I got a renewal notice through from my insurers yesterday. Bacause I didn't have Protected No-Claims Discount I thought I'd go on their web site and find out what the difference would be.
Imagine my surprise when it came back with a quote that was over £200 LESS than the renewal notice!
I thought it would be more because I wanted to add an option onto my policy, but for it to be so much less was amazing.
I phoned them up to ask why and was told not to complain, and just take the online quote.
I think I'll look elsewhere.
|
It's probably because they offer new customers more attractive premiums than existing customers to intice them in, then up the insurance in the second year.
There are two answers to this seeming unfairness:
1) Switch insurance companies each year thus pitching them against each other to gain the most competitive quote;
2) Phone around, getting the quotes as a new customer and recording carefully the details of the best (including all additional benefits like NCD protection, courtesy car, windscreen damage and breakdown cover). Put this to your insurance company and in my experience they will match or nearly match it.
I am insured by Churchill at present on a Civic. I am 28 with 5yrs NCD and the renewal notice came in at £1358. I rang around and received a quote for £775 with similar benefits. Rang Churchill and now pay £830 without changing a thing. I have done this two years running with them and they always nearly match the best I can find elsewhere - they have amazing flexibility.
|
|
Personally, if they have let you take the lower premium and you are happy with them, I'd stick with them. There's nothing dodgy about it, just market forces at work IMO.
|
|
Agreed, though shop around first - there may be another few hundred in there, depending on how high your premium is in the first place.
|
Is there anything to stop someone from not renewing the existing policy, then going on line and starting a new policy at 'new customer' rates with the same company? I guess it could get tricky with proof of NCD etc?
If this method is legit I may give a try when I renew. I haven't been able to beat Direct Line's renewal for four years in a row - but I bet I could get a better deal from them as a new customer.
|
|
Worth a go, but when I renewed everyone wanted to know vehicle registration number. I suppose you could say 'haven't bought the vehicle yet, don't know the number': It's a bit like that no brainer where they say "What quotes have you already received?" To which I reply "give me your best quote, THEN I'll tell you what everyone else is quoting..."
|
>>I haven't been able to beat Direct Line's renewal for four years in a row
Funnily enough, it was Direct Line.
What gets my back up is the fact that if I hadn't checked and had simply let the automatic renewal go ahead, I'd be paying £200 a year more than I should have.
|
When my Direct Line insurance came up for renewal this year, I checked the renewal premium against a new online quotation - the online quote was cheaper by about 5%. The lady on the renewal hotline said I should just accept the online offer, and ignore the paper renewal notice.
But I still don't know if this was correct advice, because I paid the higher premium over the phone anyway for convenience. Next year, I'll try to do better.
Ian
|
|
DirectLine automatically gives a 5% discount for buying online, and a further 10% if you have home contents with them. Basically it's completely legit and you were given essentially the same quote either way, you just chose not to get the online discount.
|
Quotes vary by the minute, like the stock market.
I got a quote from Direct, then their computer went down and I had to read the details again. The new quote was £5 cheaper.
Get lots of quotes, make a note of the reference numbers they give you, then pick the cheapest. Or as advised, go back to your existing company and argue the point.
Try Tesco - my cheapest quote was £259 from Halifax, then I rang Tesco and got £146. (2 litre car, fully comp, full NCD, living in the sticks, 15,000 miles pa)
|
I'm with Direct Line - their quote was much less than any of the others (about £150 lower I think).
On a tangent, my home insurance with them has just come up for renewal, and shopping around I have found Liverpool Victoria is over £200 a year cheaper. They do motor insurance too, so maybe they're competitive for that too? Could be worth a call...
|
![2021 Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T 160 [157] Acenta Premium 5dr DCT](http://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/url/crop/90x60/https/assets.heycar.co.uk/t_default-export/f_auto/application_assets/vehicles/pictures/da990225dbcac5ecfadc85d8ad4e2654/690936625217cd1efba5c9cdd4bc42f1.jpg)
