Car Insurance Hike

[allenlondon]

Nissan Tino. Had it for 12 years. Do less than a thousand miles a year.

Insured with Direct Line. Last year £400, this year £550.

Mrs A had a very minor bash in a car park, which the other driver claimed on. So thus, in spite of protected no-claims, premium shot up. (Would have been £750 without the protected NCB!).

What do we do? Living in London, you need comprehensive insurance. Confused's cheaper end is around the £400 mark.

A

[teacake44]

I'm afraid you gave them the opportunity to up your premium, with the bash, you can only keep shopping around.

[bhg481]

Cheap insurance is usually cheap for a reason; they might be bad at paying out, exclude things which other companies cover or charge an outrageous amount for policy changes. Check out reviews before you commit to a different company.

[teacake44]

On a 12 year old car I would go for carrying full excess, because if you have a good smash they will right your car of anyhow, and only doing 1k a year is it really worth paying the extra??

[ladybirder]

I agree, don't get the cheap insurance. One of the best is LV (Liverpool/Victoria according to Which. See if they can better your price.

[bhg481]

If you do very low mileage, how do you use your car? ie, would it be cheaper to get rid and use taxis if you only use it for shopping or hire if you just use it for holidays.

[TonyV]

re insured my 6 year old Suzuki for £190 fully comp yesterday. Have a look at go compare.

[allenlondon]

Another thing I couldn't get my head round was us paying extra over the years for NCD (No claims protection), but come the crunch, when a claim WAS made, it ups our premium because of it! Direct Line's bit of paper about this is gibberish, and all the woman at the other end would say is that it would have been even higher without the no claims protection.

They get you all ways round, don't they?

[allenlondon]

Just for the crack, here is Direct Line's explanation of how the protected no-claims works. If you can make sense of this, you're a better man than I am,...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14TFu94zx515nuIHNPjrtis8EwoE7s9qb/view?usp=sharing

[teacake44]

Its simple really, protected NCB, don't protect you from an increase, but many people see it that way until they make a claim. Direct line IMO are very expensive.

[TonyV]

bhg I have a policy on my car for "under 1000 miles" only use it to take Mrs to doctors and family, she can't get up step to get in my truck.

[bhg481]

Tony - your policy is a lot cheaper than allen's. allen can buy a lot of taxi rides for the cost of his insurance + RFL, servicing etc, so it could be easier for him to use taxis if he just uses the car like you do.

[allenlondon]

Thanks for the interest. I've just tried GoCompare, and they're similar, if not a bit dearer, than Confused.com.

Taxis are an option, I suppose, but with Mrs A and me both being old and wobbly, we like have a car we can just jump into if we ever need it instantly, and ambulances aren't coming...

A

[TonyV]

Yes possibly bhg, but need car to take Mrs to hospital as and when required.

[bhg481]

I understand that, Tony. I had to bail-out my neighbour the other week; he has a car but was temporarily unable to drive and a taxi he'd booked had let him down making him potentially late for a doctor's appointment. You do get used to being independent.

[barry1010]

I’ve been with Direct Line for years, they were fantastic when Inwas involved in a fatal accident with three motorbikes more than 20 years ago. They are still cheaper than anyone else for me (£180) and I do understand the protected NCB which is the same as every other insurance company. I didn’t even bother shopping round this year as it was cheaper than last year. No haggling necessary. I think where you live makes a difference

[teacake44]

Around 70 years old, with full NCD, smallish car, no more than 4k miles a year. I've found that most want around £200 / £250 fully com. Shropshire area.

[fbg40]

Allen
I've been with Co-op for a few years and found they have always been fairly good on prices. Might be worth a try.
FBG40

[allenlondon]

Yes, thanks, I'd forgotten the Co-op, I'll have a look - I think they're one of the companies that exclude themselves from confused/gocompare/etc., probably for good reasons!
A

[Ellipsis]

> If you can make sense of this, you're a better man than I am,...

I can make sense of it. What do you want to know?

[allenlondon]

Explain then, ellipsis, what we’ve been paying an increased premium FOR over the long years, if, after one very minor knock, our annual premium leaps up?

Thanks.

A