[nomiS330d]

I know the regulators have finally caught up with them taking the p1ss every year at renewal time but my current insurer obviously doesn't give a sh1t This has been going on forever which means running the price comparison site gauntlet on an annual basis instead of rewarding their loyal customers by at least keeping the price the same if not a bit cheaper providing everything is the same as last year. Mine for instance 'rewarded' my careful driving and loyalty by hiking the renewal cost up by £250 When I rang to tell them to stuff it and then tried to vent my spleen she wasn't interested. She just said "yeah ok, it won't renew on the 25th. goodbye"
So I've managed to get insured with another company for slightly less than last year. Result

[rasa bmw]

same as every year then,,once ive renewed with the same company(multi car)admirall,but now i have 3 years ncb on one car and 16 ncb on another,,so i insure seperately

[Andy Bev]

Just done mine AA £350, Quote Me Happy £205, rang AA knocked me £100 straight off, if they'd have said that to start with I would have stopped with em ...

[nomiS330d]

Yeah thats what grinds my gears!!!!!! They didn't even bother trying this time but I have had the same thing with them price matching. Like you say, why don't they just give the best price in the first place to save their customers all the agro.I'm sure they just pluck the premiums from out of thin air. When you do a compare the market (others are available) you get prices varying from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand!!!!! How can that be????


Anyway, I'm not being stupid, I've been driving for 30 years so have dealt with these insurance company shenanigans many times, my 'questions' are mostly rhetorical but I do feel it's time the ombudsman came down hard on them like they did with utilities companies.

Rant over, now breathing normally ;-)

[CitizenKane]

I don't really see what the problem is here? Your post just illustrates that the free market works - your insurance company is entitled to charge whatever the hell they want (as long as they're not colluding with other insurance companies to distort competition) and in turn you are entitled to either accept it and stick with them or reject it and go somewhere cheaper. If enough customers do the latter then they will be forced to reduce their quotes to stay competitive, and so it goes.

By the way I'm generally unsympathetic as someone who lives in Ireland because you actually don't know how good you have it in the UK for both insurance and motor tax.

[nomiS330d]

I think the thing that baffles me is last year they charged me £500. Nothings changed in the last 12 months, no claims, no endorsements and to my knowledge no cars have been stollen locally but they now want £750 for the next 12 months. What they are doing is trying it on in the hope I just can't be bothered to switch or just don't notice.
Yes I understand where you're coming from with the free market thing and I suppose I should have no sympathy for people that get bent over by these companies because they're just plain stupid.
Like I said before, I think they just, well, their computers or whatever just pluck a figure from thin air and throw it at you instead of a real human being looking at the facts and saying well, he's no more of a risk this year than he was last year so we'll just charge him the same or a bit less for his loyalty. So, I'm not taking it personally, just can't understand how a company can effectively tell me they don't want my business this next year so please go away.

[rasa bmw]

if its the first year of that insurance company,,then they give a discount for new customer,,then put renewal up etc,,thats what they told me anyway,,its all bollox and just a way to shaft you legally

[Chappers 71]

I've found it to be less expensive if you renew it early, last year I had my renewal which was reasonable but I kinda forgot about accepting it until the day before it expired. When I did call them to renew it I was told that quote was no longer available & a quick search proved that all my other quotes had also increased grrrr

In the good old days your insurance used to go down every year provided you hadn't become more of a risk & there were only six insurance groups, happy days

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by nomiS330d

Nothings changed in the last 12 months, no claims, no endorsements and to my knowledge no cars have been stollen locally

Nothing has changed with you

How many cars like yours have been crashed in the last year? How many nicked in the last year? How many vandalised? How much car crime in your local area?

Etc etc.

No use getting het up about it, just take your business elsewhere.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

I've found it to be less expensive if you renew it early, last year I had my renewal which was reasonable but I kinda forgot about accepting it until the day before it expired. When I did call them to renew it I was told that quote was no longer available & a quick search proved that all my other quotes had also increased grrrr

In the good old days your insurance used to go down every year provided you hadn't become more of a risk & there were only six insurance groups, happy days

deffo,,i had quoytes for £300 for my 335d,,,that was 1 month ahead,,then when i insured just 1 day ahead,,it was £330,,so when my daughter did her 2nd year insurance quote we did it 5 weeks early

[Dann]

The only company I've had that hasn't put mine up every year has been direct line.

[garfy]

Loyalty means nothing these days because the market has driven the new customer discounts so high

I paid £400 last year with Hastings for the 335i and the renewal is £625 (although I'm already at max NCB)

Best GoComparetheMeerkat quote is £300 from...Hastings! Will they match it...of course not!

So I'm off to Direct Line for £350 and without a doubt Ill be changing next year as well!

[nomiS330d]

Originally Posted by SamM_UK

Nothing has changed with you

How many cars like yours have been crashed in the last year? How many nicked in the last year? How many vandalised? How much car crime in your local area?

Etc etc.

No use getting het up about it, just take your business elsewhere.

Well, I Would accept that if every quote I had was higher but they’re not, just my current insurer.
Like I said, my exasperation is exhaderated because I know how they operate.

Just to add, last years premium was after I had been insured with them the previous year, the year in which I claimed for my stolen M3! This year, no claims and it goes up £250 which is a larger hyke than after the claim year. Go figure....

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by garfy

Loyalty means nothing these days because the market has driven the new customer discounts so high

I paid £400 last year with Hastings for the 335i and the renewal is £625 (although I'm already at max NCB)

Best GoComparetheMeerkat quote is £300 from...Hastings! Will they match it...of course not!

So I'm off to Direct Line for £350 and without a doubt Ill be changing next year as well!

eh?doesnt make sense,,your with hastings for £400,,new quote £625..compare quote is £300 from same company,,yet you gonna go with direct line for £350,,

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by nomiS330d

Well, I Would accept that if every quote I had was higher but they’re not, just my current insurer.

It could well be the single underwriter they use has had excessive claims on that vehicle profile, which would easily explain the hike.

I guess from my perspective life's too short to get stressed about it. There are deals to be had.

[nomiS330d]

Yeah I guess you’re right.
I know in 12 months time I’m going to have to do it all again when Tesco bank reward my exemplary driving and security precautions by sticking another hundred or 2 on the renewal price just in case I’m stupid enough not to notice lol

[garfy]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

eh?doesnt make sense,,your with hastings for £400,,new quote £625..compare quote is £300 from same company,,yet you gonna go with direct line for £350,,

Because I can't take the compare quote and insure with the same company. I have to leave and then re-insure which leaves the car un-insured
or cancel early and pay a penalty

So it's Direct Line who are the next best...and from what I've heard don't have such a high discount rate so less likely to increase my premium by 50+% at renewal!

[rasa bmw]

that happened to me before fe w years ago,,i got my renewal from tesc,,went up,,so i got online quotes and tesco was cheapest,,and i took it,,why cannot you do that?

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by garfy

Because I can't take the compare quote and insure with the same company. I have to leave and then re-insure which leaves the car un-insured or cancel early and pay a penalty

Nuts to that, just take the cheapest quote from your company and set the start date to the expiry date of your current one.

Or better yet, ring them up, stamp your feet point out the cheaper quote on the comparison site and watch them fold and give you the better price.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by SamM_UK

Nuts to that, just take the cheapest quote from your company and set the start date to the expiry date of your current one.

Or better yet, ring them up, stamp your feet point out the cheaper quote on the comparison site and watch them fold and give you the better price.

yeh thats what i did,,nowt says you cannot,all the companys hate paying out and all the same

[Chappers 71]

Yeah but it is a chore trawling through insurance quotes every year, especially if your car has some mods. More form filling & emailing proof of this & that.
Back in the day my local broker took care of it all, just as he had for my granddad, dad & brother for over thirty years & he let me pay interest free over three monthly instalments when I bought my e34 M5 back in 1998 as I had blown nearly all my cash on buying it

[Killerdelts]

Mine this year wanted 595 for a 335d 2012. M sport tourer estate. Went on comparison site got it for 328 lol