Three Towns Forum
Members' Lounge => The 3 Towns Arcade => Topic started by: TheMedz on November 16, 2010, 11:17:29 pm
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Well p*ssed off today. After spending ages looking on the internet (including bl**dy Meerkats) I have been unable to get a quote for my son's car insurance where the annual premium is less than than the value of the car. Also it now seems to be cheaper to go fully comprehensive than third party. It just doesn't make sense.
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I feel your pain Medz, I've been trying for my son for ages. Have a look at "insurethebox".
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The fully comprehensive thing is odd. We have the same problem, although ur boys are now in their early twenties, and the cost is coming down. I did read that 30% of the cost is down to fraud...
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Who or what is Meerkats? Then---who or what is bl--dy Meerkats? Mike
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its 'Compare the Market' not to be confused with 'Compare the Meerkat' the well known tv advert for car insurance, hence lots of shops with toy meerkats for sale D)
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I sympathise with you Medz. I recently offered to buy my 19 yr. grandson, a university student, a Ford Fiesta which cost £600. The lowest quote he got for 3rd. party ins. was, wait for it. £2;600.00. so that was the end of that idea. :(
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I posted on OSCAR on his very subject today ... and the jist of my point is...
Why should anyone bother trying to get legally insured and taxed when the cost is well in excess of £2000, and the usual fine imposed for driving WITHOUT tax or insurance is in the region of £100
A terrible dilemma to find yourself in as a young person!
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A lot depends on the car, of course. Youngsters have to be realistic and go for the most basic car they can find. Even then, however, getting it insured in their own name is likely to be prohibitive at the start, so the usual route is to insure them on a parent's car.
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It makes you wonder how everyone managed not that long ago when only richer people had cars.... ^*^0
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Thats the same with telephones, televisions, more latterly computers.... and in your case Dave cameras.
Wouldn't like to be without any of those would we?
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Plenty of people (both rich and poor) manage perfectly well without cars, do they not? ;)
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I would'nt like to be without a car, I love the freedom of it, having said that one of the attractions of living here was the limitless walks and excellent cycle paths from Penrhyn Bay, but I do still enjoy driving ^*^0
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My car was written off four years ago by a young driver who I later found out wasn't insured to drive his girlfriends car. :rage:
If there is a next time and I think there is a doubt about the insurance cover I won't be so understanding and will call the Police straight away.
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Plenty of people (both rich and poor) manage perfectly well without cars, do they not? ;)
We will see about that Dave, at 2.30pm next Thursday! :weeping: :weeping:
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My pet theory about car insurance. The companies ask so many questions before they issue, if, maybe in innocence, you answer one of the incorrectly (like mixing upkeeping the car on a drive or in a garage) then, if you make a claim and they find out, they wont pay out. To my mind it is therefore in their interest for you to tell lies or make mistaked, they then collect the premiums with no risk attached. To hell with the honest potential customer, we would rather have a load of villans who pay the premiums just so as to get the cover note Mike
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I must admit for a couple of times I thought I had a reasonable quote (relatively speaking) I then checked through the details I'd entered on line only to find I'd got so bored by then that I'd transposed years of birth or got the amount of time on full licence wrong by one month. I re-entered that data correctly only to find the premium went up by £500. Tempting though it was to act ignorant I knew the companies wouldn't at claim time. In the end I got to the cheapest I could (there are several third countries with less national debt than this) only to find they wanted to charge me £4.50 for using a credit card. Great joy!
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You may find this interesting. On renewal time a few years ago I spotted that my estimate of my future annual mileage was 80,000. i.e. driving from Llandudno to London and back at least three times a week, every week. I phoned the Company, they told me that this 80,000 was given by me four years before and it had just been carried on. I said it was obvious either they or I had made a mistake and added a nought too many Their reply "Ohh dear. Thats cost you £40 per year for the last four years. We'll see if we will give you a refund." It came. That was the day you saw me celebrating, not on champagne, more like a few cans of fosters from Asda. (I think it was about a tenner).
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This has hapened to me more than once and I find it quite annoying. When one of my insurances has come up for renewal I have noticed that the new premium has gone up quite a bit. I have then shopped around and found another Insurance company that is offering me the same cover but for a much lower premium so I have agreed to go with the new company and have set up all the required procedures etc.
When I have phoned the first company and told them that I am cancelling their direct debit, they have told me that they can match the quote of the new company and advised me that I can cancel the new DD.
Why couldn't they have offered me the same price in the renewal notice and then I would have remained with them?
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Never pay by Direct Debit then you don't have the problems of cancelling them!
With my Insurance I always under estimate my mileage, e.g I give them 9,000. Then as I approach that figure I phone and revise it with the insurance company to say 10,000. I find that if there is only a short period left, such as a month, they don't bother to ask for more money. This prevents paying over the odds for mileage that you don't use! ZXZ
I am sure there are not many of us who can't guestimate their annual mileage to within 1000, and I don't see any sense in paying for unlimited.
I also tend to change my insurer each year to get introductory discounts. This year I went to Sheila's Wheels and got the same policy with my old insurer but at an "introductory" price which was less than the renewal premium quoted. I also phone for my renewal premium one month before it is due for renewal so that I have plenty of time to scour the market. I feel like a right little meerkat! :laugh:
p.s. Sheila's Wheels accept men also! :P
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I too would be happy to stay with my current insurer if they would simply match the previous years premium ..which I was obviously happy with.
After all, I haven't claimed so its been 'free money' to them, so why not recognise a good customer and renew on the same terms?
I am always forced to shop around on comparison websites .. and when you get done its quite easy to proceed to get the cover.
But then you have to phone your OLD policy provider and go through the ridiculous process of telling them NOT to auto-renew.
At which point they will offer you a better deal, but not as good as the one you just searched for.
Most annoying.
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Auto-renew is an option so just opt out of it. Alternatively terminate by email or fax once you have the renewal documents. ££$
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This car insurance topic is getting my blood pressure sky high.It is my considered opinion that ALL car insurance providers are a load of unscrupulous ba-----s who are nothing but legalised ripoff merchants. Have I made my opinion clear? Bear in mind my experience. Driving, and insured, for over 60 years, virtually unbroken, with dozens of companies, starting with the Prudential in 1950. During that time I have NEVER made one single claim for damage to my car or anyone elses. Of course I've had bumps and scrapes but its always been settled by the other drivers insurance or I've touched up with a paint brush myself. But around about six years ago my car was stolen from my daughters driveway, and has never knowingly been seen since. It was a, at that time, 14 year old estate car, worth, so I was told, £235. If you knew the struggle I had to get that £235 you would understand how I feel. It was unbelievable. And I'm still with that Company, because I don't think there is anything to pick between them, they are all a load of unscrupulous ba-----s. Mike
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I totally agree with Mike, ... very much like SKY TV they are faceless and shroud themselves in administration that makes them incredibly difficult to communicate with.
I dread my renewal because I know what hassle awaits me... that goes for Buildings and Contents too!
Re Yorkie's point about auto-renew.
Some of these companies that appear at the cheaper end of the comparison site pricelist have poor systems and processes, and have no (obvious) way of avoiding auto-renew. So, you can save money, but you can't avoid hassle!
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Another way to reduce your premiums by up to 30% is to pass an approved Advanced Drivers Test with RoSPA or the IAM. I have been tutoring people for a few years now and apart from the Insurance aspect they all become better and safer drivers, and generally say that they now enjoy their driving experience more. )*)&
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One thing to which I object is that when you cancel a policy you have to do it in writing, yet when they continue a policy with you they can do it over the 'phone. You don't need to sign anything or even send an email to make a contract with an insurance company, oddly.
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and another thing to watch out for ,is if you try to cancel on the phone and have insured with someone else they will still take the premium as your bank details on still on their file,i allways thought that your details were destroyed after every transaction over the phone,i found out this year that is not the case and had to wait nearly a month to get a payment back
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Such a payment would be taken by Direct Debit. You should instruct your bank to cancel the Direct Debit just before you cancel the policy with the Insurer. If any money is then taken you have the Bank's DD guarantee. Even if you cancel by phone it is best to follow up with a written confirmation. >>>
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Good advice that ... online banking makes that action very easy.
I WILL be doing that with my insurance company ... it worked like a dream with my Gym in Yorkshire .... and they DID continue to try and take payments but failed! Hassle avoided!
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Fester-----you a member of a Gym? Only asked!!! ;D
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A bit cheeky of you Mike... but just look at me, how else do you think I got like this?
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_))* _))* _))*
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Oh great Joy. In my attempts to ensure the Insurance company with which I finally paid an arm and a leg for my son's car insurance had all the correct details I checked out the Policy schedule when it arrived through the post. They had unfortunately got the year which I purchased the car as the same date on which it was registered (2002) when it should have been 2007. i rang them up expecting them to say "thank you for updating us". What i wasn't expecting was "thank you for updating us and that's another £91 you need to pay, Apparently the length of time you have owned the car is one of the Risk categories that changes the premium. And yet when i went online and got another quote( as if I hadn't bought the car yet) it was the same price as if I'd purchased it in 2002.
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I would immediately look around for another quote. If you bought on line you can cancell the policy and obtain a refund within the time limit of the Distant Selling Regulations. Not sure of the time limit for Insurance policies so you'll have to look it up!
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Unfortunately even with the extra they were still the cheapest quote in the market place. I must be getting old because, for now, I've just about had enough and can't be bothered going on line and spending hours trying to get a cheaper quote. I argued with them and got the additional cost reduced to £80. Good news is the car passed it's MOT without needing any work. Swings and roundabouts !!
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I'm with you Medz, sickening isn't it?
Every now and again, it may be more costly, but for the sake of your health and an easy life, you just have to concede defeat... >?>?? >?>??
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Car insurance is a strange thing, a few weeks ago we renewed the cover for er indoors's 2001 Nissan Micra which is a one litre car, the best we could manage was around £200 up around 30% from last year. Today I searched for Classic car quotes for a 1972 Bentley with a 6.75 litre engine, for a mileage limit of 5000 per anum and agreed value, etc and quotes start at just £126, makes no sense at all?
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It's all a matter of risk assessment. I had my Honda S2000 fully comp, unlimited mileage for under £300 p.a. New owners aged under 30 being quoted anything from just under £1,000 to this poor chap: "Just taken a policy out through Axxxxx Fxxx £2344 , £500 excess. 5years driving, 2 years NCB 9 points". And that's not the most expensive!
If they don't hit you with the premium they demand large Excesses! ¢¢##
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My 20 year old nephew has just bought his first car. Worth £2700.
He has paid his insurance.....costing £2800 !!
I read the Court reports out to him, ''Driving without Insurance, Fine £140''
What the hell is the point getting insured?
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My 20 year old nephew has just bought his first car. Worth £2700.
He has paid his insurance.....costing £2800 !!
I read the Court reports out to him, ''Driving without Insurance, Fine £140''
What the hell is the point getting insured?
_))*
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Like a silly fool I had stuck with DirectLine for well over 15 years. No accidents or claims in all that time but did on 2 occasions earn 3 points for SP30 fixed penalty points. When my renewal came in this time I checked all the majors who don't appear on comparison websites to find that like for like I was being over charged by a minimum of £80. I telephoned DirectLine and asked what the problem was. They immediately offered a new quote that was in the region of the others. Well that got my goat so I went looking and got a quote with Aviva that provided me with better cover for a saving of £133 over my original DirectLine quote. >>>
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My 20 year old nephew has just bought his first car. Worth £2700.
He has paid his insurance.....costing £2800 !!
I read the Court reports out to him, ''Driving without Insurance, Fine £140''
What the hell is the point getting insured?
Because nowadays they are confiscating the cars and crushing them. What happens if a person is injured it can be a lot more than a fine then?
But you're quite right. - insurance is not worth anything - UNTIL YOU HAVE TO USE IT! &shake&
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http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-seize-one-millionth-uninsured-car-8069569.html (http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-seize-one-millionth-uninsured-car-8069569.html)
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Agreed value or not, if the worse happens youll only be paid the market value for your car.
You will however pay more for your insurance to get a certificate to massage your ego.
Ring your insurer and if they will write you a cheque for the agreed value if the car is written off/stolen etc? The will, without doubt, say no.
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Not when you have a classic car agreed value policy, I have 3 classic cars covered for £175, they would pay out the agreed value, no doubt, there would be uproar in the classic car world otherwise!
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Car insurance premiums on the rise, says AA
The AA's index of the cheapest deals on the market showed that the cost of annual comprehensive car insurance rose by 5.2% in the three months to the end of June.
Drivers aged 23 to 29 have seen a 6.2% rise over the same period, the biggest increase of any age group.
They typically paid a premium of £683.
"Insurers have been releasing their reserves to maintain their competitive edge to the point where this is no longer sustainable - and we are seeing premiums beginning to rise once more," said Janet Connor, managing director of AA Insurance.
"The days of cheap car insurance premiums are over - price rises are inevitable."
A quote for a typical comprehensive motor insurance policy for all age groups has risen to £549.
The AA estimates that the rise in insurance premium tax, announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget, will add £18 to the cost of the average comprehensive car insurance policy.
The insurer also reported a 1.3% rise in the index of cheapest home and contents insurance premiums, the first increase since 2012.
The average premium for a contents policy has hit £61.18 with the typical buildings premium up to £108.15.
REFBBC