Car Insurance

[VladimirIlyich]

My car insurance is due for renewal in the next few weeks.

 

I've only got a 12 year old focus but the quotes I'm getting are going up from £32 a month to £44 a month

 

Any recommendations from forum members?

[Hermes]

Go for maximum excess.

[Captain Turdseye]

Pay it, thats dirt cheap in this climate.

[Trumo]

Go for maximum excess.

 

Not the best advice. When I worked in the insurance game I had a lot of customers wanting to jack up the excess just to keep the premium down. They then wanted to pay monthly instalments on that premium. I had to remind them that should they ever need to claim they'd be paying whatever excess they'd agreed to, and it wouldn't be payable in instalments. As for the quotations above, a 30-odd % increase is about par for the course these days, even if you've done nothing to cause it.

[Hermes]

Pay it, thats dirt cheap in this climate.

 

I'm only paying £200 a year more than that for a 2 year old car fully comprehensive with protected no claims doing 24,000 miles a year. I don't know his details but that quote can be beaten I bet.

[VladimirIlyich]

Pay it, thats dirt cheap in this climate.

 

For a 44 year old with 26 years accident free driving and a pretty old car?

 

Not being funny mate but its like a 30% hike per month.

[Hermes]

Not the best advice. When I worked in the insurance game I had a lot of customers wanting to jack up the excess just to keep the premium down. They then wanted to pay monthly instalments on that premium. I had to remind them that should they ever need to claim they'd be paying whatever excess they'd agreed to, and it wouldn't be payable in instalments. As for the quotations above, a 30-odd % increase is about par for the course these days, even if you've done nothing to cause it.

 

Anybody paying in instalments is an idiot. You have 12 months to save the money for next years premium, why pay more than you need to?

[Hermes]

For a 44 year old with 26 years accident free driving and a pretty old car?

 

Not being funny mate but its like a 30% hike per month.

 

Even more reason to pay the maximum excess. Try it and see what the quote is?

[Trumo]

Unfortunately the single biggest factor is your postcode. After that it's things like gender, age, the vehicle itself, claims history, motoring offences history, occupation and usage. Only then does your actual NCB entitlement come into play. When I was working in the industry, I did quotes for myself based on my correct address details, plus quotes based on a random address in Aberdeenshire with the postcode AB15. The premiums at my then address were at least 100% higher than those at the AB15 address, despite everything else being the same. If you live in any major UK urban sprawl then you will be paying through the nose.

[Trumo]

Anybody paying in instalments is an idiot. You have 12 months to save the money for next years premium, why pay more than you need to?

 

Some people can't afford to pay insurance in one big hit. Sometimes it's due to financial circumstances beyond their control so you can't slag them off as idiots for that. The real idiots are the fuckwits driving around uninsured.

[VladimirIlyich]

Anybody paying in instalments is an idiot. You have 12 months to save the money for next years premium, why pay more than you need to?

 

Thats an arrogant statement.

If I could pay it in one installment I would but I have to pay utility bills throughout the year so theres no way I can afford anything other than installments.

[Hermes]

Some people can't afford to pay insurance in one big hit. Sometimes it's due to financial circumstances beyond their control so you can't slag them off as idiots for that. The real idiots are the fuckwits driving around uninsured.

 

If the quote is £600 per year or £660 by 12 monthly instalments you end up paying £60 more by paying in instalments. How can you afford £660 but not afford £600?

 

You have 12 months to save for it, getting some interest on the savings.

[Hermes]

Thats an arrogant statement.

If I could pay it in one installment I would but I have to pay utility bills throughout the year so theres no way I can afford anything other than installments.

 

For the first year maybe, but after that you know it's coming. Manage your cash better, see previous post.

[VladimirIlyich]

If the quote is £600 per year or £660 by 12 monthly instalments you end up paying £60 more by paying in instalments. How can you afford £660 but not afford £600?

 

You have 12 months to save for it, getting some interest on the savings.

 

Savings,what are they?

I cant afford savings,I live from hand to mouth so I have to pay monthly,simple as that.

 

I also believe interest rates are pitifully low for those people able to save some money over the year.

[Trumo]

If the quote is £600 per year or £660 by 12 monthly instalments you end up paying £60 more by paying in instalments. How can you afford £660 but not afford £600?

 

You have 12 months to save for it, getting some interest on the savings.

 

You are asking questions I've already tried to answer. Some people have financial commitments that essentially mean they can't just "set aside" a certain sum purely to pay for their car insurance. Any money being saved up and set aside is most likely for other financial considerations. I sound like a parent saying all this, and I don't even have financial commitments like a mortgage or a family to support.

 

For the record I am one of those who has paid in full every year, because I both didn't need to pay monthly and didn't want to either.

[Code]

In Norway it does not cost you anything extra to pay in installments as long as its a direct debit.

 

Why should it?

[lifetime fan]

It's classed as a loan I believe.

 

If you can't afford to pay in one go up front look at taking out a credit card with 12 months interest free on it. Pay the car insurance then cut it up.

[Antynwa]

Cry me a river

 

I'm paying £100 a month

[RJ Fan club]

The missus puts me on her insurance. It actually makes it cheaper most years. Other than me being awesome, I'm not really sure how that works.

[Vincent Vega]

I'm only paying £200 a year more than that for a 2 year old car fully comprehensive with protected no claims doing 24,000 miles a year. I don't know his details but that quote can be beaten I bet.

 

Anybody paying in instalments is an idiot. You have 12 months to save the money for next years premium, why pay more than you need to?

 

Even more reason to pay the maximum excess. Try it and see what the quote is?

 

If the quote is £600 per year or £660 by 12 monthly instalments you end up paying £60 more by paying in instalments. How can you afford £660 but not afford £600?

 

You have 12 months to save for it, getting some interest on the savings.

 

For the first year maybe, but after that you know it's coming. Manage your cash better, see previous post.

 

"I am a genius!"

 

[Hermes]

You are asking questions I've already tried to answer. Some people have financial commitments that essentially mean they can't just "set aside" a certain sum purely to pay for their car insurance. Any money being saved up and set aside is most likely for other financial considerations. I sound like a parent saying all this, and I don't even have financial commitments like a mortgage or a family to support.

 

For the record I am one of those who has paid in full every year, because I both didn't need to pay monthly and didn't want to either.

 

But they still have to pay it and paying by instalments is usually more expensive. They are just putting off the payment and paying more, that's how people end up in debt by buying things they can't afford.

 

The banks, loan companies and insurance companies love the mugs who pay them interest.

[Trumo]

But they still have to pay it and paying by instalments is usually more expensive. They are just putting off the payment and paying more, that's how people end up in debt by buying things they can't afford.

 

The banks, loan companies and insurance companies love the mugs who pay them interest.

 

You think they WANT to pay the interest on instalments? The point I made was that they cannot afford to have such a large lump sum leave their account in one hit, even though they know it will cost more to pay monthly. My other point was that there are a number of reasons for them not being able to afford to pay in one hit, and not all of them are due to them being workshy pissants of a financially irresponsible persuasion in the manner you've so conveniently labelled them. You used the word "idiots" but hey, it's just semantics.

[NLW2010]

Just for curiosity, what is the cheapest "job title" for insurance purposes ? I know Doctors are cheap but what is the most easily bullshitted profession I could "theoretically' use for my quote ?

[Hermes]

Just for curiosity, what is the cheapest "job title" for insurance purposes ? I know Doctors are cheap but what is the most easily bullshitted profession I could "theoretically' use for my quote ?

 

South Antarctic Explorer.

[Reacher]

Just for curiosity, what is the cheapest "job title" for insurance purposes ? I know Doctors are cheap but what is the most easily bullshitted profession I could "theoretically' use for my quote ?

 

This and does it make big difference?