The Situation:
22 years old, full license for 3 years, got to get insurance in my name for the first time ever. Going to be first named driver on a 2001 Nissan Micra 1.0. Car owned by parents, but driven by myself and brothers. I've been 2nd named driver on my brother's Directline policy on the car for 2 years, completely clean license and no claims for anyone on policy.
The Questions:
1) Directline and Tesco seem to be the same thing, but are their policies exactly the same?
2) Tesco and Directline quotes are virtually identical, but is there any reason to choose one over the other (eg. customer service)?
3) As the car has been insured with Directline for 2 years, is it possible that I could negotiate/be offered a better rate?
4) Even though I have no NCB, am I in a position to negotiate an introductory discount with Directline since I've been 2nd driver for 2 years?
5) At £750 vs £1500(!!!!) Why are Tesco and DL half the price of every other insurer?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I'm lost in the world of insurance and there seem to be some very knowledgeable and helpful people about.
Thanks in advance :)
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There are loads of threads here on cheap insurance for young drivers. try a site search ! As ever, yer pays yer money & takes yer choice. Also as ever, esp. with insurance, it's v. difficult to compare policies as you rarely get "like for like". Also also as ever, you only find out how good yer insurance is when you have to claim.
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Check out www.liverpoolvictoria.co.uk
I'ma young driver and they were far cheaper than even Direct Line for me! :-)
Blue
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Tesco were also good for me, and I'm in the middle of a claim, which seems to be being handled fairly efficiently. No hassle about a courtesy car. They haven't managed to do better than a 50/50 split, which I think is a bit rude, but there were no witnesses, so it's the best one could hope for really. Solicitors on their legal panel are good as well: Irwin Mitchell and Shoosmiths - reputable firms both, rather than Messrs Sue, Grabbit & Runne!
O
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We have Direct Line for House, Contents, Dog and Nicolles car. Have claimed once on house (mower threw stone through conservatory window) and Nicolle claimed once on car (rearranged suspension on speed limiting chicane). They have been very good at claims handling (sent glazier round to fix window - sent low-loader round to take nicolles car away, and brought it back fixed.) Giving them each bit of insurance gives us discounts. I have nothing but praise for them and they are competetive price wise for our profile.
Now I cant prove this, but I suspect that being a Tesco Insurance customer is just a different telephone number to the same people and same Direct Line call centre. I would guess they react just the same.
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Spot on, sir.
When I bought my daughter's Tesco insurance for her Seat Arosa last year I clicked on the Tesco Personal Finance site.
Looking at the bottom of the pc screen you see an oblong box, showing which window you're in (you know, either Outlook Express, other application you have open etc) and this little box showed Direct Line even though it was the Tesco web page open.
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Hi,
I was in almost the exact same situation as you up until last month. I was 20, with 3 years experience driving my mums car as second driver with direct line.
When i came to get my own insurance Direct Line wouldn't give me any discount for my loyalty and driving record, and in fact no company at all could get within £600 of elephant.co.uk & admiral. So i would suggest trying one of these two (they seem to be linked somehow) before signing on the dotted line.
Another small tip, if you are going to still be a named driver on another car, tick yes when asked "do you use another car regularly" - saved me an extra £70.
Hope this helps
Steve
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Admiral also own www.bell-direct.co.uk which is the cheapest of the three for me.
Also, assuming your mum or dad has a good driving record, get quotes with at least one of them as a named driver. I'm sure you will but in case you were considering not doing it, adding my mother to my car at 24 got me £70 off a £600 premium (1 year's NCD).
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Thanks for that last tip David HM,
Just gone and added my parents as extra named drivers to my existing policy with elephant, and just like that £134 is being refunded to my bank account!
Cheers!
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Sprinter - If you want to apply online for Tesco insurance, you must be the car's owner and registered keeper. This applies to the majority of on-line insurance quotes. Telephone quotes may be more flexible.
You could always try to persuade your parents to sell you the car for a nominal sum!
Ian
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