The Medway Handyman grunted in news:UHA1u.960$ snipped-for-privacy@fx16.am:
But a bit risky if it's perceived that your new address is associated with a higher risk for whatever reason - you could give the insurers grounds to decline a claim.
My daughter moved house this year, from the big old shared property to the smaller modern one which the landlord had built in the grounds. New property was fully separate and had its own address - same street number with an "A" on the end, and the car was parked in the same place. She notified them of the change as a formality, she thought - all done on line
- and was rewarded with a bump of 18 for the privilege!
I agree. (But then, I'm not a banker either ;-) Companies have actually lost my business by refusing to match their offers for new customers. Once left I would be unlikely to go back.
Thankfully both my car and myself are getting old (;-) so the premium difference between a renewal quote and the best new quote is getting quite small now.
Something to watch out for is a lot of the policies coming up on online comparison sites are cut down versions of their normal policies. Therefore cheaper may not be better.
On Monday 30 September 2013 10:53 Mark wrote in uk.d-i-y:
CompareTheMarket tend to offer the base policy without courtesy car, NCD protection not european cover.
However, IME, it is very easy once through to the final site to pick and choose these as addons and still come in lower than say the 3rd or 4th on the original CTM list (meaning, although it is a PITA, you only have to have
2-3 browser windows open to play with the policy and still get a good deal)
I don't actually mind a genuine introductory offer. But if that involves charging existing customers more, I do.
Pretty well the same here - I'm retired and the car in question some 18 years old and worth only a few hundred. But still managed to save a substantial sum.
I've no objection to paying just for what I actually need. And that certainly doesn't include legal expenses and all the other little bits they try and add to what is called comprehensive insurance...
They'd also altered the excess on claims (and glass renewal) on the renewal I received without actually pointing this out. In their favour, obviously.
I suspect that some/many introductory offers are loss leaders. In order to finance these they msut charge more for exisiting customers. If everyone shopped around each year I'm sure these offers would disappear.
Interesting. I can only shave a few pounds off my renewal quotes nowadays. It's getting to not worth the time. My renewal came out about £150 this year, fully comp.
+1
Not uncommon either. I always specifically check this since the excesses are often hidden on page 867 of the small print ;-)
The 3% comes out of the marketing budget? Actually I suspect that the cashback is marketing spend. (I've had £163 cash back and interest on my 123 account and I've done quite well using my 123 credit card to buy petrol.) I'll be ringing Tesco about my car insurance renewal next week, £250 up on last year although I think it does relate to what I was quoted last year, before I did an online check and rang up to see if I could get £50 off and they came back with an offer it would have been foolish to refuse.
Doesn't seem to be any sign of it. I've been shopping around at renewal time for several years now. And can now usually stay with the same company after a phone call which magically reduces the renewal.
My renewal was approx £400 reduced to under £300. Fast car, central London on street parking only.
My previous insurance company reinsured me without my permission. After I asjked for my proof of a year's no claims with them they sent that and then asked for some money from me. I didn't send it. They never explained what it was for.
I used an online negotiator compare the market. But I think the company's using it rig it too. Somehow they phone you up before you sign and pull a fast one. I am not sure how it all works but you have to keep control over everything that happens online.
Never take you eye off the ball so to speak.
I couldn't close the deal as the computer wouldn't process the account so I went to Swinnertons which was across the street and they wanted me to sign up for a deal that paid them as much as my whole year's contract every two months.
I just laughed at him. He spouted Lok that's the best deal we can get you. There isn't anything else.
As if anyone would accept that plea and give them money. Bastards! I wonder how many do that, not realising that an online transaction is so much cheaper.
Just don't let the sharks bite when they phone you. There is a tab on the website that asks you to let reps call you. I didn't know enough to ignore that. They talked me into extra cover, windscreen and the like.
Which I suppose was a good idea. But I should have looked for an online cover that included all that. Next year I will.
Provided the competitive quote is from a reputable company I *always* swap insurers if I have been forced to do the legwork of finding a cheaper alternative. I tell them that they are welcome to bid for my business again next year. Serial disloyalty is rewarded so that is exactly what they get! I apply the same strategy to supermarkets.
Yes, I'm aware that that's how virtually all insurance companies operate. But I still don't understand the business model!
Operating in this way means not only that they have to employ (and "incentivise" far more sales staff than they would otherwise need, but that also have to keep all these parasitic comparison sites in business!
The customer has to pay for all of this in the long run.
It is a hunters vs skinners business model. The hunters who bring in new business get much better rewards so everyone wants to do that.
I agree that it makes no sense at all to put your customer in a position where you deliberately try it on with a vastly inflated price and then ask him to come back if he finds a better deal. I will not!
The *loyal* customer has to pay for it.
I feel sorry for all the trusting elderly like my parents who get royally ripped off by all their original geographic utility suppliers and those "nice" people at Saga insurance. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!!
I suspect that *all* customers have to pay for it in various measures - even those who get a 'good' deal by switching.
All policies could be cheaper if we didn't have to fund the parasites. They can't generate genuine wealth because there is a finite amount of business to be had. All they can do is push up the cost to the end user.
I don't think supermarkets operate in quite the same way. After all, you don't buy groceries just once a year, and get charged a higher price than new customers when you go back for the next load.
That's probably true. But they all do it. So how do you decide which one(s) to patronise (or not)? I still don't see a direct parallel with car insurance.
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