It's that time of the year again and I have been wasting time trawling around the websites & call centres, trying to save on the motor insurance which has gone up by £25 this year.
As usual, I found some at a similar price, a few at +£40, and one at £20pa cheaper. I am far from wealthy, but it all seems too much trouble to go elsewhere for the sake of twenty quid (I'd do it for twice that).
What saving would overcome your lethargy?
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I'd change for a tenner. Keeps them on their toes, don't let them get complacent. At this level of difference be sure you measure like for like. The last two times I've changed it was 30 and 25 quid. I don't know if there's any more room for it to drop next time. mx5, fully comp, 3 points, garaged, 125 quid.
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I think there's still something to be said for loyalty if it's a case of twenty quid. My father-in-law got great service from Direct Line (utterly outside their obligations) when he pointed out that he'd been with them for ten years or so. He got around £700 more than he should have (basically, they covered him for a hire car because of delays in getting his car fixed).
Might be worth considering sticking on this basis. Then again, no guarantee that you will get any benefit.
V
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I think I'd agree with a tenner!
It's good that Vin's f-i-l got good service, but I'm not so sure that's the norm.
I hate the way so many companies seem to lure customers in with a reduced first year's insurance, and then sting you the next year to make up for it. Hence, I tend to change every year, as there always seems to be something better on offer.
However, do beware of things that sound too good to be true. In my albeit limited experience, they generally are.
HF
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What HF said.
I'd always shop around in the hope of saving far more than a tenner, but given my so far 1 year's no claims but 8 years claim free, I'd always go for the cheapest, even by a totally insignificant amount, assuming the actual level of cover was the same.
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I stuck loyally to Eagle Star as premiums gradually rose each year despite my NCB accumulating. I regularly change cars so I justified the gradual rise from £350 (Audi Coupe) to £700 (Audi S3). The next year it was £800 so time to shop around. Switched to NU and halved my premium. I paid the price for being complacent.
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A few years ago, when insurance prices were rising rapidly anyway, I used to switch every year and make big "savings" - ie keeping the premium substantially the same. Now I still check the quotes but find less and less difference.
Also I notice there are small differences and assumptions they make about driving profiles that make it hard to compare like for like.
Watch out for annual mileage differences - some give an apparently competitive quote but then you find in the small print they have assumed only 10,000 pa. Some assume an imobiliser fitted, some don't seem to care.Some assume a locked garage, some don't mind the open road.
I do notice as a rule that the special deals targetted at clubs, particular makes, over 50s etc tend to be much more expensive than just the ordinary schemes.
I've stuck with Norwich Union for several years - each year I get a range of quotes and they keep being the cheapest.
One good rule I warn my parents about - older drivers should stay put. When you get to 75 plus loyalty does count - you won't get anyone else to offer cover at all.
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I, where there is a choice of suppliers, always shop around for every single service. When we were in the UK I had three prefix dial telcos and used the cheapest one according to the destination of the call.I was also one of the first users of screaming.net for free internet access! Similarly I shopped around every year for gas, electricity and car insurance. I really object to paying more than I have to, for anything!
Now we are in Spain I check my car insurance premium at each renewal. WE have direct Line here too, but for me they have NEVER been cheaper due their nasty trick of only allowing the percentage of NCB earned not the number of years NCB earned. (My current insurers have a maximum NCB of 30% for full NCB, so that's all that D.L. offer).
When my Spanish improves I will surely shop around for other services as they are opened up to competition.
Roger.
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I'm with Malteser on this one, I would always shop around, although I'm not sure that I would switch for the sake of a tenner, after all, my premiums are generally so high that I don't even consider a £100 saving between companies very significant at all :-(
Malteser - I was also on Screaming.net when it offered free web access, we had a connection within the first week or so and it was great, then it became mega slow for a while as so many people took up the service, it took it a few months to recover from that!
Blue
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I use a broker. This year my renewal had jumped by £200.
I admit to gaining 3 speeding points on my licence.
The broker showed me several alternative policies with a premium up to £160 cheaper. The net result is that I am only down by £40 instead of £200!
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Half an hour on the web could save you a significant amount, depending on your personal details.
I insured personally with Churchill last April after 15 accident-free years as a company car driver. Their renewal quote (£340) was £25 up on last year's premium. I've renewed for £262 with Direct Line.
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I'd change every year if I had too. If they bump the premium up, I'm almost guaranteed to get it cheaper somewhere else - a bit of time on the Internet and I've found that this year I could cut it by about £100. That's after a mid-way change of car through the year when my current insurers added £40 onto the cost and told me I'd lose my no claims if I moved AND they'd charge me another £70 for the pleasure of it...so I'm staying until June then 'See ya!'
CP
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Been with Tesco a few years now. On doing my partner's renewal this year both AXA and Norwich Union were a clear £80 cheaper.
It seems to me that at some point all of the insurance company's undertake a drive to increase their customer base by clearly undercutting the competition - these are the firms to find when you go looking for quotes.
I would switch for £20
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It's that time of the year again and I have been wasting time trawling around the websites & call centres, trying to save on the motor insurance which has gone up by £25 this year. As usual, I found some at a similar price, a few at +£40, and one at £20pa cheaper. I am far from wealthy, but it all seems too much trouble to go elsewhere for the sake of twenty quid (I'd do it for twice that). What saving would overcome your lethargy?
Last year, moving from direct line to esure (via t'internet) reduced my premium by a stonking £225 - from just over £525 to just under £300.
I doubt esure will be so cheap come renewal, but I hope I am wrong!!
No claims made in last 3 years.
Disclaimer - no connection with esure, just a satisfied customer.
Their adverts suck though. Hello mum I'm on the telly. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh !
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