UK Car Insurance aka British Mafia

[brachunky]

It was quite relevant reading Grizz's mini insurance rant this morning as I had just got off "another" 45 minute direct call to a well known van insurance concern. It just seems that it's a constant battle with these companies just to treat customers with some respect and offer what used to be known as, value for money. Knowing that UK consumers have no option other than to make use of their so called services, they will jump at any opportunity to hike premiums year after year with no consideration for the role they play in the increased cost of living. 
They call it risk but drivers who have just turned 60 (previously known as pretty low risk customers) are seeing big rises and in a number of cases, just not being given the option to renew as companies pick & choose where it is most profitable to ply their trade. Over the weekend I received an expected renewal email with a whopping increase from £165 to £243 p/a. Then it was noticed when reading through the documents, my ncb was shown as 1 year and not what they had previously had on file of 5 years! Once again a lengthy phone call took place to "fix" their errors which unnoticed, would have resulted in me paying over the odds.
Am I and Grizz the only ones absolutely fed up with being exploited by this government sanctioned rip off industry? What happened to a level of fairness and being treated and risk assessed as an individual?
Although annoyed by the hike they have put on me, it's is not only about that as I appreciate many of you pay multiples of my premium but when your situation has not changed and are forced to accept these increases, I for one have no respect for this industry and it's excess profiteering business model. Lets have a proper independent enquiry into their practices and transparency.

[kevins]

while I agree many of their practices are at best dubious, they don't make much money, many companies are even pulling out of private car insurance, Electric cars are an area they are really struggling with, eye watering parts prices, dealer only repairs and in many cases weeks if not months to wait for parts and pay for a hire car, The EV car owners are seeing massive hikes but the rest of us will also have to pay in case we hit one, Classic car policy prices don't seem to have been hit yet though, mine were all much the same as last year and my son's minor dropped by £200.

As I'm retiring next year and will lose one of my company cars so we are looking at a 2010 ish fiesta for the mrs to use as a run around, the quote of £300 we got 4 months ago is now £400 probably be more than the car by june!

[grizz]

Just for perspective.

This was my rant.

In 21 years driving in the UK I have not claimed for a car or bike “at fault” accident or event.

Though cars hit while parked, and left the scene, including once where I found the guy that rear ended me at a roundabout and raced off (I got told by police and insurance company to walk away) and once the same car, being reversed into ON VIDEO SURVEILLANCE that I got a CD ROM copy of, which again got discounted by the insurers………

My experience of insurance to date is all B0JJ0X and thievery.



INSURANCE COMPANIES……. RIP OFF ARTISTS.

JUST CANCELLED THE S10 INSURANCE, 2.5 MONTHS LEFT ON THE POLICY.

ZERO REFUND.


SWAPPED THE GRZ733 PLATE TO THE ASTRO.

£46.80 ADMIN FEE.

The above two are with AIB underwriting Marker Study.


WHAT A BUNCH OF THIEVES.



GOT A QUOTE FOR A VEHICLE OFF THE SAME COMPANY RECENTLY £578.00 WITH 3K MILES, SINGLE DRIVER, PERSONAL USE ONLY.
REPEATED SAME QUOTE ONLINE £337 UP TO £1000
SELECTED TO BUY A £350.92 OPTION FROM CAROLE NASH - WENT TO CHECK OUT…… SYSTEM REJECTED PURCHASE.
CALLED CAROLE NASH DIRECT NEXT DAY TO CHECK.
NOPE…… PRICE NOT AVAILABLE, NEW PRICE NOW £372.00
I KINDA LOST IT, AND BY BEING REALLY NICE, INSISTED ON SPEAKING TO A SUPERVISOR, WHICH DID NOT HAPPEN, GOT THE ORIGINAL PRICE 20 MINUTES LATER.
IT IS CRAZY HOW THEY DIP THEIR HANDS INTO OUR POCKETS AND STEAL BECAUSE IT IS ALL LEGISLATED THAT YOU WILL HAVE INSURANCE.
AND OF COURSE ALL THE WRIGGLING TO NOT PAY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT/DAMAGE/BREAK IN.


THIS REALY IS TIRING.

WARTCH YOUR POCKETS.

[rattlecan]

Don’t forget their gas bills have all doubled 🤣

[norm75]

Ridiculous industry.

Several years ago my sons mini was cheaper for him to insure with a years driving experience and no ncb than it was for me to insure it with a years ncb and many years experience, with the same insurance company.

My other son had a 125cc bike. It was £500 to insure it last year. Asked for a quote with myself named on the policy and it was £800! Had a bike license for over 20 years, never claimed and for my triumph tiger was £75 a year fully comp, but £800 to be insured as a named rider on a £500 Chinese 125 wtf

[rattlecan]

Joking aside my missus has a two yr old Ford Kuga. A tree fell on it (I kid you not) in the golf club car park.
It has basically mullered the bonnet & one wing, that is literally it.
4 quotes later, the cheapest quote is £5800!!!

[brachunky]

Oct 16, 2023 16:04:34 GMT rattlecan said:

Don’t forget their gas bills have all doubled 🤣

I know that was said in jest but the reality a HUGE amount of staff work remotely at their own cost. I wonder if they get a contribution towards the home office energy bill?!

[rattlecan]

Oct 16, 2023 17:16:06 GMT brachunky said:

Oct 16, 2023 16:04:34 GMT rattlecan said:

Don’t forget their gas bills have all doubled 🤣

I know that was said in jest but the reality a HUGE amount of staff work remotely at their own cost. I wonder if they get a contribution towards the home office energy bill?!

Simple answer I’d guess is no

[kevins]

Oct 16, 2023 16:52:34 GMT rattlecan said:

Joking aside my missus has a two yr old Ford Kuga. A tree fell on it (I kid you not) in the golf club car park.
It has basically mullered the bonnet & one wing, that is literally it.
4 quotes later, the cheapest quote is £5800!!!

my uncle reversed into my company kuga, a few scratches on the bumper and broken mounting tabs on headlamp  3 grand repair, fancy led all singing and dancing headlamp was a grand!

[Dez]

Car insurance is cheaper in real terms than it was 20 years ago, when considered against inflation, minimum wage, and as a proportion of income. This is mainly because cars just don’t get stolen like they used to, and so many people have dash cams to clear up any fault arguments for the companies.

Getting worked up over a sub-£350 policy is ridiculous. ‘Our’ sector of the market has prices a fraction of what normal people pay, based on the risks it presents. The average car insurance price is somewhere around 800-900 p/a.

[bronc]

I just watched this on YouTube brown car guy speaking to Tim Kelly.
It explains what they do with our money, bit long but interesting.



If the link don’t work search brown car guy.

[brachunky]

Oct 16, 2023 21:29:43 GMT Dez said:

Getting worked up over a sub-£350 policy is ridiculous. ‘Our’ sector of the market has prices a fraction of what normal people pay, based on the risks it presents. The average car insurance price is somewhere around 800-900 p/a.

Ridiculous in your eyes but not for thousands of other people. Read into the post, its not just the cost to the consumer, its the whole taking the consumer for a ride over many years. As an example of unfair loading of premiums, it was previously mentioned about the costs associated with EV's. Why should the bulk of the population driving ICE vehicles have to shoulder this cost?
The system needs a major overhaul.

[Dez]

You aren’t paying an increased premium because of electric cars, that is a daily mail headline to enrage the masses. It is a tiny, tiny proportion of risk based cost calculation, based on how likely you are to drive into one. That amount would be maybe a few pounds of the overall cost of your policy. But it cannot be singled out against all the other things you are covered against and by that merit, you should also be raging at anyone who has the audacity to own a car worth more than yours in case you drive into them too.
Yes, someone else driving round in a £200k super car makes your insurance go up an incalculably small amount… even property values going up affects the premium you pay, in case you accidentally drive into your own or someone else’s house. And ultimately, it would still be your fault for doing the driving into, so it’s an entirely reasonable approach to take from a company who job is calculating risk.

Electric car owners are paying increased premiums for driving electric cars, or being refused cover altogether as they are perceived as too high risk- that is quite real because that’s how insurance works. Risk is calculated based on the driver (and how likely they are to drive into things they shouldn’t), the vehicle, the cost to repair a vehicle if damaged, where it’s kept and the miles it covers. All perfectly sensible and logical.

Ultimately you are paying around 66p a day to have your vehicle covered against damage caused by a whole plethora of eventualities, including if you make a mistake yourself whilst driving, not to mention the far, far greater risk of liability against yourself in you damage anyone else’s property whilst behind the wheel.
And you say that’s a rip-off? Seems like a bit of a bargain to me, that’s about what you’ll be paying to have your house connected to an electricity and gas supply even if you don’t use any.

[vulgalour]

Everything is more expensive now. When I first started driving in 2011 I was paying nearly £2k for a 1 litre Mk2 Polo with modifications (lowered, alloys, non-standard paint) listed. Now the stuff I'm driving is still the same sort of age, the same sort of modifications, and rarely over £500 to insure.

I suppose it's all a matter of perspective too, I've known older folk complain that they have to pay over £100 for their classic and these days £100 is absolutely nowt for anything. Everything is getting more expensive, car insurance along with it. I can't say I like the price of things going up and I can't say I like that insurance companies will regard my hobby in purely financial terms rendering it completely nonsensical but that's the way of it.

Motoring is an expensive hobby, it always has been and it always will be, there's no two ways around it and I think we often forget how much of a luxury convenience having a car, let alone multiple, really is.