Insurance Quotes

[Ollie]

Ooft... Thats a uhm... Hefty quote.. Im not sure what Ill be doing for my 8s insurance next year when I hopefully get it back on the road for summer. But Im sure Ill figure it out.

[ChrisHolmes]

Insured the FD today for £226. Down from £800 last year

Is that mileage linked?

[warpc0il]

Did it just become "a classic car"?

[GreySilver Beast]

Is that mileage linked?

Adam's car is insured at 5,000miles per year

[ChrisHolmes]

Is that mileage linked?

Adam's car is insured at 5,000miles per year

It was a joke as i think it’s hardly been on the road this past year!

[AdamGaltress]

Just become classic in the eyes of some insurance companies as it's now 25 years old. Limited to 5k miles, I did 400 last year and most of that was on one trip

[shroom]

Just become classic in the eyes of some insurance companies as it's now 25 years old. Limited to 5k miles, I did 400 last year and most of that was on one trip

It's great my Pulsar has been insured with classic policy for 5 years now and over that time cost no more than £110 a year

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Ollie]

Ahah. My 8 will be 5k miles or less when it's next insured I hope.

[warpc0il]

In 1993, when my Alfa officially became "a classic" the premium went down by 90%

My broker was really on the ball and even though I was only a couple of months into the normal policy, he suggested cancelling that, with the loss of month and a half's refund, and taking the classic policy instead, still making a massive saving.

This was also handy in that it released my NCB and I was able to use that to get discount on the next renewal of our daily; as you could only have NCB on one policy at a time and the classic insurance doesn't use it. It had been on the Alfa insurance, as that was four times as much as a nearly new Citroën BX19 GT

[geofftl1000r]

My Rover 75 insurance was due in October, £280. Since Jessica now has a little automatic Lupo to run around in, I changed the RX8 to my name and insured it for £169.

[Ollie]

Currently looking to get a winter car... Skoda 1.9TDI or a Mazda 6 just had a quick browse at quotes... Almost as expensive as the 8!

[CylonOne]

I got a shock when I came to insure my newly acquired RX8 2 days ago .... what an absolute joke on the part of Hastings Direct... here's the saga :-

I have two insurance policies, as I've owned 2 cars for a lot of years (always a main daily, and then either a toy or project car). I have 7 years NCB on the main daily driver policy and 6 years on the "toy/project" policy.

So, the car before the RX8 on the "toy/project" policy was an 08 reg Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 Sport. I was paying £196 a year for that, with Hastings Direct (my insurance quotes plummeted when I turned 45 ).

I went online to Hastings Direct and attempted to change the car to the RX8. I got a "Referral, please ring 0800... etc" message, so called them up. I got through to a very friendly and helpful chap who tried to put the change through, then advised he needed to call the underwriters, then came back apologizing profusely that "the underwriters don't seem to like the Mazda" and explaining that they'd need to cancel the policy and give me a fee-free refund.

So, minutes later (literally minutes), I went to Confused.com for a quote for the RX8 and guess who came up with the cheapest quote...... that's right, HASTINGS DIRECT !!! .......... within 15 minutes of them cancelling the old policy because they "couldn't cover the RX8", I was insured with them, on a new policy, for the RX8, for £201 a year.

Car insurance is absolutely bonkers sometimes - I worked for MORE TH>N for 9 years so have first hand experience of this!

Anyway, all things considered, I was gobsmacked to only pay £201 for the RX8. That is a standard (non-classic) policy, although it is only for 3,000 miles.

[Paul_13]

Renewed mine yesterday with Greenlight insurance. £360 fully comp all mods declared. (mx5)

[Honkytonk]

...Car insurance is absolutely bonkers sometimes - I worked for MORE TH>N for 9 years so have first hand experience of this!

Anyway, all things considered, I was gobsmacked to only pay £201 for the RX8. That is a standard (non-classic) policy, although it is only for 3,000 miles.

Ooh, it's good to have an ex-insurance person on the forum. The vagaries of the system are many and nuanced. Do they just decapitate a chicken, let it run around, and then where it falls on the grid they've laid out is how much you pay?

I'm sure we have other insurance/ex insurance people on the forum (in the nicest possible way Adrian Flux I don't specifically mean you as a company), so maybe they can help answer, as tbh I find it interesting and very important as its a cost we all have to pay every year so the more info we have the better for the customer

One question I have (apologies if you haven't been in insurance for some time) is why haven't they updated their job roles? Working in IT it's regularly a best guess when it comes to taking insurance out as they don't seem to have any jobs created since the 1950's...

Also, any tips when it comes to looking for next years insurance? I've always fiddled with job role (within reason obviously) and where the car is parked overnight. As I used to live in a village where things would be stolen from barns/garages/sheds more often than anything else (I.e. once in a blue moon), I found it lowered my premium by up to £100 one year parking on the road instead of in a garage.

[Paul_13]

Apparently if you do internet quotes, some companies read the internet cookies stored on you PC and adjust the quote accordingly.

[Ainmhidh]

It's also not unknown (don't know specifically about insurance quotes) for a company to charge more depending on what the computer you are using says it is - i.e. Macs and iPhones get charged more than same details via 'standard' PC & Windows, or if you go back to requote it gets bumped up to make you buy now before it gets even more expensive.
Clear the cache and cookies, use an incognito browser, if you know how get it to say it's pc or android. Might not save anything, might save a few quid (enough for a club membership fee? )

[Ollie]

I've played about with job roles before. And if I change my job to something software based I save 50 quid a year or there abouts.

[Essex2Visuvesi]

In some cases adding an additional named driver can drop the premium as well
I always have my dad as a named driver on my daily (Audi A4) and the premiums have always been about £50-£100 cheaper.
Not like I'm a youngling either (47

Currently I'm paying less than £800 for 4 cars to be insured:-
2006 Audi A4 - SAGA
2003 Beetle Cabrio (Mods Declared) - Lancaster
1999 Audi TT 180 Quattro (Mods Declared) - Lancaster
1989 RX7 FC EGI (Mods declared) - Sterling

[Ollie]

I pay 800 quid just for the 8. I use to have my mum on my insurance for my last focus but she had an accident against her about two years ago so I can't imagine that would make it cheaper. Might see about adding my Dad even though he lives down south next time I insure the 8.

[CylonOne]

Occupation is a very contentious area within motor underwriting.

What I can tell you (you may already know this) is that by far the most heavily loaded occupation/sector for car insurance is ..... the motor trade. Any occupation even remotely associated with the motor trade will tend to see around 15% on a premium. More specifically, underwriters don't like Motor Trade Sales People, Sales Managers, Technicians and Car Detailers. (Don't shoot the messenger!).

It's worth pointing out that all disclosures, whilst forming a legal contract, are accepted on a "best endeavours" basis. In short, a blatent lie is a blatent lie (eg. telling them you're a vicar when you're actually a salesman for Evans Halshaw), however recording your occupation as a "sales consultant" and your sector as "transport" (rather than the motor trade) would be unlikely to cause problems in the event of a contentious claim or investigation into misrepresentation. The 'transport' sector tends to see a neutral loading, whereas the motor trade sector is the most heavily loaded sector.

With regards to occupation and sector, here's a quick and dirty list of occupations that underwriters reward, versus those they penalize :-

Underwriters LIKE
Health and Social Care: Doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, etc
Teachers
Civil Servants (Admin Officers in various govt depts, eg. DWP, etc)
Clergy
Admin workers in education, universities, colleges, schools
Senior trades: qualified engineers, etc
Bank workers

Underwriters DISLIKE
Any job whatsoever in the motor trade
Pub and club workers (bar person will see a negative loading)
Entertainment industry (however modest or grand: pub entertainer, children's entertainer, etc)
Non-commissioned (this means non-Police) law enforcement and security (security, bailiffs, etc)
Trades people (plumber, electrician, joiner, etc)
Unemployed

....most other roles, eg. call centre workers, retail workers, other professions (pilot, solicitor etc) will sit in a somewhat "neutral" space, not particularly seeing a loading nor a reward on their premium.

So what's the basis of this general bias? Well, it's not ever someone sitting down and saying "Huh, I wouldn't trust anyone in the motor industry, they all rag their cars!". Not ever. Actuaries and underwriters are mathematicians, obsessed with data. The biases come from analyzing the trends in terms of occupations involved in 'at fault' (and sometimes 'non fault') claims. The data accrues over the years (decades, more accurately), so they will argue that the patterns and trends become more and more reinforced and accurate in terms of assessing risk.

Don't take that as me defending occupational risk assessment in motor insurance - because like anything that is heavily generalist, it's a fair assessment of the majority (on paper at lease) but a horribly inaccurate assessment of the minority.

[Ainmhidh]

Yep, as per Honkytonk's previous post, it'd be nice to describe my job as something closer to 'software developer', rather than 'computer programmer' or 'computer analyst', even if the insurer effectively considers it to be synonymous in the back end. It always feels a bit like describing Adrian Newey as an 'Automotive Technician.'

[CylonOne]

I worked as an Operations Manager for a major motor insurer (I have mentioned them on a previous post!), looking after around 120 call centre advisors and their 10 team leaders. What I can tell you from that, at the time (I left that role 10 years ago) is that underwriting is CAST IRON for most insurers. What I mean by that is, for example, I used to deal with complaints escalated from advisors and then team leaders, then on to myself. I had the authority to refund full premiums, order hire cars and other services ad hoc and generally spend a bit of the company's cash to resolve problems. However I could not ever adjust, override or change an underwriting decision. Not ever.

The company I worked for was a low risk, general insurer and at the time would accept no modifications whatsoever, on it's "main book" of policies (this has now changed). So let's say Kevin rings up to say he's bought some shiny new aftermarket alloy wheels for his Corsa C. He is told we cannot cover him with the new wheels. He complains, saying that he has already spent £700 on the wheels and can't get his money back. This comes to me. There was never any circumstances ever where I could have the discretion to say to Kevin "On this occasion we'll accept them on cover". This was the same for any underwriting decision. I could not even challenge a decision with the underwriters (well, I could, but it was policy that it would never be agreed or changed). Little old lady is unwell and calls to let us know that she will be living with her daughter for a while, so the overnight location for the car has changed. Let's surmise that the new address is in a 'non-cover' area for cars parked on the road, there was literally no movement on this decision whatsoever. Even if the old lady's daughter calls to advise she has cancer, and how could we possibly be so heartless! I could send her flowers, I could even perhaps give her a hire car for a week!!! ..... but I could not in any way override the underwriting decision and let her have her car on cover at the high risk address. PS... My boss, the Contact Centre Manager on £100k+ a year couldn't override that decision either.

Things may well have changed now, and of course, I am talking about a low risk "general book" insurer here - companies such as Adrian Flux can and will underwrite almost anything, for a price.

[CylonOne]

Yep, as per Honkytonk's previous post, it'd be nice to describe my job as something closer to 'software developer', rather than 'computer programmer' or 'computer analyst', even if the insurer effectively considers it to be synonymous in the back end. It always feels a bit like describing Adrian Newey as an 'Automotive Technician.'

I know exactly what you mean. The occupation lists are kept highly generalized and consistent between most (not all) insurers, to maintain consistancy for underwriting. Doesn't always suit or represent the customer well though!

When I actually worked for the insurer, my own job was not adequately or appropriately listed!

After a major career change, I'm now a primary school teacher, so my job fits nice and comfortably with the underwriters!

[GreySilver Beast]

I reduced my premium by 18% by describing my occupation as "Domestic Help" rather than "Retired"

[CylonOne]

I reduced my premium by 18% by describing my occupation as "Domestic Help" rather than "Retired"

Doesn't surprise me at all. The underwriters always load premiums for those down as unemployed or retired.

I remember one case where a customer worked in the motor trade, but registered as a minister with one of these on-line churches in America. (You pay $5 and they "legally" make you a minister in their church). He then marked his primary occupation as a minister, as the underwriting doesn't look into how many hours are worked in roles etc. So in his view, being a minister was now his primary occupation. He did still mark the motor trade as a secondary occupation, but this move still saved him around 20-25% on his insurance.