I just looked at my elderly neighbour's car insurance renewal, and they tried to raise the price from £260 to £315, I'll have a word with them anyway, and need to remove his deceased wife from it, but when I checked on a comparison site, the cheapest elsewhere was £450! WTF's going on?
I just checked by adding his wife back on with a comparison site, it seems single people pay more than married people. I'll see if he wants to "forget" to tell them she died. The price rise is about £65 for having one less driver, which is insane. Do they think widowed people become reckless on the road? Apparently this was challenged in most US states, but the UK is still using it.
In 2007 In Colorado my wife passed at age 60. So I called car insurance to take her off policy. I did not expect the rate would go down by half, but I certainly did not expect it to go up !!! And the amount was not trivial. The insurer was a well-known national outfit we had been with
40 years, with no claims.So I called my agent, and he either could not, or would not, explain why the increase. All he wanted to do was jigger with the coverages to get the rate back down.
So I contacted about 4 competitors, and got a rate even lower than the old rate, with another well-known national outfit.
My neighbour's already on the lowest one. I put him on it last year, way cheaper than anyone else. I hope he doesn't insist on telling them she's no longer driving it. If he wants to be honest, he could put his other next door neighbour's wife on it, just in ca se she wants to use it. Women are safer drivers apparently ROTFPMSL! And how can MORE drivers in a car be safer?
As I'm getting older and possibly above some insurance age threshold my premiums are creeping up, even using comparison sites. What I've found adjusting the excess that I will pay can reduce the premium by the almost the same amount.
UK Legislation changed this year. Insurance companies can no longer offer discounts to new customers if they don't offer the same discount to existing customers. However, This doesn't mean that they have to offer the same premium to a 50 year old and a 70 year old :(
I've got a car, a pickup, and three motorcycles each with separate policy. I tried to explain I could only drive one at a time but it was no go. At least I get a multi-vehicle discount.
There's a few companies in the UK that do multi car policies, but not many. Most are either single car or fleet (as in 30 at least).
You can also get insurance that allows you to drive other cars. But they usually have some weird rule that the other car must be owned and insured by someone else - WTF? Why would it need insurance twice?
I think my policy covers other vehicles but I'm not sure. The last time I drove somebody's car was when a hang glider pilot asked me if I'd drive his truck down to the trailhead for him. The road up the mountain is gated and I'd walked up it many times but never drove on it. It was interesting to say the least. One section is steep enough that the trail switchbacks several times rather than follow the road.
Many (most?) policies in the UK provide this cover.
I think the requirement "that the other car must be owned and insured by someone" is to allow the police (and others) to check that a car is insured. I.e. given the registration number it's quick and simple for an automatic check to see if it's insured. If a 'driver' was insured then there's no way to check if any particular car on the road has insurance.
Way back (in the late 60s or early 70s) I had one insurance cover note which referred to one particular car but then added "any car owned by the insurer". It was rather handy when the insurance on my other car had expired (simple forgetfulness) and I was stopped by the police and had to show insurance within 5 days. Police station where I showed it was quite happy with the 'any car' cover note.
I'm 75 now and still have a (big) 'bike as well as cars. So far the 'bike insurance has remained pretty steady. I have passed the three yearly medical so I can keep my 7.5 tonne and trailer entitlements but I'm not sure if insurers bother to look at such things.
You could be uninsured if you lie on an insurance declaration. I guess you could add yourself to it just in case he needs you to pick him up from somewhere, say an eye examination and takes you in his car and then has drops in the eyes. Brian
When I was trying to negotiate a downwards renewal a couple of years ago, and noticed that I allegedly had access to more than one car I asked for that to be removed because it shouldn't have been on, but the price went up, eSure telling me that I would be a better risk if I had access to more than one vehicle.
During the 1970s, I had several years of policies (and certificates) which simply purported to cover any car I owned and did not mention any specific vehicle at all. The reason was that the cert then didn't need to be returned for amendment on a change of car.
ISTR that this was discontinued, and a registration mark compulsorily included, in the latter part of the decade, possibly due to a change in the law.
The insurance on my bikes is nominal, a little over $100 / year for each. Motorcycle insurance is not required in this state which may keep them honest.
My first bike was a '55 FLH when I was 18. I called up the family insurance man to inquire about a policy. He asked what the displacement was and I said 74. When he asked 'cc's' I should have kept my mouth shut.
Common fleet or "standard garage" policy
"More vehicles than drivers" generally reduces cost per vehicle - and depending on the vehicles CAN reduce overall cost. Here in Ontario the vehicle is insured based on the record/rating of the primary driver, with any secondary driver possibly affecting the rate. For instance if the primary driver has a 5 star rating and the secondary driver only has a 3 star rating the premium may be $1400 a year. Take iff the secondary driver and it may drop to $1200, but removing the primary driver and putting the secondary driver on as primary could raise the premium to $1800. Putting the 5 star driver back on as secondary would be unlikely to have any appreciable effect.
Is it fully comprehensive for the "other" vehicle or just third party?
Mine's (I'm the 75 year old just up there) is not much more, just over £100 for a pretty new Yamaha FJR1300.
The V-Strom, DR650, and Sportster are all slightly different but are in the same range. I don't know what magic they use to determine the premium. The V-Strom has the most bodywork and that may be a factor. I've never had a claim on a bike so I don't know how that works.
Are you saying insurance for a similarly experienced male and female driver must cost the same?
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