Aside from being a scam, that is.
Looking to replace a Mondeo ST diesel estate with a Mazda 6 petrol Estate.
Mazda is less powerful & has more safety bells & whistles than the 10 year old Mondeo.
Mazda Group 16
Mondeo Group 27
Mazda quoted as 50% more. 😕

10 year old Mondeo.

vs a new car????

If so, are you really wondering why it costs more? Even if it’s not new, I’m guessing it’s newer than 10 years?

If so, are you really wondering why it costs more? Even if it’s not new, I’m guessing it’s newer than 10 years?

But insurance is about risk, not the replacement value of the car.

It’s about both, risk x cost of replacing.

but mostly risk as the value is tiny compared to a potential liability payout

Aside from being a scam, that is.

You get charged “risk” times “cost of risky thing happening”, plus overheads, plus a premium to make it all profitable.

Nobody wants to steal your mondeo. Replacing your mondeo doesn’t cost much. Its quite likely to be an insurance write-off if much of anything happens to it (accidents, vandalism) that needs fixing. They won’t be paying out anywhere near as much on that old mondeo as they would on your fancy new mazda.

EDIT:

Just re-read your OP. Yes it’s a scam.

It can also be down to their personal data on cars. They may have had lots more claims for the Mazda than the Ford.

It’s very complicated and gets more complicated as insurers have more access to more data.

Colour can affect the premium – eg, black cars have more accidents. Also, get another quote and you could get a very different price (even from the same insurer!)

“There’s a 50% chance that you’ll lose this pound coin”
or
“There’s a 40% chance that your house will burn down”

Losing £1 might be more likely but that doesn’t mean it’s the biggest risk.

Aside from being a scam, that is.

Was it always a scam, like when you were getting relatively cheap insurance on your powerful diesel estate for the last ten years. Or did it just become a scam when you considered buying a car that was more expensive to insure ?

I replaced a 17 year old Almera with a 10 year Golf (was 3 months into my policy). Both with same engine size (1.4) and steel wheels. Insurance company wanted an additional £150!

ps someone tried to steal the Almera last year.

Mazda’s get crashed more because only elderly people drive them.

but mostly risk as the value is tiny compared to a potential liability payout

But how many truly big liability payouts do the insurance cos have to pay out in comparison to the number of small bodywork repair claims.

And in any case, we’re not talking about why a boy racer teenager in a hot hatch has a far higher premium than middle aged dad in his Skoda; we’ve pretty well normalised for the risk here because it’s the same person insuring in both cases. OK, the cars might be different but not totally chalk and cheese; the major difference is the value being insured.

Plus of course any change in policy (even just renewal) is a chance to put price up.

Was it always a scam, like when you were getting relatively cheap insurance on your powerful diesel estate for the last ten years. Or did it just become a scam when you considered buying a car that was more expensive to insure ?

Given the amount of money I’ve paid to them since 1981 compared to the amount I’ve claimed from them (0) I don’t think they can complain too much.
As I said above:
Mazda Group 16
Mondeo Group 27
which is why I am wondering why it is 50% more expensive.

Because the Mazda is worth more so any collision/damage/fire/theft will cost more to fix, despite a collision being very, very slightly less likely to happen.

Insurance groups reflect the liability of each car..

In the expereince of the insuarnce company they py out more on Mazda’s than Fords. They don’t care why. It might be older drivers or it might be sporty drivers, but for whatever reason they are crashing more and or costing more to fix

Back in the day the classic example was the 1.6 Capri vs the 1.6 Cortina. The capri was heavier and therfore slower on every measurable performance measure. But it cost more to insure as they got crashed more often. It was simple the sporty image of the capri attracted worse drivers

Given the amount of money I’ve paid to them since 1981 compared to the amount I’ve claimed from them (0) I don’t think they can complain too much.

That is how insuarnce works, it is ot a saving scheme. You were paying for the risk you presented to them. You have to pay them because there is a small chance that you will cause a crash that you could never afford to pay for all the damage you were liable for. Really you should be glad that it is some other poot sod who had the big crash that you premuims paid out on

Not much to add other than the insurance groups of cars are universal, an insurers claims experience and other actuarial data unique to the company leading to anomalies in pricing such as in this instance.

Look at it this way. You’re an insurer and your data tells you that a Mondeo has a 15% chance of being involved in a costly claim, a Mazda 6 a 25% chance. Which would you charge more money for.

It is for this reason that say a Rolls Royce is comparatively cheap to insure given their value-they are rarely involved in accidents.

Right. But the Mondeo is a much higher group so I’m gonna drive it into a tree in the interests of getting my money’s worth. Sod the pain.

Yes but see my response above. A Rolls is group 50 yet costs less to insure than many cars in a lower group.

The group actually has little bearing on pricing, claims data does…

There’s loads of rating factors with private car insurance group is only a small part.

Age is a big one because you’re less likely to claim if you have a minor knock in your 10 year old minded, and if you did, they’d more than likely write it off and pay you a pittance for it. Also some manufacturers parts (light clusters etc) are more expensive than others so although that’s taken into account when thatcham do the groups insurers use manufacturer as another ratings factor.

Ifaik colour doesn’t come into it, and contrary to popular belief 2 and 3 door cars are cheaper than 4 and 5 doors (all being equal)

I’ve always found postcode to be the biggest factor in different premiums.

My old address in Cardiff was £280 more than my parents address in Devon!

My guess would be something like age, postcode, accidents, car, gender, occupation, NCD

imnotverygood – Member

Right. But the Mondeo is a much higher group so I’m gonna drive it into a tree in the interests of getting my money’s worth. Sod the pain.

Are you a brick wall in real life?

It could easily be that your current insurer isn’t after the Mazda ‘market’, so aren’t competitive.

FWIW I’ve just swapped from a £2k Vectra to a £60k BMW, insurance has gone from £175 to £300 – BARGAIN! 🙂

Publicised (abi) insurance groups are indicative only. Many insurers don’t use them as they tend to be quite reflective of damage costs, but not so good an indicator of injury costs which are a huge chunk of insurance claims payouts.

And just looking at the two vehicles involved I wouldn’t be surprised if many Mondeo STs were driven by enthusiasts or people interested in cars; probably with lots of driving experience aiding alertness and reactions to hazards, and generally looking after their vehicles. Your Mazda on the other hand might typically be driven with 3 screaming kids in the background creating a distraction.