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FightBack Forums _ The Flame Pit _ It Pays To Compare

Posted by: StuartBu Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 13:05
Post #1387400

With it being 11 days to Car Insurance renewal time and me having been lackadaisical in previous years by just accepting the renewal figure offered to me I decided to do a check with several comparison sites .

I'm presently with Churchill so I started off with uswitch then tried two or three others . using the same specs as I have at present with Churchill Quote Me Happy came first with General Accident next on all sites and both were about half of what Churchill wanted . I also tried Direct Line but something ( cant remember what) put me off them . Churchill was nowhere in sght so either they were way behind costwise or else they dont use comparison sites so it's Bye Bye Churchill it appears .

Ive never heard of Quote Me Happy but GA is a well known insurer ...so it does appear to make sense to compare .

Posted by: DancingDad Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 13:16
Post #1387403

Absolutely.
Always compare.
Usually a reasonable saving over auto renew figures.
Having found the one you decide to go with, phone them and negotiate, that often saves some more.

Posted by: typefish Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 13:31
Post #1387408

Before my last renewal cycle, I usually just called up my insurer and said "hi, your quote is frankly ridiculous, reduce it please" and would often get about £500 off of the premium

And this was without having to get any optional extras removed from the policy. Just did it.

Posted by: Trampilot Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 13:36
Post #1387410

If you have two cars having a multi-car policy adds some leverage too.

I could get my wife's Audi A3 a lot cheaper elsewhere but my Santa Fe was ok for renewal. However losing one of the cars off the policy lost the multicar discount so my premium went higher.

Told the current insurer I'll have to move both cars unless they can do better over all. Ended up paying less than I did the year before.

Posted by: cp8759 Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:22
Post #1387418

Call Adrian Flux, they normally beat the comparison sites by some margin.

Posted by: southpaw82 Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 15:02
Post #1387431

QUOTE (typefish @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:31) *
Before my last renewal cycle, I usually just called up my insurer and said "hi, your quote is frankly ridiculous, reduce it please" and would often get about £500 off of the premium

And this was without having to get any optional extras removed from the policy. Just did it.

£500 off? I don’t pay more than that fully comp!

Posted by: DancingDad Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 15:13
Post #1387436

QUOTE (southpaw82 @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:02) *
QUOTE (typefish @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:31) *
Before my last renewal cycle, I usually just called up my insurer and said "hi, your quote is frankly ridiculous, reduce it please" and would often get about £500 off of the premium

And this was without having to get any optional extras removed from the policy. Just did it.

£500 off? I don’t pay more than that fully comp!


Was thinking that..... both my car and wife's would be about 40 quid to insure after £500 discount.

Posted by: typefish Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 15:22
Post #1387439

Yeah, that's what happen when at the time you're 23 and are renewing a policy that contains both an 320d touring and my dad's X4 on the same multicar policy.

Actually, I lied about it being a £500 discount, it was nearer £600.

Went from £1900 for both of us to £1300 with no policy amendments.

Never paid less than £900 for insurance and as such I don't feel anything for those who have cheaper insurance, because I'm just used to it™

Posted by: cp8759 Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:08
Post #1387463

QUOTE (DancingDad @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:13) *
QUOTE (southpaw82 @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:02) *
QUOTE (typefish @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:31) *
Before my last renewal cycle, I usually just called up my insurer and said "hi, your quote is frankly ridiculous, reduce it please" and would often get about £500 off of the premium

And this was without having to get any optional extras removed from the policy. Just did it.

£500 off? I don’t pay more than that fully comp!


Was thinking that..... both my car and wife's would be about 40 quid to insure after £500 discount.

I wish I could have £500 off, would result in the insurance company paying me almost £200 a year!

Posted by: southpaw82 Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:53
Post #1387477

QUOTE (cp8759 @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 17:08) *
QUOTE (DancingDad @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:13) *
QUOTE (southpaw82 @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 16:02) *
QUOTE (typefish @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:31) *
Before my last renewal cycle, I usually just called up my insurer and said "hi, your quote is frankly ridiculous, reduce it please" and would often get about £500 off of the premium

And this was without having to get any optional extras removed from the policy. Just did it.

£500 off? I don’t pay more than that fully comp!


Was thinking that..... both my car and wife's would be about 40 quid to insure after £500 discount.

I wish I could have £500 off, would result in the insurance company paying me almost £200 a year!

Ditto.

Posted by: DastardlyDick Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 18:37
Post #1387514

QUOTE (StuartBu @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:05) *
With it being 11 days to Car Insurance renewal time and me having been lackadaisical in previous years by just accepting the renewal figure offered to me I decided to do a check with several comparison sites .

I'm presently with Churchill so I started off with uswitch then tried two or three others . using the same specs as I have at present with Churchill Quote Me Happy came first with General Accident next on all sites and both were about half of what Churchill wanted . I also tried Direct Line but something ( cant remember what) put me off them . Churchill was nowhere in sght so either they were way behind costwise or else they dont use comparison sites so it's Bye Bye Churchill it appears .

Ive never heard of Quote Me Happy but GA is a well known insurer ...so it does appear to make sense to compare .



Quote me Happy are the online only arm of Aviva, so should be OK.


I've had a similar problem with LV they quote one figure on the renewal letter, but if you go online as a "new customer" it's cheaper for identical cover! I suppose it proves that brand loyalty is not repaid.

Posted by: glasgow_bhoy Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 18:49
Post #1387519

If you like human contact, avoid Quote Me Happy.

I can vouch for Direct Line being decent- I shop about each year and yet have been with them for 5 or 6 years solid. Just watch them at renewal time as they do take the piss and need to be threatened with cancellation before they behave.

Direct Line also own Churchill, which is why you won't see them on comparison sites.

Posted by: m7891 Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 21:23
Post #1387556

QUOTE (DastardlyDick @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 19:37) *
QUOTE (StuartBu @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:05) *
With it being 11 days to Car Insurance renewal time and me having been lackadaisical in previous years by just accepting the renewal figure offered to me I decided to do a check with several comparison sites .

I'm presently with Churchill so I started off with uswitch then tried two or three others . using the same specs as I have at present with Churchill Quote Me Happy came first with General Accident next on all sites and both were about half of what Churchill wanted . I also tried Direct Line but something ( cant remember what) put me off them . Churchill was nowhere in sght so either they were way behind costwise or else they dont use comparison sites so it's Bye Bye Churchill it appears .

Ive never heard of Quote Me Happy but GA is a well known insurer ...so it does appear to make sense to compare .



Quote me Happy are the online only arm of Aviva, so should be OK.


I've had a similar problem with LV they quote one figure on the renewal letter, but if you go online as a "new customer" it's cheaper for identical cover! I suppose it proves that brand loyalty is not repaid.


That happened to me with Quote me Happy a couple of years ago.

As a "new" customer, they wanted me to send evidence of my NCD - evidence that I obtained from them in the first place.


Posted by: DancingDad Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 15:23
Post #1387735

QUOTE (m7891 @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 22:23) *
......….As a "new" customer, they wanted me to send evidence of my NCD - evidence that I obtained from them in the first place.


Had that with Esure….. please send proof of no claims..... emailed them back their renewal offer... which they were gracious enough to accept. biggrin.gif

Posted by: Redivi Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 17:46
Post #1387788

Lucky

We've seen a number of threads regarding driving without insurance including cars seized because Esure was cancelling policies by email when evidence of No Claims wasn't received

Posted by: Ocelot Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 19:03
Post #1387816

QUOTE (Trampilot @ Mon, 4 Jun 2018 - 14:36) *
If you have two cars having a multi-car policy adds some leverage too.

I could get my wife's Audi A3 a lot cheaper elsewhere but my Santa Fe was ok for renewal. However losing one of the cars off the policy lost the multicar discount so my premium went higher.

Told the current insurer I'll have to move both cars unless they can do better over all. Ended up paying less than I did the year before.


That's the problem I face, having 2 cars. I would have to switch to another multicar insurer.

Fortunately, Admiral always knock at least the year's increase off every year after a phone call, without even threatening to leave. I just say 'What can you do about the renewal quote', and they apply their 'allowed discounts'.

The RAC are just as bad. They wanted £193 for home start and breakdown (and I've been with them 15 years). After a call they dropped it to £109.

Posted by: glasgow_bhoy Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 22:48
Post #1387910

QUOTE (Ocelot @ Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 20:03) *
The RAC are just as bad. They wanted £193 for home start and breakdown (and I've been with them 15 years). After a call they dropped it to £109.

You should shop about. Before my work gave me free breakdown cover, I paid between £19 and £35 a year for cover depending on what car I had. Always had homestart and national cover.

Tesco was one of the companies I used, and I had at least 3 or 4 callouts over the space of the policy (it was a Vauxhall). Every time, it was the RAC who came out. Equivalent RAC cover was 3 times the price.

Posted by: DancingDad Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 23:11
Post #1387914

QUOTE (Ocelot @ Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 20:03) *
............The RAC are just as bad. They wanted £193 for home start and breakdown (and I've been with them 15 years). After a call they dropped it to £109.


AA just tried that on me...double last years fee for same cover.

Always check renewal quotes...…. they dropped it back after a short phone call.

Posted by: Ocelot Wed, 6 Jun 2018 - 18:16
Post #1388119

QUOTE (glasgow_bhoy @ Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 23:48) *
QUOTE (Ocelot @ Tue, 5 Jun 2018 - 20:03) *
The RAC are just as bad. They wanted £193 for home start and breakdown (and I've been with them 15 years). After a call they dropped it to £109.

You should shop about. Before my work gave me free breakdown cover, I paid between £19 and £35 a year for cover depending on what car I had. Always had homestart and national cover.

Tesco was one of the companies I used, and I had at least 3 or 4 callouts over the space of the policy (it was a Vauxhall). Every time, it was the RAC who came out. Equivalent RAC cover was 3 times the price.


It was the 'reduced' price quoted on their website, and the AA wasn't any cheaper, but at Christmas I will see if there are any cheaper alternatives.

Posted by: roythebus Wed, 6 Jun 2018 - 21:37
Post #1388165

I was with quote me happy, but there's no personal contact at all with them. when they upped my premium from about £600 to just over £950 there was nobody to talk to about it and their inline complaint wouldn't go anywhere except round in circles. Esure came up with a figure just over £600.

As for breakdown cover, I pay about £85 for full UK and unlimited European cover. Both times here when I've had a problem it's been the RAC ho came out!

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