car insurance hows it all worked out

simonelsey · Unread post by **simonelsey** » 17 Dec 2005, 22:27

How does car insurance work (premuims)

My car insurance last year was £407 fully comp. 2 years no claims
This year been getting qoutes of between £437 and £729 ,with 3 years no claims.(same car xsara hdi estate)

I was always told that Getting married , having kids , getting older and doing less mileage , and not doing business use, cuts the cost .(done all these, made no difference)

About 4 years ago , I had a toyota carina cd, insured for 50,000miles a year full businees use , and not married ,no kids , this cost me £750 per year with 1 years no claims .
Does anyone now the way the Insurance companys work out rates?

jeremy · Unread post by **jeremy** » 17 Dec 2005, 23:16

Generally British rule of the what you can get away - just like dentists, builders and motor mechanics to name but a few.

Nice if you're one of them - otherwise grumble and say what a rip off and continue to patronise them just like the rest of us.

jeremy

rossnunn · Unread post by **rossnunn** » 17 Dec 2005, 23:48

aparently one of the cheapest jobs for your insurance you can have is a Librarian, one of the most expensive is a motoring journalist.

I'm still a whipper-snapper when it comes to insurance at 21, & being in IT doesn't help my case.

My first insurance quote was for £1500 & that was for a 1.4 197odd MG miget. I didn't buy the car. I went round & round with different cars, even did the mini thing but the chepaest I could get was £1200 for a 1.2 Vauxhall Nova 4dr Saloon, nice

I was told by Adrian Flux that I would not get a quote under a grand.
So I did what any low paid teenager would do. I went on as a named driver on my mom's insurance.
This is a BAD move as I do not gain any claims discount & now I'm paying for it.
My insurance for my 1.4 Citroen ZX Elation is around £695 & thats before I declare the mods that are being done right now.

Unread post by **user_3150** » 18 Dec 2005, 08:08

I'm not sticking up for insurance companies at all, but a lot of the time the premiums increase because people sue now which makes premiums so much more higher. Before we would have an accident claim on whoever is responsible get the car fixed, job's a goodun. Now people get greedy and want more for injuries sustained in the accident (a few thousand for a little bit of whiplash e.t.c.) thankyou America! Also getting modern car's fixed is an expensive job because of labour costs and parts costs (look at Citroen prices). I was speaking to a mechanic at our local garage who said that if one of the new merc's got in an accident (not sure which one) and all the air bags deployed the car would most likley be written off because most of the interior would need replacing especially if it was say 4-5 years or older.

Also Insurance companies are greedy b******s.

micitroen · Unread post by **micitroen** » 18 Dec 2005, 11:44

Simon, you don't say how old your Xant is? There is a lot of well informed opinion that unless your car is on finance or is worth more than £3,000 then you are wasting your time with Fully Comp as the outlay against the likelihood of a claim in your favour is running against you all the time. Also, worth shopping around, as a lot of the companies out there are so desperate for your business that they'll all (usually) undercut each other to get it. Tesco online and Elephant are worth a try (I have no affiliation to either of these companies). I use Elephant as they 'mirror' the no claims from your primary car to your second car even if its owned by your wife (and as I've recently found out they will extend it to a 3rd car). My daughter; 23yrs has a newish (54) Megane with 1yrs no claim and pays £695 fully comp (6,000mile limit) with Tesco. Both available online ....have a look see what they come up with. I always put a low price when they ask what I have already been quoted.......also both have a good help line with lucid english speakers on the other end (as opposed to Norwich Union who I used to be with......I got fed up trying to explain what a Xsara was!).

wilkobob · Unread post by **wilkobob** » 18 Dec 2005, 12:16

Since selling my ZX, I have deviated from citroens and now have a mondeo

... this year its been pranged twice, (light front wing damage and bumper damage) written off both times. Cost me £31 the first time with 3 hours to fit a wing, and £160 the second with 6 hours to fit wing and bumper. The car has been twice written off for £1500. To me this is insurance companies not doing their job properly, as if they had looked at getting the car fixed, it would by far be cheaper. It annoys me at the cost, as being young still its very expensive. A mate of mine who is 20, has a 1.3 fiesta, and is being quoted £1200 for insurance (fully comp). he has been on his mums insurance since he passed his test, but this year wants to go on his own. Try using some of the internet searches for insurance, they have always found me a cheap quote quickly c*nfused.com and suchlike.

drpau · Unread post by **drpau** » 18 Dec 2005, 12:33

I use www.insuresupermarket.com - it always comes up trumps for me, searches loads and loads of companies.

Regarding the debate of fully comp and third party, last time I got a quote (november) it was only something stupid like 20 quid cheaper for 3rd party fire and theft over full comp. No point going 3rd party at that price!

born2die · Unread post by **born2die** » 18 Dec 2005, 13:54

Drpau I like that quote link brings down the cost of my insurance on the activa to under a grand. Best quote yet.

I admit that when I was younger I racked up some points all of which are from 01 but the spiraling cost of insurance is driving me nuts. Taking into the equasion if I was ti sell the xantia and buy a 205, Metro etc it only makes £150 at most a year difference to my policy and if I were to buy a banger ax diesel to run around in as a second car the cheapest quote I could get was £1500

.

It wouldnt be so bad but I have a wife and kid dont smoke drink and drive, drive like a t*** or have had an accident worth mentioning in the last 6 years but when you mention 8 points and 3 convictions from nearly 5 years back (none of which were dd etc) where do they find suck silly figures.

Kowalski · Unread post by **Kowalski** » 18 Dec 2005, 14:03

wilkobob wrote:Since selling my ZX, I have deviated from citroens and now have a mondeo ... this year its been pranged twice, (light front wing damage and bumper damage) written off both times. Cost me £31 the first time with 3 hours to fit a wing, and £160 the second with 6 hours to fit wing and bumper. The car has been twice written off for £1500. To me this is insurance companies not doing their job properly, as if they had looked at getting the car fixed, it would by far be cheaper.

Some of this comes down to the fact that the insurance company has to restore the car to the condition it was in prior to the accident. They'd have to get a body shop to replace the wing / bumper with new ones. The new parts would have to be sprayed and colour matched to the car, and that is the expensive part of it. Spraying and colour matching is very skilled and labour intensive.

Since you're happy to have a second hand replacement wing off another car that may not be in "as new" condition and you're willing to put up with the fact that the colour might not match perfectly, let the insurance company write off the car, buy it back and do the repair yourself, especially if somebody else's policy is paying.

simonelsey · Unread post by **simonelsey** » 18 Dec 2005, 14:34

drpau wrote:I use www.insuresupermarket.com - it always comes up trumps for me, searches loads and loads of companies.

Regarding the debate of fully comp and third party, last time I got a quote (november) it was only something stupid like 20 quid cheaper for 3rd party fire and theft over full comp. No point going 3rd party at that price!

Ive tried them ,thanks and its down to £324

, not bad really , But still cannot understand the min and highest price can be anythink upto £500.
eg I go to comapny x and get 300 , goto company y and get 700 .Ijust dont understand

PowerLee · Unread post by **PowerLee** » 18 Dec 2005, 14:42

A bloke I knew had a mk 2 Golf GTI 16 valve when he was 19, His insurance come up for renewal, He only had TPFT cover & he asked how much it would be to go fully comp.

That would an extra £19 sir

So for an extra £19 he got a much better insurance cover for the year with glass, legal, courtesy car thrown in.

Also when an insurance compnay ask what the best quote you have had so far is, DONT tell them, See what they offer first before showing your hand

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 19 Dec 2005, 00:26

Hi Guys,

if it helps it costs me per year to insure:

CX 2500 GTi Turbo (personally imported, never sold here car)
Xantia VSX slugomatic
'63 ID19

For both my 25year old wife and myself ........ 357pounds ... That's comphensive insurance, with agreed value upfront on the cars. $\:D/$ $\:D/$

seeya,
Shane L.

rossnunn · Unread post by **rossnunn** » 19 Dec 2005, 00:36

I'm after a insurer that won't payout for the items I don't tell them about, not just just invalidate the policy. for example;

My stereo if that get nicked I don't want to be payed out for it, just repair the window.
The paint work if the flake gets keyed just either payout or respray it normal again.

howiedean · Unread post by **howiedean** » 19 Dec 2005, 08:01

rossnunn wrote:I'm after a insurer that won't payout for the items I don't tell them about, not just just invalidate the policy. for example;

My stereo if that get nicked I don't want to be payed out for it, just repair the window.
The paint work if the flake gets keyed just either payout or respray it normal again.

I've just bought a 899cc fiat cinq and the insurance was quoted as being the same as my zx td? The company said ah yes the fiat is a group 1 car depending on which insurance company you use!!!!
I need to stay with my current insurer untill my policy is up next month to get another years no claims discount.

The main problem is this no win no fee claims culture, you don't get owt for nowt and we are all paying extra now.

wilkobob · Unread post by **wilkobob** » 19 Dec 2005, 19:02

Kowalski wrote:
wilkobob wrote:Since selling my ZX, I have deviated from citroens and now have a mondeo ... this year its been pranged twice, (light front wing damage and bumper damage) written off both times. Cost me £31 the first time with 3 hours to fit a wing, and £160 the second with 6 hours to fit wing and bumper. The car has been twice written off for £1500. To me this is insurance companies not doing their job properly, as if they had looked at getting the car fixed, it would by far be cheaper.
Some of this comes down to the fact that the insurance company has to restore the car to the condition it was in prior to the accident. They'd have to get a body shop to replace the wing / bumper with new ones. The new parts would have to be sprayed and colour matched to the car, and that is the expensive part of it. Spraying and colour matching is very skilled and labour intensive.

Since you're happy to have a second hand replacement wing off another car that may not be in "as new" condition and you're willing to put up with the fact that the colour might not match perfectly, let the insurance company write off the car, buy it back and do the repair yourself, especially if somebody else's policy is paying.

They were brand new parts both times, sprayed up etc. (I could undestand it if they were 2nd hand) !