Insurance price rises

[MonsterMork]

Vintage... was thinking more of the Sunbeam S8 that I once owned... have you tried phoning Adrian Flux?

V8

Not yet but they are on the list, along with a few others who don't play with the meerkats etc. In my case it is MCE who are my current insurers, and given their recent troubles it could be understandable for them to try and recoup their losses, but to have the rest of their competitors on the comparison sites coming up with broadly similar prices is somewhat galling,

MiffedMork

[DrFfybes]

The insurance renewal for the old Toyota has just come through.

Gone up 116p to nearly £135, £7 less if we don't protect the NCD.

Carole Nash are £17 cheaper than the renewal, and Swinton basic cover is a tenner cheaper, but the only other cheaper ones I've never hear of - Sterling, Performance Direct, and the rather smart sounding Grove & Dean Private Clients who don't sound like a 30-odd year old Toyota would be their target market

I suppose I could try Direct Line, but when I've already got 60 quotes I'm not convinced an extra one is going to sway me.

Paul

[Alaric]

I suppose I could try Direct Line, but when I've already got 60 quotes I'm not convinced an extra one is going to sway me.

Direct Line have just cancelled their final dividend, which could suggest they aren't terribly happy about their financial position. In other words they might look for profits rather than market share.

[DrFfybes]

I suppose I could try Direct Line, but when I've already got 60 quotes I'm not convinced an extra one is going to sway me.

Direct Line have just cancelled their final dividend, which could suggest they aren't terribly happy about their financial position. In other words they might look for profits rather than market share.

Yeah - I noticed the results. I wondered if they'd be desperate for income, but I doubt they'll have rejigged their quote system yet. FWIW I did a quick Dead Cat Bounce with them on Tues - Thurs and covered my next few years' of premiums

Paul

[scotia]

but the only other cheaper ones I've never hear of - Sterling, Performance Direct, and the rather smart sounding Grove & Dean Private Clients who don't sound like a 30-odd year old Toyota would be their target market

The renewal quotes came in for our two cars - approximately 30% higher. So off to Confused.Com. I was a bit concerned about taking cheaper quotes from insurers which I didn't know - but I discovered that sometimes the well known ones shelter behind a new (to me) online name. So my quote from General Accident appears to be from AVIVA, and the quote from FLOW appears to be from Liverpool Victoria. The new quotes which I have accepted are within a couple of pounds of last year's quotes. When cancelling the expiring insurance I got an invitation to haggle over the phone - which I declined.
I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort changing insurers, but past experience of leaving it with a (well known) insurer for many years was only "rewarded" with increasingly substantial increases.

[DrFfybes]

I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort changing insurers, but past experience of leaving it with a (well known) insurer for many years was only "rewarded" with increasingly substantial increases.

I think that stems from the days when insurers used to be able to offer new customers better prices and fleece existing customers, so should be lessening.

However the last 10 years our premiums have been relatively low, generally a lot less that the VED, so the advantage of switching each year is minimal, especially when you have to deal with moving from an insurer that only logs up to 9 years' NCD and then find the historuc records for the new insurer who wants proof of 15 years.

Paul

[didds]

I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort changing insurers, but past experience of leaving it with a (well known) insurer for many years was only "rewarded" with increasingly substantial increases.

Indeed. My mum was horrified when i showed her how her "loyal customer service" wasn't being reciprocated 9which TLF users all know of course ).

WRT to the "haggling" on the phone thing, I pre-empt such efforts with a line of "unless you can beat my best quote by 15% Im not interested". I found the best i ever got given was "we can match that quote then" - and given I've just done all the leg work to get said quote Im buggered if they can have my money unless there's something in it for me. I say 15% but would take 10%. They never take me up on the offer and the conversation ends quickly

didds

[Itsallaguess]

I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort changing insurers, but past experience of leaving it with a (well known) insurer for many years was only "rewarded" with increasingly substantial increases.

Indeed. My mum was horrified when i showed her how her "loyal customer service" wasn't being reciprocated which TLF users all know of course ).

There were new rules brought in last year that are meant to remove that sort of 'loyalty premium' from insurance renewals.

Please see my earlier post on this thread for more details -

From 1 January 2022, new pricing rules introduced by the industry’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will come into force. The changes will mean that when existing home and private motor insurance customers renew their insurance policy, the price charged by the insurance provider cannot be more expensive than the price that they charge to an equivalent new customer for the equivalent policy.

We welcome and called for these changes that will remove excessive price differences in the premiums paid by some new and existing customers for the same policy.

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=37300&p=557673#p557673

How the above changes are being experienced by people might vary, of course, but it's certainly the case for me that my last renewals for both car and home insurance were significantly lower than the previous renewal prices, and when I specifically enquired about the reductions in prices with both of my insurers, the above FCA ruling was given as the primary underlying reason for the large reductions in my car and home insurance premiums this time around...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[didds]

There were new rules brought in last year that are meant to remove that sort of 'loyalty premium' from insurance renewals.

Yes... though as scotia says above in his recent experience..

"The renewal quotes came in for our two cars - approximately 30% higher. "

so its having teething problems lets say... (and you do mention that as a possibility )

[DrFfybes]

There were new rules brought in last year that are meant to remove that sort of 'loyalty premium' from insurance renewals.

Yes... though as scotia says above in his recent experience..

"The renewal quotes came in for our two cars - approximately 30% higher. "

so its having teething problems lets say... (and you do mention that as a possibility )

What that means (in theory) is that if they were new customers the quote would be the same high price, so they would choose to go elsewhere. We had plenty of quotes double or more what we were paying, just happened not to be the company we were already with, although we have used some of them in the past.

[didds]

ah - gotcha. Fair point DrF!

[quelquod]

What that means (in theory) is that if they were new customers the quote would be the same high price, so they would choose to go elsewhere. We had plenty of quotes double or more what we were paying, just happened not to be the company we were already with, although we have used some of them in the past.

That resonates loudly (if you have the choice!). On the comparison sites my latest quotations were all around 30%-40% up on the previous year’s aside from the ‘go away’ ones who reached into the stratosphere. Plenty of those, presumably as I’ve passed my latest significant milestone in the meantime. Surprisingly though Aviva who were my insurer at the time came in only £20 more than the last year and well below the rest.

[redsturgeon]

It seems to me that for my need LVE have become the most competitive company and across my three cars for the first time they are now the cheapest.

John

[Gerry557]

I was just about to raise the same issue and found this thread.

A 20% rise just to renew seemed a bit off to me. So I think I will be looking elsewhere rather than just renewing. Repairs might cost more but Im sure that my car might also be worth less as an offset.

I generally move on if price rises are substantial and would probably stay if in the same ball park. Apparently it harder to find a new customer than keep a current one. Maybe I need some that give me cheap cinema tickets!

[staffordian]

... but Im sure that my car might also be worth less as an offset.

I don't think this is necessarily true at the moment.

Second hand values have risen quite substantially over the last year or two because new cars are in short supply, mainly due to chip shortages caused by Covid in China shutting down the supplying factories.

[Gerry557]

Just an update.

I managed to get cheaper car insurance elsewhere. Even cheaper than last years price never mind this years raised price.

When I rang to cancel the auto renewal,( funny, you dont seem to be able to do that bit online!) they asked,

"Was it the price?"

Me: Yes
Them: How much lower was it XXX
Me: Substantially but Im not willing to discuss it
Them: we might be able to match it
Me: No thanks, please just cancel.

So much for the new insurance rules on auto renewals. In fact the new insurance has better options and lower voluntary excesses too.

[kempiejon]

Just an update.

I managed to get cheaper car insurance elsewhere. Even cheaper than last years price never mind this years raised price.

When I rang to cancel the auto renewal,( funny, you dont seem to be able to do that bit online!) they asked,

"Was it the price?"

Me: Yes
Them: How much lower was it XXX
Me: Substantially but Im not willing to discuss it
Them: we might be able to match it
Me: No thanks, please just cancel.

So much for the new insurance rules on auto renewals. In fact the new insurance has better options and lower voluntary excesses too.

This does make me cross with negotiations, not just for insurance. When you've found a good product/service at a good price and the competion want to know what price they have to beat to nab the business is just being cheeky. The alternative supplier should offer me their best price for a service and I'll decide who I give my business to.

I always disable auto renew when I get a new policy, I have generally been able to do this online.

[DrFfybes]

It seems to me that for my need LVE have become the most competitive company and across my three cars for the first time they are now the cheapest.

John

Ahh, yes, LV - "For all your family's cars".

Except they wouldn't cover 2 of ours, as we eventually found out after spending ages entering all the details and just getting a generic error from their website, and finally resorting to the telephone.

The slogan seems to have been dropped, so it seems the ASA listen after all

Paul

[mike]

It seems to me that for my need LVE have become the most competitive company and across my three cars for the first time they are now the cheapest.

John

But for me, my LV renewal came in a bit over 30% higher than last year. A quick search and Aviva gave me around 9% cheaper than the LV's renewal.

LV would not give me a reason for the increase apart from "underwriting" reasons, but I am now 65 at the renewal date. Perhaps at 65 I'm classed as a higher risk by LV, despite no claim since around 1990 - and that was when someone hit my parked car while I was in Safeway's shopping (for younger readers, Safeway stores were taken over and re-branded by Morrisons).

[didds]

When I rang to cancel the auto renewal,( funny, you dont seem to be able to do that bit online!) they asked,

"Was it the price?"

Me: Yes
Them: How much lower was it XXX
Me: Substantially but Im not willing to discuss it
Them: we might be able to match it
Me: No thanks, please just cancel.

Good for you.

Its at this juncture I usual then also reply with

"I don't see why i should do all the work for you to still benefit from my custom. Undercut that price by 20% as a reflection of my input, and we may have a deal."

They never agree. Whatever

didds