[Closed] why are insurance such twats ?

If you cancel the policy without it running a full year then you can't earn 1 years no claims - that seems to make sense to me. However you could get Admiral to write you a letter detailing your claims history to date.
You could then approach Autonet or similar and get them to cover the last 3 months of your first year and at renewal start a new policy with your 1 years NCD.

Or approach a local broker and see what they can sort out for you.

HTH

Vans are expensive to insure unfortunatley. Get a minibus and black out the windows/rip the seats out!

yes but admiral have "van insurance" on their website but dont insure vans -despite them coming up on go compare as my lowest quote at 450 - which i dont grudge paying

just to throw a spannr in the works - done the exact same quote with 2 years ncb on the same site and its come up with 500 as my best quote - tempted to tell admiral to GTF with the hyundais second year ncb and take that 450 quote off the email i have confirming it ......

badgerpoo i was going to buy the partner combi which was quoted at 250 but i got the van version for about 1800 quid less ..... and a much nicer vehicle with lower milage and tidier condition !

and anothere one

My lad at 17 with a provisional licence paid £900

So this year 18 full licence 1 years ncb and now £1500

TBH why do kids bother, no insurance a few points and a £100 fine, simple maths realy ( No insurance no car in my house though)

Have you tried NFU and CIS? Both have very good history for private van policies. NFU mirrored my car no claims and were a lot cheaper than anyone else I could find.

Failing that you're a bit stuck, leave the van on the drive and use the car for 2 months? Then you can take the van policy out and send the conformation in from your renewal information.

cars ****ed not really an option

Car insurance is going to go up in price. Zurich announced 20% increases in personal motor premiums just the other week, expect the other insurance companies to follow at some point.

Increased claims cost, the cost of uninsured drivers etc are continuing to drive premiums up.

cars ****ed not really an option

Report from the AA on car insurance rises
http://www.theaa.com/services/insuranceandfinance/insuranceindex/index.html

As BigM says, Zurich are huge in this sector and for them to state a 20% uplift is massively important. Uninsured drivers are going to keep the costs going up, I reckon most of the EU plate cars driving around don't have valid insurance & will just piss off home at the first sign of trouble anyway.

Oh, and I've seen some figures on young drivers and they are very very scary. They hit things more often, and when they do they hit them harder and have young mates on board who need rest of life care...

Doesn't help the OP much I know, but both companies mentioned above should be decent with vans. No idea what Direct Line are like BTW but their ad spend must be massive!

trail_rat - Member
cars **** not really an option

Renault Espace here.

saladdodger - Member

..................
TBH why do kids bother, no insurance a few points and a £100 fine, simple maths realy ( No insurance no car in my house though)

Plus the car gets crushed and you get criminal record - and the fine is likely to be larger than that.

im young . my only crash was when i was rear ended by a clown in a corsa. wrote his car off mine was fine 😀

no one hurt happened at about 10mph

yes epicyclo makes sence but ive looked at alot of shite in that market - everything seemed to have high milage or non diesel engine

ws in the garage looking at an expert mpv but it was a roach and i saw this van which was tidy and sound mechanically. much newer than anything else id seen and within budget . Id already ran the quote and saw i could get it for 400 ish - but i now cant till april :@

TJ isnt that for not taxing ?

you will get a ban for non insurance - my mate did for a missunderstanding - his original fully comp policy on his pulsar GTIR said any car third party - his renewal did not - only he never read it he just presumed it would be same policy !

took his mums car to shop and got a ban for it.

My lad at 17 with a provisional licence paid £900

So this year 18 full licence 1 years ncb and now £1500

TJ

No one (kids ) realy care nowadays

Explaine to the kids not us

Is it really that hard to work out the difference? On a provisional he's going to be supervised by somebody supposedly responsible, and likely to drive carefully. After he's passed he'll be off on his own showing off to his mates. I presume he did tell his insurance (and pay the extra) when he passed?

Yes you are right, but to be fair he has passed his test etc, but why bother with insurance with such pathetic penalties.

Except I will kick his arse from here to eternaty and take his car from him and he knows I will ( saladdodger leave the irriot mode and enteres adult mode)

[i]23 no points no claims , licence 5 years 1 years ncb , 5 years experiance on road as named driver on various folks cars through work and parents[/i]

You only have 1 years NCB not matter how many years you've been driving.

did i say anything different that you felt the need to quote me there ?

merely stating im not an idiot in my car ....

but why bother with insurance with such pathetic penalties.

also im not debating the cost of insurance im debating the politics that means admiral cant swap my existing policy to my van for the last few months - despite them having a van department - that was amongst my top quotes .....

i appreciate that i have a quote for 1 years ncb and its going to cost me 450 quid ish to insure the van - i knew that befor i bought it.

its just ****ing me off that potentially i cant drive it till april or i loose a years ncb - and not only that my quote with 2 years ncb nd a year older is more than that with 1 years ncb ....

[i]did i say anything different that you felt the need to quote me there ?

merely stating im not an idiot in my car .... [/i]

Driving for 5 years doesn't stop you from being an idiot either. All I was pointing out is that even that you have 5 years driving they can only offer you the one NCB. In fact from what I've seen those driving vehicles that don't belong to them are the ones who most likely have accidents.

Aracer

please do not think I condone no insurance but [u]think as a kid [/u]

WTF would be your attitude

And my lad WOULD have his car taken from him if he tried, believe me

trail_rat - Member
...epicyclo makes sence but ive looked at alot of shite in that market - everything seemed to have high milage or non diesel engine

I've long held the theory of buying a old car which is sound in body and engine, and being prepared to spend up on brakes, steering and suspension. It usually doubles the purchase price but you end up with a vehicle good for another trip around the clock. The Espace has a fibreglass body so it's good for this sort of approach.

Have you claimed or is your 1 years NCB due to driving on other policys rather than your own?

I have never held insurance in my own name until last year, when I got quotes for my van both Camptons Insurance and Insurance Choice took into account I had been driving regularly both in partners vehicle and works van for eight years, and gave me near enough the equivalent in NCB. I'm 27 and pay something like £500 for a big Iveco van with a self installed lpg tank and electrics 😯

P.S Although it sounds outrageous, a £1500 premium for a new driver in a £250 supermini won't go far when they choose to take out a £30k luxury saloon, and thats before the whiplash claims come in...

Tens if not hundreds of thousands of uninsured cars are taken and crushed every year. its not just for no tax. Cars can be sized if they are illegal in any way. Penalties are not pathetic. You will be fined, you might be banned and you will have your car taken away and crushed unless you both get it insured and pay a hefty charge for the storage.

ANPR cameras and the associated computer systems flag up any uninsured car.

this is a big change from a few years ago when people could gtaway with it. Now they are much less likely to.

The nice cars get auctioned off or used as unmarked cars...not everything gets crushed 🙂

One of the local drug dealers had his car paraded around by the police force for a few months last year to prove that they will seize proceeds of crime, before auctioning it. Can't remember what it was but it was £50k+ 🙂

Car insurance is extremely competitive (just look at the amount of ads on the telly) and premiums are low just now. When you think about it the companies are often charging you £200 for a years cover, during which at any point you could easily have a crash that costs them £10million.

Direct insurers and comparison website are all good enough when you're a reasonably average person - but for something a bit more out of the ordinary (maybe that includes young drivers with vans) going to a broker for a tailored policy might be the best bet.

try adrian flux - they seem to be well recomended on t4forum.

especially for people with vans - they understand that some people have differing requirements to the norm.

You can apply your one years ncd to a policy mid term and get the premium reduced pro rata.

TandemJeremy - Member

saladdodger - Member

..................
TBH why do kids bother, no insurance a few points and a £100 fine, simple maths realy ( No insurance no car in my house though)

Plus the car gets crushed and you get criminal record - and the fine is likely to be larger than that.

spookyb no claims - i was rear ended the other guy claimed on his insurance as he was at fault

i just straightened out the bumper valance and forgot about it for this exact reason. - this was 5 years ago (im coming up for my 6th year on the road)

running through some other quote - my dad suggested putting him on as when i go to some races he takes me so ideal to have him on there - so me + my girlfriend is 480 quid with 1 years ncb - me , my girlfriend and my dad is 775. Dads 45 no points no accidents. on my car he dropped it like a stone. Vans are ****ed up !

will waste another night on the phone tonight will try adrian flux

Give Commercial Vehicle Direct a try. Theyre the cheapest for both our vans.

now apparently i have 0 no claims .... NFU mutual say "your parnter van is an entirely different vehicle to a car ....."

errr no actually they make the same vehicle with a 2 more windows and seats and its an estate car. an entirely different vehicle would be a motorbike or a 6 tonne lorry - those requires a different licence to drive it. "

this is turning out to be a mare. Tempted just to take the hit on the years NCB - will cost me about 100 quid in the long run though as ive been running through some policys with the 3rd years no claims on as well as the 2nd year. the jump from 2-3 is more than 1-2. 1-2 seems to put policys up but 2-3 seems to bring it down a fair chunk - on this vehicle anyway

aw diddums

Rather than using a comparison website, or ringing Admiral and getting mardy with a telesales bloke, why not speak to an insurance broker, who will ahve access to Admirals underwriting department.

Let the broker speak to them about the van on the car policy, as technically, if you were driving someone elses van on the "driving other cars" extention of your own policy, they would pay out on any incident, as the DVLA view of a "car" is any vehicle with an axel weight loading of 2.2 tonnes or less (from memorty, dont quote me!).

I think if the underwriters get it explained its not a commercial polciy or a commercially used van which bring a totally different set of risks in terms of use, mileage ect, then a decent broker may be able to sort you out.

BTW, I used to work in a claims dept for an insurer, and most of the big brokers were pretty rubbish imho, there was one who didnt pay staff on commission, so that they were free to give best advice, and they were called "Direct Choice". (Also known as Taylor Price Insurance Brokers) I can't recommend them highly enough as a private individual, and used them myself on the basis if they were about the only big broker I ever dealt with with access to discounts from insurers who were intelligent, responsible and not just writing cheap crappy business for commissions, then they were my sort of company.

"anotherdeadhero - Member
aw diddums
"

disgruntled insurance call centre worker ?

at least i now know my registration plate off by heart ....

Nope, just seeking to sympathise with your insipid bellyaching.

aww diddums

Try ringing up again, you're bound to get someone different, and have another shot at it. The help you get from different people within the same company can vary enormously. Can't hurt can it?

I had rather a good experience with them today, well with Bell who are the same company.

commercial van companny folk were 630 third party - so im off to cancel my admiral policy and just take my 1 years current no claims and run

i really would hate to be an insurance sales woman in a call center - it must be hard to keep a straight face when giving some of these quotes.

Most call centres will operate a "non advice" policy and cant advice because there not qualified. Your van would be fine on most private car policies as long as its use is not commercial.

Really I would go back to admiral and speak to someone else " you are seriously telling me I cannot change the vehicle insured to a small van?". It will either be that they dont cover vans at all (unusual) or they dont want to cover you in the van (occupation or something).

Get someone to explain why you cannot be covered be assertive and get a reason.

If they still wont help take out another policy for your van then apply the NCD from your existing policy when the first policy expires.

You shouldnt sell your car without informing the ins company its in the contract but you can weigh up that risk for yourself.

Overall though you should probably check you insurance prior to buying a new vehicle or accept the consequences.

my only crash was when i was rear ended by a clown. wrote his car off mine was fine

I imagine the doors fell off and everything 😉

try adrian flux

DON'T try Adrian flux-you-up. I recently moved house. Apparently they don't insure at my new post code, so I 'couldn't move'. So now insurance companies can dictate where I live eh? Their offer - cancel my insurance with them for no loss of fees for another quote with another underwriter, at a cost of £400 over the nearest competitor on the internet. When I declined that, they stung me for over £150 in 'cancellation fees' from my refund. What's daft is my new insurers (swiftcover) are cheaper than Flux were at my old place...

Flux wanted over £800 for me to insure my £2500 W-reg Golf GTI. I'm 26 with 7 years NCB. Absolute lunacy - most rep diseasle estates are quicker than that Golf these days...

That's a surprising experience with Adrian Flux, Zokes - I've heard plenty of good things about them.

Was your house a new build? That sounds like what might happen when a postcode is too new to be on their system - the system can't calculate an appropriate amount so adds a hefty amount to the premium. I'm surprised a broker couldn't sort it out though; it sounds a more likely situation with a direct insurer.

Give Commercial Vehicle Direct a try. Theyre the cheapest for both our vans.

Worth phoning for van quotes, as often online comparisons assume it's for commercial use. My T5 transporter was cheapest through Budget Van insurance, who accepted my no claims from car driving. However, their 'car' arm wouldn't accept it when I sold the van and went to a people carrier, despite most of the NCB being on cars!

vancompare wouldnt do less than 1000 quid

anyone heard of dealdone ? gocompare pops them up at 399 with 1 years ncb.

ill snap their arm off at that once ive phoned and canceled admiral

I still say actually "talk" to a real insurance professional, you keep on about these comparison webistes where you can't actually explain anything.

And then later on, you'll slate some guy for buying a wrong bike part from Halfords or Ebay as it was a few pence cheaper than using his LBS....

We can only try and help as you asked, feel free to ignore us...

Was your house a new build? That sounds like what might happen when a postcode is too new to be on their system - the system can't calculate an appropriate amount so adds a hefty amount to the premium. I'm surprised a broker couldn't sort it out though; it sounds a more likely situation with a direct insurer.

Nope, it's been there 150 years!

I moved from a very rough Welsh village near Bangor to a peaceful village in the West Pennine Moors (5 miles north of Bolton, 8 miles south of Blackburn) where half the locals don't bother locking their doors.

Without doubt it was their underwriters, who wouldn't insure at a Bolton or Blackburn post code at all. That however wasn't my problem, and Swiftcover sorted me out for less than I was paying in Wales. Lost a year's NCB over it too. All the more annoying as I'll have to pay another cancellation fee in June when I emigrate to Adelaide. Conveniently it would have lapsed by itself at the end of June! I suppose however my NCB won't be an issue as I'll lose it by not being insured in the UK for more than 2 years if I come back anyway...

I still say actually "talk" to a real insurance professional, you keep on about these comparison webistes where you can't actually explain anything.

I've never found brokers any more helpful than direct insurance companies, and only marginally more helpful than comparison sites TBH.

Looks like stripping out a people mover is a better option than buying a small van then...

Trail_Rat
Admiral do offer van insurance but it's with a sub company called Gladiator. I pay £247yr. max NC. very old, and an '06 Transit for private use.

what size are you looking at getting.
most vans are availible as "people" versions anyway.
and are just vans with carpets, and recessed rails for the seats.

i KNOW they are availible in:

Berlingos (and all other clones of)
Caddys
Transporters.

having windows also drops your costs for toll roads, as i believe thats the defenition of a van. commercial or personal, they are still more on toll roads.

bite the bullet, and get some net curtains 😉

admiral and gladiator policys aint interchangable 🙁

anyway going to take out a budget policy and cancel it once i have my 'NCB and i turn 24 in april .

25 quid to cancel the policy - and 40 quid a month for the insurance

well done to budget for being the most helpful folk of all the insurance companies

then i can take out my policy with 2 years ncb and being 24. ALthough budget said i can take my car ncbs to my van but ill not be able to take them back to a car .....