6 months in to 2012..Insurance starting to level out?

[Spud1]

After 4 years of my premiums going up..and up..and up..I am happy to report that there finally appears to be a change in trend - at least from my oh-so-scientific survey of my office.

Interestingly, out of the 8 people i've asked over recent tea breaks, all of them had their renewal quote go up (by around £20-£30), but every single one managed to get a better deal with the same provider by calling up and getting them to price match.

I know you used to be able to do this anyway (ring up the insurer, barter a bit and get the price down) but recently when I have tried I have been told a flat no, that they don't do that unless its a special offer, and its more "Computer says X so you pay Y"

I've just done it myself - I am with Admiral, had a renewal notice of around £980 for a 10 month policy..did a bit of shopping about, got another quote for £960 for a 12 month policy, phoned up Admiral who immediately offered to match + beat my new quote. Saved me around £250 all in all (comparing like for like), and they knocked my voluntary excess down! (I know my insurance is quite a lot but owning a bmw in a referral postcode in Manchester = crazy premiums..My premium is 50% lower if I lived in say M33 rather than M40 )

It's not just one "group" that appears to be doing this too - one of my co-workers was with Direct Line (Who price matched for him), another with LV...just made me wonder if things are really starting to level out now or have we just been lucky?

Anyone else had a nicer suprise than they expected this time around?

[kasavien]

Had a similar situation with admiral as well. Can't remember the monies but their renewal was expensive, so did a require through compare the market then rang them up with the best quote, which they matched. Also changed to my gf's name and was still less even though she doesn't have as much no claims as me and she's younger. All in all, happy times :-)

[bledd]

It's still daft for new drivers. I'd be all over one of those black box systems if I was a new driver