Another Insurance Thread - You can win sometimes!

[television]

I phoned to complain that the renewal quote was 14% up on last year's premium and said I was going elsewhere. They reduced it back to the old level.

I have had the SL with MB insurance for 3 years, and though the premium has not gone up, I just saved £150 by going elswhere

 

[Wirral_guy]

I think they are all at it Malcolm. I suspect they concluded that change is always more difficult for people than sticking to the status quo (Machiavelli 1469 – 1527), so they then embarked on finding out how much the status quo could be pushed before the customer opted for change.

As the increases in the status quo prices (renewals) come in gradually from year to year, and the majority of customers renew rather than go elsewhere, this must be a very lucrative strategy for them.

Some of us now review the market each year and just keep changing to get the best deals. Some have even reported that discontinuing their current policy then going back as "new business" to the same insurer has got them a much cheaper deal.

I guess that the next step will be that the insurers will want to put an end to that practice, and will probably introduce some loyalty incentive (or barrier to change).



It's all a game. Sadly, you and I are the ball!

Alex

I am with you on this. I was with esure, intially, because they were one of the cheapest but slowly they were pushing the price up versus the other quotes but I held on for a couple of years as the difference wasn't too much. This year, though, they obviously classed me as a given and whacked the policy up - which is why I moved. Interestingly, they come out far cheaper on the price comparison as a new customer, well within my cost/value limits, but decided that if they treated me as they have they don't deserve the business hence the swap.

Nicely, this has resulted in the massive savings I have now made as I had never previously considered using a cashback site. I am also just about to get AA basic roadside cover for £7 via the cashback site (£27 with a cashback of £21!).

Dave

 

[m99]

Even Mercedes own insurance doesn't specify that the car will be repaired at an approved Mercedes bodyshop. When I first got my Mercedes I rang and asked them, and they were evasive on that point.

If you use a repairer other than the one your insurance company points you towards, then you can have all sorts of difficulties in the event of a problem. The insurance company isn't inclined to assist, as you went against their wishes, and the bodyshop has no liability towards you as you're not their customer, the insurance company is.

My E220 when i had it was repaired by Mercedes who used the local Toyota Lexus garage.

 

[Rory]

I think that LV are the worst for pushing the price up each year

I do the insurance for my daughter's cars too (I sort it out - they pay). As they get older and as they add NCB the premiums have been slowly dropping, but I can still usually get £100 or so off the renewal quote with the *same* company.

However just last month I went through the usual rigmarole with Admiral for my oldest daughter and when I called them to tell them not to bother auto-renewing, the retentions department requote was HIGHER than the renewal quote. She's now insured with Zurich (who I've noticed have started advertising a lot).

I have wondered if we're at the end of "cheap" car insurance - since I opted out of a company car and got my Mercedes in early 2005 the premium has dropped every year. £500ish was about the best I could do in 2005, this year it was £230. Apart from the value of the car, which some companies don't even rate on, nothing has changed, same insurer, same cover, same (max) NCB etc.

 

[stuartmac]

Hi,

I think I can see where this is leading us. Both points of view are correct, but they are not compatible.

Direct Line would not give full cover unless repairs were done at their chosen repair shops.

The "approved" repairer has nothing to do with the standard or quality of repair

Nope.

When our E320CDI was struck and scraped in a parking accident by a Direct Line-insured driver, I asked if the repair (new wing, respray, yadda, yadda) could be done by a friend who has a high-standard accident repair business in the same town.

Direct Line agreed it could, but pointed out that my friend's business is not MB-approved, which their chosen repairer was.

Moreover, on this occasion, the courtesy car wasn't supplied by the repairer, instead separately (and somewhat more inconveniently ) by a nationwide car hire company.

Hth.

Regards,

 

[Xtractorfan]

Insurance companies use approved repairers for one reason, because of the discount that is given on each job..around 9% in some cases.. The courtesy car part of it also lets the insurance companies off the hook as they dont directly supply the courtesy car...
Set up a bodyshop tomorrow and approach all the insurance companies and tell them that you will charge £20 per hr. labour and you will have approved repairer status by next weekend...