Annual insurance renewal - existing insurer's premium quote increased from £220 to £330 (9yr+ no claims).
So ... time to look for alternative quotes and checked some insurers' websites and used comparison sites. So far so good ... but one of my criteria for choosing a suitable insurer is that the cover includes holiday travel to EU three or four times a year and don't want to pay an additional premium for every trip.
Bottom line ... it's very difficult to find any sites that give the option of entering inclusive EU cover as an option. I have to draw up a short-list of potential insurers and then contact them and enquire directly - even the company websites often don't make the information easy to find.
My search for an alternative insurer now has a satisfactory outcome (!) ... but I'm sure I'm not the only one facing this challenge ... are there any comparison sites which include the option to find companies which offer inclusive EU cover?
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Point number one is that any insurance purchased within the EU has to include minimum legal cover for any country within the EU for the whole period of the policy- that's the law, the UK insurance companies would rather you didn't know that - but that's the truth.
That cover is what the UK calls "third party only".
If you want to extend your cover during visits to EU countries to include comprehensive cover for three or four visits a year- you need to contact your insurance company and negociate the extra charge for cover over and above third party.
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Focussed - I am well aware that 3rd party insurance cover is included in all UK motor policies, but contrary to your understanding not all companies do make an additional charge for extending full comprehensive cover.
Having paid an additional £25 - £30 per trip for several years with a previous insurer, I found a couple of years ago that I could insure with another company which offered up to 90 days fully comprehensive EU cover at no additional cost.
However, better than that, on renewal I have now found another company which includes unlimited EU cover with its comprehensive policy - in practice I'm never going to exceed the 90 days on my previous policy, but this one has come in at £100 cheaper!
Returning to my original query - is this facility to opt for inclusive EU cover a search option on any comparison websites?
Edited by Theophilus on 28/07/2016 at 19:51
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I have 90 days cover per insured year "This policy also provides the cover you have selected and which is shown in your schedule" - I have selected comprehensive cover - my insurer is Axa, they gave me a good price on renewal last year, likewise Mrs S's car earlier this year. I look forwards to seeing what they offer on renewal!
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You should ring up your insurance to find out why it has gone up.
Over the years, I have been robbed by car insurance companies, when on two seperate occasion, I was hit by drivers who hit my car and tried to run away.
So it is important to read the policy document and compare with other insurance companies. It is also important how know, if they will fight on your behalf, or just let you loose your no claims bonus.
Even the Defaqto have holes in how they how they rate insurance companies.
I am paying extra to be with Aviva, it is one the better car insurance policies out there, but do check again, just in case, I have am out of date with my info.
Even Direct Line, who have those nice ads, had a few clause which I was not happy about.
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Sometimes adding an extra person, can reduce the price. Insurance is funny like that...
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Thank you for your comments Warning ... I think the insurers who do NOT automatically quote a steep increase in premium year on year, despite no claims having been made, are very much the exception rather than the norm!
However, my issue is not with the quoted premium increase (I negotiated it down to a small reduction in premium last year, and this year have found another insurer at a very competitive rate) .... my query as you will see from the thread heading is not with increased insurance premiums per se, but with the difficulty in finding out which companies do not make additional charges for maintaining full comprehensive cover when travelling on holiday to the EU. I left DL quite a few years ago because I was paying them an additional £100 per year for 2 weeks travel to France a few times a year - but their website doesn't make this clear (nor are they an exception).
When you see TV footage of the 1000s of drivers queuing to pass through Dover last weekend (and that after the Brexit vote!), I'm sure there must be a market for a comparison site which gives the option of cover for EU travel being included in the annual premium.
Edited by Theophilus on 29/07/2016 at 18:58
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