How Is This Justified?

[TWR]

Our post code is BB7 & live 9 miles from Blackburn a known area for Insurance scams, our friends & our daughter lives the same distance & it shows in our premium, how can this be right?

[pixie374]

I think insurance companies use any excuse they can find to push up the premiums. Have you looked at other companies?

[jno]

Why not? In effect if you live in a high-risk area you pay more. You may be able to haggle over it, point to your good record, or just switch to another company, they don't all work the same way.

[EDDIE51]

Post code is one of the most important factors insurance companies use to calculate premiums. Get quotes from as many companies and sites as possible and see if you can get it cheaper.

[Mamyalynne]

Are you saying that all three households are BB7 and only yours has the higher premium?

[TWR]

Always check the sites for prices, Jno, we do not live in a High Risk Town, that was the point of the Q.

[Mamyalynne]

Sorry I think I understand now.

[jno]

you mean it's not your own area that's known for scams? That wasn't clear. So what is it that's showing in your premiums? If your friends and relations are in the same area and are all paying high premiums, maybe the companies do think you're in a risk area.

[EDDIE51]

It is the entire post code that counts not just the first part,which only indicates the town or general area. For example BB7 2PR could be a listed as a higher risk area than BB7 2PQ or vice versa. I have just made the last part of the code up to show the idea.
My post code is SG8 but that covers a town of 43,000 inhabitants and 8 or more villages over 2 counties, all types of property from social housing, flats to large 5 and 6 bedroom detached houses worth £2 million and more!

[TWR]

No Probs Mam x the premium shows the same as though we live in Blackburn Jno, I shall have to look into this.

[EDDIE51]

It is not necessarily the scams that mean a higher premium. It could be that there is a higher % of genuine accidents / theft in a specific post code.
Each insurance company has it's own data base and risk assessment so another company may well not consider your area more of a risk.

[pixie374]

...check your car insurance with different areas and see...xx

[EDDIE51]

Are you sure it is the post code that is the problem?
I was amazed at the difference your job makes to an insurance quote.
When I was the bar manager for a sports club my premium was raised as anything to do with selling booze is regarded as 'high risk' I changed my job description to 'Sports club administrator' and the premium dropped by £150 a year.
Then when I was semi retired I found putting 'retired' in job description made my premium higher. The explanation was that a retired person was more likely to be driving around at any time of day rather than working.So I put my part time job as a care worker as 'job description' and the premium dropped again.

[pixie374]

That is very true, Eddie. When I was 17 I got a quote with car insurance, saying I worked with horses, she gave me a quote and then asked if it was a riding school or racing stables. I said racing stables and she added £100 on. When I asked why, she said "you might have the next Shergar there...". I still don't know how that was relevant.

[sinderella]

Almost everyone in BB postcodes know who is to blame
but we are not allowed to say

[EDDIE51]

Pixie ,yes I know about racing stables there is one near me and I know a lot of the people who work there, they say that a job in a horse racing stable is 'high risk' for car insurance, but not why!. I was also surprised to find that putting 'Driver' as a job description for private use car insurance is 'high risk' my uncle is a delivery driver and warehouse operator for a local company. He found that he got a cheaper quote by saying he was a 'warehouse operator' than if he put 'delivery driver'
Sindrella what is it about BB post codes? I do not know.' BB' covers a huge area!

[sinderella]

BB postcode is the capital of insurance fraud

[sinderella]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9901745.Blackburn_man_s_call_to_end_BB_postcode_insurance____victimisation___/?ref=rss

[TWR]

That's one good reason to have 2 OBC Fitted Sin, which I have, I was behind one yesterday, I could sense what the driver was up to, my distance from the driver became wider.

[sinderella]

I have them fitted.and i get 10% off my insurance premium too

[vulcan42]

Apologies for going off topic TWR, sinderella, are you getting 10% off your insurance for fitting a camera? I was told no later than Thursday by my insurance company that there was no discount if I fitted one.