[Richard Barrett]

So I've been with "Quote me Happy" for the family car for some time, comfortable that being on-line only they were the best and cheapest. (Aviva)

Until yesterday I got a quote for the car and it had gone up to £285, F/C no claims etc. So I shopped around and found a quote at Churchill for £183. I tripled check it all naturally, it has all the features I need, and look at that savings. It shows ,if you are on an automatic renewals or just to check, it could cost you so much more. That will go towards the MG having another under-coat before winter I hope.

Regards all. Richard.

 

[Flanners]

Just renewed my F; 2K miles a year for £22.63 after £40 cashback!

 

[davidej]

Who with? .?

 

[Flanners]

Price Comparison....Autonet insurance....MarkerStudy Policy with legal expenses, protected NCD etc.

 

[Austin2297]

With the all important agreed value?

 

[wutang]

Funnily enough I to just got my renewal quote from quote me happy for my family car who have been great the last 2 years and it has gone up massively, went on line and got a like for like quote with lower excess for 40% less! so will be changing.

 

[Chris T]

The wacky world of car insurance, last year the family car was written off in a no fault (of mine) crash with less than a month to go on the policy. I replaced the car with a same model of car and had the same insurance co. give a new quote and it was a full £100 cheaper than the quote on the old car. I do wonder if I was seen as a higher risk due to the law of averages given that with almost 30 years of driving I had not to that point had a crash.

 

[Austin2297]

Very lucky Chris. Not at all unusual, even usual, that there is a a large hike in the premium following a no fault accident. Something they say! , that even being involved in an accident makes you a greater risk!

 

[dert]

Just had my renewal come through for my VVC 143 75th anniversary model which is due in June, was £122.25 last year, gone up to £129.83 this year. Insurance for a Picasso I have which is also due in June has dropped in cost by £5.81 though.

 

[Austin2297]

Wondering who you have your MG insured with Dept?
Kind regards,
Austin.

 

[dert]

Just renewed my Insurance, did a online quote and the lowest quote was £120.97 with Geoffrey Insurance with Zenith coming a close second at £121.27, rung up current insurer (Saga) and asked for price match which they did straight away with no hassle, so another years insurance for the grand total of £120.97

 

[Flanners]

Nice one.

After insuring my F for £23 for the year (had the cashback of £40 paid out already) I just insured my TF unfortunately it is slightly more at £42 after £40 cashback from same Insurer Autonet with a Zenith Policy this time.

 

[Austin2297]

Take it these low quotes are accepted for what they are - the cheapest cost to legally insure the car.
To me, and I would have thought many other ‘classic/specialist‘ car owners, is the guarantee that the payout on a total loss will be reasonable enough to be able to replace the car -i.e. insured for an agreed value.
Of course, it could be argued that it’s unlikely the car will be in a ‘written off’ accident, but it’s not at all uncommon for these cars to be declared a total loss from a minor dent in a wing for example. Another argument in favour of cheapest insurance is that if you get a low payout, you can buy it back. Not so common for this to be allowed now, since the salvage goes via. specialist auctions.
Just another take on it.
Kind regards,
Austin.

 

[Man in the Car]

I can never understand the obsession that some car owners have for always going for the absolute cheapest quote. My Father was an insurance agent for many years and he always found that the cheapjack insurance companies were always the ones who were a problem when it came to claims (in his day, it was the Co-Op who were about the cheapest, and the worst payers).

The reason they are able to offer such low premiums is because they will move heaven and earth to avoid paying out, and will equally move heaven and earth to restrict the amount of any payout to the minimum they can get away with. In the event of a collision where their insured is at fault, the other party can expect to go through an absolute nightmare to get anything at all out of them, and they will often take months to pay up. They will find every little reason they can to restrict any payout, or even void the policy.

By contrast, most of the big reputable insurance companies will be fair and reasonable, and for most straightforward claims will have everything settled within a few weeks, not months (unless of course, the other party is insured with one of the cheapjack insurers!).

As they have been mentioned in a couple of posts, I will point out that Zenith do not exactly have a glowing reputation for either their customer service or settlement of claims (and Autonet don't seem that good either).

Of course, the ones who go through the real nightmare are the ones whose vehicle has been hit by one which is insured with one of these cheapo insurers who will see the reality of having an epic struggle to get their claim settled. These are the people I feel sorry for. I just hope to goodness none of you on cheapo insurance ever crash into me!

 

[dert]

Insurance is insurance at the end of the day, it allows someone to drive legally with the minimum cover they feel comfortable with. Why bother to insure a car with one which costs for example £500 a year when another will provide the same cover for say £100 a year? If you want specialist guaranteed values expect to pay more. Cheaper does not always mean inferior and large multinational insurance companies will try to avoid paying out as much as small one man bands if they get the chance. At the end of the day, insurance is a legal requirement its something you always hope you will never use and I'm sure if it wasn't a legal requirement there would be a lot of uninsured driver out there tan there is already.

 

[Man in the Car]

Why bother to insure a car with one which costs for example £500 a year when another will provide the same cover for say £100 a year?

I can guarantee you that you will definitely not get the same level of cover, nor the same level of co-operation in the event of a claim.

Cheaper does not always mean inferior ....

.
I am afraid that where insurance is concerned, cheaper virtually always means inferior. Indeed, I am afraid that the cheap = inferior philosophy applies to most things in life. However there is a big difference between simply looking for a good level of cover and backup for a lower premium, and going all out for absolute cheapest quote, and I get the impression that it is the latter which is what a lot of people are doing.