Renewal arrived

[Gibbo2286]

Direct Line into my third year with them have upped the renewal premium from £347.20 to £428.96, a roughly 25% increase, I have over 40 years no claims, are they taking the micky?

Go compare are no better.

LV direct online offer £397.02 but want a £300 voluntary excess.

I thought the news recently was that premiums were going to come down.

[JohnD]

Loyalty to a provider whether it be insurance, home energy, telephone & broadband is a thing of the past. Stay beyond the first year with a company and they regard you as someone to be exploited. Sadly, the thing to do is to change provider every year. Even the comparison sites need to be compared against each other.

[GiveMeABreak]

The best time to get renewal quotes is 21 days before it is due. Do a compare the market search, and then go back and haggle with your current insurer if cheaper elsewhere.

Leaving it to the last week before renewal will see quotes rise substantially the nearer it gets to expiry date....

[myglaren]

I've stayed with LV, premium has fallen by £30~50 a year and is way below the competition.
Me and son as drivers and cover for any other insured car.

[white exec]

When renewing car insurance here (Linea Directa) I'm always asked if the quoted figure is acceptable. Where it isn't (i.e. has gone up by more than inflation) I usually hesitate, and the figure is always tweaked. The terms of cover remain unchanged. Could be something to do with their seeing we have two cars and a house with them!

LD are not the cheapest (about €500 p.a. fully comp, no excess as a loyalty bonus), but their cover, response and ease of claims/repairs is quick and professional.

Just about remember when LV acquired Frizzell's, the favourite of public sector workers.

[Gibbo2286]

I've shopped around each year and for the last two years Direct Line couldn't be beaten, it looks now that all the insurers are upping their prices.

Someone recommended trying One-Call but their prices are all £530 and up for the same cover.

I'll be talking to Direct Line to see if I can get their price down but it doesn't look promising.

Ageism maybe? I'm 84 but fitter than many 50 year olds.

[GiveMeABreak]

That'll be it then. I didn't want to ask, but this is a definite factor:

Research shows that drivers aged 60 or over are no more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers, although crash involvement rates increase from age 80. Drivers aged 60-69 actually have less than half the crash rate than drivers aged 20-29. This is likely to be because older drivers tend to be far less likely to take risks such as driving too fast or while distracted. This helps to compensate for any deterioration in health and driving performance, such as slower reaction times.

However, in a crash, the risk of a person aged 60 or older being killed, whether in a vehicle or on foot or bicycle, is more than double that of a younger person. This is because older people’s bodies are more fragile, so they are more likely to suffer life-threatening injuries. They are less likely to recover from injuries or respond to emergency treatment, due to less physical strength and a greater risk of subsequent infections or other medical complications.

So not so much more accident prone (although we have our fair share on the roads here that get 'confused') - but a higher risk of injury / fatality in an accident.

There are some companies that won't actually cover people aged 75 or over! So that will also limit quotes.

[Skull]

I'm 84 but fitter than many 50 year olds.

I'm not arguing the point

[JohnD]

Ageism maybe? I'm 84 but fitter than many 50 year olds.

I'm six years older than you and also like you, very active. On the five days of last week I fitted new discs and pads to my C1; next day put new drop links on the C5 and on the remaining three days, lifted and levelled a biggish section of block paving. Even so, because of age I still get penalized on car insurance. This year £350 for the C1 and £717 for the C5. Although on the C5 I have recovery, legal protection and 180 days comprehensive cover for driving abroad included.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Ageism maybe? I'm 84 but fitter than many 50 year olds.

I'm six years older than you and also like you, very active.

John, I have just popped across to your website as listed in your profile. Packed full of interest and particularly liked your "Durham Grange in September 2013." being a Durham Lad, and now living in Northumberland and "10 Days in Norfolk and Suffolk" blog entries.

Nothing to do with insurance as per Gibbo's original post so I'll make a quick exit from proceedings.

Regards Neil

[JohnD]

Thanks and Yes! Maintaining my website is one of the great pleasures in life - that and going on the trips.

[van ordinaire]

The red Cherokee's with LV, I've stayed with them because the premium only goes up in line with inflation & they're genuinely nice people to deal with - not like a major financial institution at all.

The Eldo's renewal, with RH, came up recently, by e-mail, but the cover expired on Friday, when I was still in London & I'd left my laptop down in Devon. Called them Monday & was told, as I 1/2 expected, it couldn't be renewed but someone from "new business" would 'phone me. When I hadn't had a call, I called back, chose the new business option, got straight through to someone, gave the policy No: explained the situation & it was all dealt with as simply & in really no more time than paying the renewal premium by 'phone would've taken. Premium's £281 (no doubt a benefit of it being domiciled in Devon) AND they have no upper age limit for drivers - but they may only do "classics". Personally, I'd avoid SAGA like the plague but there are companies who specialise in older drivers.

[Gibbo2286]

Saga....the rip off the over fifties group.

I've never been offered anything by them that couldn't be bought much cheaper elsewhere.

[myglaren]

Saga....the rip off the over fifties group.

I've never been offered anything by them that couldn't be bought much cheaper elsewhere.

Same here and I had a mate at work who's father in law was seriously done over by them.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

I'm shocked by those prices, maybe a small weighting to the premium is fair now you're into your 80's but that's more than triple what I pay.