Insurance changes

[vagrantbrain]

In case anyone isn't aware, as of Jan 1st when you request a quote for car insurance they're no longer able to offer different prices for new and existing customers. This follows a complaint to the FCA from Citizens Advice that companies are "ripping off" those who just renew every year without shopping around. Mines up in a couple of weeks so just renewed it. I'd expected an increase due to the shortage of parts and inflated used values, but wasn't expecting this:

Last year: £197
This years renewal: £322
Cheapest option on price comparison: £338

63% increase even with an extra years NCB, thanks CAB...

[monabri]

My wife's car insurance quote has reduced ( a little bit) from last year...renewal at the end of Jan 22.

[Dod101]

In case anyone isn't aware, as of Jan 1st when you request a quote for car insurance they're no longer able to offer different prices for new and existing customers. This follows a complaint to the FCA from Citizens Advice that companies are "ripping off" those who just renew every year without shopping around. Mines up in a couple of weeks so just renewed it. I'd expected an increase due to the shortage of parts and inflated used values, but wasn't expecting this:

Last year: £197
This years renewal: £322
Cheapest option on price comparison: £338

63% increase even with an extra years NCB, thanks CAB...

You have not said what car you are insuring but £197 seems remarkably inexpensive even if you were living in the least expensive postcode.

Dod

[vagrantbrain]

In case anyone isn't aware, as of Jan 1st when you request a quote for car insurance they're no longer able to offer different prices for new and existing customers. This follows a complaint to the FCA from Citizens Advice that companies are "ripping off" those who just renew every year without shopping around. Mines up in a couple of weeks so just renewed it. I'd expected an increase due to the shortage of parts and inflated used values, but wasn't expecting this:

Last year: £197
This years renewal: £322
Cheapest option on price comparison: £338

63% increase even with an extra years NCB, thanks CAB...

You have not said what car you are insuring but £197 seems remarkably inexpensive even if you were living in the least expensive postcode.

Dod

Ford Focus, leased so nothing fancy. Previous was a BMW 320d which was £266 in the last year, guess i'm a low risk driver to insurance

[DrFfybes]

You have not said what car you are insuring but £197 seems remarkably inexpensive even if you were living in the least expensive postcode.
Dod

We've paid around that or less for several years on several cars. We used to get the Carina for about half that, but it has crept up to around £120. Just run a renewal for 12 Jan and there are 10 providers under £130. Comp, SDP cover, 7000 miles. Protected NCD, Zero voluntary excess. If I remove the protected NCD and put a £150 voluntary excess on then it is around then there is a choice between £100 and £110.

The Z4M coupe, which is worth around 30X as much, and is a 350BHP sportscar is another matter. 5000 mile limit, rest as above, but this time there are only 7 providers under £130, or with a voluntary excess there are only 4 under £120, but 15+ under £150.

The thing is, the Avensis is much higher. Common cars, expecially those often used for business, are high risk as there are more claims. When you drive a car where there are only a few hundred left in the country, then as long as none of the owners make a claim, you're fine

Paul

[AF62]

The thing is, the Avensis is much higher. Common cars, expecially those often used for business, are high risk as there are more claims.

Another issue is the EU legislation a couple of years ago that prohibited insurers from charging men more than women for insurance.

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance. Work as a scaffolder - expensive insurance. Work as a midwife - cheaper insurance. It obviously isn't fool proof but it is legal, although it means that cars such mainly by men such as those used by travelling salespeople (usually a male occupation) have a higher insurance premium.

[swill453]

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance.

If pink KAs have fewer claims than other colours of KAs then it makes perfect sense to give them cheaper insurance.

If they don't have fewer claims then it would be pretty stupid for insurance companies to give them cheaper premiums just because they're a proxy for identifying the gender of the driver.

Scott.

[bluedonkey]

Not sure why I'm paying - and have been - c.£400! Old car, max 6,000 miles, full NCB, London area, fully comp. Direct Line. One benefit which has been useful is being able to add named drivers for short ad hoc periods at no cost, though perhaps this is fairly common.

[AF62]

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance.

If pink KAs have fewer claims than other colours of KAs then it makes perfect sense to give them cheaper insurance.

If they don't have fewer claims then it would be pretty stupid for insurance companies to give them cheaper premiums just because they're a proxy for identifying the gender of the driver.

Scott.

As I said, it isn't fool proof, but the aim of the insurance company is to charge men more than women as it is accepted that men have more expensive insurance claims - not more insurance claims, just more expensive as when men crash they tend to 'go big'.

So given that women have lower insurance claims than men and you would get very few men driving a pink KA, then the claims by the unknown sex (because you cannot ask) of those driving pink KAs is most likely lower.

[Dod101]

The thing is, the Avensis is much higher. Common cars, expecially those often used for business, are high risk as there are more claims.

Another issue is the EU legislation a couple of years ago that prohibited insurers from charging men more than women for insurance.

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance. Work as a scaffolder - expensive insurance. Work as a midwife - cheaper insurance. It obviously isn't fool proof but it is legal, although it means that cars such mainly by men such as those used by travelling salespeople (usually a male occupation) have a higher insurance premium.

Well travelling salespeople, men or women, are going to attract a higher premium on account of their higher mileage quite apart from anything else.

Dod

[AF62]

The thing is, the Avensis is much higher. Common cars, expecially those often used for business, are high risk as there are more claims.

Another issue is the EU legislation a couple of years ago that prohibited insurers from charging men more than women for insurance.

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance. Work as a scaffolder - expensive insurance. Work as a midwife - cheaper insurance. It obviously isn't fool proof but it is legal, although it means that cars such mainly by men such as those used by travelling salespeople (usually a male occupation) have a higher insurance premium.

Well travelling salespeople, men or women, are going to attract a higher premium on account of their higher mileage quite apart from anything else.

Dod

Sure, but but most of that will be motorway mileage, which is far far less likely to involve an accident, let alone anything serious, than a similar journey on an A road or at the most lethal a country B road.

[Dod101]

Another issue is the EU legislation a couple of years ago that prohibited insurers from charging men more than women for insurance.

So now insurers use other factors to identify men, but without explicitly doing so. Drive a pink KA - cheaper insurance. Work as a scaffolder - expensive insurance. Work as a midwife - cheaper insurance. It obviously isn't fool proof but it is legal, although it means that cars such mainly by men such as those used by travelling salespeople (usually a male occupation) have a higher insurance premium.

Well travelling salespeople, men or women, are going to attract a higher premium on account of their higher mileage quite apart from anything else.

Dod

Sure, but but most of that will be motorway mileage, which is far far less likely to involve an accident, let alone anything serious, than a similar journey on an A road or at the most lethal a country B road.

I am unconvinced by that comment. You do not sell many goods to small traders on a motorway. I would imagine that a lot of travelling salespeople ()they used to be called commercial travellers?) do a lot of moving on A roads, but at any rate they will be doing a far higher mileage than the average social domestic and pleasure motorist which cannot be more than say 10/12,000 miles per annum.

Dod

[DrFfybes]

Not sure why I'm paying - and have been - c.£400! Old car, max 6,000 miles, full NCB, London area, fully comp. Direct Line. One benefit which has been useful is being able to add named drivers for short ad hoc periods at no cost, though perhaps this is fairly common.

I've given you a hint

Paul

[CliffEdge]

In case anyone isn't aware, as of Jan 1st when you request a quote for car insurance they're no longer able to offer different prices for new and existing customers. This follows a complaint to the FCA from Citizens Advice that companies are "ripping off" those who just renew every year without shopping around. Mines up in a couple of weeks so just renewed it. I'd expected an increase due to the shortage of parts and inflated used values, but wasn't expecting this:

Last year: £197
This years renewal: £322
Cheapest option on price comparison: £338

63% increase even with an extra years NCB, thanks CAB...

You have not said what car you are insuring but £197 seems remarkably inexpensive even if you were living in the least expensive postcode.

Dod

Ford Focus, leased so nothing fancy. Previous was a BMW 320d which was £266 in the last year, guess i'm a low risk driver to insurance

Worth doing a search for Ford ecoboom. Maybe relevant.

[bungeejumper]

My wife's insurance quote from General Accident was down this year from £320-odd to £200. And she hadn't changed her insurer - they just chopped the quote without any prompting.

I suppose it might be that she'd passed some significant milestone during the year, such as an old speeding ticket dropping off the record. OTOH, it might not be a complete coincidence that we had deleted the auto-renewal option?

BJ

[Dod101]

My wife's insurance quote from General Accident was down this year from £320-odd to £200. And she hadn't changed her insurer - they just chopped the quote without any prompting.

I suppose it might be that she'd passed some significant milestone during the year, such as an old speeding ticket dropping off the record. OTOH, it might not be a complete coincidence that we had deleted the auto-renewal option?

BJ

Does Aviva still use the old General Accident name? I have not heard that name for years. It was I think taken over by Aviva anyway.

Dod

[pje16]

Does Aviva still use the old General Accident name? I have not heard that name for years. It was I think taken over by Aviva anyway.

Dod

I don't think so, I went with Aviva for the first time last May and didn't see the GA name on any of their documentation

[bungeejumper]

Does Aviva still use the old General Accident name? I have not heard that name for years. It was I think taken over by Aviva anyway.

Dunno the details, but I've also been with GA for three or four years, and they've not tried to ramp up my premiums at renewal time. According to the infallible Wikipedia:

"Aviva, which was formed when CGU merged with Norwich Union in 2000, reintroduced the General Accident brand, for customers who use car insurance price comparison sites, in April 2013."

Now that's market segmentation in action!

BJ

[sg31]

Does Aviva still use the old General Accident name? I have not heard that name for years. It was I think taken over by Aviva anyway.

Dod

I was employed by them for 12 years. They must be around because I still get a pension from them. Very nice of them to send it for work I did half a lifetime ago. It's not much but it's the thought that counts.

[88V8]

Does Aviva still use the old General Accident name?

I was employed by them for 12 years. They must be around because I still get a pension from them. Very nice of them to
send it for work I did half a lifetime ago. It's not much but it's the thought that counts.

For a short while in the late 70s, I was involved in placing a bit of their outwards reinsurance, and I recall visiting their office in Pithleavis.
I think they called it the hanging garden. https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB52450?hootPostID=6c042bc55bccd37b02571e3b79587bbb

Other than the name being used for online motor, GA now exists only in its two Preference shares GACA and GACB.

When you drive a car where there are only a few hundred left in the country, then as long as none of the owners make a claim, you're fine

AFAIK our Rambler is one of one in the UK and we've never made a claim, so on that basis the insurance should be like the Tax - free

V8