The great big insurance rip off

[Cocijo]

There has always been a market in this type of repair/write off vehicle. I’m not too sure how much the market has changed over the years. I do know that one of the biggest factors that drive a decision to repair or write off is off road time. If an insurer is picking up expensive hire costs it can be cheaper to just write the car off.
I still don’t really see how these huge increases in premiums this year in particular are justified though.

 

[Lovemyev]

Question - When C19 hit, did anybody receive a rebate / discount on their premiums they had already paid, because 95% of us had or cars just sitting on the drive ?.
NO - Of course we didn't !.
Claims must have been at a all time low and they where sitting on all of that money in the banks.
Now they feel we need another kick in the teeth with these huge increases.
For one, I just DON'T believe any of their crap they are pushing out TBH.
The high renewal quote I have just received, is from an insurance company called "Dick Turpin".

 

[Rolfe]

Over the last 12 months I have been following a number of you tube channels of people who are buying slightly damaged cars from the likes of CoPart.
Example :- These are cars that may require a front wing and a head light / bumper cover repair.
These cars find their way to the new buyers and are repaired in only a couple of days and then sold on and back on the road.
The insurance companies blame long wait times on parts and high labour rates.
Cars are written off and customers paid out a little too easily IMO.
Any money lost on the sale then means that the insurance companies increase other people’s premiums to cover any losses.
CoPart are increasing size at a huge rate !.
I am not shocked by this TBH.

My previous car was damaged in an accident, bodywork only. A BMW came out of a side street and damaged the driver's door and the wing. I got a quote for a private repair at the request of the guilty party, and it came to £1,600. I said I'd overlook the damage to the alloy as it was kerbed anyway, and I didn't need a courtesy car as my garage said he could do it in a couple of days when I didn't need the car. He said no, still too expensive, so I put it through the insurance.

End result was that Copart got the car, and I got £4,000. Just as well, probably. It was time to change.

 

[tsedge]

Question - When C19 hit, did anybody receive a rebate / discount on their premiums they had already paid, because 95% of us had or cars just sitting on the drive ?.
NO - Of course we didn't !.
Claims must have been at a all time low and they where sitting on all of that money in the banks.
Now they feel we need another kick in the teeth with these huge increases.
For one, I just DON'T believe any of their crap they are pushing out TBH.
The high renewal quote I have just received, is from an insurance company called "Dick Turpin".

I received a refunded discount back on my premium for miles under my annual limit - it wasn't a huge amount but it was something and it was due to Covid.

This is what LV have to say on the subject (1 and 3 are essentially the same thing).

Why is the cost of insurance rising?

It’s no secret that insurers are dealing with an increase in claims and growing costs. So, let’s look at some of the reasons behind these challenges and explain what we’re doing about it. Challenges faced by the car insurance industry: Cost of vehicle repairs – up 46% since last year. Reflecting rising costs, energy inflation and more expensive repairs. (Source: Data from ABI). Vehicle theft – up 20.8% last year compared to the previous year, leading to increased claims. (Source: Data from ONS). Labour costs for repairs – up 50% since 2019, due to inflation, shortage of skilled workers and the energy crisis. (Source: Data from Auto Body Professionals).

Yes and if you look inside (1) and (3) inflation / rising costs is the dominant cause.

 

[Cocijo]

Yes and if you look inside (1) and (3) inflation / rising costs is the dominant cause.

Do you feel that the large increases in insurance costs are justified?

Has anyone experience of Tesco car insurance? They are the most competitive on price for me at the moment - but, they don’t seem to get great customer feedback scores. I don’t know how they operate and if they have their own claims handling/underwriting etc., or if they outsource.

 

[Les burrows]

I received a refunded discount back on my premium for miles under my annual limit - it wasn't a huge amount but it was something and it was due to Covid.

Yeh me as well the same around £30 I think I was refunded due to lower mileage.

Do you feel that the large increases in insurance costs are justified?
[/QUOTE

I do think they are higher than they need to be to be honest I mean I expect some as the vehicle industry in general all these employees will be looking for wage increases year on year from employees of insurance companies to body shop repair staff everyone needs paying a wage but even they won’t have seen increases to the kind of level that insurance prices have risen I don’t know mines up end of January so I will see.

I can also see your point Cocijo #17 about the changes in legislation for insurance companies that’s the biggest change they have had in years don’t think there’s much we can do about it to be honest.
Les

 

[Cocijo]

Yeh me as well the same around £30 I think I was refunded due to lower mileage.

Yes Les, good points. I guess that it’s the extent of the increases that is the concern - many at well over 50% increase year on year is a lot. I shudder to estimate how much a young driver starting out might pay now!

I posted this elsewhere - my thoughts might help those looking at saving money on their insurance;

​

I’ve joined the 60%+ increase club today. Single car Premium up by £250 from last Year with no claims or changes. Some things that I’ve looked at that might be worthwhile;

including breakdown cover with the insurer can be expensive(c£50+), whereas getting this separately looks much cheaper (c£15/Year if you choose a £30xs). This won’t apply to many MG people who get breakdown as part of the annual service.

Look at all the other add ons that you have on your policy and see if you can get them cheaper elsewhere - not as an add on with the insurer For example legal cover.

If you go through Gocompare you get £250xs cover - it might be worth increasing your voluntary xs by this amount to see if it reduces the premium.

Look at the overall cost of Monthly instalments - some insurers charge quite a bit of interest. If you are able and it makes sense paying the full premium can save quite bit over the year.

Double check your annual mileage and type of use. If for example, you reduce the expected mileage and you use only social with no commuting (obviously if this is your lifestyle) this might also reduce the cost.

Try the comparison sites before you discuss your renewal. If you get quotes on different dates they can vary - for example at 1 month out from renewal, 3 weeks out etc. Sounds silly but the prices vary quite a bit.

it’s always worth giving your existing insurer a call, once you have all the facts and have done your comparison work - they may cut you a better deal.

the bottom line is that premiums have increased at a ridiculous rate and most of us will pay considerably more.

 

[tsedge]

Do you feel that the large increases in insurance costs are justified?

I honestly don't know. I lack the insider info to know but I'd be surprised if it is simply profiteering. Input costs are a big issue - for example hire car companies charge an arm and leg and the insurance companies pass the costs on, so probably it could be streamlined a lot.

On the other hand, insurance costs in the UK have been for a long time lower than many countries, so it might just be us partly catching up with the norms? Four-figure insurance costs have been the norm in the US for decades.

 

[Lovemyev]

A few of the quotes I ran very recently, asked if I wished to receive quotes with a telematic box installed ?.
If I was 17 and just passed my test, with absolutely no driving experience, trying to get insurance for my first car, then yes this maybe a sensible suggestion, you might think .
But after over 50 years of careful driving a clean driving record, plus never made a personal car insurance claim, it maybe a little bit OTT to consider a driving tracker installed.
Honestly, I have lost count of the amount of money I have spent on car insurance over that 50+ years.
A huge amount of money that would likely cover the replacement cost of my car twice over.
Same thing with house insurance TBH.
And I am sure there will be others in the same situation.
I am not going to lie folks, its annoying that year after year, I see my insurance costs increasing and increasing.
Are you like me, heard ranting the following phrase, while watching the driving behaviour of some of the drivers on the roads.
“Just look at that, it’s people like that who are responsible for putting up my car insurance every single year !”.
But it’s true !.
Oh well, I will just have to suck up the 50% increase then on my new renewal quotes and hand it over to the car insurance company once again.
We have the house insurance due in February, I am 100% confident they will be asking for the same ridiculous amount of premium increases.
Somebody is making a LOT of money here and it’s not me .
Soap box safely stored away for today folks.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I wonder what the break even point is when you compare the cost of purchase (lease), insurance, servicing, and electricity, compared to public transport, taxis, and hire cars for those longer journeys?

 

[Cocijo]

Everyone is different, but for most who do low annual mileage the car is just a luxury not a necessity. Using public transport is what governments have been trying to shift us towards for decades. We like our own personal space too much.

 

[tsedge]

What public transport? Very little choice around here for buses and trains run very limited routes. Taxis are pretty expensive per mile.

 

[Cocijo]

Yep - most of us - not all of us.

 

[Rolfe]

It's impossible to live here without a car. There are very few places you can go to on the bus, and even if you want to go to one of these places the buses are so infrequent that you probably don't want to use them. They've taken off the late evening buses so that you can't go into town for an evening and come back on the bus.

Forget it.

 

[mg4nick]

I got insurance quotes for both Tesla Model 3 and MG4 when I was choosing my EV. This was in mid/end March 23.

Here are the cover details:

• me as the main driver, wife as named driver (she is a dentist - oddly I found that adding my wife as a named driver in the previous quotes tended to lower the premiums). We are both in our mid 40s.
• comprehensive
• 10000miles/year
• no breakdown cover
• highest excess I could select (£500)

I got my MG4 insurance for £325. With all parameters remaining unchanged - just replacing the vehicle with Tesla Model 3 - the quotes would jump to the £700-£900 range. Could not figure out why...

Needless to say it contributed to my decision.

Still - from the £700-£900 range to the £1400-£1600 it is quite a jump (I doubt it is justified by the Model Y being a bit more expensive than Model 3).

I now dread the March renewal time...

 

[Cocijo]

I’ve only heard about c50-60% increases - I’m not sure where your £1400-£1600 comes from. For most they will pay the £20-£30 a month increased premium instalment and move on.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Having never leased a car is it more expensive to insure one that is ( the owner/lease company has a vested interest,) than one which you own outright?

 

[maskull]

I’ve only heard about c50-60% increases - I’m not sure where your £1400-£1600 comes from. For most they will pay the £20-£30 a month increased premium instalment and move on.

My renewal in July went from £300 to £900 , so more like a 300% increase ( with 12 years NCD and a clean licence ) . I spoke to Churchill , who'd taken over my policy , and they ever so kindly knocked about £50 off .
Needless to say , I'm no longer with them

 

[Lovemyev]

For most they will pay the £20-£30 a month increased premium instalment and move on.

I understand that many people chose to pay for items like car insurance etc etc in monthly instalments today, even down to the sofa we sit on at night !.
It just helps to balance the budget for many folks, sure I get that.
Of course this aspect has now continued to spread to almost all purchases items today.
Splitting the cost into smaller monthly instalments, helps disguise the true increase in some ways.
Monthly payments on cars etc has really made any sales persons job much easier.
Asking somebody to cough up 8 to 10 grand to exchange their car for the newer model, is going to be a very hard sell.
But by consolidating remaining months from one old agreement ( that has not reached term ) over into a new agreement and hey presto, with some smoke and mirrors we arrive here :- "It's only another £30 / £40 a month for a brand new car" is a much easier sell all round !.
In regards to the subject of car insurance :- "A monthly increased premium instalment of £20 - £30 and move on" as you put it.
But requesting an increase of £30 / month is additional annual cost of £360 on what ever you paid the previous year alone.
Wow ......... Suddenly I sat up and had taken notice of that increase .
I don't think we should lose sight of the high percentage increase here, by disguising it in the shape of a easy sell monthly increase .

 

[Archev]

I wonder what the break even point is when you compare the cost of purchase (lease), insurance, servicing, and electricity, compared to public transport, taxis, and hire cars for those longer journeys?

Not much competition with the free pensioner’s bus pass. Buses reasonably good around here. Bus passes used for a notable all in one day journey in conjunction with the “Traveline Scotland” app. in 2019 :-
07:00. Walk to crossroads (200 yards) Bo’ness - Newbridge - Glasgow- Oban - (passengers On CalMac ferry to Isle of Mull for about £15 return for two of us ) Craignure - Tobermory -/- lunch and wander for a couple of hours in beautiful Tobermory -/- Craignure ferry return to Oban - Glasgow - Stirling - Kincardine - Falkirk - Bo’ness about 11:00 Walk home 200 yards.
the hyphens above signify bus journeys and waiting times were no longer than10 to 15 minutes. A tiring but enjoyable day.
Must try that again.