[David S]

Bloody hell!! Had a renewal through from Direct Line and insurance's shot up from £488 fully comp to £805 

After a couple of phone calls telling them I was leaving I got the robbing gits down to £645. Been with them over ten years with full no claims and all that and this is the kinda shit you get. Not surprised though in this current climate and I bet I'm not alone though. Bout time the good old goverment sorted this shit out and made them accountable. Phew, feel a bit better now.

Anyway, anyone recommend another insurer?

[Bubba]

I'd start with the big comparison sites like gocompare and others like quotelinedirect and see what they come up with. Your current insurer will rarely give you the best deal.

But yeah, car insurance is shocking now - doesn't surprise me that so many people drive without it.

[SA Chris]

The annoying thing is if you get a better rate than they quote you elsewhere and then tell them, they will drop theirs to match it. Such a rip off.

[LucyB]

Going through similar at the mo - looked at the comparison websites, had a few issues with no claims bonus and thought it would be easier to stay with current insurer. Trouble was, it had gone up from £365 to £1050! It somehow then came down to just under £400 - almost comparable to some of the other quotes. I spent 45 minutes on the phone updating details (Name and marital status, and job). He assured me that being married and having spouse as named driver would bring the price down further. After 45 minutes, he proudly told me it had come down to £500....... eh? When I said I had been given a much cheaper quote from esure, he said I would probably be better going with them!!

And don't bother googling reviews for the insurance companies, because they are all, without question, utterly shit. From poor customer service, to getting things wrong, to not dealing with claims, to not paying out, they all seem to offer really bad service. And yet the price goes up and up.... Yes, maybe time for better regulation of the whole industry.

[slackline]

Bout time the good old goverment sorted this shit out and made them accountable.

They're starting to (although its far from enough).

The EU made it illegal to charge differential rates based on sex (article seems to have been wrong in its predictions!), but it seems that all companies have taken it as an opportunity to hike up their fees, rather than finding a median (because that would be far too logical and reasonable!).

[Big Dave]

Same thing for me with Direct Line a couple of months ago, I had about a £180 increase from last years price, plus had an extra year no claims and no other changes.

I shopped around and got the cheapest quote with Aviva, so called Direct Line to cancel and they asked why, so I told them the Aviva price and then they instantly beat it as I'm a 'loyal' customer (over 10 years for me too). 

Crazy thing is they didn't even ask for proof of the Aviva price, I was willing to email a screenshot, so could have made anything up!

[Fiend]

Ditto to the first post.

[SA Chris]

I think they rely on people being too lazy to shop around and just renewing it automatically. Which I think a large proportion of the population would if they didn't take the piss so badly.

[David S]

Cheers so far everyone. Didn't think it was just me.

Did the comparison thing and got the price down. Trying a broker next that someone's given me a number for.

To make things worse house insurance renewal just come through post and guess what..... that's gone up too by 20%. ho joy of joys

[Jaspersharpe]

I think they rely on people being too lazy to shop around and just renewing it automatically. Which I think a large proportion of the population would if they didn't take the piss so badly.

Bang on. We used a broker for the last few years as they always seemed to be able to get a quote that was somewhere near the best the comparison sites could do and it was easier to let them deal with it. However, they never gave us the best quote straight off and the first "we are pleased to let you know your renewal will be" price was always a joke. One call and it would come down to the right amount.

We've fucked them off now though as on getting a new car they quoted about £800 as their best price. Fair enough that a £19k car is going to cost more to insure than a £3k one but I found a quote for under £500 on Go Compare (which is actually less than what we were paying for the old car).

It's all a fucking scam. Shop around, shop around and shop around some more. It's a pain in the arse but you can save a fortune. I just feel sorry for younger people as they REALLY get ripped off, but at least we have a fantastic and reasonable public transport system to rely on if you can't afford to drive......ah.

[GraemeA]

Lu - I guess for you it is really important to get the quote as low as possible for when Mr Lu pays for the insurance again 

[Wipey Why]

The price of car insurance is a fucking joke.

As a young(ish) man (26) who enjoys quick(ish) cars the cost is ridiculous. I gave up recently and took a company car, with my insurance paid for it by work  it  is cheaper and the car is new. 

I can see why loads of people don't bother as the penalty if you are caught is often less than the actual cost of the insurance itself.

[SA Chris]

Annoying thing about having a company car is you lose all your NCB. Less of a problem if you had none to start with I guess.

[Wipey Why]

Annoying thing about having a company car is you lose all your NCB. Less of a problem if you had none to start with I guess.

I had 4 before I took the Company Car.  Some insurers will take your NCB from your time with the company car so I should be ok. 

[Jim]

I always follow this
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/?tab=19
and go with the best quote of a reputable insurer. For me and the wife for the last few years its been aviva and for home insurance its been lloyds. about to renew car insurance so that may change

[David S]

Good luck Jim

[JohnM]

My renewal quote from Tescos had increased by 30% this year.  I don't know how they justify it!  Anyway I used comparethemarket.com and took out a policy with Hastings which was cheaper than what I was paying before after I payed the full the year in advance.

Another thing that amazes me is how much the quote changes depending on what area you live in.  My quote for last year went up from about £600 to £1300 when I changed the registered address from my parent's place (Preston) to my place in Liverpool.  Having said that some scrote threw a brick through my rear window earlier this year!

[LucyB]

Lu - I guess for you it is really important to get the quote as low as possible for when Mr Lu pays for the insurance again 

 

[Paul B]

For the last few years I've found small brokers to be by far the most competitive at offering me insurance with large compare sites offering me insurance that was roughly double my current premium.

The whole insurance process is pretty soul destroying.

[Wipey Why]

The whole insurance process is pretty soul destroying.

 

[tomtom]

Pretty much everyone I know's car insurance has gone up 20-40% this year.. mine went up by c.25% even with some shopping around.. sorry thats not much help apart from the sharing in communal misery support shizzle..

[tommytwotone]

 

I'm 33, live in a posh, leafy bit of Leeds and drive a 1 litre Nissan Micra worth about £500...

...best quote I've found so far is £750.

 

[SA Chris]

Is this ripple effects of economic issues (I refuse to use the cc words) I wonder- where people had the cash to not bother making claims for the small things, they try and get cash from wherever possible now?

[slackline]

No, all insurance companies are thieving cunts, period.

[tomtom]

I'm 33, live in a posh, leafy bit of Leeds and drive a 1 litre Nissan Micra worth about £500...

...best quote I've found so far is £750.

 

I'm going to use that line as my online dating tag line