Blimey – car insurance renewal….

My renewal quote with Privilege is as cheap as anything the Meerkats can find me, and is cheaper than their quote through the Meerkats as well.

Have they finally remembered it is cheaper to retain a customer than to get a new one?

it will be a mistake 😉

I looked at the details and decided that it was worth paying a bit more in order to get a service. I’m with Octagon and they’re superb when you need them.

Lucky you! Mine thought £200 extra should happen!! The robot found me a quote cheaper than last year.

My current provider wanted £800 this year…

The cheapest quote I received was £260. I told my current provider to poke it.

Meh.

I paid £143, minus £70 cashback. They for some inexplicable reason wouldn’t send me the free Jetwash as well… 😆

Current provider gave me a quote that was nearly £100 more than previous year. I thought that’s not right so gave them a call to ask for reasons. They just gave me the story about postcode … But then they quickly dropped the price to below that of the previous year by £20. (price is now £20 cheaper compared to last year) I told them that’s still rather high considering my 4 yr NCB. They told me they could price match anyone in the market if I could find anyone offering lower price … 😮

I then spent one week calling as many insurance companies as I could including using comparative websites to get a quote … until I found a reputable one that quoted me nearly £65 cheaper than my previous year. I then called the company back to ask them to price match but they could not and admitted that I got a good deal from the other company so expected I would leave. Yes, I told them I would leave them for now and told them I would come back next year provided they could quote me low. I then wish them well …

I knew they might have difficulties price matching because they were trying to cut out so many “extras” to lower the price whereas the other company gave me all and still managed to give me a good price. In the past 5 years I had 4 different insurers so I hope I will stay with this company for many years to come. Very friendly people to talk to over the phone.

Hopefully, when I add the followings I shall not get increase in premium. … strut bar, anti-sway bar, stiffer coil that lower car by 1 inch. No increase in BHP (for now).

😀

matt_outandabout – Member

Meh.

I paid £143, minus £70 cashback. They for some inexplicable reason wouldn’t send me the free Jetwash as well…

Bloody hell that’s low. If that’s my quote I am willing to pay extra for insurance to car’s to around 150 BHP. (110 BHP at the moment I think)

Questions:

What car do you drive?
Engine size?
Year NCB?

Age?

Makes a huge difference. Once you hit a certain age the premiums stop rocketing up and may even go down. Assuming you don’t go up a category in car, move to a dodgy area or have a smash.

Hopefully, when I add the followings I shall not get increase in premium. … strut bar, anti-sway bar, stiffer coil that lower car by 1 inch. No increase in BHP (for now).

No chance with a standard (and very cheap) insurance company.

You will get increased premiums for each and every modification and an additional fee for each policy change too.

Why do you think they are cheapest ?

My renewal with Octagon came through cheaper than last year and about £200 cheaper than anything off go compare/meerkat etc etc. Checked they hadn’t made a mistake first mind, but all good.

nealglover – Member

Hopefully, when I add the followings I shall not get increase in premium. … strut bar, anti-sway bar, stiffer coil that lower car by 1 inch. No increase in BHP (for now).

No chance with a standard (and very cheap) insurance company.

You will get increased premiums for each and every modification and an additional fee for each policy change too.

Why do you think they are cheapest ? [/quote]

No, not with standard insurance company because they only insure standard car. The one I just insured with beat them hands down at the moment for my postcode.

Yes, there will be increased in premium but not significantly like more than £500 or something …

They are specialist in performance car insurance. 😀

Which one? Heard some right horror stories from Flux and a few others, Sky and Chris Knott seem to be okay but its a while since I last checked. As said they will be cheapest for a reason, usually because the underwriter they are using are a bunch of ****, I’ll be delighted to be proven wrong but history isn’t on your side.

Admiral put our joint policy up by £400 to £1,300. I phoned them up… and they dropped it by £500.

Funny that. 😐

@chekw – Price was for the 2002 Yaris 1.3d with over 10 years NCD for both of us, FK15 postcode, 12k miles a year including full business use for both of us, stored on driveway. 🙂

I paid an extra £38 when we bought a Seat Ibiza ST in fees and premium a couple of months back.

Next year will be more as mrs_oab had a shunt in the new car a week after she got it 🙁

Bloody hell that’s low. If that’s my quote I am willing to pay extra for insurance to car’s to around 150 BHP. (110 BHP at the moment I think)

They are specialist in performance car insurance.

So why use them for an underpowered car?

As said they will be cheapest for a reason, usually because the underwriter they are using are a bunch of ****, I’ll be delighted to be proven wrong but history isn’t on your side.

Exactly this.

I’ve yet to come across a company that comes out cheap initially, being anything less ridiculous when it comes to anything that needs changing on the policy.

Stupid increases for minor modifications

With additional £35 “admin fees” for any changes.

If flux ( who i know for a fact use markerstudy)or any of the related specialists and they use markerstudy as underwriters , they are the most foul unpleasent bunch of shits ever to grace the insurance market.

I really wouldnt piss on the markerstudy if they were on fire

Their ( and mine) only saving grace is i live a long way from their office for the way they have treated my dad in an absolutely non fault accident with full video footage, including leaving him in a hospital bed in a foreign country on a friday night with suspected spine / neck and cerebral bleeding broken spine and telling his mates that only my dad could phone to tell them he had been in an accident to get treatment authorised and to get my dad to phone back on monday,

Because it was deemed an emergency the hospital did all the scans anyway and fixed my dad up . Now the insurance wont pay up.

Utter garbage and i would suggest no one uses a policy underwritten by markerstudy.

Based out of gibraltar and the osbudsman are almost helpless – they actually managed to make things worse.

Also, why would you want to make an already slow corolla slower with extra weight ?

…markerstudy…shits… Etc

+1

Also good point on the “reverse performance modifications”

You might actually get a discount for making your car slower 🙂

There is no such thing as good insurance company. You just bear with them.
Their purpose is to take your money legally as much as they can.
I try to pay as little as possible and drive as carefully as I can because I know the bureaucrats (yes, they are) will screw me over.

As for making claim my view is that all of them will screw you over one way or another …

squirrelking – Member

Which one? Heard some right horror stories from Flux and a few others, Sky and Chris Knott seem to be okay but its a while since I last checked. As said they will be cheapest for a reason, usually because the underwriter they are using are a bunch of ****, I’ll be delighted to be proven wrong but history isn’t on your side.

Yes, I called all of the specialists like Greenlight, Sky, Flux, APlan, Chris Knott and Brentacre. I think some of them are with Markerstudy.

I went for Brentacre (Markerstudy) because I read no bad things about them and thanks to STW members that mentioned them.

gobuchul – Member
So why use them for an underpowered car?

Am thinking of changing to stiffer coil and lowering by 1 inch. Other insurance companies will charge me a bomb just for that. As for under powered car it’s more like trying to maintain the original factory BHP so not exactly boosting BHP. I can but not in the UK coz I don’t have my boy racer mate with me.

nealglover – Member

As said they will be cheapest for a reason, usually because the underwriter they are using are a bunch of ****, I’ll be delighted to be proven wrong but history isn’t on your side.

Exactly this.

I’ve yet to come across a company that comes out cheap initially, being anything less ridiculous when it comes to anything that needs changing on the policy.
Stupid increases for minor modifications
With additional £35 “admin fees” for any changes. [/quote]

If they charge me £35 or £20 for each mod I am fine but the problem with standard insurance company is that they do not even want to insure me. Even if they can/want they would charge me exorbitant sum. Do you know some of them even quoted me more than £1K with 4 yr NCB?

trail_rat – Member
If flux ( who i know for a fact use markerstudy)or any of the related specialists and they use markerstudy as underwriters , they are the most foul unpleasent bunch of shits ever to grace the insurance market.

Sorry about your father that island should be totally Benelli M4 or quarry for all it’s rock as building material for treating people like that.

I am with Brentacre and they are with markerstudy.

Also, why would you want to make an already slow corolla slower with extra weight ?

The coil suspension is jelly that is why. I mean I drive slowly but even I can notice the coil is made of jelly. I am looking at Eibach coil with standard Toyota suspension shocks. No weight added for coil change.

Yes, the strut bar, anti-sway bar might add a bit but not that significant. Probably the front strut bar first then the sway bar …

I am not trying to make the car fast but a few horse power increase here and there would be good and if I can. Don’t want to stress the car by the way so no massive BHP increase. I am more than happy just to get 5-10 BHP increase.

gobuchul – Member
So why use them for an underpowered car?

Coz their quote is the cheapest and the reviews for them seem good.

Harry_the_Spider – Member

Admiral put our joint policy up by £400 to £1,300. I phoned them up… and they dropped it by £500.

Funny that.

Yeap, they did the same to me in the end the quote was only £20 cheaper … sort that.

nealglover – Member
Also good point on the “reverse performance modifications”
You might actually get a discount for making your car slower

Are you kidding? The moment you mention the word “modification”, regardless of whether you make the car safer etc, you will get a premium hit.

😯

Well just hope no one hits by coming onto your side of the road out pf control at speed you while your being cautious and driving slow.

Because markerstudy aint got your back and will shit on your chips at the first instance possible .

Cheap for a reason – because you might as well not be insured than insure with the useless incompetent ****.

Oh and you clearly didnt look very hard for a review of markerstudy – the internets full of stories about em being shits,

As soon as i found out my dad was with markerstudy i did a google search – and scrolled down past the ones on the brokers websites (because we all know they are edited to make them look good) to the real world ones.

Now i know no insurance companys perfect but markerstudy really take the piss in what they have put their so called customers through ,

Im surprise they are still trading but then fools keep giving them money because they issue an insurance cert to satisfy the cops on cars that folk couldnt insure else where.

trail_rat – Member

Well just hope no one hits by coming onto your side of the road out pf control at speed you while your being cautious and driving slow.

That’s one reason why I need coil suspension upgrade so have better grips to accelerate …

Ya, people nearly drove into me several times. Old people mainly. One tried to T-bone me at a roundabout while the other tried to drive me off road by cutting in right in front of me (poor lane discipline at 4 lanes roundabout).

Because markerstudy aint got your back and will shit on your chips at the first instance possible .

Cheap for a reason – because you might as well not be insured than insure with the useless incompetent ****.

Yes, I think most insurance companies are the same when it comes to claim. I read so many reviews and I thought there is not much hope about getting a decent insurance for car. All of them will screw you over. Fact!

trail_rat – Member
Oh and you clearly didnt look very hard for a review of markerstudy – the internets full of stories about em being shits,

Yes, I did. Yes, markerstudy is dodgy but I simply cannot/do not want to pay the same premium every year.

As soon as i found out my dad was with markerstudy i did a google search – and scrolled down past the ones on the brokers websites (because we all know they are edited to make them look good) to the real world ones.

I don’t trust reviews so I am just choosing the lesser of the evils via Brentacre.

Now i know no insurance companys perfect but markerstudy really take the piss in what they have put their so called customers through ,

Yes, there were many comments about claims with markerstudy.

Im surprise they are still trading but then fools keep giving them money because they issue an insurance cert to satisfy the cops on cars that folk couldnt insure else where.

What is there to surprise if folks cannot pay more for their car insurance? Most people pay for car insurance to satisfy the cops and get the car on the road. That’s it.

The question you need to ask is why insurance company charge that much only to let doggy ones enter the market?

The entire insurance industry needs to be overhauled because it is an industry that has become so large that it comes with licence to fleece.

And yet most insurers aren’t making much, if any, money out of private motor insurance.

njee20 – Member
And yet most insurers aren’t making much, if any, money out of private motor insurance.

There is no such thing as loss making business coz they will not survive long.

For them it’s a matter or how much they want to earn.

there is no such thing as loss making business coz they will not survive long.

If you take car insurance as a single business, then yes there is.

Insurance companies often make a loss on car insurance as a business, but make up for it in other areas of their business.

They often offer car insurance purely as a way of gaining customers in other, profit making, areas.

That’s why there is no company anywhere that only offers car insurance. If there was they would make a loss overall and go bust.

If they charge me £35 or £20 for each mod I am fine but the problem with standard insurance company is that they do not even want to insure me.

The £35 will be an admin fee.

The actual premium increase will be another matter.

Are you kidding? The moment you mention the word “modification”, regardless of whether you make the car safer etc, you will get a premium hit.

Yes. I am aware of that thanks.

My “reverse performance modification discount” was a joke.

it must be a quirk. My SO’s renewal last year was competitive and we stayed with the same company. This year they were having a laugh. A quick moneysupermarket visit and we saved >£100.

I really wish they’d compare the meerkat before sending ridiculous renewals.

This year my insurance dropped from £1,072.93 to £802.66.

But that’s for four cars between me & the wife, all fully comp, including a 911 and a T4 that inexplicably costs more to insure than the Porsche !

By and large getting old sucks, but there is the occasional nice bit about it.

This is with Admiral, FWIW, they have always quoted me very competitively and on the three occasions I have needed to claim they paid out promptly and with no fuss or piss-taking. My Dad & brother have both had similarly good experiences with them. YMMV, obvs.

Last years insurance for my Vivaro van was £550 with A Plan. A phone call to Aviva and it ended up at £260 for roughly the exact same policy.

Winston wolf insures my berlingos for 200 quid each

And my heavily modifed landy is insured on a classic policy with herritage – who dont use marker study, for 230 quid with recovery and off road cover,

Car insurance here is a flat 4% of the calculated cost of the car. No shopping around, no massive advertising spend, you just go into your bank and pay it.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I’m undecided. Probably a more efficient system overall because there’s no money spent trying to attract customers, but the 4% is a bit finger in the air! Also no disincentive to committing large amount of road offences – which funnily enough happen.

Car insurance here is a flat 4% of the calculated cost of the car. No shopping around, no massive advertising spend, you just go into your bank and pay

Where is that?

Odd system seeing as the cost of insurance is very little to do with your car, more to do with the costs involved in replacing other people’s cars (or lives)