £100 banger, and can make do with third party fire and theft. Consider each option to ensure you are not buying a policy which is more than what you mean (obviously, don't lie!)
- Once you have a quote you are happy with, check topcashback.co.uk and quidco.com. These are cashback sites which give you money back if you go via them to make purchases at various affiliated vendors (for example, topcashback if you £48 back in cashback (normally received 6-9 months after your purchase) if you go with Allianz
- By all means, haggle. Phone your current insurer up, say that youd like to stay with them but you have seen a cheaper quote, asking them if they could do anything to beat that price. No harm in trying, and it works for a lot of people. Bear in mind they wouldn't match another price minus cashback
Hope this helps
I basically laid it out that I had my quote and shopped around and wanted to discuss a way we could arrange a cheaper quote. I mentioned a cheaper quote of £265.
My renewal was £490. The best LV (my insurer) could offer me was £450. Which is a reduction but to my mind not big enough considering there are quotes out there even up to £300 approx i would accept. I don't think I'm being unreasonable with that?
So I said I'd go away and think that through. It was a great chat. My only concern is that the chat was terminated rather abruptly. I think we agreed that she would remove my debit card from the automatic renewal but I'm not 100% I didn't get a chance to confirm.
But it looks like I'm going elsewhere.
One of our family cars is insured with LV and has been for 2-years; I have to say that they were the best quote for both years, given our particular criteria.
In addition LV will offer a really good discount if you already have an existing insurance policy with them.
I have my ‘buildings’ and ‘house contents’ insurance with them and the discount off the car insurance was virtually equal to the buildings insurance cost.
However, that being said, I’m not implying that LV will be the best for everyone, such are the vagaries of buying insurance; insurance companies sometimes appear to move in mysterious ways when it comes to premiums/renewal time.
As others have said, when assessing companies ensure you are comparing like-for-like quotes.....or as near as you can; it’s not always easy!
Also consider increasing your ‘excess’ if you feel comfortable doing that; it can have a dramatic effect on some company’s quotes........but others less so.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/
I recently had quotes ranging from £230 to £970 (Direct Line)
In fact I finished up paying the exact cost as my existing insurer quoted but I got a lot better insurance and with a lower Excess.
It really does pay to shop around.
Indeed. People don't realise that the cost of car insurance at the moment is falling so your premium should go down really not up.