Found the cheapest quote I could get was 50% more than last years (with Frizell) and 25% more than esure would do it this year (strangely esure would quote through confused), still awaiting the renewal quote. So still better to shop around and not convinced that they are truely 'independent'.
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A friend I recommended to them was chuffed to bits. Saved a 3 figure sum and found service v good.
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I'm just as interested in the quality of the cover as I am in the premium. Unfortunately the vast majority of companies won't let you see the exact terms of the cover until after you have paid the money. Even the AA wouldn't let me see the details of the policies they were trying to flog, and I am an AA member. There is comprehensive insurance and there is comprehensive insurance. One area where there are big differences is in personal accident benefits ~ what you get for loss of sight, loss of a limb etc.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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confused.com were OK. I found that:
www.insuresupermarket.com/motor/default.asp
threw up a cheaper quote, though. Might be worth a go?
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I've used confused.com for both car & house insurance over the last two years & had no problems so far. When I get the e-mail with the summary of quotes I tend to ignore the absolute cheapest though, as has already been pointed out, not all comprehensive policies are created equal. In particular the combination of voluntary + mandatory excess varies wildy between policies.
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The (perfectly correct) logic of people buying insurance based only on price and judging it on the cover & service has been mentioned a few times recently.
Unfortunately, some people (like myself) find themselves in a tricky position of not really being able to do it any other way.
Having never made an insurance claim or been involved in one, I've no experience of the process - either with my insurer (one with the dog) or any other. And as previously mentioned, you usually can't study the exact policy wording until after you've bought.
So how else are we meant to do it? As the ones with the dog have a relatively good name and they offered the best price, it seemed the logical choice.
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Consider what you need; There is no point in paying for somethign you don't need or want, and there is no point in making a saving by excluding something which really matters to you. There are a thousand factors and only you can decide what is important. The following are my random thoughts which I neither have the time or motivation to spell check or put in a sensible order, but perhaps the thoughts will help.
And do bear in mind that its the combination which matters and the bottom line premium. Believe me, 70% discount on a £1000 premium truly is a worse deal than a 10% discount on a £100 premium, even though the first sounds cooler.
Draw up a list of all the factors in the order which matters to you. And if cost is first, that is ok. But know what you are doing.
The important thing is buy something which you want. And know what you are buying.
And you ar right, buying by price alone is fine. Just don't forget that you did it in the event of a claim.
Let us assume that you want the insurance which is commonly called "Comprehensive". First, you need to split that down;
The primary part is the cover for the car - Accidental Damage, Third Party, Fire and Theft. (ADTPF&T)
The first concern within this area is that of excess. An excess is the part of each and every claim that you have which is NOT insured. It is your responsibility and it doesn't how much the claim is not your fault, how unfair or mean it is, how much you can or cannot afford it, you will nto get this sum of money when you claim.
Therefore, if you have a £600 car and a £500 excess, then you are never going to be able to claim for anything worthwhile. If you have a £30,000 car and a £500 excess, then you will be able to claim. But will you be able to pay the £500 needed to retrieve your newly repaired car from the garage ? If you don't think you are going to be able to afford to, then do nto agree to a £500 excess.
Also, how much premium reduction did it get you ? Excesses can be compulsory or voluntary. So compare the compulsory excesses between companies. If both want a £200 premium then one can assume that £100xs good £200xs bad. But there are variations. But how about a voluntary excess ? If you increase your excess then it will reduce the premium. Increasing your excess by £10 and therefore reducing your premium by £50 is clearly good. But, increasing your excess by £500 for a saving in premium would be clearly bad. More than one accident every 50 years and you will be losing money. If company A quotes £500 premium with £100 compulsory excess where as company B quotes £550 premium with £50 compulsory excess then decide which you prefer - £50 less premium or £50 less excess. Also understand what would happen to company B's quote if you increased your excess to £100 voluntarily ? It might reduce to £490.
Also understand to which sections the excess applies. It can be all sections, AD only, F&T only or goodness knows what other combination.
Then there are other issues. (in no particular order)
What type of business use does it include ? Just for you, or for your spouse as well. Is it to and from one permanent place of work, is it full business use to customer premises and various places of work, is it social domestic and pleasure only ? Which one do you need ? If you are being offered less than you need, what is the premium to increase ? If you are being offered more than you need is there a reduction inpremium if you restrict the usage ?
What about glass cover ? Is there an excess ? does it affect your NCD ? Does one claim affect your NCD or is it 2 ? or 3 ? Can you get it repaired anywhere ? Do you have to go through their processes/repairers ?
What is the approach to ICE, rugs and clothing incl. general contents ? Is there a limit ? Is there an excess ? Do you care ?
What about potential changes ? If you may include a high risk driver in the current year of insurance will they accept it or charge horribly for it ? Or just refuse ? ditto if you think you might buy a newer/older/cheaper/more expensive car during the year ?
Do you need protected NCD ? How much to they charge for it ? How many accidents in what period of time does it allow you ? What happens if you have an accident ? I know they won't reduce your NCD but might they load the premium (which has the same affect on the bottom line). Does adding or reducing the number of drivers matter ?
What happens if you move to a higher or lower risk area during the year ?
What about an accident ? Do they have approved repairers ? do they give replacement vehicles ? how do they value write-offs ? Are their repairers convenient to you or liked by you ? Do you care ?
What level of support will they give you in the event of an incident which is not your fult ? Is their legal expenses cover ? Is their uninsured loss recovery ? Is it any good ? Does it cost you any money ?
What about service levels ? Is their customer care great or awful ? do you care ?
Tehre is so much more, and you can see I have used the phrase "do you care?" a lot. No point in paying for it if you don't.
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By the way, a broker may not show you a copy of the Ts&Cs before you buy, although he should. But the insurance company not only will, they absolutely *have* to if you ask.
Take no wotsit. You're the customer.
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Mark - This thread just backs up my thoughts on Retro's Good old Bad Old days thread.
Its not always the customer who wants the cheapest price and doesn't bother to check the cover - it is really sometimes almost impossible to find out the full terms of your cover before the company want your money.
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Helicopter,
I awlays know what insurance I'm buying, I always know whether it suits me or not, and I always know what it covers and what it does not cover, before I buy it.
Most people don't put the effort it. Some do, most do not.
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After I recieved my list of quotes from confused.com it did take a fair while to download copies of the policies from my shortlist, but well worth doing.
It's the same with breakdown organisations - some of my mates swear blind that the AA will trailer them home for free after an accident; but it clearly states in their terms and conditions that this is not the case ( or it did last week when I checked anyway). The main reason I still insure my bangernomics vehicles full comp. ( trying to keep the thread on topic!)
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Thanks to all for your experiences, and Mark for the detailed breakdown. It's useful to focus on the key items that affect the quote. My main concern was the life expectancy of some of the lesser known companies providing the 'cheapest' quotes.
It's also interesting to see that my existing insurer has made no attempt to match some of the quotes, despite me prompting them. There seems to be no advantage for the over 50s these days!
Mark
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I found Confused to be an absolute 100% waste of time. It returned a large number of quotes, none of which were under £1500.
They, for example, said my best quote would be through Norwich Union for £1600.
I then got a quote directly from NU using the same details and it returned a quote of £1300.
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i used confused for my insurance because they were £100 chaeper than my previous insurers, even thought they were the same company, confused , thats what i was, i was insured with norwich union direct and renewal was £400, looked on net got it down to £350 rung norwich union to match, they couldnt, then remembered confused.com, guess what same cover as my renewal for £300 with guess who, yep norwich union, work that out, rung norwich union to ask why, all i got was extra discount though the net, i said may be but not 25% extra, woman said ill cancell this policy and do it through confused and get that price so thats what i did, same policy, same details, same excess, same company £100 in my pocket so thanks confused.
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Problem with them is that they don't ask enough relevant questions.
For example the two cheapest quotes they provided will not insure me as I have a speeding conviction (shock horror)
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I've never bought insurance through a broker. When you buy through a broker, is the "contract" with the broker or with the insurance company/underwriter?
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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both - two different contracts.
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