Being a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists I have been using their "in-house" broker for both my car and motorcycle insurance, and my renewal for the car this year is quoted as just short of £220 which when I received it recently seemed fine and I thought then I'd probably go for it, but I'd be stupid to just do that without at least conducting a cursory search of online deals.
On UK television these days is a fairly irritating series of insurance adverts featuring puppet meerkats (it's a play on "compare the market / compare the meerkat") so I thought I'd use that particular comparison website to see what they come up with, bearing in mind any quote would have to be better than the sum of the £220 quote plus the £30 it costs me for continuing IAM membership, so £250 is the target although in fact it'd have to be a lot less than that, not just a couple of pounds, to make me want to go through all the hoops of providing proof of No Claims Discount to a new provider.
So entering all the details exactly as they are on my renewal notice what were the options available to me?
I was fairly unsurprised to see that renewing with my current insurer will be the best option, with the cheapest online quote being about £290, but the surprising thing was when out of interest I scrolled to the bottom of the list to see a quote for an eye watering £1900 offered by some shysters called Quinn Direct! How on earth do they expect to get any business when they are quoting someone with 8 years no claims, advanced driving & motorcycling qualifications and 30 years driving experience eight times what he's already paying! Who are their target customers, stupid rich people? It does seem to include breakdown coverage, but you can get that elsewhere for £50. Twats!
So at some point in the next few days I'll call IAM Surety in Belfast, and give them my business again.
Showing posts with label insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insurance. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wordle
This is quite a clever image, isn't it. It's from a site called Wordle, and it looks at a Website, in this case this here Blog, and makes up a word picture, giving extra weight, visualised as larger font size, the more a word appears.
It presumably only looks at what's specifically on the page relating to the URL you submit, so it doesn't take into account archived postings. Recently then, the IAM has clearly been a favoured topic of mine, as has Insurance! I must try to widen the topics somewhat!
Surprisingly, my cursory examination of it hasn't revealed any swear words. I must try harder!
Monday, September 01, 2008
Insurance. The sequel.
Ah, the satisfaction in a Scotsman's heart when he knows he's saved himself some cash! It's a warm feeling, I can tell you. I may celebrate by having a small whisky later. Oh, OK, make it a large one!
Regular readers, if there are any, will remember that I had a bit of a runaround recently when trying to renew my car insurance because I had the temerity to have passed my Advanced Driving test, and I also wanted to add an extra driver to the policy. This culminated in me saving the thick end of £200 by choosing a new insurance company. I mentioned in that post that I had the same hoops to jump through when the motorcycle insurance came up for renewal later this year.
It's now later this year.
About a week or so ago I was bored, and went online to get some quotes for the bike. About £160 was the best quote, which compared pretty favourably with what I have been paying. I was only looking for an idea of what I might end up paying, but I made a fatal mistake. I filled in the box when they asked me for my mobile number. Since then I have had daily phone calls from an 0871 number (most of them missed, since I don't have access to my mobile while at work) which have been the insurance company trying to give me a better quote. And that's without me telling them whether their online quote was good bad or indifferent. So today's tip, children, is don't give them your mobile number. Give them someone else's if you must, but you will be plagued by unsolicited Spam calls (are any Spam calls solicited?)
Anyway, today the real renewal letter from my broker arrived on my doormat. To renew with the same insurance company was going to be £287, but the broker suggested an alternative quote of £168 which seemed more reasonable.
So I called IAM Surety, and this time selected the "motorcycle insurance" option rather than the car one. To cut a long story slightly shorter, they are quoting £145 including Class 1 Business use so I could use my motorcycle for work (those who know me will realise that I can't do this!) and would be covered while doing any IAM Observing. It also includes Protected No Claims Discount (which the existing broker didn't) and Legal Cover (which the existing broker also didn't) and allows me Third Party cover to ride any other motorcycle as long as that motorcycle is insured by someone else. On the face of it a damn good deal, which makes the IAM annual membership worth the £18 (plus optional £10 to belong to a local group).
I called my existing broker, because after all they have been fine to deal with for the past couple of years and when I first went to them they managed to secure me a big wodge of No Claims Discount even though I hadn't had a motorcycle for a few years so probably wasn't really entitled to it. They checked, and checked, and finally came up with a comparative quote, including business use, protected no claims, and legal cover, of £155. Still about £11 more than IAM.
Except.
The IAM membership fee is probably going to rise from £18 to £28 a year soon (although fortunately after I have renewed for this coming year at the old price) because of their (I believe self-confessed, but I could be wrong) mismanagement (there is apparently a HUGE shortfall in funds) which is being VERY much talked about on the IAM members forums. So including the optional membership of the local group, there is an extra £38 to add to any IAM Surety Insurance quote, because if you aren't a member you don't get the special price.
And let's not go down the route of pointing out that becoming an advanced driver/rider is plugged by the IAM (and rightly so) as a Skill for Life. It's even called the Skill for Life Package! So if you then stop being a paid up member of the IAM do you instantly lose that skill and become a less safe driver/rider who will be more prone to being involved in an accident and therefore more likely to make an insurance claim? No, don't be bloody stupid, of course you don't. So anyway, I am going to continue with IAM membership for the next year, because it's at the old price, but if at the next AGM the proposed increase gets the thumbs up, then they will get the two fingers up from me for the following year. maybe even the single finger too. So if I leave the IAM I won't get a good price from IAM Surety (if they even quote me at all) for subsequent years.
Coincidentally, after speaking to IAM, I received another call from the 0871 number, so allowed them to try to get my business. They went through all the guff I'd already provided online, failed miserably to extract from me my email address, landline number, car insurance renewal date, and house insurance renewal date, and came in with a quote of £197. At the end of the call, when I told her she was way off, I asked if the daily calls would now stop, and sounding rather crestfallen, she agreed that they would.
So I have pretty well decided that I'm going to stick with my current broker, Websters since you ask, and pay £11 more than the IAM Surety quote, but with the knowledge that I can stop my membership if I want without having to dick about changing insurers again.
So, in summary. To renew with the current company (Norwich Union) would be £287, but Websters recommended an alternative at £168, and managed to chop it down to £155 with lots of extras thrown in when they were presented with some opposition.
I've saved myself £132 on my bike insurance this year, making a total saving on vehicle insurance of £317, so really I've got one of them for free compared with last year!
Regular readers, if there are any, will remember that I had a bit of a runaround recently when trying to renew my car insurance because I had the temerity to have passed my Advanced Driving test, and I also wanted to add an extra driver to the policy. This culminated in me saving the thick end of £200 by choosing a new insurance company. I mentioned in that post that I had the same hoops to jump through when the motorcycle insurance came up for renewal later this year.
It's now later this year.
About a week or so ago I was bored, and went online to get some quotes for the bike. About £160 was the best quote, which compared pretty favourably with what I have been paying. I was only looking for an idea of what I might end up paying, but I made a fatal mistake. I filled in the box when they asked me for my mobile number. Since then I have had daily phone calls from an 0871 number (most of them missed, since I don't have access to my mobile while at work) which have been the insurance company trying to give me a better quote. And that's without me telling them whether their online quote was good bad or indifferent. So today's tip, children, is don't give them your mobile number. Give them someone else's if you must, but you will be plagued by unsolicited Spam calls (are any Spam calls solicited?)
Anyway, today the real renewal letter from my broker arrived on my doormat. To renew with the same insurance company was going to be £287, but the broker suggested an alternative quote of £168 which seemed more reasonable.
So I called IAM Surety, and this time selected the "motorcycle insurance" option rather than the car one. To cut a long story slightly shorter, they are quoting £145 including Class 1 Business use so I could use my motorcycle for work (those who know me will realise that I can't do this!) and would be covered while doing any IAM Observing. It also includes Protected No Claims Discount (which the existing broker didn't) and Legal Cover (which the existing broker also didn't) and allows me Third Party cover to ride any other motorcycle as long as that motorcycle is insured by someone else. On the face of it a damn good deal, which makes the IAM annual membership worth the £18 (plus optional £10 to belong to a local group).
I called my existing broker, because after all they have been fine to deal with for the past couple of years and when I first went to them they managed to secure me a big wodge of No Claims Discount even though I hadn't had a motorcycle for a few years so probably wasn't really entitled to it. They checked, and checked, and finally came up with a comparative quote, including business use, protected no claims, and legal cover, of £155. Still about £11 more than IAM.
Except.
The IAM membership fee is probably going to rise from £18 to £28 a year soon (although fortunately after I have renewed for this coming year at the old price) because of their (I believe self-confessed, but I could be wrong) mismanagement (there is apparently a HUGE shortfall in funds) which is being VERY much talked about on the IAM members forums. So including the optional membership of the local group, there is an extra £38 to add to any IAM Surety Insurance quote, because if you aren't a member you don't get the special price.
And let's not go down the route of pointing out that becoming an advanced driver/rider is plugged by the IAM (and rightly so) as a Skill for Life. It's even called the Skill for Life Package! So if you then stop being a paid up member of the IAM do you instantly lose that skill and become a less safe driver/rider who will be more prone to being involved in an accident and therefore more likely to make an insurance claim? No, don't be bloody stupid, of course you don't. So anyway, I am going to continue with IAM membership for the next year, because it's at the old price, but if at the next AGM the proposed increase gets the thumbs up, then they will get the two fingers up from me for the following year. maybe even the single finger too. So if I leave the IAM I won't get a good price from IAM Surety (if they even quote me at all) for subsequent years.
Coincidentally, after speaking to IAM, I received another call from the 0871 number, so allowed them to try to get my business. They went through all the guff I'd already provided online, failed miserably to extract from me my email address, landline number, car insurance renewal date, and house insurance renewal date, and came in with a quote of £197. At the end of the call, when I told her she was way off, I asked if the daily calls would now stop, and sounding rather crestfallen, she agreed that they would.
So I have pretty well decided that I'm going to stick with my current broker, Websters since you ask, and pay £11 more than the IAM Surety quote, but with the knowledge that I can stop my membership if I want without having to dick about changing insurers again.
So, in summary. To renew with the current company (Norwich Union) would be £287, but Websters recommended an alternative at £168, and managed to chop it down to £155 with lots of extras thrown in when they were presented with some opposition.
I've saved myself £132 on my bike insurance this year, making a total saving on vehicle insurance of £317, so really I've got one of them for free compared with last year!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Insurance
Insurance, don't you love that time of year when it needs renewed? Especially if there are changes to your circumstances or to the details of what you want covered.
I've been with my current car insurer/broker for a few years now. I went to them initially because my ex-wife was about to learn to drive and I'd been phoning around getting lots and lots of quotes, all of which were in the region of £1000 pa for the Rover 416 we had at the time (see photo, although that isn't the actual car).
To put that in context, the insurance for me on my own to drive that vehicle was in the region of £200, but put a learner driver on the policy and the insurers want to screw you!
I eventually phoned this broker, who were actually to do with the staff federation (sort of a union) of my employer, and when I gave them all the details they quoted about £200. I patiently repeated that my wife was a learner, to which they replied, yes sir, £200. I explained, in case they hadn't fully understood, that my wife hadn't even yet applied for her provisional licence, and they sighed, and repeated, yes sir, we understand that, the price is £200. So the gist of it is that as long as it was my spouse, and she lived at the same address, then there was no change to the cost of the premium. Needless to say I immediately became their customer and have been for the past several years. I even insure my house and contents through them now.
Now wind forward dear friend, and if you are a regular reader of this Blog then first of all God help you, have you nothing better to do, and secondly you may realise that I passed my Advanced Driving test in January of this year. Membership of the Institute of Advanced Motorists costs £18 per year plus £10 per year if you want to be a member of a local group (in my case the Glasgow North Group) although local membership is not obligatory. But there is the carrot of cheaper insurance for Advanced Drivers (and Advanced Motorcyclists too, but I've that to look forward to later this year). You see where this is going don't you?
My car insurance is due for renewal. The quote from my current insurer was £285 pa to renew with no changes. That's including 6 years (protected) no claims bonus.
I called IAM Surety, the people who provide motoring insurance for the IAM (via the broker Adelaide). Their first quote was £245, a saving of £40. The annual IAM membership fee looks to be worth it then!
But wait! I've decided to add an extra named driver to my policy. Better get alternative quotes from them both. And I should mention that bizarrely, but coincidentally, both brokers are quoting only for policies via Royal and Sun Alliance!
With the new driver's details added, current broker, £338, IAM Surety £313. IAM win again!
But to be honest, £20 isn't really enough of a difference to make me change. I can't be bothered with the hassle of providing proof of no claims bonus etc, so I decide to stick with the current broker.
So, a call to the current broker to take them up on their quote of £338, and I find I have to give them all the details of the extra named driver again. When I do so they regenerate the quote and it's £370 pa! Hang on here, it has been a matter of 4 days since I was told it'd be £338. Why the difference? Sadly, because I'm in the "renewal" period they couldn't save the quote from 4 days previously, and they didn't know why there was a difference this time. But wait! There is one person who could explain it, and maybe sort it. The person who manages the database. But sadly she's on holiday. Perhaps I might want them to ask her to have a look at it when she returns in a couple of weeks? No thanks, perhaps I'll just go elsewhere! So I have to send back the new insurance certificate they sent me for next year. Yes, no problem.
So, at £57 cheaper, IAM Surety wins after all!
So I call them to take out the policy, and find that this was for a single payment of £313. I had already, in my initial enquiry, told them I wanted to spread this out and pay by monthly Direct Debit, but they seem to have forgotten to add the surcharge for this. OK, what's the new quote then? There's a 10% surcharge plus a £10 fee, bringing the new correct total to about £351. Still only £20 cheaper than the current broker's newly inflated quote. Hmmm, what to do?
I am pissed off by this point. Not with the individuals to whom I'm speaking, but with the whole setup.
Thanking the very helpful chap from IAM Surety for all the calls between us, I regretfully tell him he's lost out. I've already told the current broker they've lost out.
I look online at Money Supermarket, and enter all my details. Let's see if there's anyone else in the ballpark then.
Holy Shit, what's that? Admiral are quoting £161 based on exactly the same details. That can't be right surely? I look more closely. Yes, under "protected no claims discount" it says "check with insurer" so that's clearly going to up the cost. Similarly for monthly payments. Oh well, nothing to lose, I'll call them.
The extra cost involved in having protected no claims discount will be £5. The new total cost for fully comprehensive insurance with an extra named driver, is £166. If I want to pay monthly it'd be a total of £195. Woohoo! At these prices I decide to pay it all at once.
So, to cut a long story short (is there anyone still reading this far?) my quote to renew with no change was £285, to add an extra driver and take advantage of IAM membership would have been £351, but I have actually paid only £166.
A few days of hassle, and to be frank if it hadn't been a hassle I would just have chosen one or other of my current broker or IAM Surety, and I have saved myself £185.
So, just the bike insurance to look forward to in a couple of months!
I've been with my current car insurer/broker for a few years now. I went to them initially because my ex-wife was about to learn to drive and I'd been phoning around getting lots and lots of quotes, all of which were in the region of £1000 pa for the Rover 416 we had at the time (see photo, although that isn't the actual car).
To put that in context, the insurance for me on my own to drive that vehicle was in the region of £200, but put a learner driver on the policy and the insurers want to screw you!
I eventually phoned this broker, who were actually to do with the staff federation (sort of a union) of my employer, and when I gave them all the details they quoted about £200. I patiently repeated that my wife was a learner, to which they replied, yes sir, £200. I explained, in case they hadn't fully understood, that my wife hadn't even yet applied for her provisional licence, and they sighed, and repeated, yes sir, we understand that, the price is £200. So the gist of it is that as long as it was my spouse, and she lived at the same address, then there was no change to the cost of the premium. Needless to say I immediately became their customer and have been for the past several years. I even insure my house and contents through them now.
Now wind forward dear friend, and if you are a regular reader of this Blog then first of all God help you, have you nothing better to do, and secondly you may realise that I passed my Advanced Driving test in January of this year. Membership of the Institute of Advanced Motorists costs £18 per year plus £10 per year if you want to be a member of a local group (in my case the Glasgow North Group) although local membership is not obligatory. But there is the carrot of cheaper insurance for Advanced Drivers (and Advanced Motorcyclists too, but I've that to look forward to later this year). You see where this is going don't you?
My car insurance is due for renewal. The quote from my current insurer was £285 pa to renew with no changes. That's including 6 years (protected) no claims bonus.
I called IAM Surety, the people who provide motoring insurance for the IAM (via the broker Adelaide). Their first quote was £245, a saving of £40. The annual IAM membership fee looks to be worth it then!
But wait! I've decided to add an extra named driver to my policy. Better get alternative quotes from them both. And I should mention that bizarrely, but coincidentally, both brokers are quoting only for policies via Royal and Sun Alliance!
With the new driver's details added, current broker, £338, IAM Surety £313. IAM win again!
But to be honest, £20 isn't really enough of a difference to make me change. I can't be bothered with the hassle of providing proof of no claims bonus etc, so I decide to stick with the current broker.
So, a call to the current broker to take them up on their quote of £338, and I find I have to give them all the details of the extra named driver again. When I do so they regenerate the quote and it's £370 pa! Hang on here, it has been a matter of 4 days since I was told it'd be £338. Why the difference? Sadly, because I'm in the "renewal" period they couldn't save the quote from 4 days previously, and they didn't know why there was a difference this time. But wait! There is one person who could explain it, and maybe sort it. The person who manages the database. But sadly she's on holiday. Perhaps I might want them to ask her to have a look at it when she returns in a couple of weeks? No thanks, perhaps I'll just go elsewhere! So I have to send back the new insurance certificate they sent me for next year. Yes, no problem.
So, at £57 cheaper, IAM Surety wins after all!
So I call them to take out the policy, and find that this was for a single payment of £313. I had already, in my initial enquiry, told them I wanted to spread this out and pay by monthly Direct Debit, but they seem to have forgotten to add the surcharge for this. OK, what's the new quote then? There's a 10% surcharge plus a £10 fee, bringing the new correct total to about £351. Still only £20 cheaper than the current broker's newly inflated quote. Hmmm, what to do?
I am pissed off by this point. Not with the individuals to whom I'm speaking, but with the whole setup.
Thanking the very helpful chap from IAM Surety for all the calls between us, I regretfully tell him he's lost out. I've already told the current broker they've lost out.
I look online at Money Supermarket, and enter all my details. Let's see if there's anyone else in the ballpark then.
Holy Shit, what's that? Admiral are quoting £161 based on exactly the same details. That can't be right surely? I look more closely. Yes, under "protected no claims discount" it says "check with insurer" so that's clearly going to up the cost. Similarly for monthly payments. Oh well, nothing to lose, I'll call them.
The extra cost involved in having protected no claims discount will be £5. The new total cost for fully comprehensive insurance with an extra named driver, is £166. If I want to pay monthly it'd be a total of £195. Woohoo! At these prices I decide to pay it all at once.
So, to cut a long story short (is there anyone still reading this far?) my quote to renew with no change was £285, to add an extra driver and take advantage of IAM membership would have been £351, but I have actually paid only £166.
A few days of hassle, and to be frank if it hadn't been a hassle I would just have chosen one or other of my current broker or IAM Surety, and I have saved myself £185.
So, just the bike insurance to look forward to in a couple of months!
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