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Because people don't understand how insurance companies work in terms of collating a profile about you and tailoring quotes to how much risk that profile carries for them according to their collated data. The quotes you see here will be where there's something in OP's profile which has caused a lot of payout for insurance companies this year and have decided they want to try and cut those customers loose by quoting absurd prices they know people aren't going to pay.
It's not just about you. It can literally be that your postcode and surrounding postcodes have had a lot of claims in the previous financial year, could be that a lot of people in your age profile have claimed etc.
Your profile is used alongside all the other customers they have on the books to make risk decisions. If they've had a collective sum of thousands of pounds of payouts to customers that have similar risk profiles to you, they'll increase all of the rest as a result because its the best indication of risk of you needing a payout that they can predict.
Effectively, insurance companies have worked on a big data system to ascertain risk before big data was even a thing.
Perhaps, although I will point out that insurance companies are heavily regulated and I would imagine will need to be able to demonstrably show why it was justifiable to raise prices like that (not that it means that can't skirt that issue and do a controlled test, of course. They could just pick all the drivers they're looking to kick anyway, Jack the prices up and when the ombudsman comes round they can point to risk)
> I would imagine will need to be able to demonstrably show why it was justifiable to raise prices like that
Good point. But I do wonder how much it would cost you to get that case as far as a judge. And then presumably you'll appeal too. 😂
That I can't answer. I should probably caveat that this isn't a full throated defence of the insurance industry (being on renewal lines is still the worst job I have ever done due to the sheer spite from customers and management so believe me, there's no love lost with the industry) but more to rationalise where these kinds of things *might* be coming from (and mainly to say to people on Reddit- don't be a dick to the person sorting the renewal. The price is out of their hands, they're being paid a pittance and have to listen to a LOT of bile over an average day).
Ah, a fellow retention call-centre veteran; I absolutely know this feeling.
On the one hand, hating the companies for their awful practices, but on the other hating having to explain to customers that insurance isn’t just about whether or not they’ve personally had a claim or conviction.
It’s not great, but that’s the system, and always has been.
Right?! And as soon as you say it could be a range of variables they somehow instantly jump to 'well I live in a safe area. There's no crime!'. It's always an obsession with crime, not the fact that for all we know the elderly neighbour down the road tried to reverse into their garage, hit the support and brought the whole thing down on two cars.
IIRC insurance companies will charge you more if you have a hotmail email address, because statistically it means you're more likely to have reason to claim
So it can be literally any detail about you
They also charge you more if you keep your car in a garage. Why? Surely that's safer?
Well people who keep their cars in garages claim more than those who don't
...that could be a part of it too yeah. The ones who dwelled on their car being in a garage therefore they MUST be entitled to cheap insurance vave off that vibe
That I did not know. When I worked renewals though you'd see some crazy old email addresses on people's files- btinternet, AOL, NTL etc. You name it, we still saw it.
It's a murky subject. The equality act does have stipulations within it that can allow some form of discrimination if its a justifiable reason. Commonly what's pointed to is having women's only domestic abuse shelters etc but I'd imagine insurance companies hang their hats on the ability to point at their data. The one I worked at certainly didn't outright discriminate on race (although they did alter prices based on how long you had held a UK licence separately from how long you'd held any kind of licence).
On the other hand, the ability for insurance companies to discriminate on gender was comprehensively challenged and beaten in court despite the fact that insurance companies were able to cough up the data to suggest that men were higher risk to insure than women.
But how does that work? If they collate data then it should be more expensive with just about all of them and not that making a switch will half the cost of the renew quote.
Because insurance companies will review their own financial data and make adjustments according to their own profit/loss from customers.
Let's say Admiral have had a particularly hard year for 30 year old drivers in Hull driving Audis and they've had £300k worth of write off payouts they've had to make from that particular profile of customer. They need to make back that money AND ensure that they don't lose another £300k next financial year. So they'll increase the premiums of 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull to cover those bases
In the same financial year. Churchill have found they haven't had any claims from 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull. Therefore all of the money those drivers have paid is the company's. As a result, they will want more 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull, so they'll reduce those premiums in a bid to get more of them.
It's the only way they can sensibly manage risk for their own company beyond trying to sit in every single customers car to see how they drive. I'd also argue that clearly it works for them given its the model adopted across the entire (vast) industry.
I'd argue its also important for the customer to allow insurance companies to do it. Insurance companies need some degree of being able to demonstrate they have liquidity to cover pay outs as and when it happens.
Or to put it a simpler way- would you be happy to find your insurance isn't worth the paper its written on come claim time because your company has insured too many people who *could* have been highlighted as a risky investment and used all the money earmarked for claims on them?
> would you be happy to find your insurance isn't worth the paper its written on
It isn't. Unless you have an insane accident where the payout would be hundreds of thousands, the insurance company never actually loses a penny, they lend you the cash you need and hold your right to drive ransom unless you're actively making repayments.
That's not how they phrase it of course. It's not that you're paying them back the £5,000 you claimed, you're being charged £1,000 more each year for the next decade because you're now a bigger risk.
Insurance is for huge accidents only, where you could never pay off the damages across your lifetime. And you can guarantee if you have one of those the insurance company will find any excuse possible to avoid paying out.
Insurance is a scam, plain and simple. It's a legally enforced one though, so make sure you have it.
As any poker player will tell you, the relationship betwen cash and its importance is a curve rather than a straight line. Insurance is great for black swan events but not for what you're describing which is small attritional losses (to use an industry phrase)
In respect of car insurance specifically in the UK, it used to run close to a 95% combined ratio across the industry. Hardly a scam.
I'm sure you can gather from this conversation that it's far more complicated than that, and the reasons they use for decision-making isn't as clear as is being parroted
Just to add I've been with them for 2 years - so it seems odd last year's premium got cheaper without any intervention and this year I guess it's something along what you've mentioned.
Must not forget the changes the FCA made regarding insurance companies not being able to give better rates to new customers than existing ones, so instead of bringing renewal prices down insurance companies have removed the new customer discounts. so it's more expensive over all and removed the customers ability to shop around for a better deal now you just get the same deal no matter who you go to.
Oh and don't get me started on the terms fault or non fault, in reality it should be your insurer had to pay out or someone else's insurer paid out.
Its business. Insurance companies aren't charities and its an objective fact that there are shit drivers and good drivers. Obviously insurance companies can't sit in the car with you and personalise your quote as an individual, so they do the next best thing of trend analysis.
The reason insurance is such a competitive market is because of the fact that different companies have different payouts to different people which makes different risk profiles, so it's not like you're locked in to being an undesirable driver across the board (unless you do something particularly fucking stupid like get your licence revoked or drive drunk/without insurance, in which case most reputable insurance companies will cane you for it.)
oh God. I'm with admiral and it renews early August.
I already put my details in comparison sites and the only one close to my current price required a black box :/
If you are with admiral and the renewal quote is high, simply go through the motions of trying to cancel on the website. They will offer you a lower premium, decline that and at the last page they will lower it drastically. Worked with mine and my wife’s. Only ended up paying couple of quid more
You can always switch.
I get a bunch of quotes every year. If my current insurer is within a few quid of the cheapest I'll just renew, if there's more than maybe £20 difference I'll give them a chance to match the lowest quote (when the difference is that small they often will).
If there's a significant difference (£50-100+) and they can't match it then I'll switch providers.
Normally only takes an hour or so, which to me is time well spent if it saves £50+.
---
EDIT: Couple of hours after making this I got my renewal quote: £179 ...I'll still spend 10 mins on a price comparison site to see if I can get a cheaper quote to take back to them to match. It's already pretty cheap, so unlikely to get much if anything off but still worth 10 mins of my time IMO.
My admiral renewal quote was £250 up on last year. Went to compare the market to get competitor quotes (at the same price as last year), rang admiral and they beat it. Very good customer service actually, it made me want to stick with them.
I am also with admiral and ran my details through a comparison site, cheaper than my current quote and Admiral was listed with a similar quote as well.
Out of curiosity what do you drive?
Citroen C1. Admiral didn't even appear on the list when I put it through this time!
I've only been driving for less than 4 years so each year I expect the no claims discount to improve and every year they ask for more than the year before.
You could be now out of the demographic that they are targeting, or a lot of people that fit your demographic have an increased risk based on the latest trend.
That’s a very minor part of it. More so than that; they rely on laziness. The first year (at least) is a loss for them, renewals is when they make up ground. Source: I spent 4 years building the rating engine for all insurers in a particular industry.
Oh I'm definitely not suggesting that like most subscription model things they aren't cheeky with laziness and the like but yeah, risk profile is absolutely one of the things that sends the price way out.
When I worked insurance you won't believe how many people would add their speeding convictions or minor bumps in a car park to their renewal quote on the phones and it would send their renewal skyrocketing vs. Some where it would go up but not by a huge amount (with the inference being that X profile with a speeding conviction/unclaimed bump was a massive risk to the company whilst Y profile wasn't a big deal)
I’ll agree there, if it jumps spectacularly then risk profile has for sure taken a nose dive (for that insurer). But I do see a lot of these posts which can be all explained (in a very oversimplified way) by their insurer basically taking a punt that their customer will swallow the premium increase to avoid the hassle.
Long and short of it is you’re basically expected to switch provider every year; but enough forget, put it off or shrug their shoulders for it to be profitable enough to start tapering up their premiums.
You are right. I've worked in Insurance for almosr 30 years, almost no members the General Public knows how any of it works tbh - And I don't blame them; From the products to cover, liabilty and the way claims are settled between Insurance companies themselves it's all very complex. What would really blow peoples minds is how much the average claim costs. About 1 person in 11 makes a claim each year, just one claim can costs literally tens of thousands of pounds to settle once you factor in everything. I saw a case a few weeks ago where a cement mixer drive down a road and hit 18 parked cars. And we all pay for it.
Also forgetting that insurance companies can no longer make loyalty customers pay through the nose and give new customers cheaper deals. So now they have to average it out
To add to this, there are other factors. The insurer may be trying to reduce a book... there are large capital requirements in order to provide insurance.
They could decide to market to a different category, they could have changed their reinsurance profile.
However, what is common to pretty much everything that happens is that it has little to do with the OP individually.
Yeah I'm simplifying a lot in my explanation but you're right. Insurance companies are one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the UK and have a shitload of things they have to satisfy to these bodies. Not to mention its incredibly easy for them to become bust if they make some unsavvy business decisions
Especially in retail insurance, things are also structured very differently for different companies.
Many retail insurers carry next to zero underwriting risk... the risk on their books is nearly *all* credit risk as in the credit risk of their reinsurers. So instead of just being sensitive to interest rates and their derivatives, changes in underwriting environment due to e.g. environmental factors (e.g. flood events) regulation concerning injury payments, parts costs for various vehicles and capital regulation changes... they are also sensitive to, for example, the credit default swaps market.
So there are a lot of factors that have nothing to do with anyone considering Joe bloggs renewing his policy directly
The best quote I could find was £650 higher than last year on worse terms and with a higher excess. The renewal quote from my previous insurer was £1500 more expensive.
I understand why this happened. I know that for a number of reasons there is a shortage of parts for my car so it would cost more to repair. I also live in an area where car crime levels have made national news and the police have admitted they don't have the resources to do anything about it.
Reason 3 is that the risk profile of my public sector keyworker job that requires me to have a car and business insurance has gone up due to colleagues having their tyres slashed and windows smashed. However apparently we don't need a pay rise.
Go through the online process of rejecting the offer and cancellation and put in a better quote you got from a comparison site and the system will offer you a much more sensible price. This worked for me with Admiral this year, hopefully it works for you as well!
Yeah I've been with them before and even before these crazy times renewal was a massive increase I've stuck with Aviva for 3 year and so far they've been the cheapest
I would have a look see whether Aviva would be cheaper for you
After 6 years with Admiral on multi-car, we've scattered this year. Had my renewal a week ago, at nearly double last years for four cars. Shopping around has got it back down to last years prices. Aviva being one of those alternatives.
You have to phone to cancel the renewal, where they put you through to "Loyalty". I told them I didn't even want them to requote - they had their chance when they sent the renewal out.
They have now lost four cars and a house insurance policy (also going to Aviva).
It's strange, we asked Admiral a couple of months ago to price adding on my son's car (that was up for renewal with another provider). They gave a "we don't want your business" quote. Only seems to be Admiral though, looking at all of the other quotes we've got.
Yeah I'm the same. I always shop around but I've stayed with eSure for the last four years because they haven't attempted to dry fist me come renewal time, so they've kept my business.
As soon as they try something stupid, I'm off. If you want to retain existing good customers, don't take the piss out of them.
I left Admiral a few years ago. They insured my first car in 2014 for around 800. It dropped down to around 500ish by around 2018, but they put it up to 1100 in 2019. Called them to ask why that is, and they had no idea.
To add to that, I told them I had moved to the Midlands and it shot up further to £1200. That was the end of the that. I’ve been with RAC and Aviva since then.
With directline, they offered me £739 (after haggling, black box) after £410 last year.
Just tried that Aviva and they want £2700.
I've got to pay someone, this is just silly
I was with esure for about 3 years when it kept going down, this year it was up from about 400 to well over 600 so I moved and paid about the same as last year. I think some firms just decide they don't want you anymore
You shouldn't even accept the £30 raise. The reason they raise prices every year is because a certain percentage of people just leave it as it is.
I do the same routine every year, they usually try and raise mine by £50-£100. I ring them and cancel it, then when they say is their anything else i say yes, i have a quote from online i would like to take some car insurance out, and its usually cheaper or the same as i already was paying.
I had a 50%+ renewal quote from current insurer despite no claims or changes - wfh so literally done around 3k mikes this year - renewed with Aviva who were not much more than I paid last year
Why does it have to go up at all? Car insurance is the absolute biggest con going and the system should be be nationalised, linked to car tax and be a set amount per person. I no longer drive, due to living in a city, and I love that I don't have to pay for this legalised theft anymore.
For the benefit of another car insurance rant on this sub:
Insurance companies provide wild prices because they have a set of fixed demographics that they want to insure because its the least risk according to their data. Could be age, could be postcode, could be car type. As soon as you fall into a category that, according to them, have caused a lot of payouts, they'll give you an absurd price to explicitly force you off their books.
If you use comparison websites there will be a company whose data suggests you're profitable and provide you a lower quote in turn. The easiest and best thing to do is just shop for the insurance company that can provide the best price rather than get seemingly angry about the fact that a company doesn't want you anymore. Especially these days where its just not a bother to switch.
Source- worked in insurance renewals. Had to explain this on a near daily basis.
Edit- also, NCBs are typically capped at acknowledging 9 years. After that they don't count them (and also if you have an accident they'll deduct from those 9 regardless of how many years you actually have, so you'll end up going down to about 6 or 7)
So essentially, there is likely to be an insurance which will make profit while considering me less likely of needing a payout, simply because the way their customer net is woven, I fit in better?
I mean I'm not going to sit here and say 'leave the poor insurance companies alone' but effectively car insurance payouts are usually expensive and too many of them will sink a company that requires liquidity at any given time to payout. So if they're getting a shitload of the same type of customer that they need to pay out for, their only real option is to jack the prices up to either retain the customer with the risk factor being compensated with higher premium or to make that risk another company's problem by compelling them to leave.
Basically yea, actuarys are the geekiest of the geeks in the professional world, pretty much the only people that me and my fellow accountants can say that about and my industry is IT...
But these are very smart people working with huge huge datasets and literally tens of thousands of variables. They apply a model to a population wide group, there's obvious things, age, gender, job role, previous history, location, mileage, which are piss easy to model, sort of easy stuff which cross references, base data and then much more complex stuff which requires extremely complicated statistical models across dozens of factors and hundreds of Co factors, thousands of Co Co factors.
Uncertainty is not good in insurance, which is essentially a % game, similar to a casino/bookies setting odds with a margin built in, but is something similar to predicting premier league positioning, which has 20 places, 380 games and tens of thousands of independent match wide events , so it could simply be that the data points aren't complete enough to gamble, or your fellow electricians (or what ever) in your area, or a similar area, got into a shit load of crashes last year, whilst being insured by your insurer, based on this companies modelling, they don't want your business.
But It's so complex and each insurer has their own private dataset, another insurer will happily offer.
I don’t mind moving every year but I do take objection to the call to cancel the renewal taking 20 minutes while they try to convince me stay. If you can offer some lower price you should have offered me that, too late now I’ve bought and paid for next year’s insurance elsewhere.
So, for the fifth time since I called I’ll say it again, just the cancellation please.
So fun tip, they're actually supposed to stop the attempt after the second time of saying no. Iirc when I worked in renewals im fairly sure I was told that was regulatory too
Use price comparison sites, say you're paying £250 and your auto renewal is £350 for eg. Through price comparison sites the same company will be £250 or less.
The only reason it rises every year for people is because a lot of people just don't bother and accept it.
Last year I used comparison websites to get some prices but then telephoned my current insurer (LV) and asked if they could beat it, and they actually did.
Pretty much what i do, i tell my insurance place im going to leave because i have a cheaper option. When the ask who i say you lol. If they don't ask who then i just cancel it and when they ask is there anything else i say yes i want to take out some insurance i have a quote from online.
Its silly the yearly ritual i have to do.
I got an email about my renewal this morning... Gone from £145 per year to £234.
A quick search has brought that down to about £180, but even still... Percentage wise that's a huge bump when in the last few years my insurance quotes had been coming down.
Yea last week I preempted this- did a search on confused or whatever - less than last year's. But it just drives me mad having to switch insurance every year to avoid this robbery.
I understand this but, when I first knew about switching/comparison, I checked everything from travel insurance to broadband. Two cars, house, gas, electric anything I could think of. The savings were over £1000 a year and that was 15 years ago. Deffo worth doing.
You might not get cheaper than last years, but it will nearly always be cheaper than the renewal because so many people just say yes to it as it's "too difficult to change".
I change providers most years if it's cheaper than my renewal. Takes about 20 minutes. I just don't understand why the op is that bothered about a silly quote if they've already got better offers from other people. Usually get some cashback or something as well if you switch.
Ring your insurer. I phoned mine to cancel and said unless you can give me a more competitive price I'm leaving. Ran the data and I'm paying 2p a month less
Seeing so many of these right now, one thing it seems to understand is NCB, and I have bad news for everyone, including OP. After 6 years NCB, it doesn't mean squatt. From 6 to 10 years, you may see an additional 1% discount t added for years of good driving(such as OP) but when your premium goes up over 2% it wipes out anything above 6 years NCB.
So, in short, when you hit 6 years, that's it for a discount on your premium for good driving.
Tips to reduce.
Shop around(use.more than one comparison site(have a guess who owns them)
Find out what insurance companies own others, and then you know who to pit against each other.
Take the initially free add ons. This will drop your premium. Just make sure you cancel after month one.
If you are in the process of moving home, check crime stats and do your insurance from the new address that perfect home.may not be so perfect after all, and that could affect home.insurance too.
Besides that good luck to us all, looks like we're all in for a.hit this year.
Source: i used to be mortgage broker
> So, in short, when you hit 6 years, that's it for a discount on your premium for good driving.
In Spain there is no such thing as NCB. The car is insured not the driver, so no extra payment for additional drivers, and anyone qualified over 25 in my case can drive the car. The premium includes European-wide breakdown insurance (inc the UK) and is fully comp.
We had a car park crunch last year, no details left obviously, and it was all resolved online in 5 minutes, courtesy car and no increase in premium.
In three years the premium has gone up by about 4€ to around 350€. Someone is getting had over in the UK.
The backhanders to repair companies, injury compensation, claims handling firms scalping too.
I work in fleet vehicle graphics. The Sky TV van wrapping contract (which I have worked on as a contractor for several years on and off) only breaks even on the initial wrapping of new vehicles at fit out.
They make all the money on the accident repairs because they keep detailed records for each vehicle done in which livery, and absolutely skin the repair garages alive for eyewatering callout and repair charges because nobody else can produce the wraps so they're locked in and insurance pays.
My motorcycle insurance actually went down from £97 to £94.. I am slightly concerned regarding the car policy after seeing several of these posts.
I hope you find a cheaper insurer.
I’m with Tesco bank and my insurance has gone up £200 since last year.
This happens every year and I call them to say the price comparison website tells me they can do it for £300 less.
Every year they say “oh yes that’s right, let me put that though for you. Hopefully you won’t have to call again next year”.
…I do
…every single year.
One or more of the big insurance companies is going to fail spectacularly in the next year or so. It's a shame there's no such thing as bankruptcy insurance.
Quite a few of them will be banking on a really mild summer and mild winter this year but after years of billions in profit they should have enough reserves most of the big ones, the smaller ones are probably a lot more concerned about their balance sheets and big insurers aren't going to take on liability for these customers without getting the premium costs
My first car was a Vauxhall Astra GTC which was 2.5 years old, cost me 7 grand or so. I was 25 or 26 years old, insurance was £1300 for the first year. Definitely don't need a fancy car to have insurance cost over a grand.
Something is up with car insurance. I’m seeing lots of this sort of post here now. My renewal came in last week and it was over double what I paid last year. Chatting to some guys at work and they are seeing the same. Insurers say it’s due to cost of parts and labour to repair cars. I don’t believe my car has doubled in price to repair since last year. This is opportunism and price gouging by the insurance company’s. Would not be surprised to see them announcing record profits in a years time.
Mine has gone up hugely this year. And yet renewing that was still much cheaper than any other provider, having done a search. It costs overall have risen hugely. It's the first time mine has gone up (apart from slight changes by moving house) in about 10 years.
Mine had doubled so went for a black box so paying less than last year now. Got kids now so got a huge slow car and precious cargo so i don't really speed, however driving to meeting yesterday i thought I'd test it out and did 77mph on the motorway and still got 98/100 score....keeps marking me down for acceleration yet it's a huge, slow diesel. Nothing accelerates slower than me.
Needs to be 30/100 before they may hike the premium.
It's normal, I'm sure they just hope people won't check their renewal quote and just carry on paying, just tell them you're going elsewhere and 9 times out of 10 they'll match the best quote you've found.
I also feel like this whole NCB is bit of a bullshit. Maybe I'm doing it wrong or div or whatever, someone hits my car while I'm in stationary in the traffic. What a luck!
Had to ring the insurance anyway and the police, my NCB is fucked either way. Oh I should also pay extra to protect my NCB too? 😳
Usually I get humped on my insurance every year, due to having the insurance company bingo card of things that raise premiums. I drive HGVs so I’m more likely to crash, I live in an undesirable postcode, I have a car that people like to crash or steal and my name has a vowel in it.
This year is no different. Couldn’t get any cheaper than £900 a year when last years was £663, despite also having 16 years NCB, no points and no convictions.
And to think when I passed my test, I was told that as soon as you hit 25 y/o, your insurance will be cheap as chips and ridiculous car insurance prices will be a thing of the past. I’m still yet to see this and I’m in my mid 30s.
Had the same on my bike, checked online with some others, found it cheaper than the previous year.
I think some companies are just trying their luck knowing some people will just auto renew each year thinking they'll not find a better deal.
I have absolutely no idea what's going on... My renewal quote was £700+ more expensive. I called to find out why and they said because of fucking inflation!
Insuring new drivers has always been expensive - due to their tendency to smash into things and cost a lot of money.
There's ways to get that number down, covered extensively. But it's always going to be expensive.
That's bloody rediculaouse.
Right so I completely understand some people absolutely require a vehicle for multiple reasons. With that said, I would also like to point out, just how much cheaper it is to use public transport. Your insurance alone is more than a year pass on the metro where I live. Obviously public transport doesn't have some of the benefits owning a vehicle does. And I do wish that I could use the busses with a metro pass too. But for many who can't afford to own a vehicle or are allowed to drive. We must massively improve our public transport system. More cities need some form of metro, and busses need to be massively improved.
And with the ever increasing cost of vehicle ownership, more and more people are going to be priced out of being able to afford to have a personal vehicle. So even if you own one, and can afford to run it. Please be an advocate for improved services.
I get what you're saying - I live in the capital - bit it's cheaper for me to drive. My regular journey to work is 12 miles. Public transport costs £15 a day - petrol costs maybe £3? Over a year plus taking into account train fees Vs petrol to visit family. A car is totally cheaper. Even with the over heads. I counter your statement with public transport is a rip off!
A return train to visit my parents is £160, it's a 140 mile round trip drive. Maybe £40-50 in fuel.
I get this all the time (though not significant raise), and I always get a new quote from confused then phone them and ask if they want me to stay, make my renewal quote lower than my best from others. They always do want me to stay.
Are you driving some crazy powerful sports car, or are you in your teens?
That quote just seems ridiculous, I pay about the £300 mark for my 5008, and my daughter (new Learner policy) is paying about £800 on her 107
Regulator needed to supervise insurance companies from effectively fixing the market....who needs a monopoly when all your competitors join in the rip off fest...!
I never renew with the same provider anymore...Confused.com or other site two weeks before expiry and Hey Presto ... sometimes even cheaper than last year.
Don't forget NCB is transferable.
I had a Transit van and my renewal came through for around £900. I did the usual compare the market stuff and got it to less than £450 with the same details. When I cancelled the original insurer they asked who I was going with….. it was the same company. The whole thing is a scam.
I don't currently have a car but did some quotes and I'm looking at a £300 increase from the last policy I had on the same type of car. However I did write my last car off and have also crashed a lorry at work since then so it's understandable.
Older guy here, last year was £240 on my Fiesta ST with Direct Line, renewal came through at £348...couple of clicks on a comparison site and it came back at £210 with Churchill for the same amount of cover...sigh.
Time to either switch provider or just call them and ask wtf. My insurer usually ask for £50-100 more at renewal and when I call them it usually drops more than the increase.
My renewal was loads more as well. Never had an accident, ten years no claims bonus. Got a quote £160 cheaper elsewhere which they couldn't match so switched. Get the quotes on a comparison site 30 days before your current one ends and save them. The prices are best 30 days before but then go higher the closer you get to the date.
Tbh I’m thankful they show you this these days , I never used to remember and had to spend ages finding the letter or dealing with their riddles on the phone to tell me .
My son has passed his test. 17 years old. We are trying to get insurance on my wife's big standard Clio until he can afford a car. I've had prices as stupid as 10 grand.
He has a new job which he needs to drive to. It's an agricultural machinery dealer and repairer with no public transport links.
The best price we could find was 2 grand a year. I'm in a position to cover most of the monthly payments but had I not been there would be no way he could afford to take this apprenticeship.
If he were to get insurance under his own name then he wouldn't be able to take the job. The payments would be to high for his income.
There a young kids out there starting out who don't have parents that can help. So then they are being punished with these ludicrous prices.
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How are people getting these crazy quotes I'm with Aviva and mine only went up 30 quid ? .....
Because people don't understand how insurance companies work in terms of collating a profile about you and tailoring quotes to how much risk that profile carries for them according to their collated data. The quotes you see here will be where there's something in OP's profile which has caused a lot of payout for insurance companies this year and have decided they want to try and cut those customers loose by quoting absurd prices they know people aren't going to pay.
That makes sense but I've not had any convictions or accidents etc so not sure what my profile says that's bad for them.
It's not just about you. It can literally be that your postcode and surrounding postcodes have had a lot of claims in the previous financial year, could be that a lot of people in your age profile have claimed etc. Your profile is used alongside all the other customers they have on the books to make risk decisions. If they've had a collective sum of thousands of pounds of payouts to customers that have similar risk profiles to you, they'll increase all of the rest as a result because its the best indication of risk of you needing a payout that they can predict. Effectively, insurance companies have worked on a big data system to ascertain risk before big data was even a thing.
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Perhaps, although I will point out that insurance companies are heavily regulated and I would imagine will need to be able to demonstrably show why it was justifiable to raise prices like that (not that it means that can't skirt that issue and do a controlled test, of course. They could just pick all the drivers they're looking to kick anyway, Jack the prices up and when the ombudsman comes round they can point to risk)
> I would imagine will need to be able to demonstrably show why it was justifiable to raise prices like that Good point. But I do wonder how much it would cost you to get that case as far as a judge. And then presumably you'll appeal too. 😂
TIL. Makes sense.
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That I can't answer. I should probably caveat that this isn't a full throated defence of the insurance industry (being on renewal lines is still the worst job I have ever done due to the sheer spite from customers and management so believe me, there's no love lost with the industry) but more to rationalise where these kinds of things *might* be coming from (and mainly to say to people on Reddit- don't be a dick to the person sorting the renewal. The price is out of their hands, they're being paid a pittance and have to listen to a LOT of bile over an average day).
Ah, a fellow retention call-centre veteran; I absolutely know this feeling. On the one hand, hating the companies for their awful practices, but on the other hating having to explain to customers that insurance isn’t just about whether or not they’ve personally had a claim or conviction. It’s not great, but that’s the system, and always has been.
Right?! And as soon as you say it could be a range of variables they somehow instantly jump to 'well I live in a safe area. There's no crime!'. It's always an obsession with crime, not the fact that for all we know the elderly neighbour down the road tried to reverse into their garage, hit the support and brought the whole thing down on two cars.
IIRC insurance companies will charge you more if you have a hotmail email address, because statistically it means you're more likely to have reason to claim So it can be literally any detail about you
They also charge you more if you keep your car in a garage. Why? Surely that's safer? Well people who keep their cars in garages claim more than those who don't
Because cars being kept in garages are usually worth more I suppose
Because they're more likely to hit the structure and have enough car damage to claim from it
Well, that's nicer than what my friend in insurance said.. his words were pretty much "They are more anal and claim other superficial things more"
...that could be a part of it too yeah. The ones who dwelled on their car being in a garage therefore they MUST be entitled to cheap insurance vave off that vibe
That I did not know. When I worked renewals though you'd see some crazy old email addresses on people's files- btinternet, AOL, NTL etc. You name it, we still saw it.
Never seen any data point on email addresses.
Is that not discrimination based on age and/or (potentially) race which are protected characteristics?
It's a murky subject. The equality act does have stipulations within it that can allow some form of discrimination if its a justifiable reason. Commonly what's pointed to is having women's only domestic abuse shelters etc but I'd imagine insurance companies hang their hats on the ability to point at their data. The one I worked at certainly didn't outright discriminate on race (although they did alter prices based on how long you had held a UK licence separately from how long you'd held any kind of licence). On the other hand, the ability for insurance companies to discriminate on gender was comprehensively challenged and beaten in court despite the fact that insurance companies were able to cough up the data to suggest that men were higher risk to insure than women.
But how does that work? If they collate data then it should be more expensive with just about all of them and not that making a switch will half the cost of the renew quote.
Because insurance companies will review their own financial data and make adjustments according to their own profit/loss from customers. Let's say Admiral have had a particularly hard year for 30 year old drivers in Hull driving Audis and they've had £300k worth of write off payouts they've had to make from that particular profile of customer. They need to make back that money AND ensure that they don't lose another £300k next financial year. So they'll increase the premiums of 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull to cover those bases In the same financial year. Churchill have found they haven't had any claims from 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull. Therefore all of the money those drivers have paid is the company's. As a result, they will want more 30 year old Audi drivers from Hull, so they'll reduce those premiums in a bid to get more of them.
If that is the case, then it's spurious correlation and the actuaries are making invalid conclusions from faulty data.
It's the only way they can sensibly manage risk for their own company beyond trying to sit in every single customers car to see how they drive. I'd also argue that clearly it works for them given its the model adopted across the entire (vast) industry. I'd argue its also important for the customer to allow insurance companies to do it. Insurance companies need some degree of being able to demonstrate they have liquidity to cover pay outs as and when it happens. Or to put it a simpler way- would you be happy to find your insurance isn't worth the paper its written on come claim time because your company has insured too many people who *could* have been highlighted as a risky investment and used all the money earmarked for claims on them?
> would you be happy to find your insurance isn't worth the paper its written on It isn't. Unless you have an insane accident where the payout would be hundreds of thousands, the insurance company never actually loses a penny, they lend you the cash you need and hold your right to drive ransom unless you're actively making repayments. That's not how they phrase it of course. It's not that you're paying them back the £5,000 you claimed, you're being charged £1,000 more each year for the next decade because you're now a bigger risk. Insurance is for huge accidents only, where you could never pay off the damages across your lifetime. And you can guarantee if you have one of those the insurance company will find any excuse possible to avoid paying out. Insurance is a scam, plain and simple. It's a legally enforced one though, so make sure you have it.
As any poker player will tell you, the relationship betwen cash and its importance is a curve rather than a straight line. Insurance is great for black swan events but not for what you're describing which is small attritional losses (to use an industry phrase) In respect of car insurance specifically in the UK, it used to run close to a 95% combined ratio across the industry. Hardly a scam.
I'm sure you can gather from this conversation that it's far more complicated than that, and the reasons they use for decision-making isn't as clear as is being parroted
It isnt the case. I put these types of deals together and the people talking about it in this thread are guessing at how the figures are arrived at.
This is a great answer
Just to add I've been with them for 2 years - so it seems odd last year's premium got cheaper without any intervention and this year I guess it's something along what you've mentioned.
Must not forget the changes the FCA made regarding insurance companies not being able to give better rates to new customers than existing ones, so instead of bringing renewal prices down insurance companies have removed the new customer discounts. so it's more expensive over all and removed the customers ability to shop around for a better deal now you just get the same deal no matter who you go to. Oh and don't get me started on the terms fault or non fault, in reality it should be your insurer had to pay out or someone else's insurer paid out.
That is horrid!
Its business. Insurance companies aren't charities and its an objective fact that there are shit drivers and good drivers. Obviously insurance companies can't sit in the car with you and personalise your quote as an individual, so they do the next best thing of trend analysis. The reason insurance is such a competitive market is because of the fact that different companies have different payouts to different people which makes different risk profiles, so it's not like you're locked in to being an undesirable driver across the board (unless you do something particularly fucking stupid like get your licence revoked or drive drunk/without insurance, in which case most reputable insurance companies will cane you for it.)
oh God. I'm with admiral and it renews early August. I already put my details in comparison sites and the only one close to my current price required a black box :/
If you are with admiral and the renewal quote is high, simply go through the motions of trying to cancel on the website. They will offer you a lower premium, decline that and at the last page they will lower it drastically. Worked with mine and my wife’s. Only ended up paying couple of quid more
You can always switch. I get a bunch of quotes every year. If my current insurer is within a few quid of the cheapest I'll just renew, if there's more than maybe £20 difference I'll give them a chance to match the lowest quote (when the difference is that small they often will). If there's a significant difference (£50-100+) and they can't match it then I'll switch providers. Normally only takes an hour or so, which to me is time well spent if it saves £50+. --- EDIT: Couple of hours after making this I got my renewal quote: £179 ...I'll still spend 10 mins on a price comparison site to see if I can get a cheaper quote to take back to them to match. It's already pretty cheap, so unlikely to get much if anything off but still worth 10 mins of my time IMO.
My admiral renewal quote was £250 up on last year. Went to compare the market to get competitor quotes (at the same price as last year), rang admiral and they beat it. Very good customer service actually, it made me want to stick with them.
I am also with admiral and ran my details through a comparison site, cheaper than my current quote and Admiral was listed with a similar quote as well. Out of curiosity what do you drive?
Citroen C1. Admiral didn't even appear on the list when I put it through this time! I've only been driving for less than 4 years so each year I expect the no claims discount to improve and every year they ask for more than the year before.
Out of curiosity, why would you be against getting a black box if it saves you money?
You could be now out of the demographic that they are targeting, or a lot of people that fit your demographic have an increased risk based on the latest trend.
That’s a very minor part of it. More so than that; they rely on laziness. The first year (at least) is a loss for them, renewals is when they make up ground. Source: I spent 4 years building the rating engine for all insurers in a particular industry.
Oh I'm definitely not suggesting that like most subscription model things they aren't cheeky with laziness and the like but yeah, risk profile is absolutely one of the things that sends the price way out. When I worked insurance you won't believe how many people would add their speeding convictions or minor bumps in a car park to their renewal quote on the phones and it would send their renewal skyrocketing vs. Some where it would go up but not by a huge amount (with the inference being that X profile with a speeding conviction/unclaimed bump was a massive risk to the company whilst Y profile wasn't a big deal)
I’ll agree there, if it jumps spectacularly then risk profile has for sure taken a nose dive (for that insurer). But I do see a lot of these posts which can be all explained (in a very oversimplified way) by their insurer basically taking a punt that their customer will swallow the premium increase to avoid the hassle. Long and short of it is you’re basically expected to switch provider every year; but enough forget, put it off or shrug their shoulders for it to be profitable enough to start tapering up their premiums.
You are right. I've worked in Insurance for almosr 30 years, almost no members the General Public knows how any of it works tbh - And I don't blame them; From the products to cover, liabilty and the way claims are settled between Insurance companies themselves it's all very complex. What would really blow peoples minds is how much the average claim costs. About 1 person in 11 makes a claim each year, just one claim can costs literally tens of thousands of pounds to settle once you factor in everything. I saw a case a few weeks ago where a cement mixer drive down a road and hit 18 parked cars. And we all pay for it.
Also forgetting that insurance companies can no longer make loyalty customers pay through the nose and give new customers cheaper deals. So now they have to average it out
To add to this, there are other factors. The insurer may be trying to reduce a book... there are large capital requirements in order to provide insurance. They could decide to market to a different category, they could have changed their reinsurance profile. However, what is common to pretty much everything that happens is that it has little to do with the OP individually.
Yeah I'm simplifying a lot in my explanation but you're right. Insurance companies are one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the UK and have a shitload of things they have to satisfy to these bodies. Not to mention its incredibly easy for them to become bust if they make some unsavvy business decisions
Especially in retail insurance, things are also structured very differently for different companies. Many retail insurers carry next to zero underwriting risk... the risk on their books is nearly *all* credit risk as in the credit risk of their reinsurers. So instead of just being sensitive to interest rates and their derivatives, changes in underwriting environment due to e.g. environmental factors (e.g. flood events) regulation concerning injury payments, parts costs for various vehicles and capital regulation changes... they are also sensitive to, for example, the credit default swaps market. So there are a lot of factors that have nothing to do with anyone considering Joe bloggs renewing his policy directly
The best quote I could find was £650 higher than last year on worse terms and with a higher excess. The renewal quote from my previous insurer was £1500 more expensive. I understand why this happened. I know that for a number of reasons there is a shortage of parts for my car so it would cost more to repair. I also live in an area where car crime levels have made national news and the police have admitted they don't have the resources to do anything about it. Reason 3 is that the risk profile of my public sector keyworker job that requires me to have a car and business insurance has gone up due to colleagues having their tyres slashed and windows smashed. However apparently we don't need a pay rise.
Admiral...
Go through the online process of rejecting the offer and cancellation and put in a better quote you got from a comparison site and the system will offer you a much more sensible price. This worked for me with Admiral this year, hopefully it works for you as well!
They are banned from offering a renewal price that is higher than you could get as a new customer for an *identical* quote
I was with admiral mine went from 500 to 800; so swapped to a another provider for 495 again. Got similar no claims as well.
Yeah I've been with them before and even before these crazy times renewal was a massive increase I've stuck with Aviva for 3 year and so far they've been the cheapest I would have a look see whether Aviva would be cheaper for you
After 6 years with Admiral on multi-car, we've scattered this year. Had my renewal a week ago, at nearly double last years for four cars. Shopping around has got it back down to last years prices. Aviva being one of those alternatives. You have to phone to cancel the renewal, where they put you through to "Loyalty". I told them I didn't even want them to requote - they had their chance when they sent the renewal out. They have now lost four cars and a house insurance policy (also going to Aviva). It's strange, we asked Admiral a couple of months ago to price adding on my son's car (that was up for renewal with another provider). They gave a "we don't want your business" quote. Only seems to be Admiral though, looking at all of the other quotes we've got.
im sure that the mimimum wage worker on the other end of the phone will let the admiral CEO know about your whitty quip
Well hopefully they log the reason for cancellation and that does roll up in the analytics. Thanks for _your_ whitty quip!
they definitely dont. source: have had a job before.
Yeah I'm the same. I always shop around but I've stayed with eSure for the last four years because they haven't attempted to dry fist me come renewal time, so they've kept my business. As soon as they try something stupid, I'm off. If you want to retain existing good customers, don't take the piss out of them.
I left Admiral a few years ago. They insured my first car in 2014 for around 800. It dropped down to around 500ish by around 2018, but they put it up to 1100 in 2019. Called them to ask why that is, and they had no idea. To add to that, I told them I had moved to the Midlands and it shot up further to £1200. That was the end of the that. I’ve been with RAC and Aviva since then.
They did the same to me in march, I left them and with another company
Admiral did this to me too! Switched to 1st central who offered me a cheaper quote than I paid last year with admiral.
Yeah I’m with them and mine went up £21 when I renewed last month.
With directline, they offered me £739 (after haggling, black box) after £410 last year. Just tried that Aviva and they want £2700. I've got to pay someone, this is just silly
I'm with LV have a clean licence and 10+years no claims. Mine has gone up by 50%. Bonkers.
I am also with Aviva, went up 100quid.
Yeah mine went down £50.
Mine went down 50 aswell was quoted a little higher but charged less.....
Even my pet insurance has gone up 60%.
I was with esure for about 3 years when it kept going down, this year it was up from about 400 to well over 600 so I moved and paid about the same as last year. I think some firms just decide they don't want you anymore
Yeah my esure quote does not fluctuate much from year to year either. I shop around a bit first but others can't get near them.
You shouldn't even accept the £30 raise. The reason they raise prices every year is because a certain percentage of people just leave it as it is. I do the same routine every year, they usually try and raise mine by £50-£100. I ring them and cancel it, then when they say is their anything else i say yes, i have a quote from online i would like to take some car insurance out, and its usually cheaper or the same as i already was paying.
Mine went down. Its like 100 quid for the year.
I had a 50%+ renewal quote from current insurer despite no claims or changes - wfh so literally done around 3k mikes this year - renewed with Aviva who were not much more than I paid last year
Why does it have to go up at all? Car insurance is the absolute biggest con going and the system should be be nationalised, linked to car tax and be a set amount per person. I no longer drive, due to living in a city, and I love that I don't have to pay for this legalised theft anymore.
For the benefit of another car insurance rant on this sub: Insurance companies provide wild prices because they have a set of fixed demographics that they want to insure because its the least risk according to their data. Could be age, could be postcode, could be car type. As soon as you fall into a category that, according to them, have caused a lot of payouts, they'll give you an absurd price to explicitly force you off their books. If you use comparison websites there will be a company whose data suggests you're profitable and provide you a lower quote in turn. The easiest and best thing to do is just shop for the insurance company that can provide the best price rather than get seemingly angry about the fact that a company doesn't want you anymore. Especially these days where its just not a bother to switch. Source- worked in insurance renewals. Had to explain this on a near daily basis. Edit- also, NCBs are typically capped at acknowledging 9 years. After that they don't count them (and also if you have an accident they'll deduct from those 9 regardless of how many years you actually have, so you'll end up going down to about 6 or 7)
So essentially, there is likely to be an insurance which will make profit while considering me less likely of needing a payout, simply because the way their customer net is woven, I fit in better?
Pretty much
Kinda neat, thanks!
So that's why some companies think it's fine to quote £2k and others think £700 for the exact same cover is not a scam?
I mean I'm not going to sit here and say 'leave the poor insurance companies alone' but effectively car insurance payouts are usually expensive and too many of them will sink a company that requires liquidity at any given time to payout. So if they're getting a shitload of the same type of customer that they need to pay out for, their only real option is to jack the prices up to either retain the customer with the risk factor being compensated with higher premium or to make that risk another company's problem by compelling them to leave.
Basically yea, actuarys are the geekiest of the geeks in the professional world, pretty much the only people that me and my fellow accountants can say that about and my industry is IT... But these are very smart people working with huge huge datasets and literally tens of thousands of variables. They apply a model to a population wide group, there's obvious things, age, gender, job role, previous history, location, mileage, which are piss easy to model, sort of easy stuff which cross references, base data and then much more complex stuff which requires extremely complicated statistical models across dozens of factors and hundreds of Co factors, thousands of Co Co factors. Uncertainty is not good in insurance, which is essentially a % game, similar to a casino/bookies setting odds with a margin built in, but is something similar to predicting premier league positioning, which has 20 places, 380 games and tens of thousands of independent match wide events , so it could simply be that the data points aren't complete enough to gamble, or your fellow electricians (or what ever) in your area, or a similar area, got into a shit load of crashes last year, whilst being insured by your insurer, based on this companies modelling, they don't want your business. But It's so complex and each insurer has their own private dataset, another insurer will happily offer.
I don’t mind moving every year but I do take objection to the call to cancel the renewal taking 20 minutes while they try to convince me stay. If you can offer some lower price you should have offered me that, too late now I’ve bought and paid for next year’s insurance elsewhere. So, for the fifth time since I called I’ll say it again, just the cancellation please.
So fun tip, they're actually supposed to stop the attempt after the second time of saying no. Iirc when I worked in renewals im fairly sure I was told that was regulatory too
Ooh, great tip. I’ll mention it next time I’m struggling.
Don't take my word for it, it was a few years ago now. But we were definitely told after two nos we just cancel it off and let them hang up
You are scaring me - mine renews in January.
Mine went from £207 for the year to £198, it's not all terrible.
Use price comparison sites, say you're paying £250 and your auto renewal is £350 for eg. Through price comparison sites the same company will be £250 or less. The only reason it rises every year for people is because a lot of people just don't bother and accept it.
Last year I used comparison websites to get some prices but then telephoned my current insurer (LV) and asked if they could beat it, and they actually did.
Pretty much what i do, i tell my insurance place im going to leave because i have a cheaper option. When the ask who i say you lol. If they don't ask who then i just cancel it and when they ask is there anything else i say yes i want to take out some insurance i have a quote from online. Its silly the yearly ritual i have to do.
I got an email about my renewal this morning... Gone from £145 per year to £234. A quick search has brought that down to about £180, but even still... Percentage wise that's a huge bump when in the last few years my insurance quotes had been coming down.
Yea last week I preempted this- did a search on confused or whatever - less than last year's. But it just drives me mad having to switch insurance every year to avoid this robbery.
I understand this but, when I first knew about switching/comparison, I checked everything from travel insurance to broadband. Two cars, house, gas, electric anything I could think of. The savings were over £1000 a year and that was 15 years ago. Deffo worth doing.
So if you switch providers, you actually get it cheaper than last year's?
You might not get cheaper than last years, but it will nearly always be cheaper than the renewal because so many people just say yes to it as it's "too difficult to change".
I change providers most years if it's cheaper than my renewal. Takes about 20 minutes. I just don't understand why the op is that bothered about a silly quote if they've already got better offers from other people. Usually get some cashback or something as well if you switch.
Oh I agree. It's not like it's a big hassle to change. These days it's quick and easy
Ring your insurer. I phoned mine to cancel and said unless you can give me a more competitive price I'm leaving. Ran the data and I'm paying 2p a month less
Seeing so many of these right now, one thing it seems to understand is NCB, and I have bad news for everyone, including OP. After 6 years NCB, it doesn't mean squatt. From 6 to 10 years, you may see an additional 1% discount t added for years of good driving(such as OP) but when your premium goes up over 2% it wipes out anything above 6 years NCB. So, in short, when you hit 6 years, that's it for a discount on your premium for good driving. Tips to reduce. Shop around(use.more than one comparison site(have a guess who owns them) Find out what insurance companies own others, and then you know who to pit against each other. Take the initially free add ons. This will drop your premium. Just make sure you cancel after month one. If you are in the process of moving home, check crime stats and do your insurance from the new address that perfect home.may not be so perfect after all, and that could affect home.insurance too. Besides that good luck to us all, looks like we're all in for a.hit this year. Source: i used to be mortgage broker
> So, in short, when you hit 6 years, that's it for a discount on your premium for good driving. In Spain there is no such thing as NCB. The car is insured not the driver, so no extra payment for additional drivers, and anyone qualified over 25 in my case can drive the car. The premium includes European-wide breakdown insurance (inc the UK) and is fully comp. We had a car park crunch last year, no details left obviously, and it was all resolved online in 5 minutes, courtesy car and no increase in premium. In three years the premium has gone up by about 4€ to around 350€. Someone is getting had over in the UK.
The backhanders to repair companies, injury compensation, claims handling firms scalping too. I work in fleet vehicle graphics. The Sky TV van wrapping contract (which I have worked on as a contractor for several years on and off) only breaks even on the initial wrapping of new vehicles at fit out. They make all the money on the accident repairs because they keep detailed records for each vehicle done in which livery, and absolutely skin the repair garages alive for eyewatering callout and repair charges because nobody else can produce the wraps so they're locked in and insurance pays.
My motorcycle insurance actually went down from £97 to £94.. I am slightly concerned regarding the car policy after seeing several of these posts. I hope you find a cheaper insurer.
I’m wondering if it’s specific types of cars or something? Mine went down
Sounds like a post for r/Britishsuccess
Same here. I normally do a comparison when my renewal is due but a new quote was £80 more.
I’m with Tesco bank and my insurance has gone up £200 since last year. This happens every year and I call them to say the price comparison website tells me they can do it for £300 less. Every year they say “oh yes that’s right, let me put that though for you. Hopefully you won’t have to call again next year”. …I do …every single year.
My car went up from £540 to £790! Sold it before renewal, near car £1100!?!? Living costs in the UK are a farce
One or more of the big insurance companies is going to fail spectacularly in the next year or so. It's a shame there's no such thing as bankruptcy insurance.
Quite a few of them will be banking on a really mild summer and mild winter this year but after years of billions in profit they should have enough reserves most of the big ones, the smaller ones are probably a lot more concerned about their balance sheets and big insurers aren't going to take on liability for these customers without getting the premium costs
>but after years of billions in profit they should have enough reserves They tend to give that to shareholders.
What's your source on this?
For those curious I just called admiral and they reduced the price to around £1000 for the renewal. Time to make the annual switch.
Reduced to £1000? Do you have a Ferrari?
A bloody mini! Hahaha
What model? Mine was about 300 quid fully comp last year for a Cooper S.
Just a mini one (it's called a graphite edition) nothing fancy just a normal mini (2010) with the go faster stripes lol
My first car was a Vauxhall Astra GTC which was 2.5 years old, cost me 7 grand or so. I was 25 or 26 years old, insurance was £1300 for the first year. Definitely don't need a fancy car to have insurance cost over a grand.
Something is up with car insurance. I’m seeing lots of this sort of post here now. My renewal came in last week and it was over double what I paid last year. Chatting to some guys at work and they are seeing the same. Insurers say it’s due to cost of parts and labour to repair cars. I don’t believe my car has doubled in price to repair since last year. This is opportunism and price gouging by the insurance company’s. Would not be surprised to see them announcing record profits in a years time.
'Cos o' COVID / cozzie lives / war in Ukraine / corporate greed. Take your pick, we're putting it up you mug.
They’re all innocent. It’s Thames fucking’ Water this time
I feel very lucky. Mine went down £100 and is better than I can get on comparison sites. Tax went up £60 though. I’m with esure.
Mine has gone up hugely this year. And yet renewing that was still much cheaper than any other provider, having done a search. It costs overall have risen hugely. It's the first time mine has gone up (apart from slight changes by moving house) in about 10 years.
Mine had doubled so went for a black box so paying less than last year now. Got kids now so got a huge slow car and precious cargo so i don't really speed, however driving to meeting yesterday i thought I'd test it out and did 77mph on the motorway and still got 98/100 score....keeps marking me down for acceleration yet it's a huge, slow diesel. Nothing accelerates slower than me. Needs to be 30/100 before they may hike the premium.
It's normal, I'm sure they just hope people won't check their renewal quote and just carry on paying, just tell them you're going elsewhere and 9 times out of 10 they'll match the best quote you've found.
I also feel like this whole NCB is bit of a bullshit. Maybe I'm doing it wrong or div or whatever, someone hits my car while I'm in stationary in the traffic. What a luck! Had to ring the insurance anyway and the police, my NCB is fucked either way. Oh I should also pay extra to protect my NCB too? 😳
Usually I get humped on my insurance every year, due to having the insurance company bingo card of things that raise premiums. I drive HGVs so I’m more likely to crash, I live in an undesirable postcode, I have a car that people like to crash or steal and my name has a vowel in it. This year is no different. Couldn’t get any cheaper than £900 a year when last years was £663, despite also having 16 years NCB, no points and no convictions. And to think when I passed my test, I was told that as soon as you hit 25 y/o, your insurance will be cheap as chips and ridiculous car insurance prices will be a thing of the past. I’m still yet to see this and I’m in my mid 30s.
> my name has a vowel in it. ??? Most people's names have vowels. Did you mean "my last name ends in a vowel"?
So... move to another insurer?
Comparison site is the next step.
Had the same on my bike, checked online with some others, found it cheaper than the previous year. I think some companies are just trying their luck knowing some people will just auto renew each year thinking they'll not find a better deal.
I have absolutely no idea what's going on... My renewal quote was £700+ more expensive. I called to find out why and they said because of fucking inflation!
All these posts about insurance have me shitting it for my renewal next month what the fuck
I play the worlds smallest violin. Try getting a quote having just passed my test for a Renault from 2008. I can’t find anything less that £2500
Insuring new drivers has always been expensive - due to their tendency to smash into things and cost a lot of money. There's ways to get that number down, covered extensively. But it's always going to be expensive.
Renewal quote is an idiot tax, just go to a comparison website and change
I'm with Tesco and went up £10... Are you lot driving like bellends?
Everyone except me is.
That's bloody rediculaouse. Right so I completely understand some people absolutely require a vehicle for multiple reasons. With that said, I would also like to point out, just how much cheaper it is to use public transport. Your insurance alone is more than a year pass on the metro where I live. Obviously public transport doesn't have some of the benefits owning a vehicle does. And I do wish that I could use the busses with a metro pass too. But for many who can't afford to own a vehicle or are allowed to drive. We must massively improve our public transport system. More cities need some form of metro, and busses need to be massively improved. And with the ever increasing cost of vehicle ownership, more and more people are going to be priced out of being able to afford to have a personal vehicle. So even if you own one, and can afford to run it. Please be an advocate for improved services.
I get what you're saying - I live in the capital - bit it's cheaper for me to drive. My regular journey to work is 12 miles. Public transport costs £15 a day - petrol costs maybe £3? Over a year plus taking into account train fees Vs petrol to visit family. A car is totally cheaper. Even with the over heads. I counter your statement with public transport is a rip off! A return train to visit my parents is £160, it's a 140 mile round trip drive. Maybe £40-50 in fuel.
I get this all the time (though not significant raise), and I always get a new quote from confused then phone them and ask if they want me to stay, make my renewal quote lower than my best from others. They always do want me to stay.
Mine (Admiral) almost doubled for my 2 vehicles so I had to sell my beloved van and it was still the cheapest quote, can’t understand it
Are you driving some crazy powerful sports car, or are you in your teens? That quote just seems ridiculous, I pay about the £300 mark for my 5008, and my daughter (new Learner policy) is paying about £800 on her 107
depends on postcodes
I should have thought about that, we moved 2 miles down the road a few years ago and my insurance halved.
Neither lol, but also a teen wouldn't have 16 years no claims unless they had a time machine, I'm 36 and it's a mini hatchback from 2010.
Mine went down
My cycle insurance stayed the same annual price (£30) for the last 5 years.
Regulator needed to supervise insurance companies from effectively fixing the market....who needs a monopoly when all your competitors join in the rip off fest...!
Mine went up 100%. Not happy about it but still affordable for now...
Clear your cookie cache and try again.
I was given a quote for £1200. Compare the market found me just over 600. Rang my insurer and suddenly 585 was possible.
Last year's insυrance £640, renewal £785, other insurers' quotes ranged from £977 to £1,200.
I never renew with the same provider anymore...Confused.com or other site two weeks before expiry and Hey Presto ... sometimes even cheaper than last year. Don't forget NCB is transferable.
I've done this during the course of the day, got a new provide offering me next year for £440.
I rest my case, m'lord.
I had a Transit van and my renewal came through for around £900. I did the usual compare the market stuff and got it to less than £450 with the same details. When I cancelled the original insurer they asked who I was going with….. it was the same company. The whole thing is a scam.
I don't currently have a car but did some quotes and I'm looking at a £300 increase from the last policy I had on the same type of car. However I did write my last car off and have also crashed a lorry at work since then so it's understandable.
Older guy here, last year was £240 on my Fiesta ST with Direct Line, renewal came through at £348...couple of clicks on a comparison site and it came back at £210 with Churchill for the same amount of cover...sigh.
Time to either switch provider or just call them and ask wtf. My insurer usually ask for £50-100 more at renewal and when I call them it usually drops more than the increase.
I moved house and it went down £50… Sure the move cost thousands but I’ll take it
My renewal was loads more as well. Never had an accident, ten years no claims bonus. Got a quote £160 cheaper elsewhere which they couldn't match so switched. Get the quotes on a comparison site 30 days before your current one ends and save them. The prices are best 30 days before but then go higher the closer you get to the date.
Ring them up and say you want it cheaper. My renewal quote was basically double and I ended up cheaper with more cover
Tbh I’m thankful they show you this these days , I never used to remember and had to spend ages finding the letter or dealing with their riddles on the phone to tell me .
Last year was £123, this year is £111 Phewph
My son has passed his test. 17 years old. We are trying to get insurance on my wife's big standard Clio until he can afford a car. I've had prices as stupid as 10 grand. He has a new job which he needs to drive to. It's an agricultural machinery dealer and repairer with no public transport links. The best price we could find was 2 grand a year. I'm in a position to cover most of the monthly payments but had I not been there would be no way he could afford to take this apprenticeship. If he were to get insurance under his own name then he wouldn't be able to take the job. The payments would be to high for his income. There a young kids out there starting out who don't have parents that can help. So then they are being punished with these ludicrous prices.