Car insurance

[Mentholdan]

My car insurance is due and my insurers want to rip me off again. So much for loyalty? Last year my annual payment was £550 This year they’ve upped it to £740 even though I now have 8 years no claims bonus, I just don’t get it. After shopping around I now have a quote for £420 with a broker called Go Skippy 😀 I’ve never heard of them but hey who cares it’s £320 cheaper.  I’d be interested to know how uk insurers compare to other countries?

[StopandStep]

Car insurance is a big rip-off, you certainly don't get any loyalty. Mine's due this month, I've been with Churchill for 2 years and their renewal is £1,152. Tesco is £720 for the same product. It's still a lot, but £400 difference between the two. There was a slightly cheaper one at Tesco, but it didn't include breakdown cover or legal assistance.

[Tom579017]

2 hours ago, StopandStep said:

Car insurance is a big rip-off, you certainly don't get any loyalty. Mine's due this month, I've been with Churchill for 2 years and their renewal is £1,152. Tesco is £720 for the same product. It's still a lot, but £400 difference between the two. There was a slightly cheaper one at Tesco, but it didn't include breakdown cover or legal assistance.

£1,152? What do you drive Darren a Challenger 2?

[Mentholdan]

Ok so I was quoted £420 plus fees, approx. £50 last month,  so I bookmarked it for today. Went on line this morning to set it up. Todays price was a staggering £1500 with a message saying “read the small print” so when I checked that out it said the nearer the date you want the policy to start the more expensive it gets?? So I edited the app for the 10th of April start and it was £740. I can’t wait that long so I’ve made the start date a week from today for £900. My car incidentally is  3 litre BMW X5 but I have 8 years no claims  bonus and I’m 66 in April. “ no boy racer” 😀

Anyway, I hope this is of help to everyone. Get your renewals sorted about a month before the old insurance expires, protect your no claims bonus and don’t pay to much attention to voluntary excess.

[BlindHaze]

Slightly off topic, but I passed my driving test just before I turned 19 but I’ve never driven. 

I spent 13 years working in London, which is only really accessible by train (parking prices for the day would cost about 3 times as much as the train ticket). Then I worked very locally for a number of years. It’s only recently that I’ve started to work a bit of a distance away that it’d be useful, but there’s still a very easy train journey to my office.

I’ve always enjoyed my weekends with a few beers, so driving’s out of the question then. Before I started my current job, I worked it out that I probably spend between £20-£30 a month in taxis for places that are a bit out of the way. Reading the prices that have been quoted here just for insurance and ignoring the other costs that come with car ownership, sometimes I think I made the right decision. 

I'll be honest, I would like the extra mobility, so look out for a 40 odd year old boy racer on the road soon. 😜

[Mentholdan]

I was 16 years old and still living with my parents. I failed the exam for a job on the gas board, “ the exam was three pages and I KNOW I GOT EVERY QUESTION CORRECT “  but hey there were about 30 young lads chasing  5 jobs so no surprise. My dad was a plasterer and I used to help him on school holidays and his weekend jobs from the time I was about 12 years old. So he told me “he never asked” that I was going to work for him. He said you’ll get £7 a week “ this was 1972” you keep all the £7 on the first week and after that you give your mum half every week for “housekeeping” He had a commer cob van with a busted wheel bearing, you could hear him coming a 100 yards away.

So my first day at 7 am and we leave the house walk to the van and my dad gets in the passenger seat. I asked what was he doing and he said you work for me now and you’re driving. He had made two L plates out of hardboard and coat hangers and put them on the front and back bumpers of the van. I said I’m barely 16 and don’t even have a licence. Don’t worry about that he said, just drive and don’t worry about what’s behind you just concentrate on what’s in front. I was loving it. We set off as though the van was filled with kangaroo juice as I struggled with the clutch and gears. It was like a circus clowns car bouncing along and crunching gears but thankfully there were a hell of a lot less cars on the road back then. By the time we stopped to pick up his mate and got to Clapham Common I was actually driving and changing gears ok all be it very very slowly. I remember my dad saying “ for fucks sake speed it up a bit or we won’t get to the job until it’s time to go home.” I drove through Marble Arch literally crapping my pants and my dad saying don’t worry about this car or that car just keep your eyes in front. A cyclist actually ran into the back of the van at one point and my dad got out and gave him a bollocking for not looking where he was going. 
I drove for a whole year until I was 17 and legally got my provisional license.  I took my driving test and failed it, oh I could drive fine I just didn’t read the Highway Code. I passed my second test a week or so later “ you could easily book repeat tests in those days” My first pride and joy was a Ford Anglia. I’ve driven hundreds of cars since and my all time favourite car which I wish I still had was a 3 litre Ford Granada X Executive. My favourite drive is a truck, any truck, I love them . If you’ve never ever driven a truck make a point of trying one day, you’ll love it.

[DaveM]

I paid £388 fully comp with windscreen, courtesy car and legal cover included and only 1 year NCB. 1.2l Astra

[TRIBALLAVANGERS]

On 3/8/2023 at 11:15 PM, Mentholdan said:

My car insurance is due and my insurers want to rip me off again. So much for loyalty? Last year my annual payment was £550 This year they’ve upped it to £740 even though I now have 8 years no claims bonus, I just don’t get it. After shopping around I now have a quote for £420 with a broker called Go Skippy 😀 I’ve never heard of them but hey who cares it’s £320 cheaper.  I’d be interested to know how uk insurers compare to other countries?

Have you got your no claims protected like me .my insurance on range rover 3 litre 65 a month its been the same for 28 years because I have it protected. You can allways pay for a crash course tell ya insurance company.your insurance will go down .let me no if that helps.🫡💯👍🏻💥💫😁

[SkegVegasbaby!]

I drive a Ford Focus ST my insurance was 330 with Shelia's wheels, why so cheap? I called them and told them other prices I had been quoted and they matched up! I use Genassist for breakdown that's around 60 it pays to ask for discounts!

[Ian Hislop]

Car insurance as an industry is fundamentally illegal. I dare say many people will have any idea why but it really is. And they fully well know.