Wtf is going on with car insurance prices?

[lexi]

I have found Direct Line to be good for first year, then whoosh!   I change every year now as it is the way it is going. Your cheapest Ins is about late 50's in age........it doesn't last long lol!

[straightSix]

8 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Sounds like house insurance is going the same way. Direct Line wanted to nearly double my car insurance, house insurance with them is due soon. Just had an email in advance of renewal notice, saying how inflation / floods / directors bonuses ( no not really), had all gone up, so that can only mean a steep increase, and I’ll go elsewhere.

I’ve no claims on either , so presumably the’ll get  left with only people who can’t get cheaper elsewhere, I.e people with bad claims records. 
What kind of business model is that????

And pet insurance. And travel insurance...

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, straightSix said:

And pet insurance. And travel insurance...

Pet insurance is a bit different as it’s bound to go up as your pet gets older and more likely to need treatment but yes they’re still taking the piss.

[New POD]

3 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Pet insurance is a bit different as it’s bound to go up as your pet gets older and more likely to need treatment but yes they’re still taking the piss.

The thing is with pets, they don't have the same calculation of total loss as on a car.  

If your overly interbred cavalier King Charles spaniel cost you £700 from a dodgy back street dealer, and it has an accident, where the cost of new legs is £800, they don't say "nah, it's a write off. You can buy a second hand one the same age for £400, so after we've taken off your excess, here's £200. Now fuck off" 

Plus, they have wearout similar to a badly maintained prince engine in a mini.  Or a k series.  So it's like you are asking them to insure the camchain and the head gasket, when we know that at 8 years, there will be signs of heart failure. 

 

[New POD]

8 hours ago, lexi said:

I have found Direct Line to be good for first year, then whoosh!   I change every year now as it is the way it is going. Your cheapest Ins is about late 50's in age........it doesn't last long lol!

4 years ago, I had 3 houses and 2 cars insured with them. Currently. None. 

[bobdisk]

This years house insurance with Priviledge has gone up to £219 from £162 last year. Confused has offered £170, from Priviledge !!.  Waiting for Daf with Lancaster next month, lets see what they say.

[Flat4]

9 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Pet insurance is a bit different as it’s bound to go up as your pet gets older and more likely to need treatment but yes they’re still taking the piss.

£210 a month now to insure a 13 year old Retriever cross and a 12 year old Lab x whippet x collie x Staffie....£110 excess per dog, per condition each year but they've both had chronic health issues throughout their life and it's paid out regularly. I only keep it going now in case of emergencies because there's no way I could find 7 grand (their vet fees cover) in a hurry and it gives Biffy the option to have replacement hips and elbows should he need them in future. 

[808 Estate]

Had a good renewal from NFU for the Surf. Only £20 up on last year.

Also have contents insurance with them and had to claim recently for a flood. Claim approved the day after all photos and inventory submitted and paid 2 days later. Highly recommended.

[Rocket88]

Direct Line seem to actively discourage car insurance now. My better half was with them for years, and has just bought an Audi TT….. they point blank refused to even quote on it

[beko1987]

I'm now insured with ooooh Geoffrey. Phoned Hastings to cancel my auto renew and mildly annoyingly they came back with a monthly cost £3.80 less than I signed up for with the new policy. Given I'd have to pay a cancellation fee now I declined and she set the policy to not auto renew.

It's all very depressing, hopefully the whole house of cards shits itself and falls down this year and it can go back to being sensible pricing.... 😂😡

[JakeT]

Just thought I’d weigh in here as I’ve had the renewal through for my E36 320i.

 

The price paid last year for insurance was £308, with me and the good lady (she’s had two at fault claims, car stolen, found, bought it back and then crashed it), for a classic policy doing 2,000 miles per year, garaged et al. I was concerned this year with the general rise in prices, and the level of pisstaking that seems to have happened I was concerned.

 

This year? £275. Well, okay. I’ll take that. I had a quick shufty on the comparison sites and nothing came all that close, or with breakdown cover included. Insurance is still a mystery to me, and I’m sure I’ll be suitably shafted come June when my daily renews.

 

[sierraman]

On 24/01/2024 at 13:57, Metal Guru said:

Sounds like house insurance is going the same way. Direct Line wanted to nearly double my car insurance, house insurance with them is due soon. Just had an email in advance of renewal notice, saying how inflation / floods / directors bonuses ( no not really), had all gone up, so that can only mean a steep increase, and I’ll go elsewhere.

I’ve no claims on either , so presumably the’ll get  left with only people who can’t get cheaper elsewhere, I.e people with bad claims records. 
What kind of business model is that????

Wait till the Flood RE scheme ends in 2039, some places it will just be impossible to insure/mortgage

[Jerzy Woking]

I insure my bikes and cars here directly with the insurers, namely Axa and Allianze.

I have found its cheaper direct than with any of the dozens of brokers. 

 

[Rust Collector]

I'm worried I'm going to be put in the barrel and scuttled silly come renewal time in March, as my at fault claim on the Insight was for a fair amount.

Admiral are the only company that offer multicar policies that meet my needs, so I'm not left with much choice going forwards other than to cull the amount of cars we run if the cost jumps too much. I'm definitely not going back to juggling 5 or 6 different policies with different companies, and trade insurance is about 2 to 3 times as much as I used to pay and I don't have the spare time/money to go back to buying and selling stuff.

I should be getting the renewal invitation in the next couple of weeks, so I guess I'll find out then what my future holds.

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Wait till the Flood RE scheme ends in 2039, some places it will just be impossible to insure/mortgage

My house is on a hill , a good 50 ft vertically above a nearby stream. If I got flooded (400ft above sea level too), it would probably be the end of the world.

However because said stream is within 400m I have to declare that on my insurance , so they assume I’m the same risk as someone with their house on a river bank.

[Rust Collector]

5 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

My house is on a hill... If I got flooded (400ft above sea level too), it would probably be the end of the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains

Lake Titicaca has a surface elevation of 3,812 m (12,507 ft).

[Metal Guru]

14 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains

Lake Titicaca has a surface elevation of 3,812 m (12,507 ft).

I’m aware there are many bodies of water above 400ft elevation, but they don’t sit above my house, so they’re irrelevant to what I’m saying. If the nearest river to me rose 50ft half the towns round here would be wiped out. If sea levels rose 400 ft most of the U.K. would be wiped out too. On the bright side though, I wouldn’t have far to go to the beach and my house would be worth a fortune.

[omegod]

Qashqai policy with Hastings last year £320, renewal came through at £650

Now insured with RAC at £380 

[Rust Collector]

8 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I’m aware there are many bodies of water above 400ft elevation, but they don’t sit above my house, so they’re irrelevant to what I’m saying. If the nearest river to me rose 50ft half the towns round here would be wiped out. If sea levels rose 400 ft most of the U.K. would be wiped out too. On the bright side though, I wouldn’t have far to go to the beach and my house would be worth a fortune.

Sorry mate I'm just being daft - more sensible of me to say would be that you can still get water damage on a hill though if enough water pisses down it for whatever reason, and water pooling if the terrain allows it.

My house and my parent's stables are on chalk hills, and this winter I've had water in the garage for the first time where it's come down the driveway in such a volume that it's pooled in front of the 1 inch lip rather then diverted to the garden, and a few year's back my Dad's car got partially submerged in their carpark as again water was coming off the downs and pooling against a wall faster than it could drain round it and run downhill.

[horriblemercedes]

4 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

Sorry mate I'm just being daft - more sensible of me to say would be that you can still get water damage on a hill though if enough water pisses down it for whatever reason, and water pooling if the terrain allows it.

My house and my parent's stables are on chalk hills, and this winter I've had water in the garage for the first time where it's come down the driveway in such a volume that it's pooled in front of the 1 inch lip rather then diverted to the garden, and a few year's back my Dad's car got partially submerged in their carpark as again water was coming off the downs and pooling against a wall faster than it could drain round it and run downhill.

Similar thing - my parents have had that happen at their house this autumn. First time ever and they've been there since 1995.

 

They're several miles away from and probably 300 feet above the nearest river, but there is a steep bank to the side of the house and it streamed down there. They had dumped a big pile of firewood in the channel where the water would normally escape....

[Metal Guru]

As predicted , Direct Line have increased my house insurance by 43%. “It’s inflation”. FRO!

[Rocket88]

2003 Beemer 525 d …. A Flux, who used to insure my everyday stuff wanted nearly £1100, up from £450 for my 2 litre Laguna petrol turbo….

Now insured through Axa for £430….

[gadgetgricey]

On 26/01/2024 at 09:35, Rocket88 said:

Direct Line seem to actively discourage car insurance now. My better half was with them for years, and has just bought an Audi TT….. they point blank refused to even quote on it

Was with/used Direct Line for years. Price close to others, but no admin fee for changers and temp car cover option meant worth the £20 extra.
Last year they refused to insure wifes Mk1 Focus. and my premium doubled. So moved to Tesco.
Did a quote for an XF recently. Over a grand???  I'm over 50, Full NCD, no crashes?? Decent'ish area (or so I thought)

[plasticvandan]

Here's a side question,does anyone know if I was to take a policy out with no NCB to use on it,would I be able to provide NCB from another policy once I had cancelled that policy (different vehicle and insurer) and hopefully get a refund based on the added ncb?

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, gadgetgricey said:

Was with/used Direct Line for years. Last year they refused to insure wifes Mk1 Focus…

I was also with DL for years until they stopped insuring cars older than 20 years.

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, barefoot said:

I was also with DL for years until they stopped insuring cars older than 20 years.

I’ve already cancelled ( not renewed)  3 DL policies in the last year  due to their price hikes. I’ve got one more left  and I suspect that won’t be renewed either. That’s the best part of £1500 they’ve lost from a customer who hasn’t claimed, so all profit. I suspect some bright spark has come in to the company, no insurance background , and has decided he’ll be a star by boosting profits by chasing higher premiums. Higher premiums equal higher risk ( of claims) but he’ll only be there 2-3 years , collect a couple if huge bonuses and fuck off before the air con gets clogged with faecal matter.

Exactly what happened in banking in 2008.

[Flat4]

Got a bit of a result with the renewal that I wasn't expecting - 1st Central couldn't meet the £305 offered by Moda/Axa but they did bring their cost down to £337 and have lowered the excess to £150. Not sure if their cover is any better than Moda/Axa but they looked after us during Covid and this way I don't have a chunk of deposit to pay up front, so have renewed with them for another year 😊 Wasn't quite as scary as I was expecting, given recent price hikes.

Still got the Granvia to insure this year tho, and the Forester renews in April....

[leakingstrut]

Just got absolutely reamed for my insurance, as a 40 year old driving a Volvo estate. Kinda money I’ve not spent since I was in my really 20’s. Quotes starting at 450 and that’s before I declared the crash. 

[jim89]

"One owner in north London told the Daily Mail this week she was quoted £890 a month for insurance, saying "I've been forced to declare my Range Rover off road". "

Ah sweet irony...😃

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68188064

(Post moved to a better spot)

[willswitchengage]

🤔

That 15 year no claims bonus really working its magic.