Insurance

[national]

Well my insurance is due in a week

On Friday I retired,

So no longer commute at busy times and lots of traffic, reduced my mileage from 24k to 4k a year, no longer any penalty points or claims, consequetly changed from leisure and commute to leisure only

Confidently phoned up to renew and advised of the changes I wanted to make :-)

:-(

£20 to make the change and increased insurance by £39 a year, as more dangerous leisure driving during the day than commuting at peak times ?

Compare sites are £100 less than this insurer, which I advised them of,

Reply there is no way that is possible and we would not compete.

Advised then I would not renew and would go elsewhere

Next problem the new insurers want proof of no claims

Phoned old insurer back asking for this as on the renewal

For NCD it is blank and it says phone for NCD

They want £23 for a NCD notice to be sent out

All this on 0845 numbers too

Is there any other way national data base or something I can attain this information ?

National

[ckyliu]

To avoid 0870 numbers try www.saynoto0870.com. Some insurers can get your proof of NCB from your previous insurer or MIB I think, but not all of them will do this so it's probably best to try and get a new policy sorted a month before your renewal date, so you can pay your existing insurer for a written NCB proof if you need it. Some insurers offer documentation online for free, so this might be worth a punt to save you shelling out £23

[D15VRS]

One thing I learnt always save the previous years Insurance Certificate, I know this is of no use now but might help someone younger. I have been driving 20+ years but still on 8 years NCD, Aviva who I'm with now only recognise 5 years, so got to keep previous cert for extra year.

[Ootohere]

They are having a laugh.

They do not need any NCB info, they have it on the shared Insurance information,

just as they know the other Insurance Quotes you are getting.

Have you tried SAGA.

I know they seem expensive at on the first look or even the Quote.

You go on a 0800 number & it can take a Hour even more.

Discount for getting a quote on our Home Insurance,

Discount for a quote on health insurance,

Discount for taking a quote on travel insurance, etc etc.

A single person is very expensive with them, but a couple being covered are so much cheaper IME.

The big question might come after that,

what other quotes have you had.

'Price Match' might well come into it.

(so get those online comparisons first)

I have 3 cars with them with myself and partner using the same NCB, they only give or allow 9 years.

I pay 4 quarterly payments & this costs no Interest charge or extra from paying a straight one off payment.

Gives good cover & stuff like. 'Emergency cover for any driver with a suitable licence to drive in a Medical Emergency',

This is not like Someone with their own cover being covered 3rd party, better than that IMO.

Worth a try i would think if over 50.

george

[Padrino]

I am really lost with all this insurance saga. Honestly I never had any issues with NCB papers or else. The last time I moved Insurance company I just called my "old" one and said I will not renew with them and I need my NCB, two days latter arrived in the post. Why they want to charge you for this? Something is not right here.

Now I use well known confused website and the prices are great. My Fabia Estate with 5 years NCB is only £186 quid a year FULLY comp.

[RainbowFire]

Well my insurance is due in a week On Friday I retired,

&--#60;cut down a bit&--#62;

Is there any other way national data base or something I can attain this information ? National

Congrats on the retirement!

I think you should name and shame the company involved.

When I looked around when I was getting the Octy, I compared some small furry creatures, and then I went and compared. The Italian dude was £100 cheaper than the furies! So even comparing the comparison sites is not a bad idea. (Although "mis-entering" you phone number stops you from getting all the "we were in the top ten cheapest" calls )

Edited 1 May, 2012 by RainbowFore

[Lazy Daisy]

When I changed to Admiral all they wanted was my previous policy no. and they did the rest

[Clunkclick]

Congrats on joining the burgeoning ranks.

I went AWP (Absent with permission, specifically with Call-me-Dave's permission) at the end of January.

When I got my car insurance renewal notice from Swiftcover in March, without any claims or incidents over the previous year or any change in circumstances, the premium shot up by £200. On enquiry, this was justified as being based on claim hits in the last few years which i was told "All car insurers were experiencing". My thoughts were that it happened to conincide with Swiftcover's most recent TV advertising campaign in the S.E. - Being newly set-up only a few years before they may have taken a few more bad judgements than other insurers (The shouldn't have done being part of the Axa group), perhaps, but I suspect that they had a strategy in which they were intending to ditch loss making and low-earning clients in favour of those with more money than sense - well, that was the feeling I got from the adverts.

So went to an independent broker and after much tooing and froing (See my posts in March) got it reduced to the level I was paying the year before with RAC roadside assistance and foreign travel covered in the price.

£39 for the increased risk of being an OAP seems reasonable compared to the laraping I got because I retired 2 years early under one of the government schemes, The independent broker still wanted to class me as unemployed rather than retired because, although entitled, i'm not due to get my pension for two years. They persisted despite me emphasising that my anticipated annual mileage would halve from 7,000 to 3.500 miles (As it stands at the moment I'm slightly under target on that and only because I just added 600 miles to the total by taking a week's break in Devon/Cornwall.) so I sent them copies of my employers sign-off documentation and made a declaration that i was not unemployed or intending to sign-on, so then things moved slightly.

I still reckon I paid £100 over the odds - I keep getting, even up to two weeks ago, mail shots from SAGA insurance and such like saying they can do the same thing for £156 annual premium - that's the same SAGA who when a previous renewal came up a month before my 50th birthday wouldn't give be a SAGA quote because I still wasn't fifty - there's a phrase the youngster's use today - erm. ? . . erm ?. . . Ram it. Ms Altman, please note.

Its all a racket. The sooner they put car insurance charges as an addition to the fuel price the better. I'm fed up cross subsidising industry and commerce.

Nick

Edited 1 May, 2012 by Clunkclick

[RainbowFire]

When I changed to Admiral all they wanted was my previous policy no. and they did the rest

Thought you didn't like men in uniform? :p

[Titanium_Man]

Check your renewal notice.

Some companies state the number of NCB on the notice it self and you should be able to use this as proof for most companies.

[VWD]

I am really lost with all this insurance saga. Honestly I never had any issues with NCB papers or else. The last time I moved Insurance company I just called my "old" one and said I will not renew with them and I need my NCB, two days latter arrived in the post. Why they want to charge you for this? Something is not right here.

Now I use well known confused website and the prices are great. My Fabia Estate with 5 years NCB is only £186 quid a year FULLY comp.

Never found the "oldies" sites better value, and I'm 65 .If I'd kept all my NCB paperwork since giving up my company motor ,I'd have at least 15 yrs NCB. But only 9+ are recognised . My renewal last year , in a higher priced postcode was £250, with legal & breakdown thrown in . So that's possibly less thaN £200,

I still think you've got it cheaper , Dunfermline /Fife is far nicer than this dump . Still miss the sight of the road bridge lights at night .

[Mafuta]

As a slight aside ... also entering a new life phase with 17 year old wanting to drive our car! Already changed from a 1.9TDI Fabia to a 1.2 HTP to make insurance more affordable - still, though, my insurer wants to increase the premium from under £300 (wife and me) to £2400 to include our son! (wanted £2900 for the TDI!). All quite outrageous. They load it massively for Northern Ireland also - bad roads and wild paddy drivers! Any tips from anyone on where to go on this would be much appreciated - or do I be a mean parent and not let him drive?!

[Robjon]

When I changed to Admiral all they wanted was my previous policy no. and they did the rest

It was the same for me when I changed to Aviva.

I found Aviva cheaper than anywhere for comparable insurance.

When I retired last month, I was able to notify Aviva on-line, avoiding a £20 administration fee.

On-line notification also generated an automatic refund (around £10) because of the reduced premium.

Oh - and one very well known "oldies" Insurance Company wanted £100 more than Aviva for much the same cover

[Padrino]

Still miss the sight of the road bridge lights at night .

Here you go then

[Ootohere]

Re Insurance prices & haggling is,

if they mention 'Price Match' on the phone and you give an amount that you pick out the air (without being greeedy) & the

Sales person 'Price Matches' that, you know there is micky taking going on.

(if they ask if there is a 'Price Match' stamp on the renewal, and there is not, but they are prompting you, then there is lots of Kidology going on.)

That is what can happen on the phone, you know they are being recorded or monitored but trying to get a sale.

Price comparison sites vary during the night & times of day as the company tries to get to the top of the Page or Table on sales.

If there is an outstanding bargain & you get the chance to pay by card then and there, they usually honour that when they call you back if they need more info, if your original details given online were truthful.

Only the stupid pay the price as first given.

They are nearly all Brokers, the cover is much of a sameness, you pay more or less for little things and pay lots more or less according to the Brokers commissions,

Very few that 'we' contact are actually Insurance Companies or Underwriters, the Cover is being provided by the same few insurance groups, Fortis etc,

& they are all just owned by Banks anyway.

george

Edited 2 May, 2012 by sk4gw

[Padrino]

Confused.com owned by Admiral. They also own elephant.co.uk, Bell Direct and Diamond.

GoCompare are “independent” but have received a £30m loan from esure. If they can’t pay esure back in cash, esure become a major shareholder. That’s according to the Insurance Times.

Compare the Market is owned by Budget. This one is a bit naughty, as all of the brands quoted are Budget group companies – but they don’t make that obvious – they also own Dial Direct, “Local Broker“, ibuyeco, Quote Mart, and Junction who run the insurance arms of the Post Office, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Bradford & Bingley, Homebase and yesinsurance.com.

HBOS Group owns Halifax Insurance, esure, Sheilas Wheels and First Alternative.

Royal & SunAlliance owns More Than

GroupAMA owns Carole Nash, Choice Quote, Bollington & Lark

AXA owns Swiftcover andhas a share in Venture Preference. It also offers quotes as Lloyds TSB Insurance and insurance.co.uk

AON owns Firebond & Footman James

MMA owns Swinton, its4me & bullseye

Zurich owns Endsleigh

Fortis owns RIAS

Kwik-Fit Insurance Services owns Express Insurance

BDML Connect owns Lancaster

Fresh Insurance owns Ladybird and First Insurance

IAG owns Hastings Direct, People’s Choice, Diamond, Advantage, Open & Direct and Equity

RBS Group – the Royal Bank of Scotland Group includes our old friends Direct Line, plus Churchill, Privilege, NIG as well as insurance sold branded as Tesco Insurance, Natwest, Virgin Money, MBNA, BMW Insurance, MINI Insurance, Mint, Egg, Nationwide, Age Concern, Vauxhall Insurance and several others!

Just to name a few

Edited 2 May, 2012 by Padrino

[ckyliu]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/compare-cheap-car-insurance#step2

Let's you know which two comparison sites will give you the best coverage and it's full of handy hints to drop your premium. All round excellent site for anything financial

[slider]

or you could try a really independant company - just got my renewal in from NFU Mutual, which is DOWN for the 2nd year in a row.

They are perceived to be expensive but, as with all things, you get what you pay for. My quote is £256 for a Mazda 3 1.6 TDi, Protected NCD, legal cover and and full business use. Local service, in a local office where I can knock on the door and speak to a real person if I have a problem.

I will shop around and may find a quote close to it but the NFU Mutuals big plus is that they only charge a pittance to spread the payments - an APR of 2.7% mean it will cost me about for the year to pay in monthly instalments Many online companies are charging 20%+, meaning a £258 quote would cost over £300.

I have started a similar psot in the General car chat section before I noticed this thread.

Moderators feel free to merge threads

.Edit

I have now done some comparisons and results as I suspected.

to get the same level of cover only 1 on line company was cheaper for an up front payment, but was £30 more once instalment costs were added.

Edited 2 May, 2012 by slider

[VWD]

Here you go then

What we used to see from the bedroom windows ,was the pillars and the red lights, but thank you ,sir .

[VWD]

Confused.com owned by Admiral. They also own elephant.co.uk, Bell Direct and Diamond.

GoCompare are “independent” but have received a £30m loan from esure. If they can’t pay esure back in cash, esure become a major shareholder. That’s according to the Insurance Times.

Compare the Market is owned by Budget. This one is a bit naughty, as all of the brands quoted are Budget group companies – but they don’t make that obvious – they also own Dial Direct, “Local Broker“, ibuyeco, Quote Mart, and Junction who run the insurance arms of the Post Office, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Bradford & Bingley, Homebase and yesinsurance.com.

HBOS Group owns Halifax Insurance, esure, Sheilas Wheels and First Alternative.

Royal & SunAlliance owns More Than

GroupAMA owns Carole Nash, Choice Quote, Bollington & Lark

AXA owns Swiftcover andhas a share in Venture Preference. It also offers quotes as Lloyds TSB Insurance and insurance.co.uk

AON owns Firebond & Footman James

MMA owns Swinton, its4me & bullseye

Zurich owns Endsleigh

Fortis owns RIAS

Kwik-Fit Insurance Services owns Express Insurance

BDML Connect owns Lancaster

Fresh Insurance owns Ladybird and First Insurance

IAG owns Hastings Direct, People’s Choice, Diamond, Advantage, Open & Direct and Equity

RBS Group – the Royal Bank of Scotland Group includes our old friends Direct Line, plus Churchill, Privilege, NIG as well as insurance sold branded as Tesco Insurance, Natwest, Virgin Money, MBNA, BMW Insurance, MINI Insurance, Mint, Egg, Nationwide, Age Concern, Vauxhall Insurance and several others!

Just to name a few

And don't forget the compare sites ,and who owns what. Seem to remember that a good few of the sites are part of the BISL network ( in short part of the HSBC group) .

Can't remember which, but from memory ,it was two out of the three largest .

[jessica_rabbit]

They are having a laugh.

They do not need any NCB info, they have it on the shared Insurance information,

just as they know the other Insurance Quotes you are getting.

Can I just point out that this statement is not true for all insurance companies and some underwriters require written proof of no claims bonus from your previous insurer. And they don't know what quotes your getting elsewhere. If only there was a magic computer that did all this it would be fab and save a lot of hassle. But alas, insurers still call other insurers in order to validate proof of bonus for their customers where possible.

Jess x

[Ootohere]

'still call other insurers', Email, Fax, Data Base, even Slow Mail, Shared Info because they are of the Same Group.

Equates to 'Shared Insurance Information' in my eyes, even if not at the tips of their fingers, but in the year 2012 it is for major players.

Takes about 3 minutes untill my phone starts ringing with Other Companies/Brokers & every Mickey Mouse company prepared to undercut those other 'Comparison Quotes' when i do an online comparison.

Several can correct me on forgotten claims & claims that i did not know where made against me or my vehicles,

that even include Windscreen Replacements i had really forgotten about.

Oh and my ex was a Loss Adjuster after having been a Broker for a good few years so i have a little inside knowledge..

That and me being a Vehicle repairer.

The play a money making game which we have to participate in, to be on the road,

we do not have to 'asume the position' though!

george

[jessica_rabbit]

I didn't say this was all insurers. I know some won't give information without prior consent from the customer though, so it's not all easily accessible, for the brokers/intermediary's. Some underwriters don't even check on customers claim details unless they are involved in a claim, some check as soon as a policy is taken out. I'm not saying your wrong, I was simply saying it wasn't true for all insurers. That's all.

Jess x

[gadgetman]

£23 for NCD? Which crooks are these?

Or is it because you're mid policy?