They all start by luring you in with an amazingly low figure and wording such as
'Here's what you MIGHT pay'
From as little as...'
You COULD pay as little as...'
From just £12* per month'
But of course that's just advertising jargon. Once you start inputting details it all changes.
You want legal cover - kerching add £29
You want to protect your no claims bonus - kerching add £24
Breakdown cover? - kerching from £29.70 up to £60.26
Oh and what about a courtesy car - kerching £27, or for £34 I can have an enhanced courtesy car. And on and on........ until that initial sweet quote has doubled.
But of course we know that's how it works, there is very little difference between all the companies. I usually start with my go to default which is Comparethemarket.com, only because it was the first one I ever used years ago, and I did get a few 2 for 1 cinema tickets out of it. But even with the online sites you still might have to phone to confirm some detail, or the site isn't working properly and couldn't take a card payment. And oh what a performance that is. After you get through the legal jargon about what is expected from them and the customer you are then put on hold and have to listen to music interspersed with:
"Thank you for holding, sorry, we are experiencing extremely high call levels at the moment, if you would like to continue to wait please be assured we are doing everything to answer your call as quickly as possible. Your call is important to us" Of course it is, you are hoping I'm going to buy your product. This continues for anything from 10 to 20 minutes until finally a person answers.
I bypassed all of that this year and stayed with the same insurer as last year, they renew automatically. Phew, what a relief.
~Be warm and well ~
Polly x
Dear Polly - chores like motor insurance are much more problematic than ever they used to be. Previously I would pop into our high street Insurance Broker and he would go through all of the different companies and find the best deal. Now my policy documents are online somewhere, but what happens if myr computer crashes?
ReplyDeleteHello Rosemary, ahh the good old days when life was simple! My documents were emailed, I write down my policy number and phone details on a piece of paper and keep it in the glove compartment.
DeleteI know. I also hate this . it is my husband's department.. :D
ReplyDeleteSo much easier to have someone do it for you :-)
DeleteI tend to to stay with the same insurer because I can't face the hassle of shopping around, transferring to another company, getting proof of my no-claims bonus etc. But I find that when they've quoted a large rise in the premium, if I phone them and say the AA quoted £100 less, they'll reduce my premium significantly. They'll also drop the premium if I go for a larger excess - say £400 instead of £200. This year I got a reduction of £50 which ain't bad.
ReplyDeletehi Nick, that's the best way to do it. It's amazing how companies can suddenly find a better deal when you ask "What can you offer to get me to stay with you".
DeleteUgh. I hate shopping around for anything like that. Makes me crazy! So I say good for you for keeping on it -- I hope you get the best deal!
ReplyDeleteI did get a good deal :-) x
DeleteMakes you want to walk.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
ha ha, hello Amalia. Last year I did contemplate whether to stop using a car, but living in a village with just a few buses each day it wouldn't have worked. I do use the bus a couple of times a week.
DeleteHaha - tis true the pains of insurance renewal, I usually start by going back to my current one and asking if they can do a better price, but sometimes as you say life is really too short... not to be out there having a throughly good dog walk! Thanks for something by and your sweet comment.
ReplyDeleteWren x
Hi Wren, yes life is too short to waste it hanging on the line to insurance companies :-)
DeleteI'm always pleased, and relieved, once its sorted.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan