Wtf is going on with car insurance prices?

[Rust Collector]

Just out of curiosity I got a quote to insure my mrs on the Lexus. It cost a shade over a grand, the same as my quote.

Out of further curiosity I removed myself as a named driver, to see how much damage I was causing with my claim in tow. It cost £70 more with me removed, so at least I don't feel as guilty now.

[straightSix]

17 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

After my full contact commuting incident, it would appear that my future RE insurance isn't looking spectacular.

Annoyingly, Admiral (my current insurer) haven't sent me a renewal quote yet, despite my renewal being 11/03/24. Last year, they sent it a month in advance. My cynical side feels like they're stalling so that I miss the window to get cheaper quotes elsewhere, or they potentially don't want to offer cover going forwards.

I've spent this evening getting a few quotes, and both the Land Rover and the Lexus are over a grand each. I've not looked at costs for my mrs, hopefully they're not so severe. The Lada is coming in at £350, up from about £250, so I should probably finish working on that and use it as my commuter for a bit. I'll have to take a view on the other cars if Admiral end up being a no-go for renewal.

Sounds like you're in almost exactly the same situation as me. My admiral policy is due to renew 5th March and only just got the quote through yesterday. It's basically doubled from last year...

[Rust Collector]

8 minutes ago, straightSix said:

Sounds like you're in almost exactly the same situation as me. My admiral policy is due to renew 5th March and only just got the quote through yesterday. It's basically doubled from last year...

I did a few more quotes and the pricing doesn't seem to be impacted much by whether it's me or my partner running the car, and whether I'm on or off the insurance. The prices on any normal-ish cars seem to have gone up to about £800-1,100 per year, although the oddball stuff like the Lada is still markedly cheaper.

Having compared to what we pay currently, the policies on the Land Rover, Lexus and Mercedes have all approximately doubled for either myself or my partner.

I'm still waiting for my renewal price from Admiral, but from what you're saying it looks like I've still got a bit of time to go which is poor on their part.

At this rate I may as well have another crash this year to get some return on my investment...

[Bfg]

As a retiree I now have time to shop around, and not much of a budget.  Yesterday I spent all afternoon and into the evening on-line filling in their forms and getting quotes for a 2010 Pug 308 I've just bought.  I've noted down the prices from each of those websites ..so next year I'll have a check list and only need to revisit those who offered sensible quotes this year.  I didn't buy the cheapest by £25 because the next up gave me a better package with half the excess, and which included windscreen, key loss, wrong fuel, and courtesy car.  After much deliberation I went through Compare the Market and bought fully comp insurance from ByMiles, who are to send me a mileage tracker. Apparently they refund money against the declared mileage not used throughout the year. I presume that's a credit note against future insurance, but nevertheless it may help. 

£362 for this car, fully comp social & domestic, no commute, residential parking, and 13 years NCB.  Money Supermarket and other websites offered much the same package, at much the same price, but Compare the Market gave me a clearer breakdown of what I was getting and what were my charges, when for example a windscreen needed replacing. 

On a limited budget - I have to buy according to price and value, as I did this time, but clearly presented information actually clenched the deal.  

Pete

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

My youngest changed her SLK for an e92 325i a couple of weeks ago and was pleased that her insurance only went up £15 per month for the remainder of her policy , which expires in July.

Yesterday  she received this ;

 

Contrary to what it says her new payment had gone up by £15 , now they want another £30 per month, taking it to £80, more than doubling what she was paying. If they’d given her this price originally she might not have bought the BMW. 
I know it’s been said before, but, bunch of cunts.

[SiC]

33 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

My youngest changed her SLK for an e92 325i a couple of weeks ago and was pleased that her insurance only went up £15 per month for the remainder of her policy , which expires in July.

Yesterday  she received this ;

 

Contrary to what it says her new payment had gone up by £15 , now they want another £30 per month, taking it to £80, more than doubling what she was paying. If they’d given her this price originally she might not have bought the BMW. 
I know it’s been said before, but, bunch of cunts.

Is that even legal for them to do it? At the very least I fully expect to exit the contract without penalties if other providers offer a better rate, as they're breaking their side of the original contract. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

4 minutes ago, SiC said:

Is that even legal for them to do it? At the very least I fully expect to exit the contract without penalties if other providers offer a better rate, as they're breaking their side of the original contract. 

She was going to try and speak to an actual human this afternoon . Updates to follow.

[Saabnut]

Just renewed my policy, it went up 17% this year an increase of around £600 to £3800. Still think that is very reasonable. I have £300k cover for vehicles, cover for any vehicle, access to MID and as a bonus cover for any driver over 25 for any car with my authority. My brpker only deals with classics, either trade or collections. Happy to pass on details.

[lesapandre]

Just now, Saabnut said:

Just renewed my policy, it went up 17% this year an increase of around £600 to £3800. Still think that is very reasonable. I have £300k cover for vehicles, cover for any vehicle, access to MID and as a bonus cover for any driver over 25 for any car with my authority. My brpker only deals with classics, either trade or collections. Happy to pass on details.

Can I have details @Saabnut. PM maybe. 🥂

[Rust Collector]

3 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

Just renewed my policy, it went up 17% this year an increase of around £600 to £3800. Still think that is very reasonable. I have £300k cover for vehicles, cover for any vehicle, access to MID and as a bonus cover for any driver over 25 for any car with my authority. My brpker only deals with classics, either trade or collections. Happy to pass on details.

Would be splendid if you could pass on the details too please. That’s not much more than I pay now, so would be interesting to see what they come out with. Going back to a trade-type policy would make my life so much easier.

I used to be in touch with a really good bloke at Clegg Gifford but he’s moved on and it’s not been the same since…

[Saabnut]

Will pm details tomorrow. Will add I have been with this broker for about 14 years, and had a claim a couple of years ago when a friend stuffed my Volvo diesel into another car. Quickly and efficiently dealt with.

[silvercar]

6 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

She was going to try and speak to an actual human this afternoon . Updates to follow.

ASKMID is free afaik

[Bfg]

You realise of course that as prices go up, unless you have agreed value ..as I have with my classic cars, their 'market value' of your vehicle (their payout amount) goes down ...irrespective of what figure you put on the form.  They like it if you over-value your car, because that just ups the premium.  Perhaps dropping your car's value each year may help keep the insurance costs down. 

However, it seems to me, the crux of the matter lies with the way cars are built nowadays. My own Chrysler offers a case in point, insomuch as one seal to the power-assisted-steering rack has failed.  What's that cost £6 ??  No, I'm told by the garage that the steering rack will need to be replaced as a whole unit (..£300 for an after-market steering rack), and to do that the suspension subframe needs to be dropped, so another £300 in labour.  Now instead of it being a £6 repair ..it's literally £600.  (These figures are not made up, they are what a decent backstreet garage 'estimated' last year).

From the insurance company's point of view, if that seal is damaged in a minor accident, even if just because the steering jolted as a wheel struck a curb, then their garage bill is not £300 for the steering rack, but double that ..because by law they are obliged to use only approved parts ..even on older vehicles.  And of course their garage costs another £200 onto the price of labour ..because they're too are an 'approved' garage ..for that marque of car.  So the £6 seal is now going to cost £1100 to repair.  As all insurance companies are in business to make profits, so then those bills are passed over to everyone's insurance premium. 

I've used a seal as an example, but it might just as easily be a control module, or a 15p sensor built into a £200 sub-assembly. Cars are more & more sophisticated, comfortable, quiet, less emissions, and otherwise increasingly spec'd out (crammed packed full of advanced features) ...and they're built to be disposable rather than repairable. That is the manufacturers assurance of staying in business ...when cars no longer rust out within 3-5 years.  Of course YOU, the consumer has to pay for that.  

What can you do about it.?  Not a lot,  save next time you buy a 'modern' car, you specifically check to see how low its insurance group is. That is a reflection of both the right-off cost and how much it costs to repair, and how easy is it to nick.   My Chrysler Voyager was a group 36D, whereas the Peugeot 308SW, I've just bought to replace it with, is a group 16E.    BTW ;  the suffix 'E' = Exceeds the security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has been reduced, so a group 10 car that exceeds the standard is listed as a 9E.  Whereas suffix D = Doesn't meet the security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has been increased as a result, so a group 8 car that doesn't meet the standard is listed as a 9D. See more < here >   Of course, if you want to be a free-thinking individual not dressed in a Russian boiler suit.. then you'll just have to pay the bill ..or drive a classic car 

Pete   

 

[Mrcento]

2 minutes ago, Bfg said:

They like it if you over-value your car, because that just ups the premium.  Perhaps dropping your car's value each year may help keep the insurance costs down.

I find the opposite tbh, there's a sweet spot RE the valuations. And i actually find if anything, it's still better to overvalue (within reason, take the piss and they will bump the price up as well) than undervalue. But ultimately, be realistic with it. They aren't daft.

Undervalue it, they think it's a pile of shit you'll not care about and Mad Max it into kids and old ladies crossing the road and they will, without fail, stick another 30-40% on the premium. A slightly over valued car in comparison looks like a babied example someone might take more care over, pride and joy etc.

I've found recently they do seem to be more in tune with the market than anyone realises and even seem to know when each car is up for sale + how much for.

My working theory is all the online sale portals where reg or vin numbers are uploaded put a marker on the car for values. Low priced sales trigger some kind of 'cheap car, hit them hard' tax on top of the standard price.

Cheap examples of the same cars always return a far, far higher quote then expensive examples of the same car at dealers, and one that isn't for sale (i.e a neighbours car) always returns a lower quote still.

[Bfg]

Interesting observations Mrcento I can see your reasoning. as it happens I tend to overprice my car values just a little, because I'm not privvy to their valuations and don't want to short change myself should the vehicle be written off.  Adding 10 - 15% to the typical market value doesn't effect premiums very much.  But then I drop the insured value each year too.

Certainly insurance companies are in touch with selling / valuation prices.  I noted a statement to this effect on at least one of the websites I visited for a quote.

Pete   

[kevins]

we bought a 2010 1.4 fiesta as a run around, when we insured it 4 months ago it was £330 for us two 50 somethings and my 26 year old daughter with no ncb, my 21 year old son was another £150, we didn't add hom at the time as he has my company car, recently looked at adding him and now they want £600! he'll be using the morris minor or a bus for the 4 days we are away!

[Rust Collector]

11 hours ago, Bfg said:

Interesting observations Mrcento I can see your reasoning. as it happens I tend to overprice my car values just a little, because I'm not privvy to their valuations and don't want to short change myself should the vehicle be written off.  Adding 10 - 15% to the typical market value doesn't effect premiums very much.  But then I drop the insured value each year too.

Certainly insurance companies are in touch with selling / valuation prices.  I noted a statement to this effect on at least one of the websites I visited for a quote.

Pete   

FWIW from my experience last year, I put the Insight down as a value of £2,500 on my insurance with Admiral as I reckoned that's about what it was worth - I'd seen them advertised for more but I didn't reckon anyone was buying them for that.

The independent assessor who handled my claim valued the Insight at about £7,000 which Admiral then paid out on less the salvage value and excess.

It really wasn't what I was expecting, but shows there must be some level of thought and process in how they determine values.

[horriblemercedes]

12 hours ago, Mrcento said:

I've found recently they do seem to be more in tune with the market than anyone realises and even seem to know when each car is up for sale + how much for.

I'd be amazed if they didn't have instant access to that - there are various companies that compile it. I was impressed with one recently when I checked a used car (I had actually won the auction on ebay) and it identified it had been at a salvage auction although the reg and VIN weren't listed.

 

I suppose there can only be a few gold, second generation Jaguar XF-S out there, but still....

[beko1987]

I guess with so many cars written off/claimed against when brand new/sub a year old they need some system in place to keep check of the values. Probably have data feeds coming in from everywhere then an Alteryx flow or similar to get one nice dataset. 

I remember once I was getting on well with the guy doing my quote, and we got to the value of the car and I said £150, which he said nope, can't go that low. I put £1000 now which seems average for what xsara hdi estates with an mot go for. Guess those of us who go "shrug as long as whoever I hit gets sorted il figure my own car out" have to be lumped in with the "my £140,000 car caught fire and is a total loss taking out 2 houses, I need a new £140,000 car and a comparable hire car for the 257 weeks it'll take my new car to arrive and the 2 houses of damage' crowd. 

Recently it's probably the 'my eV caught fire and took out 7 houses in our tiny cul-de-sac' claims causing trouble 

[willswitchengage]

On 04/02/2024 at 13:27, willswitchengage said:

🤔

That 15 year no claims bonus really working its magic.

Finally got around to trying out price comparison site stuff and this really is the cheapest I can get it! SD&P, commuting, 13 or so years of NCB etc. Slightly dodgy postcode but first time it's ever gone _up_ vs the previous year.

[Spottedlaurel]

Mrs SL got her Tesco renewal notice through for the Auris, something like £206! Was very surprised.

Didn't think Master SL's was too bad either, given that he's 18 and only has a year's NCB - about £750 for the Yaris Mk1.

The 'interesting' one will be my Lexus RX daily driver which is due at some point soon, and seeing if they realise that it pre-dates the theft-prone 4th gen model.....

[Pauly.22]

100k range rovers getting nicked in seconds can’t help, 200 quid for the escort this year, haven’t had any more renewals yet. 

[Scruffy Bodger]

I've just had a notification for my renewal, last year was £307.13, they now want £590.16 for exactly the same cover and nothing else has changed circumstance wise FFS.

That's for a very low risk postcode on a 1500 quid car for business use, parked off the road in a private drive.

[JJ0063]

6 minutes ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

I've just had a notification for my renewal, last year was £307.13, they now want £590.16 for exactly the same cover and nothing else has changed circumstance wise FFS.

That's for a very low risk postcode on a 1500 quid car for business use, parked off the road in a private drive.

Hate to say it but that’s not bad going, average UK prem was £955 last time I checked 😬

[Scruffy Bodger]

43 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

Hate to say it but that’s not bad going, average UK prem was £955 last time I checked 😬

That's not what I want to be hearing JJ 😝

[Minimad5]

Not a car, but my motorbike insurance has literally doubled 🫣

@Saabnut- would you mind popping me a P.M with your brokers details, please ?

[Markeh]

Mine's gone up, although the renewal is still the cheapest price I could get. I'm with Admiral, 10 years no claims, not exactly the nicest area of Nottingham and being a modern car with keyless, I imagine that plays a part too - was paying about £600, am now paying £750. Definitely less margin to match quotes/bring down the premium though. Both years, the renewal originally came to about £800, but I call up and haggled on the phone. They do try and dissuade you from doing that now with a voice operated renewals assistant thing but eventually I got through to a human.

I think the cheapest quote I could get was about £780 when shopping around, but I get better cover where I am, I'm likely moving my house insurance to them for further discounts down the line, and what's not made clear from comparison sites is whether any of the quotes they provide give third party cover on other vehicles, whereas I know Admiral do (and am happy to pay a slight premium for this).

[Rust Collector]

6 minutes ago, Markeh said:

third party cover on other vehicles, whereas I know Admiral do

Admiral also provide cover for towing by default - I discovered this after phoning up because I couldn't find an option to declare my tow bar as a modification.

[BL Bloke]

I had the renewal for the Fabia come through yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's gone down by £8 from last year. 🙂  

[Dave_Q]

Cheers, cunts.

Probably not a terrible total for 3 cars, 2 drivers and a house but last years renewal (with an A4 instead of an S3 on there admittedly) was 900-odd.