Today was the day my renewal notice for my car insurance tumbled through the letter box and onto the mat. With bated breath I ripped open the envelope to get to the heart of “What are they going to try and con me into paying this time”?
£33 pounds more to be exact, is the figure. That’s 8% higher than last year. I would consider that figure to be unjustifiable as inflation at the most is 4% (Depending what index you use. RPI or CPI). and my car’s value has depreciated since last year.
So quick as a flash I logged into a price comparison website to see what insurance there was available for my trusty vehicle.
The only trouble with those sites is minutiae of detail they need for some reason. Why for instance do they need to know whether I’m married, homeowner, have children, or the names of my cats. (Alright I made the last one up).
Any way the upshot of all this bollocks was that eventually I found a policy that matched my needs. And of course it was lower than the quoted new premium by my present insurer. 11.5% less to be nearly exact. That’s less than I’m paying now.
Oh and do read the back of the renewal notice. My present insurer had quietly added into the policy that they were increasing the excess by a whopping £300.
I was nearly caught out a couple of years ago when the insurance company renewal notice gave me the renewal cost in bold on the front, but had hidden on the back the insurance tax and VAT.
And what will they pay out if your car is totalled?
ReplyDeleteWill they say or just equivocate?
When does insuring a car become pointless?
I dont know. though I have tried to find out.
The key thing I am trying to figure out is who exactly is supposed to be responsible for insuring the vehicle it's owner, (who doesn't have to be the keeper, the registered keeper or the driver according to a very nice lady in the DVLA) the registered keeper, the keeper (for they is different to the registered keepers according to that same very nice lady in the DVLA) or is it a 'driver' who needs to be insured?
ReplyDeleteI'll have to as that bloody Meerkat.
Some of them do ask if you have pets, it goes into the pot with all the rest of the information so they can make more insurance offers for you later on. My insurance was £650 early this year, this after having a me at fault accident but reducing my mileage from 25,000 a year to 6,000 (new job, company car) which was only £25 more than the previous year. Having said that some of the other websites wanted over £3,000, its an old Audi S8 with 200,000 miles on the clock.
ReplyDeleteWhen my insurance renewal quationation pops through the letter box, I wait for a couple of days and tehn phone them up. It goes something like this:
ReplyDeleteMe: I' phoning rtegarding your latest quation sent to me and letting you know I'm changing to another insurer.
Them: Are you unhappy with our renewal quote?
Me: I live on a pension which has increased by 3% in line with Government inflation guidelines. I therefore find it difficult to understand how a private company can increase my premium by 11%. I've therefore decided to look elsewhere.
Them: Can you tell me who you are insuring with?
Me: Actually,m it's a company with the name of ***********
Them: But that's us!
Me: I know. Funny isn't it?
Them: I'm sure we can match that (?????) but your excess may have to increase.
Me: According to the website, my excess will be lower than I'm paying at the moment.
Them: Can you hold please?
Me: Of course. Take as long as you like. (freephone number, you see)
Them: I'm pleasedto say that we can match that online quotation and will send you out new documentation if you wish?
Me: Thank you very much.
Them: Is there anything else I can help you with today (why do they ask this?).
Me: No thank you. I contacted Tesco earlier today, they asked me the same question and I now have ways of increasing my wife's orgasms. Good day.
I do love comparison websites!
Penseivat