Car Insurance

Mike

Mike

Well-known Member
Location
London
I have taken some time this year to study the quotes
from several insurance companies and the variety of
prices is "Eye opening", some even border on criminal.

The one I am with and have been for around 10 years,
quoted me a renewal price between £879 & £929.

I went to Money Supermarket.com and got some quotes
that were actually friendly, General Accident asked me for
£400.15 for a straight one of payment, or £430 over 10 months,
I can live with either of these and save a lot of money.

How is car/auto insurance in your Country, it can't be any
more than here surely?

Mike.
 
Not much different in my area.

I pay $1,175.80 for full coverage on a basic 2012 vehicle with few options or amenities but I do carry much more liability coverage than the law requires.

I need to start shopping and also considering when to drop the collision coverage.
 
Mike, I did the self same thing last month... I've been with Direct Line ..for years here and in Spain ... and this automatic renewal letter came as it usually does a month before the renewal date.

I was stunned!! I have a clean licence, I drive less than 10,000 mile per year, I'm a certain age, and have no claims and also full no claims discount, and they wanted a ridiculous amount!!...sooo I did some research and got like for like..insurance PLUS a couple of extras, with the RAC for almost £400 less..

I rang Direct Line.. and told them that I didn't want them to even attempt to match my quote (which is what I've had them do in the past), and that I was so disgusted with them that I'd made the decision to withdraw from their ''services''

he even had the temerity to say.. ''sorry you're going you're very valued customer yada yada..and please come back to us next year when you'll get a much lower ''new customer'' rate!!''
 
Aunt Bea said:
Not much different in my area.

I pay $1,175.80 for full coverage on a basic 2012 vehicle with few options or amenities but I do carry much more liability coverage than the law requires.

I need to start shopping and also considering when to drop the collision coverage.
Click to expand...
Good lord that's a lot @Aunt Bea ..for a 2012 vehicle?..what you got..a Rolls Royce?

I think our car insurance here might be generally lower than the USA..

My husband has a high end expensive sports car.. and he only pays £1500 PA for that..fully comprehensive and with added extras..
 
hollydolly said:
Good lord that's a lot @Aunt Bea ..for a 2012 vehicle?..what you got..a Rolls Royce?

I think our car insurance here might be generally lower than the USA..

My husband has a high end expensive sports car.. and he only pays £1500 PA for that..fully comprehensive and with added extras..
Click to expand...

It's a little 2012 Chevy Colorado 4x2 work truck that I use to haul my flea market finds, probably worth $8K in my area.
13551.jpg
 
Last edited:
Aunt Bea said:
It's a little Chevy Colorado 4x2 work truck that I use to haul my flea market finds, probably worth 8K in my area.
13551.jpg
Click to expand...
OMG!!!! such expensive insurance... what do you get for that?

I get full comprehensive cover as well as legal fees, breakdown repair and recovery.. windscreen replacement..lost keys replacement.. No claims discount.. and some other stuff!!..and I've just got all of that for £220.00
 
hollydolly said:
OMG!!!! such expensive insurance... what do you get for that?

I get full comprehensive cover as well as legal fees, breakdown repair and recovery.. windscreen replacement..lost keys replacement.. No claims discount.. and some other stuff!!..and I've just got all of that for £220.00
Click to expand...

My coverage is similar to yours but I carry additional property damage in case I run into someone like your husband driving a posh sports car. I also carry additional bodily injury coverage in case I hit a tour bus full of senior citizens. I suppose it's a cross between car insurance and wealth insurance.
 
RadishRose said:
People should shop around for car insurance every few years.
Click to expand...

Good idea....I get a few quotes every 3 or 4 years. However, I've been with State Farm since I first started driving....60+ years....and I haven't found a better quote yet for the same coverage. I carry full coverage on both the car and truck, even though they are getting a bit old, but if one of them gets smashed, at least I get something from the insurance. Between the car and truck, we pay about $1200/yr....about 1000/yr (British Pound)

A lot of the cost depends upon how many miles you drive, where you live, and any past accidents or traffic tickets. So far, auto insurance has been almost a total waste of money....we've had one small claim in the past 30 years. But, like anything else, if I don't plan for the worst, it usually happens.
 
Last edited:
Don M. said:
Good idea....I get a few quotes every 3 or 4 years. However, I've been with State Farm since I first started driving....60+ years....and I haven't found a better quote yet for the same coverage. I carry full coverage on both the car and truck, even though they are getting a bit old, but if one of them gets smashed, at least I get something from the insurance. Between the car and truck, we pay about $1200/yr....about 1000/yr (British Pound)

A lot of the cost depends upon how many miles you drive, where you live, and any past accidents or traffic tickets. So far, auto insurance has been almost a total waste of money....we've had one small claim in the past 30 years. But, like anything else, if I don't plan for the worst, it usually happens.
Click to expand...
Hubs does a lot of driving, and we live in a very low crime area....so between us we pay less than 2k..for my 5 year old Ford and his brand new £££££'s sports job...
 
Pennsylvania is a different duck. We have what’s called “No Fault Insurance.” Prices are all over the place, but to start with, we go through AAA and bundle with homeowner’s insurance, which is supposed to give us a discount.

So, it depends on the limits of how much liability you want and then there are options that you may add. Like, rental car insurance, emergency repair and towing insurance, etc. It also depends on your deductible amount and the biggest one is do you want tort, semi tort or full tort.

With no fault and you are in an accident, the way it works is that your insurance carrier pays for your repairs and the other guy’s insurance pays for his. If anyone is hurt, the same thing; each insurer is covered by their individual company. If it’s the other guys fault, you will have your deductible returned to you once the other guy’s carrier pays your company.

In PA, each driver “must” have insurance to obtain a registered vehicle. If you are stopped while driving by the police, you will be asked to show your license, registration and proof of insurance. If you do not have insurance, (you guessed it), your car will sit and you will be fined. I’m sorry to say this, but I have had to do that on a number of occasions. Some people just don’t get it. I know some people won’t believe this, but I really feel bad when I tell a driver that he/she has to leave their car where it is and I will provide them a phone to call someone to come and pick them up or, I will drive them to where they need to be, if it’s in my area, otherwise, I’ll drive them back to the barracks until someone can come and get them.

Anyway, we have 3 vehicles on our policy with full tort and $200.00 deductible. Added are, rental cars, breakdown/towing assistance and $50.00 comprehensive. Total is $1247.00 for the year. I think we do pretty good.
 
Bananas said:
According to Martin Lewis, his researchers revealed that the optimum time to shop around for quotes is around 21 days before renewal is due. If you look for quotes before or after that, you're likely to pay more.
Click to expand...
Direct Line always sent me the renewal policy automaticlly 28 days before my Insurance was due to expire..
 
@911, we have a similar policy option here, called 3rd party fire and theft!! ..

It covers fire or theft of your car, but not the damage to your car if it's your fault..it has to be proved it was the other parties fault, then their insurance pays out... however, it doesn't stop the innocent party's insurance premium being increased the next year! !
 
Yes, that's my experience with insurers too. So now I leave it a week before I look around. Same for house insurances too.
 
hollydolly said:
@911, we have a similar policy option here, called 3rd party fire and theft!! ..

It covers fire or theft of your car, but not the damage to your car if it's your fault..it has to be proved it was the other parties fault, then their insurance pays out... however, it doesn't stop the innocent party's insurance premium being increased the next year! !
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that no matter who was at fault, your rates are going to rise. The other issue I have is that PA drivers should read their policies. I know that’s a problem for most of us, but a lot of companies have been writing policies that state if you have an accident and the other party is a relative, they won’t pay. Guess why that is.
 
911 said:
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that no matter who was at fault, your rates are going to rise. The other issue I have is that PA drivers should read their policies. I know that’s a problem for most of us, but a lot of companies have been writing policies that state if you have an accident and the other party is a relative, they won’t pay. Guess why that is.
Click to expand...
I should imagine there's been a lot of crooked dealings !
 
One of the companies that I called said that I can add
legal cover, when I asked what it covers and his answer:

Quote: "If there is a chance that you will win a case and
the other party is insured, then they will take the case as
you are covered".

When I suggested that it was a useless extra, he said that
they don't advise only state facts, he wasn't happy when
I said that he could read, speak and understand English,
so he could see the same thing that I could.

They are not getting my money.

Mike.
 
Mike said:
One of the companies that I called said that I can add
legal cover, when I asked what it covers and his answer:

Quote: "If there is a chance that you will win a case and
the other party is insured, then they will take the case as
you are covered".

When I suggested that it was a useless extra, he said that
they don't advise only state facts, he wasn't happy when
I said that he could read, speak and understand English,
so he could see the same thing that I could.

They are not getting my money.

Mike.
Click to expand...
legal cover was already included in the policy I took out with the RAC Mike.. just over £200.. fully comp,
 
I pay $3,000/yr., but that includes my sales call truck, my work truck, my RV and my hauling trailer. If I wasn't still in the trees, I would have one truck, one RV, less (business required) liability insurance, and pay around $1,200/yr., full coverage.
 
I think car insurance is too intricate and complicated. I don't believe X insurance company is cheaper than Y. They basically are about the same. When you see those big savings from one company to another, it is the difference in COVERAGE. Policy X covers this and that, while polcy Y only covers that, so Y is "cheaper". You really can't compare policies, because the differences in coverage are hidden on page 16, Section VII, Paragraph A. Subsection iii, line 23 of the contract, which, of course, everybody religiously reads. The big savings is due to the big things insurance isn't going to pay. You pays for what you get! What you need and what you have maybe two distinct things.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top