Insurance Renewal

[johnb80]

I received notification from Direct Line that our MG5 insurance was due in September, the renewal cost was £363.27, last year we paid £284.77. Every year I end up calling them after a short search on the net to try and get a better price. I was shocked this year using compare the meerkat to get a price of £228.10 - £135.17 / 37% less and also less than we paid the year before. I'm always cautious with things like car insurance and want a known brand. I clicked the link to the get the quote and who was this cheapest insurer?.......... Youve guessed it Direct Line. I phoned Direct Line to try and get a lower renewal fee but they couldnt get down to the same price so I cancelled my auto renew and bought via compare the meerkat. Added bonus, a £30 Amazon Gift Card.
This makes absolutely no sense to me, they must pay a fee to the comparison site, the policy, exclusions and T&C's is identical, I really dont understand, I'm just glad I used the comparison site, previously DL were never on there.

J

 

[JohnV6]

Yep normally I do the same BS. But for the Morgan this year Admiral dropped the price 19% & a quick compare showed they were a good price for a known brand.

 

[DBedford]

Through a comparison site, last year our insurance with Tesco for our ZS TLR was £719.22, this years renewal £605.74. Hastings (with driver monitoring) £489. Tescos revised offer £540. So We have gone with Hastings

Why is Directline or any insurer cheaper on comparison sites?, they get commission for buying on-bulk with customer deferrals , while we only buy one or to policies !

Makes sense to me John, that's why we have 7 or so large supermarkets in the UK and all our corner shops are closed, we (customers) always want more for less.

 

[johnb80]

Through a comparison site, last year our insurance with Tesco for our ZS TLR was £719.22, this years renewal £605.74. Hastings (with driver monitoring) £489. Tescos revised offer £540. So We have gone with Hastings

Ouch, sounds expensive!

Why is Directline or any insurer cheaper on comparison sites?, they get commission for buying on-bulk with customer deferrals , while we only buy one or to policies !

But I'm not buying from the comparison site, I was transferred to Direct Line website from compare the meerkat at the price stated on the site. They must incurr fee's from the comparison site and yet they wouldnt reduce the renewal erate direct, it really doesnt make any sense.

Makes sense to me John, that's why we have 7 or so large supermarkets in the UK and all our corner shops are closed, we (customers) always want more for less.

If the corner shop was selling Tesco beans cheaper than Tesco I would agree with your analogy but that doesnt happen.

 

[Rolfe]

When I bought my Golf the same thing happened to me. I had been self-employed, a partner in the business, and I had been insured with the RAC, who were the cheapest when I bought the Peugeot, and who assured me every year that they had identified the cheapest current rate for me. I just passed the receipt on to my business partner, who never queried it (it was always cheaper than his Vauxhall Senator anyway), and so it went on.

The first couple of years when I moved to being an employee I just went on paying what the RAC asked for for the Peugeot, thinking that was the cheapest available, like the RAC always told me at renewal time. Then I fed the Peugeot to the scrappage scheme and bought the Golf. At the same time I went on to the Golf GTi forum, and was struck by the insurance quotes others were getting. Some were very expensive of course, young lads with points on their licences or previous claims for example. But I was a woman driver aged 55, with a decent no-claims bonus and no speeding convictions for at least six years at the time. Why am I paying so much, I wondered?

I did what John did and went to Compare the Meerkat. I think I had been paying somewhere around £600-£650 to the RAC. The best quote they found was from the RAC. For £250.

So I cancelled the policy I had had with the RAC since 1993, sixteen years a loyal customer, and took out a brand new one with the RAC. It's absolutely bonkers. I thought there was legislation to prevent this scam now, but perhaps I was mistaken.

 

[Ian Key]

I received notification from Direct Line that our MG5 insurance was due in September, the renewal cost was £363.27, last year we paid £284.77. Every year I end up calling them after a short search on the net to try and get a better price. I was shocked this year using compare the meerkat to get a price of £228.10 - £135.17 / 37% less and also less than we paid the year before. I'm always cautious with things like car insurance and want a known brand. I clicked the link to the get the quote and who was this cheapest insurer?.......... Youve guessed it Direct Line. I phoned Direct Line to try and get a lower renewal fee but they couldnt get down to the same price so I cancelled my auto renew and bought via compare the meerkat. Added bonus, a £30 Amazon Gift Card.
This makes absolutely no sense to me, they must pay a fee to the comparison site, the policy, exclusions and T&C's is identical, I really dont understand, I'm just glad I used the comparison site, previously DL were never on there.

J

Direct Line have been doing that for years and I have had a similar conversation with them. In the end they lost my custom for both car and house insurance.

The reason DL are now on comparison sites is because Direct Line Insurance Group plc is now owned by Aviva plc, which completed its acquisition of the company in July 2025. This means Aviva plc is the new owner of Direct Line and its associated brands, including Churchill and Green Flag.

 

[GaryMG4]

This year both my cars renewal quotes came in lower than the comparison site, and lower than last year. The only thing I have changed is I removed the auto renew option on both policies last year.

 

[Gomev]

Note though that the products sold on comparison sites by Aviva (only since 2021) and Direct Line are specifically designed for that market and have different features, such as a digital-only service model (except for claims). Direct Line still sells its other products directly to customers, offering a full online and telephone service.
Direct Line is only on the Compare the Market comparison site and not any of the others.
Again Aviva only sell some of their policies through the comparison sites and are designed for that purpose. Their sub-brands are Quote Me Happy and General Accident.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm now with Aviva directly as they were cheaper than anything on the comparison sites.

 

[DBedford]

I did what John did and went to Compare the Meerkat. I think I had been paying somewhere around £600-£650 to the RAC. The best quote they found was from the RAC. For £250.

So I cancelled the policy I had had with the RAC since 1993, sixteen years a loyal customer, and took out a brand new one with the RAC. It's absolutely bonkers. I thought there was legislation to prevent this scam now, but perhaps I was mistaken.

Is it a scam or are the RAC and others giving the comparison sites a better deal due to the number of polices they will be selling? As I said to Johnb80, but he knocked me back, that's the same reason why corner shops are disappearing, and superstores have won the day, bulk purchasing.

 

[johnb80]

As I said to Johnb80, but he knocked me back,

I didnt knock you back as you put it, I just didnt think your analogy was a good one.

that's the same reason why corner shops are disappearing, and superstores have won the day, bulk purchasing.

I completely agree with you here but I fail to see how this applies to Direct Line and Compare the Meerkat.

Direct Line are selling their policies both directly to the end user from their website and via a link from Compare the Meerkat. My point was how can they sell it £137 less via the Compare the Meerkat site when they must incurr some fees from them? It would have made absolute business sense to me anyway if they'd matched the price directly for my renewal and save the CtM fees.

 

[Rolfe]

Is it a scam or are the RAC and others giving the comparison sites a better deal due to the number of polices they will be selling? As I said to Johnb80, but he knocked me back, that's the same reason why corner shops are disappearing, and superstores have won the day, bulk purchasing.

I didn't buy the new policy through the comparison site. I approached the RAC as a new client.