Model Boat Mayhem

Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 04:52:58 pm

Title: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 04:52:58 pm
Just received my car insurance renewal, I have my grandson as a named driver on my policy he has a full UK driving licence, passed his test 2 years ago, no claims, no convictions, no points on his licence because he is now in full employment as a trainee CAD draftsman and not full time education they what to increase the premium from £714.00 to £1371.00. with a £500 excess. Car 1999 Rover 216SLI which is only worth about £900. Their excuse we all have to pay for uninsured drivers <*<
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: DickyD on June 29, 2009, 05:14:24 pm
Change your insurance company, my son is on my insurance, 3 years experience, two accidents s*d him, £500 excess and Direct Line want just over £700.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 06:08:07 pm
Richard, I have, the best quote was Direct, just under £700 including breakdown cover
Mick
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: catengineman on June 29, 2009, 06:16:29 pm
Have you thought about having him take out his own insurance that way he gets to earn his own NCB.

may even be cheaper in the long run.

R,
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: alan colson on June 29, 2009, 06:25:20 pm
I think you have got to have the car registered in your name to take out the insurance (got this impression from topgear this week). I went to go compare and saved over £100 on my insurance this year, I was with CIS, I am still with CIS but booked it online. They told me when I phoned CIS that they could not compete with the online quote although it was the same company.
Alan
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 06:27:58 pm
I have already been down that road, the quotes from insurance companies that would insure him ranged from
£2868.00 to, wait for it £8135.00. The problem is the majority spoil it for the minority, if a teenager drives a year
with a full licence without claims and convictions insurance companies should encourage them with lower premiums
that way there would not be as many uninsured drivers on the road! its not rocket science
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: dreadnought72 on June 29, 2009, 06:39:06 pm
£2868.00 to, wait for it £8135.00.

That's insane.

What sort of quotes would he get if he were to insure his own (cheap and unpowerful) car?

Andy
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 06:46:04 pm
Yes Andy it is insane, I would call my car cheap and unpowerful (1583cc) but it doesn't seem to make any difference if you are under 25
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: tolnedra on June 29, 2009, 06:56:14 pm
The other good thing about Direct Line is that any named drivers also earn no claims discount for themselves, for

when they do take out their own insurance. (that's always supposing that they don't have any accidents of course!)

Danny
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Colin Bishop on June 29, 2009, 06:57:26 pm
The problem is that young men consider themselves to be immortal and drive accordingly - until they have an accident!  Insurance companies price accordingly.

Young men have more accidents because they depend upon their reflexes rather than on experience and reflexes are just not enough. They don't realise how easy it is to hit something - until it happens. Unfortunately it is a biological issue more than anything else. After age 25 common sense tends to kick in.

Colin
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: catengineman on June 29, 2009, 06:58:17 pm
I know it is different for the young female driver (my daughter) she was on my insurance then she took out her own on my car, the car is mine and she had third party cover all she had to have with her was a letter from me saying she had permission to drive it.

she built up her own NCB and now has fully comp.

The quotes you have been given are *daft* he could insure an old crate on full comp' that has a cheap insurance group then drive your car on the TPFT contained in that policy, insurance is a nightmare it takes time to find the cover that fits what you need.

I wish you all the luck in getting what you need

R,

have you considered having a limited milage policy for him and NO DOMESTIC PLEASURE so the car is used for to and fro work only.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 07:10:43 pm
Unfortunately my grandson could not afford to pay for his own insurance because of the paltry wage he gets, which is under the minimum wage, so as long as I can help him I will, at least he will benefit when he qualifies.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: catengineman on June 29, 2009, 07:17:31 pm
I know how hard it is for the younger driver so could you not pay for the insurance (you would have done if he was on your policy)
then your grandson will get his own NCD which will go to reducing his premiums

R,
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: andygh on June 29, 2009, 07:46:03 pm
Got the renewal from Direct Line last month, the car is in my wifes name & I am a named driver. Niether of us has claimed in the last 5 years and we both have full NCD. Direct Line had increased the premium to £420 so we went to a comparison website and got the same insured through Swiftcover, it cost £370 including legal cover, a guaranteed replacement car, breakdown recovery, personal accident cover and a reduced excess none of which was included with DL.

Direct Line are well known for selling cheap insurance and then ramping up the premiums after a year or two, they tried it with us before and when we asked why they told us it was due to our change in postcode...... we hadn't moved.... but they didn't want to know so we changed insurers again
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 08:55:21 pm
I know how hard it is for the younger driver so could you not pay for the insurance (you would have done if he was on your policy)
then your grandson will get his own NCD which will go to reducing his premiums

R,

I pay for the insurance now and the road tax I certainly cannot afford £2868 to insure it for him, as I said before insurance companies should be more understanding with young drivers that do not consider themselves immortal
and are considerate and responsible drivers.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Colin Bishop on June 29, 2009, 08:57:47 pm
Quite true, but how are the insurers to distinguish between the careful and the reckless - until they have an accident of course. Some of the way out quotes are simply a way of saying that they don't want your buisiness.

Colin
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 09:07:20 pm
That was my point Colin, statistics show that most young drivers are involved in accidents within 3 months of passing their test, If they have stayed accident free for 2 years that should count for a reduction in premiums, if after this period they are involved in speed related or careless driving accidents then they should be hit with high premiums.

Mick
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: andygh on June 29, 2009, 09:11:07 pm
True, I have an unused car sitting on my drive, I told my lad if he insured it he could use it for getting backwards and forwards to university, he simply can't afford to and sadly niether can I right now thanks to the UK economy
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: DickyD on June 29, 2009, 09:22:09 pm
This one could run and run, Your best bet is to try some of the comparison sites and see what they quote.

You can quite often get a cheaper quote from a company on a comparison site than you would get going to the same company direct.

My wife did this for her top of the range Corsa and got Fully comp, me as other driver, curtesy car and everything else thrown in plus £100 excess for £13 per month from Saga.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 29, 2009, 09:38:00 pm
Nice one Richard, I had Saga for years, my premium for the Rover was £121 per year F/N/B protected and all the other benefits including breakdown recovery, but they will only insure drivers over 50 so I had to change.

Its also cheaper to buy on line with all insurance companies, what I do is when my insurance is nearing renewal
I apply on line for quotes rather than wait for the renewal in the post, you can save a lot of money this way, this applies to all insurance, house, contents, pet etc.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Vintage on June 29, 2009, 09:38:54 pm
My lad is 17 & passed his test 2 weeks ago - he has a 1.4 Polo 16v, registered to him & valued at £1500. The car has just been insured fully comp. in his name & by far the best quote was from Direct Line at just over £1700  :o

Seems a huge amount of money & it's no wonder people choose to drive about without insurance.... should be much stiffer penalties for those caught doing so..... <*< <*< <*<

Incidentally - TPF&T cover was, bizarrely, more expensive with the same insurer.

Wife's a driving instructor & thoroughly recommends pupils doing "Pass Plus" - many insurance companies will offer a discount to those who've taken the extra training  :-))
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: andygh on June 29, 2009, 10:04:20 pm
Quote
it's no wonder people choose to drive about without insurance

Anyone who does this and causes an accident with me will be severely dealt with  <*<
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Colin H on June 29, 2009, 10:16:17 pm
Seems to me all insurance companies try it on.

Had my buildings & contents cover with NAT WEST for a number of years. On renewal this year the premium had gone from £310-00p to £576-00p.

It said phone the help line so I did, their explanation, the quotes are computer generated. `Oh yeah blame the computer`.

I explained nicely what they could do with their quote `put it where the sun don't shine` and low and behold the corrected quote was £321-00p.

Makes me wonder how many people just accept the renewal quote, it would not take many for it to be a nice little earner.

Colin H.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Vintage on June 29, 2009, 10:29:14 pm
It's what's known as the "Boil a Frog" principle...  :o

I've heard senior members of the insurance industry openly referring to it as such & admitting that companies will gain customers by offering low introductory premiums & then increasing them year on year.

The "Boil a Frog" analogy comes from the fact that if you put a Frog into boiling water it's reaction would be to leap out, however, if you put it into a pan of cold water it'd quiet happily sit there while the water heated up & eventually boil.

Nice to know the insurance companies treat their customers with such contempt..... :((

Bottom line is always question the renewal premium & be prepared to shop around.  :-))
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Ghost in the shell on June 29, 2009, 10:38:55 pm
Nissan Serena Miinivan

Direct Line
£475 Fully comp with 3yrs + 3 points
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: grasshopper on June 29, 2009, 11:46:42 pm
What nobody has pointed out - or did I miss it? - it's not just the value of the car the person drives but the potential damage that can be done with it.

My wfe is an insurance broker and has had occassions where someone they insure has been in to report an accident, a minor bump, then returned a few days later limping and wearing a neck brace - this is the sort of behaviour that also ramps up insurance, there are thousands out there making fraudulent or inflated cliams for damages, injuries and compensation.

It doesn't just happen with motors, household claims and holiday losses are ripe for 'screwing' a few quid back - the rest of us pay for that too.

Unfortunately, insurance is a necessary evil, how would you pay for the loss of someone else's loved one?
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on June 30, 2009, 08:33:39 am
Yes you do have a point, which brings me back to my original issue, insurance companies should be more selective before quoting.
 
I have been driving since 1952. I have driven Diamond T tank transporters to Fiat 500s  never made a claim or been involved in an accident. Driving skills only come with experience; I have estimated I have spent over £14000 in car insurance over 57 years.

Yes  lots  of things have changed on the roads  since I took my driving test 57 years ago, I taught my Grandson to drive and would only let him take his test when I thought he was ready, he passed first time.
Your point regarding bogus claims is valid but it does not help with all the No Win No Fee companies bombarding us with advertising, all I require from an insurance company is a fair assessment of their risk when quoting for an individual.

Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Roger in France on June 30, 2009, 02:41:10 pm
"....fair assessment of risk...." That is not how it works.

They first of all decide what percentage profit they expect to make; then they add their costs to administer; then they allow for the claims they cannot bother to challenge; then they add in all the bad risks they know they will accept because they cannot sift them out; then they add in the costs of all the cosy little agreements they enter in to with other insurance companies; then they add in all the inflated repair costs that garages will rack up; then and only then will they consider the potential risk you present; after which they add on a % in case they have missed something or made any errors.

"Fairness" is a word that does not exist in the insurance vocabulary"

Cynical, moi?

Roger in France
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Peter Fitness on July 01, 2009, 12:02:33 am
To us Australians, the British system of car insurance is strange indeed. My daughter went to England in 1996, as a nanny, and her employers had to pay extra insurance so that she could drive their car and, if memory serves, it was around an extra 300 pounds.

Here, we insure our car, and any licenced driver can drive it, with the owner's permission, at no extra cost. Premiums are calculated based on where the car is regularly garaged, and such factors as traffic density and crime statistics, such as car theft and vehicle vandalism, are used in those calculations. Regular alternate drivers are named in the policy but, as I said, any licenced driver can drive the vehicle, unless, of course, they happen to have stolen it, and that's a whole different ball game  <*< :police:

Peter.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on July 01, 2009, 07:32:25 am
Peter I would be very interested to know how your insurance compares with what we pay in the UK

Mick
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Guy Bagley on July 01, 2009, 12:05:19 pm
Nissan Serena Miinivan

Direct Line
£475 Fully comp with 3yrs + 3 points

 we can all quote numbers, but it does not give anyone  anything tangible to compare...... {:-{
 bear in mind the premiums will also take into account the occupation/ use of the vehicle, estimated annual mileage, location of where the vehicle is likely to be kept, the likelihood of the vehicle to be targeted by car theives, the types of secuirty that is fitted to the vehicle as standard ( immobiliser alarm etc) and also the make, model, and cost of parts for that vehicle....

 you need to compare 'apples with apples' to get a fair comparison
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: meechingman on July 01, 2009, 01:57:28 pm
My 20 year old son just bought his first car, a 2000 X-reg Renault Clio 1.4Si. We did all the usual searching around and got some of those ridiculous £8K quotes. Most were in the £1800-£2K region.

Eventually we found a policy from a company called Bell Insurance. He is the main driver on the policy and when we added me as a named driver, the premium dropped by 20%. (Presumably because part of the car's use is by a more experienced driver.) Adding my daughter as well - 23 but still a learner - added nothing to the cost.

For a special 10-month 'accelerator' policy (all named drivers get a year's no claims discount after 10 months), fully comp including business use (he's a s/e computer engineer and I'm a s/e music teacher) it cost £1050. Includes courtesy car, legal expenses and personal injury cover too, so we were quite pleased with that. Paying monthly would have incurred a 20% APR, so the 'bank of Dad' has provided a low-cost loan!

The deals are out there..... :-)


Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on July 01, 2009, 04:31:27 pm
Nissan Serena Miinivan

Direct Line
£475 Fully comp with 3yrs + 3 points

 we can all quote numbers, but it does not give anyone  anything tangible to compare...... {:-{
 bear in mind the premiums will also take into account the occupation/ use of the vehicle, estimated annual mileage, location of where the vehicle is likely to be kept, the likelihood of the vehicle to be targeted by car theives, the types of secuirty that is fitted to the vehicle as standard ( immobiliser alarm etc) and also the make, model, and cost of parts for that vehicle....

 you need to compare 'apples with apples' to get a fair comparison



My application for quotes ticks all the right boxes, occupation Retired, annual mileage below 2000, kept in a locked garage alarmed with CCTV overnight, car fitted with Thatcham alarm and tracker plus standard immobilizer.
My grandson 2 years no claims, myself 57 years no claims, does this give the insurance companies anything tangible to compare no! That's been my point and why I say that each application for insurance should be taken on its merit not statistics. Reward careful drivers, punish bad drivers.
Its obvious that when you receive these insane quotes the insurances companies do not want to insure you, it wont be long before my grandsons driving experience is not the problem but my age will be, but unlike younger drivers we do have a medical to ensure we are still fit to drive.





Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Peter Fitness on July 01, 2009, 11:46:04 pm
Peter I would be very interested to know how your insurance compares with what we pay in the UK

Mick, my 2003 Mitsubishi diesel Pajero (Shogun in the UK I think, photo below), is insured for just over A$27000, and the annual premium is A$409. This includes a maximum no claim bonus, one windscreen replacement per year without affecting the no claim bonus, and a hire car for 14 days if my vehicle is stolen, or off the road as a result of an accident.

Bear in mind that I live in a small town, with low traffic density, which helps to keep the premiums down. If I lived in a large city, the premiums would be higher.

Peter
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: catengineman on July 01, 2009, 11:52:50 pm
This is going to get me hung but

Nice drag there Peter.  (caravan)

R,
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Peter Fitness on July 02, 2009, 12:02:11 am
OFF TOPIC catengineman  O0 {-)

How about a new thread..... "Caravans"??

Peter.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: catengineman on July 02, 2009, 12:19:14 am
I protest at that  O0 you have to have insurance on them  :D

R,
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Peter Fitness on July 02, 2009, 02:22:57 am
I protest at that  O0 you have to have insurance on them  :D

You do indeed  O0

There is a already topic on caravanning here http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8445.0 (http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8445.0)

Peter.
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: Patternmaker on July 02, 2009, 08:22:28 am
Thanks for the info Peter, very interesting so thats about £200 for £13250 vehicle, even in rural england I don't think you would get insurance anywhere near that.
Nice outfit you have.

Mick
Title: Re: CAR INSURANCE
Post by: grasshopper on July 03, 2009, 10:42:57 am
You can always find cheaper deals - the cheapest ones are either online or telephone only. The problem often comes when one tries to claim.

That's when you find out they didn't ask you (or you didn't answer) a question correctly or honestly - no cover.
You 'modified' the car and didn't inform them - no cover.
You 'forgot' those 3 points you got - no cover.

That's one of the reasons I would never (even if I wasn't married to a broker) do insurance without being able to face somebody.

It's a minefield - and you're the one playing hopscotch!