Car insurance - they always up my rate! (1 Viewer)

[Jon]

I want to rant about car insurance. I just got my renewal notice in and they have hiked the rate again. No accidents, nothing, but every year they want to increase my premium, despite adding years to my no claims bonus. In the past, premiums used to fall!

In recent years, I have to go through the whole process of switching insurers so I get a decent price. Its complicated because using the online tools, sometimes they don't quite match up with the TOC of the insurer. e.g. The online tool said I didn't have to take out the breakdown cover with the AA, so I got the breakdown cover from another supplier. When I signed up to the AA, they insisted the deal was only available if I had the breakdown cover. So, for the last year, I've been paying for two breakdown cover policies and never broke down anyway!

What do you guys do? Do you switch each year? Maybe it is different in the US but in the UK, it is a fiasco.

 

[Minty]

Renewed mine about a month ago.
It's a multicar policy and my cover want up about £100 which I sort of expected as we had added the daughter onto my insurance while she was at home during the lockdown.

Still thought that it was a bit pricey and had to phone them to remove another car we had sold (couldn't do it online), and after getting them to remove the sold vehicle asked the advisor "Think my premium is a bit high? Can you do anything?" - Give me a minute Sir; Yes we can take £85 off that!
Pretty much back to the original premium, with a youngster added on.

So I think you just need to phone them.
Why Oh Why they couldn't give you their cheapest offering straight off is a mystery to me, but I guess they rely on people not checking or haggling...

 

[Gasman]

I use the comparison sites, even for the insurer I am with.

A few years back my motorbike was insured with Swintons. The renewal came in, jacked up as you say. I went on a comparison site and got a quote for Swintons a few £ more. So I rang them and asked about the hiked renewal and got the usual BS. I then mentioned that I could get the insurance cheaper, in fact only a few £ more than last years from them. They asked who was that with, and I said 'Swintons'

The guy offered to give me that price if I renewed then, so I did.

I recently had my car written off my a white van man, running in to the back of me. I was with Hastings at the time. I was going to renew with them before the car was written off. They treated me fairly on the value of the car. LV his insurers, were also very fair paying for the rear camera in the car that was lost in the accident.

Ageas has also treated me fairly in the past with a car. You only know how good an insurer is when it comes time to pay up.

Years ago I had travel insurance with AXA. I had a £1200 video camera housing for scuba diving.
It was wrapped well in my suitcase in it's own padded bag with t-shirts as extra padding. The TSA opened it up and just threw it back into the suitcase, consequently damaging it.
When I tried to claim, they said something that valuable should be carried as hand luggage.?

We are talking about a 7lb aircraft grade alluminium housing here. Lethal weapon in anyone hands if you start swinging it.
I do not touch AXA at all after that. They even had the cheek to say I might be able to claim on my house insurance.

As it happens I was working away at the time and did have cover, so I called Esure and they said they would cover it. I said OK, send me the forms etc, and she said 'No, it is all done over he phone' and it was. i stuck with them for several years and Ageas as insurer for the same reasons.

My old man years ago used to work for British Steel and they had a broker they used that employees could use. Every year he would get a quote, which would go up, then mention no claims which would bring it down, then the age of the car, which reduced it further, bringing it to just a few £ over the previous year.?

Still a minefield though.

 

[Jon]

I've phoned them, negotiated and so on before. I always got a better price by switching. I've even quoted alternative offers and they never quite match it. They prey on loyalty and laziness in switching. But I reckon I save on average about £100 when I switch, so the hour it takes is well worth it.

I get stressed out each time I have to deal with this because it is complicated and so many things to factor in. You can't make a mistake else they won't pay up if you need to make a claim!

 

[Gasman]

I've phoned them, negotiated and so on before. I always got a better price by switching. I've even quoted alternative offers and they never quite match it. They prey on loyalty and laziness in switching. But I reckon I save on average about £100 when I switch, so the hour it takes is well worth it.

Well help everyone out and say who they are.
I value a lot by recommendations and equally for bad service stories.

 

[Jon]

I think I've been flip-flopping between the AA and RAC in the last few years. I get about a £100 hike in premiums each year. So I switch, and it comes down again.

 

[Gasman]

I think I've been flip-flopping between the AA and RAC in the last few years. I get about a £100 hike in premiums each year. So I switch, and it comes down again.

Ouch, I have always considered those two as one of the most expensive.?

 

[Jon]

Not the most expensive, although they are both well known brands. Then again perhaps it depends on your age. Different insurers may favour different groups.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In the USA, we have those web sites that will find the best coverage rates for you, but the catch is that they can't tell you what happens if you "break" a bundled insurance plan. I have a house/car bundle, so I get a discount.

However, at the moment my car insurance is going down for two major reasons. First, I'm retired so don't drive every day. Second, in the midst of the COVID crisis, nobody drives as much either, unless they absolutely have to. Some consumer groups jumped on the various insurer's "stuff" and they agreed that due to reduced traffic, there is reduced probability of accidents, so ... the bottom line is in my renewal that occurred two weeks ago, my rates dropped 25%.

 

[namliam]

I want to rant about car insurance.

Old people are road hazards... atleast thats what some insurance companies claim... time to retire Jon?

Insurance premiums offcourse go + inflation - additional no claim, in the NL at some point you reach the max at - no claim and all you are left with is the + of inflation (and/or the plus of profits)
Also true, they pray on lazy customers... same is true of many a "subscription model" type thing like your energy bill, lease companies of all sorts, magazines you used to read etc etc.

 

[Gasman]

In the USA, we have those web sites that will find the best coverage rates for you, but the catch is that they can't tell you what happens if you "break" a bundled insurance plan. I have a house/car bundle, so I get a discount.

However, at the moment my car insurance is going down for two major reasons. First, I'm retired so don't drive every day. Second, in the midst of the COVID crisis, nobody drives as much either, unless they absolutely have to. Some consumer groups jumped on the various insurer's "stuff" and they agreed that due to reduced traffic, there is reduced probability of accidents, so ... the bottom line is in my renewal that occurred two weeks ago, my rates dropped 25%.

Doc,
Over here, if you say you are retired, the price goes up, as they believe you will be able to use the car more for days out.?

 

[Isaac]

Great rant! I like it - I share the same frustrations with ridiculously high car insurance. Worse, I have two dependents ages 18 and 19 who both drive, so any hope for low rates is a thing of years gone by. Worse still, my 19 yr old daughter actually DID have a full-on collision (<$2000) so now her rates are off the charts.

One of my big frustrations is with the quoting process. For me it doesn't matter how many online tools I use - comparison sites or even the individual insurers' sites, which I have no objection to using their quote tools one-by-one - But it never matches the ultimate rate. Inevitably, my questions about when I've had 1) collisions, 2) "claims"-which is VERY broad, or 3) traffic violations are answered with just a "guess" on my part. (How am I to remember if the speeding ticket I got in Oklahoma years ago was 2014 or 2016, or the parking ticket I got in lake tahoe was 2 or 3 years ago ??).....And those answers play a big part in the accuracy of the quote.

1) No matter how I answer, inevitably the insurer will price me out a policy, and then come back 2-3 weeks later and RAISE it, saying that they found more accurate information from ChoicePoint, or whatever information-scouring database tool they use to scrub Motor Vehicle Records info. They have GOT to figure out how to make their programming design more fully integrate their MVD scrubs directly into the quoting process. I would MUCH rather wait 3, 5, even 7 days and get a perfectly final/accurate quote..

2) Big gripe!--They count as "previous claims filed" the most RIDICULOUS things. Once Geico came and gave me roadside assistance because I ran out of gas. That is now counted as a CLAIM. Twice I allowed one of those gas station salesmen with glue and a needle in their hand to repair a small chip in my windshield, free to me as it was channeled through my Geico coverage - guess what, they both count as CLAIMS.
The fact that they have no differentiation between a 20,000$$ accident claim vs. a $50 glass claim, and just count everything against the "claims in the past ## years" pricing metric, is absolutely ridiculous and should be illegal.
The reality of, very tiny $$ glass-claims will count against you as "claims in the last few years" ought to be regulated out of existence, or stratified on the dollar amount at least!

My only glimmer of hope is when the day comes that my kids are on their own. I should be thankful I don't live in Italy, where it took the Supreme Court recently to finally give relief to parents who apparently up until then had been regularly forced to financially support their children into their forties... But I wouldn't be surprised if that's something liberal Democrats in the USA try to implement some day, as personal responsibility is not their emphasis..

 

[kevlray]

My insurance rate has been pretty stable for the last couple of years. I went with the insurance company through Costco (yes you need a Costco membership). Pretty decent rate considering I have to have full coverage. And they do a monthly withdraw from my checking account (small processing fee added). But it it easier that remembering to have a good chunk of money handy every six months.

 

[namliam]

But it it easier that remembering to have a good chunk of money handy every six months.

yes real hard to put money into a savings account each month and pay every six months... I pay several insurances per year and save 100s of euro per year because of 5 seconds of work.... best payed 5 seconds every year.

 

[Jon]

Let me share my horrendous experience in renewing my policy. The AA wanted £355.59 to renew. I went to the price comparison sites and the RAC had a good deal, with a price of £353, but that also included breakdown cover and no claims bonus protection, neither of which were included with The AA. I spent ages going through on the phone with the RAC guy. All sorted. Then, I phoned the AA to get it cancelled. They suddenly gave me a price of £277.56, which had the same cover as my £355.59 quote but also included no claims discount protection. They kept me as a customer. I saved perhaps around £100 by switching, because although it was only £80 cheaper, the new policy has the no claims discount protection too.

I am losing the will to live going through all this though. But financially, it is worth it.

 

[Gasman]

Let me share my horrendous experience in renewing my policy. The AA wanted £355.59 to renew. I went to the price comparison sites and the RAC had a good deal, with a price of £353, but that also included breakdown cover and no claims bonus protection, neither of which were included with The AA. I spent ages going through on the phone with the RAC guy. All sorted. Then, I phoned the AA to get it cancelled. They suddenly gave me a price of £277.56, which had the same cover as my £355.59 quote but also included no claims discount protection. They kept me as a customer. I saved perhaps around £100 by switching, because although it was only £80 cheaper, the new policy has the no claims discount protection too.

I am losing the will to live going through all this though. But financially, it is worth it.

I did say to go back to the insurer? That is eactly what happened to me with Swintons, though I took the lower offer.
Also saves having to supply proof of no claims.

 

[Isaac]

Insurance of ALL types is so awful to deal with.
It reminds me of cable utility companies: I get all happy with some great rate even though I know it is only promised for 6-12 months. Not only is the first bill usually totally different from what I was promised, but then I have to go through all the gimmicks and games again in a few months. It usually doesn't end well.
As for bills being different than what was promised on the phone, this is why Call Recorder apps have been one of the most satisfying type of apps I've ever installed on my phone. Not that I actually use it very often...but it's a great feeling of security to be able to say "I can play you the recording"--tends to get management involved to fix things, faster.
Hassle/cost - versus - Usefulness level is right up there with GoodRX, for me!

 

[Jon]

I have to get another quote first though. Its something I loathe going through each year.

 

[Jon]

@Isaac Do you have to root your phone to use the call recorder apps?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The whole problem with insurance is that you are betting on a bad situation coming that will require insurance. So in that bet, if you lose, you win and if you win, you lose.