Insurance companies think I'm stupid

[Lord Nibbo]

Insurance companies think I'm stupid..... Just got renewal quotes for my van & home. Van insurance renewal quote £449.55p new insurer £202 and a few pence. House renewal quote £506 from new insurer £204 and better cover too. you should have heard them pleading with me to let them re-quote when I phoned to cancel my automatic renewals

 

[Peter T]

It seems to be the way of things these days. They give you a good price to get your business and then jack up the price next year to recoup their losses.

I just renewed our house insurance. Last year we went with Tesco for £200 ish. This year they want £400 ish to renew. I spoke to someone at their call centre who, when asked if they could improve on the price, asked me if I had a Tesco club card. When I said no, she said that "the quoted was the quote and there was nothing she could do about it"!

So, I went back to Sainsburys for £200 ish, and some Nectar points!!

 

[myturn]

My theory is that it's a conspiracy among the companies. :-k

They all offer a normal and competitive premium for new customers.
Existing customers have their premiums raised each year with the excuse that the insurers have had a lot of claims to cover. Bullsh1t, but their hope is that you won't bother shopping around for a better quote and will accept the hike in premium.

If you do go elsewhere for a cheaper quote your new insurer will do the same as the original one did at the end of the next year. The original insurer knows this and knows you are going to find a new insurer at the end of the year and that new insurer may well be a return to your original one.

So it all goes around and they all get a slice of your cake for a while.

 

[LeeElms]

In some cases, even the same insurer, while they won't adjust the renewal quote significantly downwards, will allow you to become a 'new' customer for a competitive amount.

Mad, but true.

 

[theartfulbodger]

They're all it it :evil:

I dumped the AA after being a member for over a decade and went with the RAC after they wanted 50 quid more than a new customer for the same level of cover.

Shop around and vote with your wallet.

 

[Lons]

my automatic renewals

That's the key to it all. (hammer) Anybody who allows automatic renewals is making a mistake IMO #-o

Almost every company wil ltick that box for you and casually drop it in the conversation as a matter of fact.

I ALWAYS say "No you won't, I compare prices and shop around every renewal in case you aren't competitive" They almost always are now so I'm sure they put a note on the file.

I have policies at the minute for 3 vehicles plus house and contents with LV. Just did my van last week and they were still spot on.

Have had policies over the years with Norwich Union, AXA, RAC and others and they all do it.

Bob

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Well thumbs up for the internet then, a few minutes spent searching saves a load of dosh, gotta feel sorry for all the pensioners not on line though, talking to a few they think they're getting a good deal by staying loyal.... and no talking to them will ever convince them that they are being ripped off. I think I should air the subject on are local radio phone in programme.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Well thumbs up for the internet then, a few minutes spent searching saves a load of dosh, gotta feel sorry for all the pensioners not on line though, talking to a few they think they're getting a good deal by staying loyal.... and no talking to them will ever convince them that they are being ripped off. I think I should air the subject on are local radio phone in programme.

In my experience, Your Lordship, they all do it. They are only interested in new customers, not existing ones.

The thing to do when your inflated renewal quote arrives, is go into one of the comparison sites and type in your details. You'll probably find that your existing company comes up with one of the lowest quotes. Armed with this information, 'phone them and say something to the effect of "Oi, what's going on???". They will invariably re-quote at the lower price.

As Bob says, don't opt for automatic renewals. Get them to send you a quote each year so you know in advance what they propose to charge.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Steel City Man]

It's just a game you have to play every year with most insurers. Saying that, LV has just sent me my car insurance renewal quote and it's pretty decent, although will still have a quick look on a couple of comparison sites first. Still, it's not all about price - in fact LV weren't quite the cheapest last year, but the policy was good, excess low and I didn't have to jump through hoops just because of a couple of minor claims in the past few years.

 

[newt]

You do have to make sure you are getting the same cover. I did some checks on a much lower quote and found repairs would only be carried out at their nominated repair centre. My car is aluminum and when I checked out the repair centre (making out I wanted some work done) they did not know my car was aluminum :shock: . LV as an example allow me to have the choice. Just a point to consider. I always question my annual quote and they always reduce it.

 

[Paul Chapman]

LV as an example allow me to have the choice. Just a point to consider. I always question my annual quote and they always reduce it.

I've always been with LV (used to be Frizzells) and have found them good if you have to make a claim. As Pete says, always check on the cover you are getting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[miles_hot]

One thing that shocked me this year was I discovered that even though I am fully comp I am not insured to drive other cars on TPFT. This was always the case in the past but apparently over the last few years some / many companies have quietly dropped this benefit to reduce costs etc. The number of times I might have been uninsured driving mates cars fills me with dread.
Something I will certainly be checking at the next renewal when I change companies!
Miles

 

[RogerS]

Ln, why are you so surprised? The finance and insurance companies exist to screw as much money out of you and me while reneging on any commitments that they might have made...rewriting the rules to suit themselves as and when they see fit ..think Standard Life endowment policies, think Equitable Life.

As clearly explained in many of the posts, they rely on inertia by us. I would even go as far as to say that they also deliberately obfuscate the issue and make it as difficult as possible to get the right sort of information on which to make a decision.

Inertia? ISA's have been around a long time and a recent report showed that if anyone had invested close to the maximum and now had a pot of around £30k+ and let inertia take it's course and not tried to get the best rate by transferring them elsewhere then they would have earned £300. If they had transferred around then they would have made over £3000 extra.

 

[Karl]

LV as an example allow me to have the choice. Just a point to consider. I always question my annual quote and they always reduce it.

I've always been with LV (used to be Frizzells) and have found them good if you have to make a claim. As Pete says, always check on the cover you are getting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

We too are with LV for both cars. The renewal for one of them came in late last year. We went onto Comparethemarket and found that LV were one of the cheapest, but at a price lower than that which they were quoting on the renewal. So we phoned them and they told us to take out the new policy through CTM and lapse the old policy.

There was only about £15 difference, but they wouldn't move the renewal price.

Cheers

Karl

 

[RogerS]

LV? Lee valley? Louis Vuitton?

 

[theartfulbodger]

London Victoria

 

[Lons]

One thing that shocked me this year was I discovered that even though I am fully comp I am not insured to drive other cars on TPFT. This was always the case in the past but apparently over the last few years some / many companies have quietly dropped this benefit to reduce costs etc. The number of times I might have been uninsured driving mates cars fills me with dread.
Something I will certainly be checking at the next renewal when I change companies!
Miles

Proves the rule that one should always read the conditions of the policy!

This is something pretty much what all the insurers are doing and to be fair to them, one of the main reasons is that it was never a "right", merely a side benefit. a benefit which was being abused by a number of people and assisted the decisions to deprive honest drivers of the facility. It was there purely so you could drive in an emergency as be honest, who would allow their mates to drive their motor under third party 'cos if they had an accident, the car isn't covered - I certainly wouldn't #-o

I knew one couple, albeit a number of years ago, each with a car, insured as sole drivers ('cos it was cheaper) but swapped cars regularly. They were too thick to realise it was TPF&T so would have lost out if had an accident and worse - these people would be uninsured if the company knew what they were doing.

I have absolutely no sympathy for insurance companies, they are there to make money for the shereholders but there's always another side to the story and they are favourite for joe public to screw. I'd question anyone who says they haven't encountered someone who's inflated a claim, put their son / daughter on a policy as occasional driver when they use the car most of the time. etc. etc. etc. So maybe we're all paying the price for the dishonest people out there.

I can't count the number of times I'm asked to make sure my repair estimates are for "insurance claim" :wink: so they can get the excess back. Some of them are annoyed that I refuse to do so!
I'm refering to general insurance, not just motor.

Bob

PS Roger - LV = Liverpool Victoria

 

[Harbo]

Just had the renewal quote from Aviva for my wife's car £379!!
Just checked with LV - £249!! Same benefits etc

Rod

 

[theartfulbodger]

Ahh Liverpool not London! I stand corrected.

A lot of insurance companies that do cover fully comp holders to drive other vehicles third party only, exclude vehicles that are owned by members of the same household.

Definately worth checking the small print

 

[devonwoody]

My attack plan is when the renewal comes in and its higher I go and get a lower quote from another company and then say to the present insurer, "would you like me to stay with you this year again but I have got a lower quote", (sometimes even reduce that myself a little) quote me lower and I will stay.
It seems to work most times, (but make sure they are not reducing cover somewhere to make their quote lower)