car insurance quote

[looobylooo]

Hi
My car insurance is up for renewal, so I've gone to the online compare sites and have hopefully found a cheaper quote than the renewal quote I've received through.

I am willing to pay voluntary excess of £250.

It looks like the company I'm concidering doesn't have a £250 as an option, and £275 is the nearest, which is fine.

However what I don't understand is this -
Voluntary: £275
Compulsory: £125
Total: £400

What is the £400 total figure please?
I only want to pay £275.

Thank you x

[hc4361]

Put the voluntary as £150 for that provider/

[Canary42]

If you only want to pay £275 then opt for £150 voluntary excess. The compulsory one is payable in all circumstances, you don't have an option to not have it.

[looobylooo]

The next quotes I have that are slightly dearer, show the excess as this -

Voluntary : £250
Compulsory :£50
Total : £300

Voluntary : £250
Compulsory :£0
Total : £250

Voluntary : £250
Compulsory :£100
Total : £350

Thanks,
It's a bit confusing! x

[hc4361]

It is confusing because all the companies have their own methods, making it very difficult to compare.

[looobylooo]

Ah, thank you both, I see!
And if I put a lower excess, that will increase the quote. That's probably why the quote is so cheap then - about a £100 less than my existing insureres.

[owdhamer]

Maybe the minimum is 400

[Electrochem]

Personally, I find it unbelievable that insurance companies can get away with charging these ridiculous amounts for excess. When I first insured a car there was no such thing, but that was over forty years ago! They have become far to greedy in my opinion, but they get away with it because we have to have insurance. In my opinion, if you get caught driving without insurance, the fine should be equivalent to double the amount you would pay to be insured and the money gained from this used to lower premiums.

[boxtops]

llloby, don't forget also that not all car insurance companies subscribe to the comparison websites - often you'll do better by going straight to the insurance company, or using someone you're already connected with. We got a good quote by going through our bank.

[boxtops]

electrochem, there have always been excesses, but they did use to be as low as £25 - and if there were no excesses, the premiums would be even higher. I'm not on the side of the insurance companies but repair costs have increased and claims have gone up - especially since the ambulance chasers started no win no fee offers for people to claim for injuries they haven't actually sustained.

[boxtops]

llloby? what happened there?!

[Thatcherite]

The excess is annoying but necessary to keep the overall cost down. Essentially it stops the system getting gummed up with small claims.

[looobylooo]

Thank you all for replying, much appreciated, thanks x
I opted for £125, so together with the compulsary £125, its a total of £250, which is fine.

Ok, I'm about to post up another question now about the policy that I'm in the middle of trying to sort..! lol