Just got my renewal notice for my coming year insurance for my 1.4 TSi.  £150.58  (E-Sure)

 

Just out of curiosity I ran the details (identical of course) through Compare the Market.

Same company still the cheapest but quoted £174.

 

Never mind Go Compare....Go Figure!!!

Try Confused.com, you might get a cheaper quote ;-)

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Try Confused.com, you might get a cheaper quote ;-)

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Nope, exactly the same, £174, still with E-Sure.

That's very cheap insurance BTW. I'm jealous!

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Have heard that before, But sometimes it's cheaper on the comparison sites until it re directs you to the insurance company, then the cost rises.

Don't forget they get a sort of commission from the insurance company

Have heard that before, But sometimes it's cheaper on the comparison sites until it re directs you to the insurance company, then the cost rises.

Don't forget they get a sort of commission from the insurance company

But the cheap quote was the direct renewal info from E-Sure, been with them about 3 or 4 years now,

Only company I have EVER used where the original first year quote went down each year - normally it goes up from year 1,  for no reason.

Insurance algorithms can be strange. A couple of years ago, I checked with my insurance company how much it would cost to add my brother to my insurance for 8 days for a trip to Scotland.

"With the £16.25 admin fee that will be £4.75"

Really I ask, what would happen if I put him on for the rest of the insurance period ( approx 7months)?

" with the £16.25 admin fee we will return £12.55 to your CC"

I added him on the insurance for the rest of the term. I checked when renewal came, my current insurer was still the cheapest for equivalent cover and by keeping him on my insurance I saved over £40 compared to him NOT being on it. Never have worked out why this is.

Edited for accuracy once I checked figures again

Edited 4 September, 201510 yr by Bristolf2b

Check they did not change your excess on the renewal

Insurance algorithms can be strange. A couple of years ago, I checked with my insurance company how much it would cost to add my brother to my insurance for 8 days for a trip to Scotland.

"With the £16.25 admin fee that will be £4.75"

Really I ask, what would happen if I put him on for the rest of the insurance period ( approx 7months)?

" with the £16.25 admin fee we will return £12.55 to your CC"

I added him on the insurance for the rest of the term. I checked when renewal came, my current insurer was still the cheapest for equivalent cover and by keeping him on my insurance I saved over £40 compared to him NOT being on it. Never have worked out why this is.

Edited for accuracy once I checked figures again

Maybe he was classed as a lower risk driver and if he is driving it occasionally (in their eyes) then your not?

When I was younger I used to add my old man as a named driver to my policy and it often used to knock nearly 100 off my premiums!

Now I'm paying £260 for my tsi vrs but don't add the wife as that puts it up £200 as she is 5 years younger than me. I also put my employment as factory worker(not a lie just not as descriptive) not engineer and that put it down £30. It really is a strange system.

Just got my renewal notice for my coming year insurance for my 1.4 TSi. £150.58 (E-Sure)

Just out of curiosity I ran the details (identical of course) through Compare the Market.

Same company still the cheapest but quoted £174.

Never mind Go Compare....Go Figure!!!

A friend of mine once had a similar experience. As the company in question said they would beat any quote by whatever percentage he rang them up and asked them to price beat themselves. I don't remember if it worked or not, but it must have been fun to try!

Edited 4 September, 201510 yr by mberger

Ednmra.That's the point, going direct can be cheaper than through a third party (comparison site) occasionally.

I recently picked up an sp30 speed ticket. I was pleasantly surprised to be told by LV on renewal that they didn't increase premiums for that. It's normally an excuse to do that.

Ednmra.That's the point, going direct can be cheaper than through a third party (comparison site) occasionally.

 

Well originally I used to take best quote after visiting three sites, and each year it increased a lot for no reason so I changed companies each year! Then with E-Sure, when I had my Mk. 2 Octy, it went DOWN around £20 a year, without me asking.

 

And when I did the sites again, just out of curiosity, E-Sure's quote (still the lowest)  was back up at what mine had started at.

When I changed to the new Mk. 3 (October 2014) there was a very small admin charge.  Now this year the annual premium is about £3 more than my final Mk. 2 cover, and by then that car was 6 years old.

So it looks as if they are actually playing fair (most unusual!)

Ednmra.That's the point, going direct can be cheaper than through a third party (comparison site) occasionally.

I recently picked up an sp30 speed ticket. I was pleasantly surprised to be told by LV on renewal that they didn't increase premiums for that. It's normally an excuse to do that.

What kind of info can the uk insurance companies get? Can they see all fines and such?

Anything on the dvla database I should think. The police and dvla can access insurance details.

Check they did not change your excess on the renewal

Excess the same as always, he is the same age as me, has the same driving record-no convictions and no claims for 10ys +, we drive identical cars ( yes I know...) we both live in similar areas, our base premiums are very similar, although his are usually a bit higher as he has declared more miles per year, at the time I was in a low risk occupation.

Edited 4 September, 201510 yr by Bristolf2b

For years I do loads of work checking quotes prior to renewal.

As a rule of thumb the current insurer is more expensive into year 2.

Apparently they all offer a "new business" discount, which evaporates at the end of year 1.

What is odd is that year on year my final renewal price (like cover for like cover) reduces.

For our new Octy being collected today I have secured £138, fully comp for 2 drivers 62 and 60, 1 at fault accident, no points on licences and all the usual stuff except recovery and legal assistance.

I think insurance companies operate like banks do with ISA's, year 1 rates are good. Then hit those who don't do any research or just renew with poor rates going forward.

I think insurance companies operate like banks do with ISA's, year 1 rates are good. Then hit those who don't do any research or just renew with poor rates going forward.

I agree with that, that they rely on inertia - people often can't be bothered to research and change.

But E-Sure seem to be the opposite (to me at least!)

 

One odd thing, in TV adverts from e.g. Direct Line, they boast "you won't find us on any comparison sites." I have never, ever, got a quote from them anywhere near the best from the web sites. And that also applies to Saga, the AA and a few others.

Spend a bit of time and research - you can save hundreds.

I used Esure for years. Then had a no fault claim. It was probably an awkward loss adjuster, but his handling caused me to move company. Direct line were great for years, then costs went up. You certainly do need to keep an eye on them.

I've been with LV for several years and they've been very good. My wife's insurance is with them too so we get a multi-user discount but they also usually remain the cheapest or close to it when I've checked the comparison sites. When I get the renewals I always ring them up to see if they can improve the price and almost without exception I get a decent reduction - 5% or more. If you don't ask you don't get!!

I too used esure for years, and a no-fault claim was a nightmare - the repairer they used was shocking and the car had to go back 3 times until they got it right - the first time they gave it me back and the rear seat belts hadn't been secured to the C-pillars after the trim had been put back in place! The guy from the repairers basically said that esure were one of the worst insurance companies to deal with as a repairer and only authorised so many hours for the repair so it was a rush job to get it done or he was losing money!

Whilst insurance companies will press you to use their 'approved repairer' you don't have to use them, it is your perogative to select an appropriate repairer.

When a teenager who had just passed her test ran in to my stationary and unoccupied car in a carpark when she pressed the wrong pedal, my insurer at the time wanted to use a place that has a dreadful local reputation. I arranged myself for it to go to an Audi dealership which has it's own bodyshop. The latter sorted out the paperwork, collected my car and lent me a replacement within 4hrs of the accident happening (the car was not driveable as the intercooler and radiator had both been punctured)

Edited 5 September, 201510 yr by Bristolf2b

Whilst insurance companies will press you to use their 'approved repairer' you don't have to use them, it is your perogative to select an appropriate repairer.

When a teenager who had just passed her test ran in to my stationary and unoccupied car in a carpark when she pressed the wrong pedal, my insurer at the time wanted to use a place that has a dreadful local reputation. I arranged myself for it to go to an Audi dealership which has it's own bodyshop. The latter sorted out the paperwork, collected my car and lent me a replacement within 4hrs of the accident happening (the car was not driveable as the intercooler and radiator had both been punctured)

I know, but they were having me jumping through hoops and making it as awkward as possible. Having just had our first child I didn't have the time, energy or inclination to pursue that avenue much further.

 

In the end it didn't really matter that the repair was a bodge as I traded the car in and at a guess it ended up at an auction house.

With approved repairers, they can short cut the system by photographing the damaged parts and are "trusted" to save waiting for an engineers visit by emailing the information. Unapproved repairers normally have to wait for the engineer.

I am sorry that you were having troubles at the time. I just told them at the very first contact I was aware of the wording in my policy and That I was going to use my own repairer, told them who it was and that was pretty much it.

The insurer was Privilege BTW, and the Audi garage was on their 'recognised list' but not their preferred workshop so perhaps that made a difference how easy it was

Edited 5 September, 201510 yr by Bristolf2b

I had something like that a few years back. An old boy did some minor damage to my parked car but held his hand up and provided his insurance details on the spot.

I contacted my local Skoda dealer and asked who they used or recommended, and was put on to a small high class company, Washington Coachworks. When I arrived they had lines of excellent repair jobs, including Ferrari, Porches (racing ones!) Rolls etc.waiting for collection,  and, yes, they did a very nice job on my humble Skoda.