Pissed off: Insurance daylight robbery

[k3ab]

So what am I supposed to do when I fancy something faster... like a Z4M or a TTRS... Wait till I'm 25?!

Well if you can afford it before your 25th then i'm sure you can afford the insurance.

Maybe but would I be willing to pay 6-10k on something that others get for 300 pounds?

 

[mikedav]

So what am I supposed to do when I fancy something faster... like a Z4M or a TTRS... Wait till I'm 25?!

Nope....just shop around....multiple insurers turn down under 25s on certain cars, but others don't care....just like Tracker.

At 24, Bell wanted under £1400 from me. E46 M3, so basically a Z4M...

EDIT - Bell used to come up on moneysupermarket.com? But like all the Admiral clone sites, their online form is quite good, allows you to tweak it

 

[cj10jeeper]

As a general to comment on the thread I do understand people get pissed a the level of premiums and can always point to supposed inconsistencies. I'm on the other end of the scale and insure many cars for as little as £100 per annum fully comp (that's a 6 litre £10,000 value Jeep on a classic US car policy). I've had 1 accident in the last 20 years, garage my cars, am getting older and shop around I don't want to carry any loading for young people, higher risk , etc. My daughter pays her own £700 premium and imho is a great driver but a risk....She's been hit once already and ended up a knock for knock claim :thumbsdown:

I happen to have been in the credit card and lending business for decades and pioneered credit scoring models in many companies. Insurers use similar models to calculate risk. One of the least understood factors is correlation of risk factors.

You crash the premium goes up - easy to understand.
You get 3 points it goes up - harder to understand, but regardless of the oddities of speeding offences there is a higher propensity that a person caught speeding will result in a claim because on average they drive faster are less observant of cameras, aware of danger or something similar.
You're a single male aged 20 driving a high performance car - no score model needed - you're a risk (remember on average you will result in more claims)

So think like an insurer - reduce the risk and therefore premiums:
Don't get caught speeding
Reduce the agreed value of the car
Reduce the agreed mileage
Pay more excess because that means you believe in your own ability
Garage it or get it off the road, etc. so it doesn't get stolen
Shop around and don't let the clever algoriths take advantagfe of your laziness to shop around

Good input, thanks. On the excess piece, it was at total of 1200 for the first year. I do believe in my driving ability but given a scenario whereby the car was stolen or hit by an un-insured driver, I'd have to come up with a lot of money to get it sorted. Was looking to lower it but don't think that'll be possible.

I was looking on price comparison websites only 2 to give reasonable quotes are elephant and admiral (same company)? Bell isn't even listed on most comparison websites. So looks like I'm stuck admiral/elephant/bell group who have a strange canadian call centre (PM only) :thumbsdown:

Funny thing is - my other car insured with directline, 09 audi a4, on a 12 month policy with an excess of 400 pounds only cost 800 pounds. Ok The Z4 is a little faster but is worth at most half what the audi is. When you put the two next to each other, the A4 is almost twice the size of the Z so that would mean I could probably do a fair bit more damage with it... So I guess it could be something to do with it being diesel... Maybe statistically not too many boy racers go for a diesel

So what am I supposed to do when I fancy something faster... like a Z4M or a TTRS... Wait till I'm 25?!

One other point to note in respect of price comparison sites and I exaggerate the point to illustrate, is that they get you the best deal from the most expensive companies. So if all a buyer is prepared to do is get the best of those with no legwork knowing there is a 5% (guess) loading in the background, then so be it. If you're prepared to call a few companies direct and shop each quote to the next I bet you'll do better - I generally do.

Some companies now openly advertise they don't use the compare sites and others when I have phoned have asked for details of my better quote and using in house systems can actually check it - neat

Faster car - time, experience age is all you can do
Longer driving = lower premium
Age generally makes lower premium
years NCB brings it down
Sadly therfore the answer is stump up or wait or be furhter creative like buying new where manufacturers throw in the insurance (if still available)

 

[lacroupade]

For example a Computer Engineer and 'normal' Engineer potentially have different policy costs,

well if you'd worked with as many computer engineers as I have you'd know LMAO....and for example, you don't need an expensive degree to be a CE, but you can't be a 'proper' engineer without one......tends to be reflected in a higher degree of responsibility on the part of a qualified engineer, hence hopefully (generally speaking) better driving....

 

[TH3R4POR]

but you can't be a 'proper' engineer without one......tends to be reflected in a higher degree of responsibility on the part of a qualified engineer, hence hopefully (generally speaking) better driving....

Of course you don't need a degree to be an engineer, I probably know more engineers without degrees than I do with. I've worked in many places where I was the only person in the dept who had even seen the inside of a university, let alone qualified.

 

[lacroupade]

but you can't be a 'proper' engineer without one......tends to be reflected in a higher degree of responsibility on the part of a qualified engineer, hence hopefully (generally speaking) better driving....

Of course you don't need a degree to be an engineer, I probably know more engineers without degrees than I do with. I've worked in many places where I was the only person in the dept who had even seen the inside of a university, let alone qualified.

whatever sort of 'engineers' were they out of interest Dave?

PS....had to laugh at your mention of the 'tuck van'....LOL can't beat a good education!

 

[TH3R4POR]

whatever sort of 'engineers' were they out of interest Dave?

Anything from the high technology places I have worked in really, from the larger company developing MRI scanners to the smaller firm building deposition equipment. Very few of the test boys or the guys building the cryostats at Oxford Instruments (large firm) had degrees, and the head of Mechanical at Mantis (small) didn't.

I know what you mean but it isn't right to assume you "need" a degree to be an engineer, I couldn't see anyone dragging some of the grizzled old sorts I've worked with back to school

It obviously depends how you define "Engineer". All the people the Meerkat, opera singer or gay red telephone defines as engineers wouldn't need a degree as standard I don't think

I'm not having a go of course, just playing things out in the guise of a Jeremy Vine figure

PS, I'm not public school before you start making assumptions of my standard of education based on my food delivery terminology :lol:

 

[GAZA62]

Now the bit i cant explain, if i say the car is kept in the garage its £950, driveway £860 and street £830?!!?!

Not sure if its true but have heard more than once that some insurance companies worry that if a car is in a garage thieves can work on it out of sight.

There is one large group we have to thank for some of our increase in insurance each year the scum that dont bother :x

 

[TH3R4POR]

MPs? :lol:

 

[lacroupade]

It obviously depends how you define "Engineer". All the people the Meerkat, opera singer or gay red telephone defines as engineers wouldn't need a degree as standard I don't think
AH BUT THERE THE ISSUE, THEY AREN'T REAL 'ENGINEERS' - THEY CALL THEMSELVES SUCH BUT I MEAN PROPER ENGINEERS WITH QUALIFICATIONS-TYPE-ENGINEERS, THE SORT OF PEOPLE THAT CAN PROGRESS TO CHARTERED OR EVEN EUR ING STANDARD, WHICH YOU CAN'T IF YOU AIN'T A PROPER ENGINEER, THAT IS TO SAY CONSIDERED A 'PROFESSIONAL'

I'm not having a go of course, just playing things out in the guise of a Jeremy Vine figure
OR PAXMAN? OR DID I MEAN KYLE??? LMAO!!

PS, I'm not public school before you start making assumptions of my standard of education based on my food delivery terminology :lol:
HEY DON'T KNOCK IT, I DID GRAMMAR SCHOOL WHEN THEY STILL EXISTED AND WE HAD TUCK SHOPS!! EXCEPT NOW (WALLINGFORD) ITS A BLOCK OF BLOODY FLATS.....SO MUCH FOR PROGRESS! I'M ALL FOR A BIT OF ELITISM ME!!

 

[TH3R4POR]

you talk some big red nonsense :lol:

 

[aquazi]

interestingly putting my insurance as a "computer analyst" was cheaper then my job as a business analyst.

Not sure how they work that out - but maybe all the computer geeks are so proficient at driving due to the hours of Gran Turismo they play?!

 

[RichardG]

A couple of years ago someone drove into the back of my Zed at very low speed, the only damage evident at the time was a slight mark on the rear bumper (its still there).

I notified the insurance as I was unsure of the true extent of any possible damage and wanted to cover all bases.

I filled in the claims form and sent it off,

Took the car to the approved repairer and was told the damage would be limited to the small mark I could see.

It never went any further than that. When my insurance was up for renewal I went on Confused.com got a quote went to to pay for it and could'nt, phoned up the company got through to a very nice lady in Canada (I'm in the UK) and was told it was because I had made a claim, when I told her someone had driven into the back of me but no payout had ever occured she it did'nt matter it was still a claim and the premium was a further £120 or roughly a 30% increase, needless to say I declined.

I tried the next compnay on the list and explained to them what had just happened (in the interests of full disclosure should I ever need it) and fortunately they agreed that as it was of no fault of mine and no monies had ever been paid out in lieu of it then how could it be a cliam against me.

But what really pissed me off about it was after I'd the Zed about a year it had a new front end on it (bumper and headlight) again not my fault, I was at a Rugby training session the car was parked and stationary, 'I was down on one knee getting ready to practice my scrummagging technique when I heard a loud bang, looked accross at the carpark and Mrs X had reversed into the front of my car' was pretty much what I put on the claim form, but even after paying out roughly £1000 - £1500 in repairs (I'm just guessing I don't really know) I saw no increase in my premium.