To think my car insurance should have gone down in 12 years

This is correct. The regulator stopped this a while back - insurers can't give you a worse price than a new customer.

Simply put, customer loyalty is not a factor in pricing because it doesn't impact the risk being underwritten.

If you've been with that insurer for 15 years or 15 months, the cost of the claim you might make against them is the same.

At the level of insurance I work in (£20k+ pa policies for home and motor etc) we will get our underwriters to do their best pricing possible to try to retain our clients. But that's because our business model is very different from a mass market insurer - we have a far smaller number of policies but each policy is £££.

A mass market car insurance company doesn't do that because a) nothing is manually underwritten, it's all just system priced, and b) losing your policy doesn't matter.

I also work in insurance, we write high end motor but the principles are the same. Where you live is a huge factor and with that vehicle and that premium I'm guessing it's going to be the driving factor for you.

However, you absolutely should shop around. It's a soft market in insurance right now so you should be able to get a better deal by moving insurer.

Make sure you aren't covered for a higher mileage than you're doing - you might be covered for something standard like 12,000 miles a year but if you're only doing 6k that's a much lower risk.

However, as pp says, be wary of the cheapest basic policy. Insurance doesn't matter until you need to make a claim, and then it suddenly really, really matters. Read the fine print and choose an insurer with a good claims satisfaction score.

I pay £450 for a newish Puma and am your age and have NCB. You are being fleeced.

Does your husband not know about comparison sites? Why waste time haggling when you can get all the quotes in moments. All sensible people do this, don't let him fool you into thinking he's got special insurance skills 😁

We have two cars, live in London and don't pay anything like that amount for either! If the price goes up more than we expect it to, DH phones up and haggles. He will phone other companies and get a quote that is lower and then tell the original company to see if they will lower theirs. We have basically gone between two of the main companies over the years.

You could also check what you are insured for, third party, comprehensive, any driver, age of driver, amount of voluntary excess etc to see if you actually need all the cover you have.

What’s the price of a service and your husband being a mechanic got to do with OP asking about insurance costs?

If that's a major service then its cheap! My husband is a mechanic so I know what they charge.

Each insurer has their own individual risk model. The motor and household markets in the UK are very competitive, far more competitive than some European markets, therefore it is always worth checking the wider market as a different company may assess risk differently and therefore you may get a different price. In current times, there is a greater emphasis on rewarding long serving customers, but my advice would always be to shop around. I would note that since 2022 FCA rules have ensured that as a renewing customer you must get as least the same deal as a new customer. There are considerable cost pressures in both motor and household. Since covid the cost of replacement parts and building materials have gone up sharply and remain high.

I dont think insurers are allowed to offer you a cheaper price as a new customer anymore

Also no one can say if the premium is too high as we know nothing about @squaredcircletriangle s circumstances. The most we can say is that until you try the comparison sites there's no way to know if you could save any money

I seriously can't believe you've come here and said 'well I know I could shop around...'

You need to do that. If you're with the same insurer of course there's no incentive to them to reduce your premiums. Even to go back with them as a new customer I bet you could half your premium.

Go! Save some cash!!

Mine's £150 a year for a 2012 Yeti parked in a private driveway in a naice area, professional occupation, work from home. The highest I ever paid was about £400 in my first year of driving but that was 30 years ago and it went down a lot after one year.

But we can't really say why yours is so expensive, so you're probably best off using a comparison site or two to get an idea of whether it is.

I check the comparison sites in the order specified by Money Saving Expert even when my renewal is lower than last year's premium. I frequently switch insurer. It's not time consuming to use comparison sites once you've done it the first time, your info is saved so in subsequent years you just refresh. Takes me under 10 minutes to do 4 sites. Switching is pretty quick and painless too if you do it via the comparison site.

Even if your renewal isn't due yet it might be cheaper to cancel mid year (check what the cancellation fee is) and go with another insurer if you can get a decent quote.

You definitely need to shop around. There is no reward for loyalty in the insurance industry. That you walk to work though is only relevant to the insurance companies if you remove commuting cover and just go for SDP (social, domestic and pleasure) cover. DW pays £140 per year for a similar type of car (fully comprehensive). You're paying more than my 23yr old DD who has less experience, no claims history.

That sounds expensive, have you ever shopped around? After my first few years of no claims my insurance dropped right down and has stayed there, I wouldn’t expect to pay £800 for even 8 years let alone 12.

I have been with the same one, for at least 5 years, probably a lot longer and it sometimes goes down by a small bit. Every time there is a renewal and I expect it to go up but it doesn't so I just stay with them. I could probably get a bit less than £200 elsewhere but it's not worth the bother.

You have wasted a lot of money by not shopping around. Why would they put it down for you when you have been happily paying it year after year.

Did you never question it not going down or ask them?

It's been 8 years, so you may not expect it in the first 2 years, but what about the last 6 years.

Mu 18 year old sons more than halved, mine has gone down moat years owning the same car. That's staying with the same insurance company.

That is very high. I am paying 940 but that is for 2 cars, one with 2 drivers the other with 4 drivers including 2 teenage boys one of whom only just passed his test. You need to find the time to look at comparison sites.

I stop with Aviva each year and mine is around £200 for a Ford Fiesta

I would not expect to pay more than about £300 for a car like that unless I lived in a place which had particularly high insurance

@Cyclebabblecan you explain why insurers don’t reward loyalty. I don’t understand this business model!

Echo others. Loyalty is not rewarded. Shop around.

that sounds a huge amount. We pay less than that for a newer discovery in south London.

That sounds quite expensive to me, but I am comparing that to my circumstances and my car. I drive a much bigger engine car and I’m over a decade younger and my car is less than that to insure. Definitely shop around. MSE have a section about car insurance and the sites to try.

Shop around OP.

A few years ago my insurance company decided to double my insurance. Despite no changes to car, location, no points etc. I used a comparison website and literally every other company was offering me half or less than what my insurer wanted.

Ive never understood why loyalty isn’t rewarded.

I am an insurer by trade for a firm which does write motor. It depends where you live and on person circumstances, but that does sound high. I would use a couple of aggregator sites such as go compare and compare the market. My tip is make sure you are comparing like for like- courtesy car for repairs NCD the same, legal expenses if you require it and then go for a brand you have heard of. Be slightly wary of anything that implies the policy is a light touch- such as essentials or standard. This might be fine but be wary of what they have taken out- windscreen cover is a current favourite. Try a couple of direct only providers and then move your policy. It varies, but some policies do penalise people on their own, which is a bit tough.

Never just accept the renewal offer - car insurers are bastards and will just up the price each year hoping you can't be bothered to shop around. I change insurers literally every year. I just did mine yesterday - RAC quoted me £440 to renew. I did a check on a comparison site and had offers of similar cover from £300. I queried with the RAC and an advisor magically knocked £40 off from just checking again. But still more expensive than elsewhere. I switched to the AA premier and saved about £120 compared with staying.