Insurance Quotes

[Neil W]

This last year we had 3 cars insured , one was with Hastings and they tried to more than double the premium so went online for quotes and went with Aviva for the same price as last year and better cover (typical when I cancelled renewal they claimed they would have matched the Aviva price)
With the Golf , again the renewal quote (this time with the RAC) had almost tripled so went online and got the same level of cover with again Aviva for the same as least years price with the RAC. Both of these were renewals within 3 weeks of each other .
Quote has just come through from Halifax for the Audi renewal in January and for the first time in many years their renewal quote was the same as last years premiums.
It has really got me thinking that all of the brokers have access to a central database with all of your insurance quotations and that if you show willing to shop around rather than getting stiffed with auto renewals and huge hikes each year then your current insurer might actually give you a sensible renewal quote to keep the business

 

[Wapping]

It has really got me thinking that all of the brokers have access to a central database with all of your insurance quotations….

I can assure you they do not.

Anyone on auto-renewal, needs testing for brains.

Anyone who does not shop around, likewise.

 

[Z1r]

Same experience this week with Hastings. Premium for my car went from £239 to £392 for renewal. Shopped around and Aviva quoted £194 with zero excess. I also had two bike policies with Hastings that I didn't renew with them this year, as better deals elsewhere. They couldn't even answer phone calls about the renewals.

 

[steadysteve]

There was some suggestion in the media/online (might have been Martin Lewis) suggesting the optimum time to shop around for prices is a month before renewal so when I received letters from Hastings to inform me they couldn’t offer renewal on my policies (690 and RS) I went online on the comparison sites to get prices, four weeks before renewal.
Compared with last year, the 690 price had doubled to £400+ and the RS was up to £700 from £450.
It was a botbof a shock and there was no way was I paying those prices so I left it until a fortnight to renewal and the 690 was down to £210 and the RS was £414.
Seems to me like these shysters are taking the piss, along with the auto renewal scenario, and jacking up the prices when the likes of Martin Lewis says such things.
It also seemed strange that the second set of online quotes included prices from Hastings who previously claimed they couldn’t quote.

A couple of insurers I spoke to directly said they couldn’t offer cover for the 1250RS. No particular reason given, just that the panel of underwriters they use weren’t able to cover it.

 

[Davey B]

Week in week out on various forums, someone brings up the issues of car/bike/van/motorhome/house insurance....auto-renewal always crops up....the right time to get quotes crops up etc etc....and yet year in year out 'we' seem to get in a bit of a tizzie about it....why not just set alarm(s) on our phones to go off a month before the required date and hey presto......

 

[er-minio]

I can assure you they do not.

But can they see that you are quoting, right? Not the amounts though.

Last year, when I had my insurance renewal refused by my previous insurer it took me a couple of weeks calling everywhere to find a combination to insure my bikes. At some point the prices started shooting up and one of the bods on the phone (actually a lady) laconically told me: "it looks on the system that you are doing a lot of quotes everywhere, so it pushes your prices up because [insert bullshit excuse about higher risk here]".

I did explain I had my renewal refused and I was trying to find the best combination to split the bikes from a single multi-policy without throwing money out of the window... and going with the first insurer that provided a quote (had a fair amount of no-quotes).

I have to re-start the entire spastic ballet first week of Jan.

 

[Wapping]

But can they see that you are quoting, right? Not the amounts though.

Most of the online platforms channel back through just a very few insurers and a very few brokers. They can maybe ‘see’ that multiple enquiries have been made, maybe through the same portal, as you tried to hit on a winning combination. The premiums offered will though be blind or should be, as EU consumer legislation rendered price fixing illegal.

You are perhaps unusual as you have several bikes, in central London, not garaged at home. That probably restricts choice and / or results in more balls’ achingly dull searching. That’s just life, sometimes. The system (though I’ll admit it is run by pirates and staffed by chimps) operates at the lowest common denominator of demand. That is Mr and Mrs Dully Boring of Norwich, with their run of the mill car, garaged and the standard 10,000 miles, no business use, no convictions….. Unfortunately, you do not fit that description.

 

[er-minio]

You are perhaps unusual as you have several bikes, in central London, not garaged at home. That probably restricts choice and / or results in more balls’ achingly dull searching.

Oh, yeah. That's a given.
I was surprised when the lady told me "you are quoting a lot" as if it was wrong.

Unfortunately, you do not fit that description.

I want Hagerty, for bikes

I don't use comparison sites. Given my non standard requirements they are useless or return stupid quotes. I'd rather do the calls individually to brokers that seem reputable. I assumed the underwriters might have been the same for a few of those brokers, hence the "crossed" data.

That is Mr and Mrs Dully Boring of Norwich, with their run of the mill car, garaged and the standard 10,000 miles, no business use, no convictions….. Unfortunately, you do not fit that description.

Yeah. Experienced that when I bought and insured the car in my name last July. Was expecting another ballache search, instead rang my previous insurer that was "holding" my NCB for three years as I was leasing the cars via work until then, they offered a very acceptable quote, paid on the spot - sorted in 20 minutes. Happy*.

Car insurer has been Admiral, for almost a decade for me. I always shopped around at renewal, but they always offered the best price or the difference was so minor to not make me bother with changing insurers, they are decent, their contract is fairly inclusive abroad, etc.. But I don't want to speak too soon as I had to replace a windscreen this year. I'll discover at next renewal.



*that is an event, being me.

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

.... and yet year in year out 'we' seem to get in a bit of a tizzie about it....why not just set alarm(s) on our phones to go off a month before the required date and hey presto......

I suspect it is becoming more talked about because their quotes are becoming outrageously comical.

No doubt all part of the money grab that is going on all around us*.


*please note Mr Wapping this is just my humble opinion and may or may not be true.

 

[wessie]

Last year, when I had my insurance renewal refused by my previous insurer it took me a couple of weeks calling everywhere to find a combination to insure my bikes. At some point the prices started shooting up and one of the bods on the phone (actually a lady) laconically told me: "it looks on the system that you are doing a lot of quotes everywhere, so it pushes your prices up because [insert bullshit excuse about higher risk here]".

just look at your credit file - every quote generates a soft search so the quote engines can see this. Many are from Lexis Nexis as brokers subscribe to their ID check. One of the underwriting factors is whether you appear on the electoral role, as I found last year as my car insurance fell due before my new registration appeared on my credit file. It took nearly 3 months from the application in late October for Powys to update the register and then Equifax to pick up this change. You will get a higher premium with no electoral role as I posted last month, https://www.ukgser.com/community/threads/how-dare-they.443106/ - even the renewal was 60 quid less and of course I bettered that by some margin.

The other factor is that you think you are getting multiple quotes when they are often just sub brands of BGL or Ardonagh.

 

[er-minio]

Thanks Wessie.
I am on the register, and everything else is by the book.

I didn't know about the soft check agains credit file. I was paying for Experian until last year as I had someone try to open a card at my name and had to put a "check" on my credit file. I looked around back then, but the insurance soft checks didn't seem to be there (or most probably I might have missed them).
I'm back on the free account now, no way to see, but I know there are free ways to inspect your file. Might do as, I paid off my mortgage last year and my credit score took a vertical dive from max score to 180 points down. It's now moving upwards again, but taking its sweet time

 

[wessie]

Thanks Wessie.
I am on the register, and everything else is by the book.

I didn't know about the soft check agains credit file. I was paying for Experian until last year as I had someone try to open a card at my name and had to put a "check" on my credit file. I looked around back then, but the insurance soft checks didn't seem to be there (or most probably I might have missed them).
I'm back on the free account now, no way to see, but I know there are free ways to inspect your file. Might do as, I paid off my mortgage last year and my credit score took a vertical dive from max score to 180 points down. It's now moving upwards again, but taking its sweet time

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub/ or Credit Karma lets you see your TransUnion file for free
Clearscore lets you see Equifax for free

of course, they harvest your data and try to upsell you products as their primary business is credit brokerage, so the tin hat brigade need not apply

my file has several soft searches from insurance quotes last month - Moneysupermarket, BISL, several Lexis Nexis and Covea (never heard of them but Frenchies that took over Provident & Sterling)

 

[er-minio]

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub/ or Credit Karma lets you see your TransUnion file for free
Clearscore lets you see Equifax for free

Thanks again.
Monzo (that I use) offered a similar free facility as well. Didn't take them up on it as I had no pressing need and wanted to avoid ending up in some cross-selling funnel at the time. I think they offer it as standard on their Plus account and it is their way to rope you in