Average car insurance £995

If insurer's are unhappy with the rising costs they are having to pay out,

Why not put the pressure onto the manufacturers of said products to reduce costs / increase security, rather than make the end user pick up the costs

Or better still a few law changes to make car / bike theft so punitive it actually becomes a deterrent
Or better still stop using repairers like 4th Dimension who deliberately ramp up the costs of claims with over inflated storage fees , loan vehicle costs and repair prices ( using refurbished parts that apparently cost more than new ones)
 
Or better still stop using repairers like 4th Dimension who deliberately ramp up the costs of claims with over inflated storage fees , loan vehicle costs and repair prices ( using refurbished parts that apparently cost more than new ones)

Can somebody explain how insurers profit by employing the services of a company, which inflates claims, somehow benefits insurers, who pay the inflated claims?
 
Ask American health insurances? Is it not a very similar scenario? :)
 
Ask American health insurances? Is it not a very similar scenario? :)

I don’t think that is a very good comparrison. The US healthcare system is a vast machine, in essence not so very different than our own, entirely dependent upon the supply of drugs and care from outside providers. It swallows money. In a word, grossly inefficient, like the NHS. If though we look at a private health care provider like Bupa or Axa, they strictly control costs and premiums.

The motorcycle market in the UK is tiny, with easy assessment (is a bike viable if it is to be repaired, yes or no) and reasonably easily repaired if so. If not, write it off and move on. It would make no sense to employ the apparently monopolistic services of 4th Dimension, unless it made good economic sense for insurers to do so. Nobody seems able to explain it any other way. What I suspect might be the reality is maybe much simpler. The bikermate world gets to hear some horror stories (sometimes from a mate’s mate) and automatically believes - and repeats - that every bike even looked at by 4th Dimension will be treated the same. If though, the reverse is true, and 4th Dimension really are creaming it in, by successfully biting the hand that feeds them (ie ripping off the fat cat insurers, over a prolonged period) then good luck to them, I wish I’d have thought of it.
 
Thanks Richard. Makes sense.

I always assumed car/motorbikes repairs was essentially a "virtually created" market with artificially inflated costs in "most cases". But I see your point.
I'm happy to say that only one friend over 17 years I've been in the Uk had to deal with insurance because of a stolen bike and he had zero issues.
 
Can somebody explain how insurers profit by employing the services of a company, which inflates claims, somehow benefits insurers, who pay the inflated claims?
No idea yet they continue to use a service which continually overinflates claims and has a Trustpilot rating that in mainly one star and that is only because you cannot give them a zero https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.4thdimension.co.uk
 
I think this is a misconception.

The general "plan" is to limit/stop all private traffic within cities or larger urban areas. This has some sense (limiting it) as traffic is one of the major sources of pollution and people over-use private transport A LOT, especially for short and extremely short routes. Shifting those to public transport or active travel might be beneficial.

Then, the ways this is being done might be debatable. But I really do not think it is a matter of leaving it to "the rich".
Also, well off people have the luxury of not driving at all. :)

One the other hand one can argue that we're essentially handing over public infrastructure (the roads) to businesses only – or that by blocking private transport local government has full control over your travel budget and can fleece you accordingly (something something the ridiculous prices of trains in the UK) but it's a bit long-winded (and one of my personal tin-hat theories, I admit it :D ).

Not sure the insurance prices hikes are strictly connected to this to be fair.

Nope, the plan is to “eliminate ownership of private vehicles”

They tell you about it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
When it comes to repairing vehicles via insurance, the company providing the service has to provide photographic evidence of repairs at every stage of the repair, this has prolonged the repair procedure, as a photograph has to be taken at each stage, so this has made repairs more expensive.
The lack of trust is making all of your lives more expensive.
 
It is not an insurer’s job to:

A. Change laws. That is what we have governments and elections for. There again, as can be seen from these pages alone, there are various competing calls for increased legislation (and, harsh punishment) for a whole range of offences. Picking the ‘right one’ might take the Home Secretary some time. There again, having draconian laws is one thing, enforcing them is quite another.

B. Demand that bods get training. A brief look at UKGSer will tell you that many here believe that they need no training, their unique skills having been finely tuned by years (or five minutes) of riding a motorcycle. They are indeed gods of the road. Feck me, they even moan when an insurer tells them to garage their motorcycle, when they are at home.

C. Police or set the pricing of spare parts and associated repair costs. There are moans on here when an insurer apparently refuses to allow a manufacturer’s dealership repair.

The insurance industry has responded to the ease of which some vehicles are stolen, by rendering them all but uninsurable. But, motorbike riders are often their own worst enemy. “I only left it for five minutes”, “I live in a quiet bit of the country and can leave the keys in the ignition”, “I never need to lock the door”; we see these comments all the time. Then we get the moans that some scrote has nicked their motorbike, from their garage or off their drive, whist they slept or sat inside (with a brew, naturally).

Insurance premiums are going up, no question about it. Motor premiums have lagged behind others time-wise but are now catching up. Even so, for every moan that it’s gone up from £125 a year to £190 a year, you’ll find another bloke who says that he’d bite an insurer’s arm off for anything under £250. Will they come down again? Yes, most probably. When, fuck knows. It has been what is called a ‘soft market’ for years, with loads of choice and giveaway pricing. It has stopped, market sentiment has hardened. Get used to it….. and keep shopping around. Can’t be arsed or that it’s just not fair? Tough shit, mate.
Black Rock and Vanguard own and run our country, just about every politician sings from their hymn sheet. They also own or have controlling shares in an awful lot of banks and insurance companies, they could and probably have influence on everything I pointed out if they wanted to. I imagine the insurance industry has far more access and influence on policy and politicians than the voting public ever have. But making money is far more important than doing what’s right for the good of society.

I did not say change laws………
what I said was, Encourage or even demand the legal system hammers those that commit the crimes of damaging or stealing vehicles…………. They can lobby politicians.

I did‘nt say demand………
what I said was, Encourage their customers get more training (rather than just the basic to past the test).………. with worthwhile discounts.

I said, How about the insurance industry insist that vehicle manufacturers fit robust and effective vehicle security (for instance, Rangerover-Landrover🙄)……… Refusing to insure vehicles doesn’t help customers, putting pressure on manufacturers to fix or retrofit robust security does.

I didn’t say, police or set prices…….
what I said was, How about they investigate the obscene cost of oem parts (the instrument screen on a Honda AT1100 cost £3600 plus labour to replace 😳)…..… highlighting the ridiculous oem part prices and putting pressure on them to lower parts prices will help.

Thanks for you kind words, “Tough shit, mate” not quite sure what I have done to insult you, or have I interpreted that wrong? oh by the way mate, I don’t auto renew insurance, never have and never will, I always shop around for the best quotes, but my point was, insurance companies don’t want to quote on personal risk, they seem to want to lump their customers into groups. I’ve done everything I can as a driver/rider to reduce the risk of an accident, My bike is in a brick garage with 6 security devices fitted, I’ve done my bit to lessen the risk of a claim, how about the insurance industry reward those who do with lower premiums.

Having just got home from work, contributing my bit to the defence of our nation, I’m off to bed……. Good night.
 
My wife’s insurance for her little A1 has only risen by £10 a year to £167, then again she only drives about 20 miles a week anyway!
My old Q3 now costs £327 up from £249 last year!
Robbery I tell you, robbery.
 
It’s all the fault of BlackRock and Vanguard. I read it here.
Yes, your right, it is, “I read it here” Can you not respond to other members post without being a condescending Dick, sorry, Richard.
 

Yeah. Currently every motor manufacturer is making plans (quickly) to pivot into "mobility providers".

I've heard the self driving thing a million times by now.
It does serve a purpose as cars sit unused 70% (or more) of their time.
You can have a vehicle drive itself around to people in need and it will have a more useful usage over its lifespan.

I do not think the self driving prophecy will be as quick and as easy as those people think though, as that would mean removing a lot of agency from people, and there might be some "minor" complications here and there...
 
I've just reinsured my wife's HR-V Hybrid, not a bad postcode, renewal was over £900 with RCIB, via a couple of days work on comparison sites I have it down to £440 with all the options I / she needs with us both on the policy.

Lowest quotes I was getting were around £400, I went and checked out reviews of the companies quoting with the level of cover needed and ended up with Budget Insurance at £440.

As the car is a Hybrid, quite a few insurers refused to quote, or in the case of KwikFit via Compare the Market, £8919

Adrian Flux were coming in at over £900 justifying it with Hybrids are expensive to repair, replace, battery damage etc, all of which are true, but I called the 3 insurers I was interested in, asking them point blank "You know this car is a self charging Hybrid?" to which they all answered, yes, they can see that from the registration number and the information they have to hand.

The woman was therefore correct; shopping around is the only reliable way of reducing an annual premium. That though is nothing new, it’s just that, for the first time in ages bods are seeing their traditional premiums (ie those they have got comfortably used to for years) going up, sometimes incredibly fast or (in extreme cases) no quote at all.

Before this, they couldn’t be arsed or simply didn’t need to shop around at all. From your post, it took your renewal premium hitting £900 to prompt you into seeking an alternative, a figure that you subsequently over halved. The days of very cheap motor insurance, bought with all but zero effort, are (for now at least) over. They’ll be back…. But when? Who knows.
 
Last edited:
When it comes to repairing vehicles via insurance, the company providing the service has to provide photographic evidence of repairs at every stage of the repair, this has prolonged the repair procedure, as a photograph has to be taken at each stage, so this has made repairs more expensive.
The lack of trust is making all of your lives more expensive.

Has to provide? Where did you dream that one up from?
 
My friend has just been taken out on a roundabout. The other driver didnt see him on the roundabout. All captured on Innov cameras. I’m dealing with the claim as he will be in hospital for an estimated 6 weeks with pelvis, shoulder and broken ribs. They are seeking an early admission of fault from the drivers insurance.
They want to provide private health care upon his discharge. The very early estimate is circa 50k and that’s just one accident.
 
Are their faces pixilated?

My friend has just been taken out on a roundabout. The other driver didnt see him on the roundabout. All captured on Innov cameras. I’m dealing with the claim as he will be in hospital for an estimated 6 weeks with pelvis, shoulder and broken ribs. They are seeking an early admission of fault from the drivers insurance.
They want to provide private health care upon his discharge. The very early estimate is circa 50k and that’s just one accident.

No doubt your friend will be cursing rip-off insurers, as will the third party.
 


Back
Top Bottom