Another Insurance Thread - You can win sometimes!

Wirral_guy

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Hi all

I have just been doing the annual insurance renewal and thought I would pass on a few cost saving tips.

I have been with Esure for quite a few years as they have always been at least close to the cheapest (I price check each year) and I have had good service from them so it has not really been worth the bother to change. Until, that is, this year. My insurance jumped from around £460 to £624. I immediately turned to the price comparison sites and went through them and found Kwik fit were almost half the price at £328 - great, I thought, a nice saving. But then...

I was having a look at the moneysavingexpert web-site and thought I'd follow a few tips. I added the missus, who drives my car about twice a year (we've always used the 3rd party cover on our insurance) - Bingo, another £28 saving. By now I have a grin on my face and think it can't get much better, until I tried going through a cashback site - although I'll have to wait for it, they will give me, unbelievably, another £42.50 cashback just for clicking through to KwikFit from their site, even though I am just retreiving a quote saved earlier.

So, from £624 down to 265.50 for about half an hours work. That's a saving I can be happy with!!

Dave
 

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I have just moved over to kwikfit and saved £100 and a free MOT
 

Rory

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Does your car get repaired at KwikFit if you crash it? :)
 
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Wirral_guy

Wirral_guy

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Malcolm

I forgot that - I also got the free MOT, which is what another £40 saved! It gets better and better!!! :smile::smile:

I suppose I should add the 10% off card for any repairs rs at KwikFit but I am unlikely to use that!

Dvae
 

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Malcolm

I forgot that - I also got the free MOT, which is what another £40 saved! It gets better and better!!! :smile::smile:

I suppose I should add the 10% off card for any repairs rs at KwikFit but I am unlikely to use that!

Dvae

You must get the brake pads experience :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
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garysanderson

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I too noticed that Kwik-Fit were the cheapest on the price comparison sites but the rather hefty £750 excess (for my CLK55) put me off and I went with M&S which were about £45-£50 more expensive.

Didn't think about the possibility of cash-back referral sites so will try and remember that for next year.

Thanks for the post :)
 

hawk20

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But what about Rory's question: do you have to have any accident repairs done at Kwikfit. I would want to insist on using an MB dealer and MB parts and keeping Mobilo etc intact.
 

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But what about Rory's question: do you have to have any accident repairs done at Kwikfit. I would want to insist on using an MB dealer and MB parts and keeping Mobilo etc intact.

kwikfit do not undertake such things themself and have no facilities for it
 

hawk20

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kwikfit do not undertake such things themself and have no facilities for it

Some insurers have chosen 'approved' repairers that you must use and this can infringe MB warranties. Do Kwikfit let you specify an MB dealer for damage repairs?

Presumably they are just acting as middleman for an insurance company -and taking a slice off the top?
 

stuartmac

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Hi,

Some insurers have chosen 'approved' repairers that you must use
No, consumer law is that you can specify who does the repairs.

What you might run into is delay if using a 'non-approved' repairer, because the insurance company might want some sort of waiver, because the insurance company is legally-obliged to guarantee the quality of the repairs, which they'd obviouly get from their 'approved' repairer.

Another source of argument if using a 'non-approved' repairer is the provision of a courtesy car, if this is part of the deal the insurance company have done with an 'approved' repairer.

Not insurmountable obstacles, but you have to ask yourself if you can always summon up the necessary firmness ;) with the insurance company ...

Hth.

Regards,
 

Alex M Grieve

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Hi,


No, consumer law is that you can specify who does the repairs.

What you might run into is delay if using a 'non-approved' repairer, because the insurance company might want some sort of waiver, because the insurance company is legally-obliged to guarantee the quality of the repairs, which they'd obviouly get from their 'approved' repairer.

Another source of argument if using a 'non-approved' repairer is the provision of a courtesy car, if this is part of the deal the insurance company have done with an 'approved' repairer.

Not insurmountable obstacles, but you have to ask yourself if you can always summon up the necessary firmness ;) with the insurance company ...

Hth.

Regards,

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

The insurance company will have approved providers, and for the reasons you have outlined.

MB will have approved providers and for body work, if their approved providers have not been used then any inherent defects to the cars body work may not be honoured by the manufacturer, in spite of the work having been done by the insurer's approved agent.

Both agents approved, but no reciprocal agreements.
 

Rory

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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.
 

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

The insurance company will have approved providers, and for the reasons you have outlined.

MB will have approved providers and for body work, if their approved providers have not been used then any inherent defects to the cars body work may not be honoured by the manufacturer, in spite of the work having been done by the insurer's approved agent.

Both agents approved, but no reciprocal agreements.

MB turn down cars these day that do not even have a stone chip.

On the point of using a repairer of your choice, yes you lose the right to a loan car. When I was with LV I had my V70R repaired by my own man, with no problems at all
 

hawk20

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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.

Well when I asked Mercedes insurance they guaranteed all repairs would be done at an MB approved bodyshop.

But Direct Line would not give full cover unless repairs were done at their chosen repair shops. Removed coutesy car etc.

However in the end I chose LV who were miles cheaper and better cover and allow you to choose main dealer repairs.
 

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Some insurers have chosen 'approved' repairers that you must use and this can infringe MB warranties. Do Kwikfit let you specify an MB dealer for damage repairs?

Presumably they are just acting as middleman for an insurance company -and taking a slice off the top?

You have a legal right to have your car repaired at a repairers of your choice whoever you are insured with , and that goes for "at fault" or "third party responsible" accidents.

The "approved" repairer has nothing to do with the standard or quality of repair but at what cost to the insurer, it is also an incentive to repairers to get work from that particular insurance company or group of insurers.

Money is saved by the insurers as a lot of these repairers will use pattern parts instead of OEM but in reality you should be made aware of this but very few bodyshops will tell you this nor will the insurance company.
 
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Rory

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However in the end I chose LV who were miles cheaper and better cover and allow you to choose main dealer repairs.

I use LV (actually their Frizzell brand as I qualify for CSMA membership as Mrs R is a Civil Servant) and they effortlessly handled a claim when someone ran into the back of her Jazz, even waiving the excess, which I'd expected to have to pay and reclaim as the car was repaired at the Honda dealership.

However their prices are getting too far away from others. They gave a loyalty discount for the Jazz to bring it back a bit this year, but on my Mercedes they made me cancel and reapply online to get a half-decent premium. I know it's a game with car insurance renewal but didn't expect such inconvenience from them.
 

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I use LV (actually their Frizzell brand as I qualify for CSMA membership as Mrs R is a Civil Servant) and they effortlessly handled a claim when someone ran into the back of her Jazz, even waiving the excess, which I'd expected to have to pay and reclaim as the car was repaired at the Honda dealership.

However their prices are getting too far away from others. They gave a loyalty discount for the Jazz to bring it back a bit this year, but on my Mercedes they made me cancel and reapply online to get a half-decent premium. I know it's a game with car insurance renewal but didn't expect such inconvenience from them.
I think that LV are the worst for pushing the price up each year
 

Alex M Grieve

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

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!
 

hawk20

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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.
 


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