Car insurance | Vital Football

Car insurance

Holte139

Holte139

Vital Squad Member
I want to ask the good people of VV for some advice about my car insurance. Bought my first car in February last year, cheapest quote I could get was £1200. I knew my first year would be expensive but after hearing some horror stories from my mates I was relatively happy with that and went ahead with it.

Just had a renewal quote come through as part of my 30 days notice. £50 more. I know that doesn't sound like much but I've got a year's no claims now. Not that that means much, but I was expecting it to come down a bit.

Had a brief look at 2 price comparison websites. Can get £400 cheaper with one and basically half-price on another. So far so good, but it's with the same company I'm with now.

The last day of my insurance is 20th Feb. Is it possible to let my insurance expire and then rejoin the same company on the 21st through the price comparison website for the better rate? Or is that not possible because I already have an account with them?
 
NEVER auto-renew, that's for sure.

Rates are always lower for new customers, but if you call and speak to them, you may well be able to haggle them down to the rate you were quoted on the comparison site.

If not, just apply through the comparison site as if you were a new customer.

Car insurance is one of my pet peeves - it's a disgrace the way they treat customers.
 
It wasn't until I was checking through my documents that I realised I'd been signed up for automatic renewal by default. Nobody thought to mention it during the sign-up process! So I'm going to have to ring them up now anyway to get rid of that.
 
Just out of interest, what is a 'normal' amount to pay? What should I expect the figure to be once I've been driving a few years? Fingers crossed I don't have any big accidents!
 
I usually re apply with my existing insurers first , always come up cheaper that if you just renew. Failing that I use the comparison sites.

Not sure on your age Holte139 but my daughter who is 23 has a black box thingy that monitors the times and speeds she drives which keeps the premiums down as well.
 
Yeah I've heard about those telematics boxes sirdennis, I did have a look at them but those policies are still coming up at over a grand for me. I'm a few years older than your daughter, 28.
 
Holte139 said:
Yeah I've heard about those telematics boxes sirdennis, I did have a look at them but those policies are still coming up at over a grand for me. I'm a few years older than your daughter, 28.
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Oh right. I think for men is your age bracket the premiums are generally higher anyway.
 
Mines extortionate, living in Smethwick doesn't help. One thing I have learnt is to shop around. It's not possible to recommend any particular insurance as every single person is different even for the same car...

I once sold my 12-month-old Metro to my Brother in Law and his insurance on it with the same company was a third less than mine and I was the most experienced driver. Why I was in DY8 and he was in Hereford.

when you first start I'm afraid you just have to suck it up! My first insurance was £60 when I was 17, I was at £14 a week
 
sirdennis said:
Oh right. I think for men is your age bracket the premiums are generally higher anyway.
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My 18 y/o cousin got quoted 3 grand for his first car a few months back! I personally couldn't afford to start learning until I was in my twenties, so I think that helped a bit as I was a bit older. When I first started messing about with price comparison sites I noticed that my quotes went down once I put in my licence number and said I was a trainee teacher. I didn't expect your job to play a big role but it seems it might.
 
Holte139 said:
My 18 y/o cousin got quoted 3 grand for his first car a few months back! I personally couldn't afford to start learning until I was in my twenties, so I think that helped a bit as I was a bit older. When I first started messing about with price comparison sites I noticed that my quotes went down once I put in my licence number and said I was a trainee teacher. I didn't expect your job to play a big role but it seems it might.
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Have a look at this if you haven't already. His advice is always bang on.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/#costcut
 
Holte139 said:
My 18 y/o cousin got quoted 3 grand for his first car a few months back! I personally couldn't afford to start learning until I was in my twenties, so I think that helped a bit as I was a bit older. When I first started messing about with price comparison sites I noticed that my quotes went down once I put in my licence number and said I was a trainee teacher. I didn't expect your job to play a big role but it seems it might.
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Yes, occupation is a big thing, once put Motor Vehicle engineer on mine and the wouldn't insure me as they thought I was a mechanic. They were ok when I told them no I'm an Engineer in a factory, not a ramp monkey.
Retirement also puts it up even though I no longer drive in rush hours, I'm now"working" for my son in law.
 
Like what has already been said, phone up and cancel your auto renewal. Because of my age and the fact I do very few miles and I dont have commuting on my policy. Last year I paid £328 this year I have had to pay £344. I do have max no claims so that helps. You must shop around mate. Usually with price comparison sites the price quoted is usually valid for 30 days so once you are within the 30 days you can notify your insurance company that you are not renewing with them. Dont renew earlier than you have to because they will take the money out of your bank straight away. I usually do it with about 7 days to go. Gives time to get the paperwork sorted and you dont end up uninsured.
 
sirdennis said:
Have a look at this if you haven't already. His advice is always bang on.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/#costcut
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Thanks for this!

Villan57 said:
Yes, occupation is a big thing, once put Motor Vehicle engineer on mine and the wouldn't insure me as they thought I was a mechanic. They were ok when I told them no I'm an Engineer in a factory, not a ramp monkey.
Retirement also puts it up even though I no longer drive in rush hours, I'm now"working" for my son in law.
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Sounds ridiculous, almost like they're making it up as they go along!
 
I can only echo the above, I don't drive so know little about this side of life but age, occupation and postcode are usually key.

Short of, never auto-renew (and almost everyone these days has an auto renew opt out - look out for it and opt out). Get quotes and if you're happy with who you are with, get them to quote (with knowledge of other quotes) and negotiate them down or walk away knowing you have options.

You get fuck all for loyalty these days, so if existing company won't give you (even via comparison sites) new customer rates, move to the next best offer for 12 months and reassess then.

Sadly, you have to put the legwork in yourself like lecky and the rest.

But I think the 7 day rule on agreeing a new deal for insurance will cover you if switching - but don't quote me on that.
 
Cheers Mike. The best quote I can find right now that includes everything I want is £705. Quite a difference from £1250, and from the same company!
 
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