US Drivers get Insurance refunds..

[DrFfybes]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52194521

Allstate, the country's fourth biggest car insurer, said it would give back $600m (£490m) in total to customers.

Another insurer, American Family Mutual, is also refunding customers, with cheques totalling $200m.

No idea how mauch that is per customr though.

Paul

[yorkshirelad1]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52194521

Allstate, the country's fourth biggest car insurer, said it would give back $600m (£490m) in total to customers.

Another insurer, American Family Mutual, is also refunding customers, with cheques totalling $200m.

No idea how mauch that is per customr though.

Paul

That's nice for them.
If anyone in the UK thinks that would be a nice idea, also factor in SORN, and where your car is parked (off road or on road) etc. There was something the Saturday Guardian about this: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/apr/03/season-tickets-sky-sports-car-insurance-refunds-coronavirus

[bungeejumper]

Honest John has been banging this gong recently: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/coron ... -lockdown/

I'd like a refund as much as anybody else, but I think it probably misses the point. When you take out an insurance policy, the insurer is entering an open-risk situation, in which you might decide to drive 2,000 miles or 40,000, through floods and canyons and earthquakes and Hyde Park Corner and the A303 on a bank holiday and (insert geographical catastrophe of your choice). If those things should happen, and you need to claim, it'll still have to pay up. (Subject to exclusions, naturally.)

So I can't quite see how the car driver should be able to say "c'mon, I had to stop driving for a few months, so where's my rebate for not putting my insurer at risk?" That's the driver's contractual risk, or so it seems to me. Or am I looking at it the wrong way?

BJ

[DrFfybes]

I see some figures quoted which make me think that for some people it might be worthwhile. I see four figure sums quoted for insurance premiums.

For our 3 cars (including 2 'performance' ones) we pay less for insurance (Fully Comp, protected NCD, and business use) combined than the VED on one of them.

Perhaps we are just old, or live somethere low risk.

Paul

[bungeejumper]

Looks like I need to eat my hat. Toyota have just emailed me to say that they'll be extending my annual breakdown cover by three months when it expires next month. Free, gratis and for nothing. It wasn't exactly expensive to start with (£7 a month, including European cover from AA), but every little helps, I suppose?

Whoopee, now I can afford that road trip down to Seville in August. Oh, hang on.

BJ

[DrFfybes]

Admiral have just sent me an email saying I'm getting £25 back off them if I was insured with them yesterday. I assume MrsF will get the same for her car too.

Paul

[yorkshirelad1]

Admiral have just sent me an email saying I'm getting £25 back off them if I was insured with them yesterday. I assume MrsF will get the same for her car too.

Paul

Here's the Admiral info
https://www.admiral.com/stayathome

May be pressure for others to follow suit:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisoruk/2020/04/22/uk-lawmakers-urge-government-to-act-on-car-insurance-refunds/

[tjh290633]

From teh Admiral Email:

With fewer cars on the roads during the UK lockdown, we’re seeing a reduction in the number of claims coming in. We want to give the money we would’ve used to pay these claims back to our loyal customers in this difficult time.

If your car or van is one of the 4.4 million vehicles insured with us on 20 April 2020, you’ll get an automatic £25 refund per vehicle.

You don’t need to contact us or do anything at all at this stage, we’ll be in touch between now and the end of May with more details about the refund.

TJH

[yorkshirelad1]

From today's Sunday Times (Sun 26 April 2020):
How lockdown could cut your motor premium
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-lockdown-could-cut-your-motor-premium-l9rr7nxkp (paywalled)

Admiral is the first car insurer to automatically give a refund to customers because of the lockdown — but it will still charge a fee if you want to cut your premium by lowering your estimated mileage. Admiral is refunding £25 for each of the 4.4 million cars and vans it insures to reflect the fact that there are likely to be fewer accident claims this year. Customers may be able to save even more because the restrictions on movement mean they are driving far less. Premiums are based partly on motorists’ estimates of how many miles they will cover in the year, with low mileage meaning cheaper premiums. However, Admiral will still charge £25 if drivers phone up to alter their mileage, or make any other changes to policy details. The charge is £9.50 if they do it online. Other leading insurers — including Direct Line, Aviva, LV, Esure and Hastings — are offering refunds and discounts if customers contact them, but are not planning automatic payouts. Admiral’s move is worth a total of £110m.