Insurance, bit of a rant

[Andeh13]

I was the proud owner a W reg ('00) black 1.1 Citroen Saxo desire until i parked it into the back of someone last week. There was no damage to their car, but it broke my bumper & radiator etc, classing it as a write off. Needless to say, i was midly displeased with myself. As there was no damage to her car, i didnt go through the insurance companies.

Luckerly i had my 21st a few days later and my parents & grandparents agreed to buy me a new car. Common sense told me, that if i bought more or less exactly the same car the insurance wouldnt go up much (admin fee aside). So me being smart, i bought a 01' silver 1.1 Citroen Saxo Desire. 1 year newer, identical value, same body shape, engine, even the wheel trims were the same.

Chuffed to bits, i called up endsleigh and made it known to them the change of car, only to be greeted with a £60 increase in my policy (inc £10 admin fee). Long story short i had a good chat with him (me being a uni student, him about to start uni at manchester) and in the end he agreed to waiver the admin fee...but was still unable to help me with (or explain to me) the other £40-50 i was going to be charged.

I pay £550 a year on my car insurance(fully comp, 3 years NCB, 21yo). Thats with a £450 excess, so its not like im under paying them for anything. That aswell as the fact i cant go anywhere else (id loose 7 months NCB) means im stuck with them & have to pay whatever they want to charge me.


Am i just being picky, or does it seem like day light robbery to anyone else?

[finlay666]

TBH 7 months NCB isn't that much to lose

I would look at some other companies and get quotes then call them to try and haglle based on the 7 months, you still have 3 years though

don't priviledge guarantee to beat a quote if you have x years ncb?

[Behemoth]

Seems about to me to be honest. Your new car is a year newer than your other one, which is a year older. In the insurance companies eyes, at least this is my way of looking at it but you've got a newer car, so it's worth more than the other one.

That said a £60 price jump isn't all that bad, when I changed my car last year my insurance went up by £180 !!

[Blitzen]

TBH 7 months NCB isn't that much to lose

I would look at some other companies and get quotes then call them to try and haglle based on the 7 months, you still have 3 years though

don't priviledge guarantee to beat a quote if you have x years ncb?

Too true.
7 months isnt worth anything at all.

If you family can afford to buy you a new car, cant you tap them up for the extra £50 aswell.
(BTW...Norwich Union Direct is by far the cheapest for people your age ....... if you live in a decent area)

[Andeh13]

Its true, i am lucky enough that i can call on my parents to help me out with the £50, its the principle more then anything. He did do a quick check for a new policy for me, but it would only have saved me £20-£30, and id rather keep the 7months NCB.

As for me, £50 seems a huge amount of money. Im a 3rd year student and i was unable to work this summer so money is really tight for me atm. (Still loving the lifestyle though .)

Feeling better now, was just so frustrated at having to pay £550 at the start of the year, only for them to charge me more then i deem reasonable now. With 3.5 years of claim free driving, pass plus, small car, good neighbourhood and a £450 excess i thought it might be time they cut me a bit of slack.

[Saracen]

I'm afraid insurance premiums, especially on cars, are something of a black art.

It's a very competitive market, and the actuarial basis on which premiums are decided can make to very difficult to work out why a premium changes, so I'm not surprised the guy at the company couldn't tell you. It could be for all sorts of reasons, though.

Years ago, I had access to insurance brokers quotation systems because the company I worked for were selling them, and I took the opportunity to run a quote on my own details and my own car a couple of times a week for several weeks, and the premiums I was quoted went up and down like a yoyo, and the companies that offered "best" prices changed nearly every time I ran a check.

The premium change could reflect changes in statistics for that car, or your area, or their experiences with students, or their experience with males of your age. Or it could just reflect changing market conditions.

My experience when I ran those tests was that if I got a set of quotes today, I could end up with different results tomorrow, let alone in 6 or 7 months time.

This is why, Andehh, you get quotes on any proposed changes before you buy.

Oh, and on one occasion, the company I was insured with decided, come renewal time, that they weren't going to renew the policy at all. It wasn't a matter of changing the premium, and I had had no accidents or incidents, no tickets, etc. My details hadn't changed at all. They just weren't doing that kind of (high performance) car any more. And the company wasn't a small operator either - they were a household name insurer.

[jimbouk]

Insurance is a joke. Me and my house mate both have comprehensive insurance with Direct Line, bough around the same time. Both moved to the same house recently and I was charged £50 + £13 admin fee for the pleasure of telling them my new address, and she was charged nothing at all. Takes the pee really.

When I change car within the next couple of months I'm going to phone them up, ask for all the admin fees I've paid (3 lots now due to 2 new drivers) refunded else I'll take my business else where. Hopefully be able to get cheaper classic insurance for what I have in mind though...