Renewal for the bike plopped on the door mat this morning. 472.00 fully comp.
Decided to phone around. Got a quote for a Honda CBR1000 covered for business use £100.00 excess, including legal and breakdown cover - £206.00 fully comp. As a side issue I asked which company offered this remarkable price. Guess what ? The same one that offered me the £472.00 renewal. To quote my sparring partner (Alwyn) "Go Figure"
|
Bennets quoted me £360 once for a Red Star TPO policy.
I told her that was a joke as I was paying 160 at the time, before I could hang up she told me she could get down to £166.
Still not good enough but my curiosity was roused.
"What level of cover is it? "
"Exactly the same."
"Well, which company is it with?"
"Red Star."
The scummy insurers had quoted me over twice what they could do it for in the hope that I say yes without checking.
I didn't bother to shout. Just hung up.
This year the AA quoted me just under 90 but when I tried to take up the quote it had jumped 5 quid.
I was livid - sunny day so no time to phone round again I just had to shout for five minutes and pay up to get out on the open road.
I bet she'd never anyone that angry over five quid before.
|
|
This happens on car insurance as well. Renewal comes through door. WOW! On the phone, get cover at roughly last years level wth another insurer. Call original insurer to cancel renewal, get put through to 'special department'. Tell them I am cancelling and have taken out insurance with another company, get huffy voice, why didn't you call us we could have matched that! Well why did you send me a renewal at twice the price then? Ah, well thats another department! It must work for them most of the time or they would not do it but it is despicable.
|
|
|
|
Nice to have a partner!
Take care on those wheels. My cousin rides an ex-police BMW for fun. Last year we were due to have a meal with him. He arrived "on a high". It turned out he had been thrown over the bonnet of a BMW in Liverpol city centre when a lady driver turned across his path without warning.
Seems the adrenalin was still coursing.
|
|
Liverpol? Where that?
|
|
That place that's full of Scosers?
|
|
|
|
Golden rule for insurance (of any kind in my experience). The first price you receive is ALWAYS the starting-point for downward negotiation. If not, walk away! I'm afraid that company loyalty counts for nothing in this day and age.
For cars I've always found Churchill and CIS (for 17+yr-olds) to be as keen as anyone. Both our motors (Polo and A.N. Other) are currently with Churchill. Both initially bought on-line. When the Polo renewal came though last December it wasn't bad but I thought there was still room for improvement (no claims, low annual mileage, etc.) I rang them, made a small fuss and was passed through to their 'special department who review matters of this nature'. This free 2 min call resulted in £25 disappearing from the premium in an instant. Perhaps I was lucky, good track record, etc. but I guess the insurance ball-park changes on an almost daily basis so, pick your moment...
Best
|
|
|
|
It always pays to haggle or shop around. I got my motorcycle renewal through the other day and for a Q-plate CBR600 it was only £96.00. I know I'm 49, but for TPO I thought it wasn't bad.
The down side is that it's gone to that great road riding heaven due to me trying to join the A140 during the morning rush hour albeit on it's side with me following. @!#$! We all make mistakes. I heard myself saying, whilst nursing a fractured shoulder, 'Sorry mate, I didn't see you.' to the Vectra driver.
Ho-hum.
|
|
|
My second "car" is a BMW R1100RS. This bike is pretty fast 0 - 60 in under 4 seconds and insurance is cheap.
But when I thought about changing to the Honda Blackbird - top speed 170mph 0-60 in 3 seconds I simply could not get a quote for South London address unless the bike was garaged. Not even Honda's own insurance brokers. So Istuck with the BM.
|
|
|
There must be lots of people getting quotes saying "well I'm staying with them because they've always been good to me". Rowlocks, to use a nautical term.
Bike (always excessive), car, house, whatever, shop around EVERY time. Once I find a cheaper quote for the same cover, I take it. If the current insurer (or supplier of anything else) can only come up with a better price when he faces losing my business, he doesn't deserve to keep it.
I don't suppose it will affect the way they trade by one iota, but there's always hope.
|
|
|
What actually happens.............
Insurers study their risk profile. This is tuned every year and is intended to remain balanced within their chosed, underwritten and reinsured market.
Inevitably it doesn't stay balanced, or isn't in the place they want it.
They balance their area ratings, age ratings, car ratings, experience ratings et al, to acheive competitiveness int he area they wish.
For some this might be young drivers with silly cars, or youngs drivers with normal cars, or older drivers with silly cars, or older drivers with sensible cars etc. etc. etc.
There is a regular rate review. Now, whilst the underlying trend is up, it is not consistently up across the full range of insured risk that that particular insurer has. Some will increase much less than the average, some much more. This range is part of them balancing, rebalancing, or redirecting their risk profile.
In addition, you can step outside their ideal profile. They might like 30yrs - 39yrs for example, and you became 40. Or you may have changed your car, address, driving restrictions or whatever. Any of these can put you outside that particular insurers "ideal" market and make their rates uncompetitive.
So, those are the two main reasons why the change in your premium is out of balance with the overall change in premiums.
Theoretically your broker will check each renewal notice, requote it, and offer you a better price. And to an extent they do, but not very well.
Bear in mind that standard quotations are now computertised, whereas when I sued to do it they were not. It was neccessary to have, in your mind, around 75 different insurers and how they were likely to perform over 20 or so standard risks.
If you're good, you can look at a premium and know if you can make a substantial saving. Sadly these days they do not employ many insurance experts, typically they are younger people who rely on the computer, so they cannot look at and see, they have to enter all the details and check.
Thus, whilst what is supposed to happen to a renewal is this...
1) Broker receives renewal notice
2) Is it substantially higher than last year ?
3) If so, is there a reason (change of car for example) ?
4) If not, requote
5) has another insurer moved into this profile ?
6) if so, requote
7) send insured party the renewal premium with an alternative if it is substantially different (>15%)
But there are issues with this;
1) Insurers don't encourage the brokers to take business away from them and thus comission can be higher in the second year, not to mention relationships and "favours"
2) It takes time and costs money, inevitably lowers the brokers commission and half the time people want to stay where they are anyway.
3) Most people will stay with the same insurer. However, once you raise the spectre of cheaper alternatives, they will then start checking with other brokers, where if you had said nothing, they probably wouldn't.
So Brokers either don't do it, or they don't do it very well.
Therefore, it is essential that you go through the process yourself; EVERY RENEWAL !
1) is it substantially higher than last year ?
2) have you moved or change car, changed the drivers etc. ?
3) Have you moved across an age line (29 - 30, 24 - 25 etc.)
If appropriate, get it requoted. It is naive to think that a broker will do this automatically - they will not.
If they have done it, it is normally because the broker is trying to rebalance his business either towards or away from a particular insurer.
It will not improve your claims service just because you have been with the same insurer for a long time
Claims performance is dependent on the underwriter/adjuster/inspector/repairer team. This is never the same twice, and therefore your claims experience will be different each time. It is typically not worth moving for a bad experience nor staying for a good one.
For Goodness sakes ignore how much NCD they give you IT DOESN'T MATTER !!!! - Look only at the bottom line (a 10% discount off $100 is always better than a 50% discount off $500. It really is, but nobody thinks so, they are always distracted by higher discounts)
Consider what cover you need - for example, a Composite will usually incude rugs and clothing, and Syndicate will typically not - but do you really care ?
There's loads more, but I have a meeting -
But the message is - if it changes when you don't expect it, or doesn't change when you think it should - get it requoted EVERY RENEWAL
|
|
That information is gold dust and should be added to the Honest Johns FAQ section. IMO.
|
|
|
|
Bloody hell mate. I'm going to print/frame that little lot! Pretty comprehensive...
|
|
|
Mark said
"Sadly these days they do not employ many insurance experts, typically they are younger people who rely on the computer, so they cannot look at and see, they have to enter all the details and check."
How true, this year's caravan insurance came through with a letter saying they wouldn't be inviting me to renew as my security didn't meet their requirements. Gave me a week (!!) to upgrade. Truth is it's way above their requirements, it's just that the security I have isn't on their computer's list. If I'd had a claim I might have understood their point with with 5 years claim free I thought it all a bit strong.
Result - I went to a reputable insurer (my very words to the original cowboys), instant cover saving £150 plus cost of building garden wall.
|
|
|
|
It's great to read but all it means is phone around for new quotes every year.
I'd hope everyone already knows that even if we needed M (B) to tell us why we're doing it.
|
Dave wrote:
>
> It's great to read but all it means is phone around for new
> quotes every year.
>
> I'd hope everyone already knows that even if we needed M (B)
> to tell us why we're doing it.
Its nice to know what they are up to, and they don't just do it to p@#£ me off, however it still doesn't retract that I hate them all with a passion. :o)
|
|
|
|
Probably as good a time as any to point out this thread that will save me from driving uninsured in future and could save others:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=16785&t...3
DON'T LISTEN TO THE ADVISORS ON THE PHONE.
|
|
|
Same thing with my caravan, was this Caravan Guard ?
PS My first benefit of being 40 - 10% discount off my caravan insurance !
Whilst on the caravan thing, I get really annoyed this time of year when the motoring press start laying in to caravanners. Surely the motoring press is for all the motoring public not just the select few. DT Saturday section is great and always includes a broad range of articles on cars and bikes so why ostracise caravanners - there are bad drivers and annoying vehicles of every description but we should stick together as motorists - witness the discussion on Motorway tolls......... coming to a cinema near you soon.
I ride bikes, drive cars and pull a caravan occasionally, I consider myself a motorist not a car driver, biker or caravanner and respect all these 'groups' when doing one of the other.
Cheers :-)
|
|
|
I've got a CBR thou - could you tell me who you got the good quote from, I'd like to give them a ring? Reply or e-mail me perhaps if you could?
Thanks
Neil
|
|
|
|
Neil, I've got a VFR800 and have been with Carole Nash for the past couple of years. Not the cheapest or the dearest, but it's the old story-you get what you pay for. (No associated in any way, etc).
|
|
|
Neil,
As Paul said it was carolenash.com.....I was so baffled by a quote that was so much cheaper I phoned back.........! Included in the price was free Legal Protection and RAC cover. I re-ran my details through them and they came up with the same premium. (this included a bump - not blameworthy - three years ago). Bennets started with a bog standard £122.-- quote but with a humongous
£550.00 excess and 2000 mile limit. Knock the excess down to £250 and they wanted £198.00 CN's included a £100.00 excess. The rest, as they say is history - the CBR lives to fight another year, I very nearly parted with it 'cos of the expensive insurance.
Gwyn
|
Excellent - thanks Alwyn and others.
I am actually with CN at the moment - 2nd year after the 'Independent Icons' debacle last year. Seems OK policy but not as cheap as you were quoted - 42yo rider with max NCD & deep rural postcode. But mine was by phone - I'll try online and see what happens...Thanks again. Neil
|
|
|
|
Graham
Nice to see someone admitting a mistake.
We all make them , it's just that on a bike the margin for error is smaller and the consequences more serious.
Whenever I see a bike accident or the aftermath (in London about once a month) I think "There but for the grace of God go I".
|
|
|
