Car Insurance

It's great if you work there 😎

insurance companies have been overcharging, no surprise there

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/01/direct-line-to-pay-30m-to-overcharged-car-and-home-insurance-customers

Mine has gone up the year. Not happy.

Our son had his renewal quote a few weeks ago.
It had increased from £842 last year to £1520 this year. Five years no claims, no points on his license, same car, same address. The only change is that he’s now a year older at 23.
He did a comparison and paid £910.
He called about getting proof of his no claims for his new insurer and was offered a price match.

I can recommend LV (Liverpool Victoria) insurance
I have had 4 claims in last 10 years 3 not my fault on one occasion car was hit whilst parked - other 2 not my fault whilst stationary
The other one was my fault as I scraped another car whilst reversing out of a tight space (although they were not legally parked as blocking me in on cross hatching)
My premiums have not gone up and I’ve kept my full no claims discount (protected)
I did expect to pay £100 excess on the fault one and was surprised when they told me it wasn’t necessary

My car insurance has gone up 50%. No changes apart from we’re all a year older. Actually thought it may go down as dc is now over 21.

If you feel that way @jellytable it's worth complaining and escalating to the ombudsman. The standard is reasonable charges so you should expect the insurer to pay about what the average person on the street would. Unless they're doing credit hire on a Ferrari I would struggle to understand how they could justify thousands for a two day repair, although it could well have been a much longer repair if a key part had a long lead time.

Aye, they are fucking benevolent charities, the poor lambs

Meh from experience II’m not getting a “good value” vibe from any insurance company I’ve used.

Example 1- to change my surname on my policy (online) after getting married? I was charged £45 for “making a change”

Example 2-I was a victim of a car park scam. My reg plate was given in a fraudulent claim alleging I smashed into another stationary vehicle and drove off.

I took my insurance Co. over 2 YEARS to “investigate” and declare my non involvement despite there being CCTV footage and proof my vehicle was completely undamaged.
I was paying a 60% increase in premiums for 2 years. Was I refunded when the case proved I wasn’t involved? Was I heck.

Example 3- It takes on average 1 hour on hold to get through to my current insurers. More than once I’ve had to terminate the call because the call handler is working from home with crappy equipment and you can’t hear a word they’re saying.

Car insurance as an industry pays out more money on car insurance than they get given. This is a fact. That is an odd definition of a thief?

The Aviva results show a core operating ratio of 94.6% for all business, since it's been posted above. So they have made a profit overall over all lines of insurance, as 100% would be their break even.

From their website Aviva provides the following insurances- car, van, breakdown, home, landlords, tenants and renters, life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, health, personal accident, travel, business insurance. They have made a profit over all lines of business for the year yes.

What COR would you consider would be acceptable for an insurance business if you feel paying out 95% of its revenue in costs is unacceptable? Because if it hangs around too long at the 100% or more point I assure you it won't remain a business for long.

All this is a moot point really I just find it funny insurers are losing money on car insurance, undercharging everybody, and still getting slated for it. Car insurance is actually very good value for money! Mobile phone insurance, freezer contents, extended warranties and fabric insurance for sofas is where the real con is if you're looking.

Are we all supposed to be feeling sorry for car insurance companies and suck up the enormous hikes in price every time our policy is renewed because the poor things aren’t (allegedly) making any money?

Every year I can shave at least £100 off a renewal quote by changing my insurance provider.
My husband also managed to get his renewal quite reduced with AXA simply by ringing and haggling on the phone.

Search around for a better deal op!

Are you aware that most insurers don't just do car insurance? They can have taken a battering on motor whilst still making money overall.

@Barleysugar86 explained it really well. I'd also add that claims suggest you may be driving in places where accidents are more likely to happen which makes you a bigger risk.

Insurers make big returns by using policy money to invest in interest generating assets elsewhere.
It’s not just the underwriting profit of “insurance money in- claims money out”

From the first article posted.

Premiums are supposed to have increased versus last year, even without a claim. I have seen reports in the news recently of increases up to circa 70%. I have recently renewed via a broker and have found no increase in premiums and found them to be cheaper than going direct (although I have a pick up which are different to insure than a car)

A viva www.aviva.com/newsroom/news-releases/2023/03/FY2022-results-announcement/

amp.theguardian.com/money/2023/aug/16/admiral-profit-up-4-despite-insuring-380000-fewer-vehicles lucky you are with admiral

@FFSWhatToDoNow I'm pretty sure they do

Majority of car insurers make no money.

Yes you've had an accident. Someone who hasn't had an accident doesn't cost the insurance company money...... doesn't matter if it's your fault or not.d