Why is my insurance going up?

[Bunnyhop1502]

I’ve just received my quote for my car insurance which will renew next month. In 2017 it was £550 for the year, 2018 it went up to £700 which I was expecting as I was lucky enough to upgrade my car. My new quote is £880! I’ve never claimed, touch wood never had an accident or even phoned them for advice. I’m puzzled as to why it is going up at such a rate? According to the insurance company my car is currently worth £3900 so it’s not super flash. I only use the car for driving the kids about and shopping. I can’t think of any reasonable explanation why this is happening. Am I missing something super obvious?

You need to shop around for another insurance company, they always put it up if you stay too long with one company or ring them up and complain, they may match last years quote

Pretty typical of current insurers to up the price at renewal every single insurer I've had has done this. I just went and got a better deal elsewhere.
Last year got quoted around £800 up from £650. Went to comparison and got insurance for £380

I’ve been on the comparison sites today and I will be definitely be switching! I was just wondering what their reasoning was. I usually change companies every year but last year accepted the rise due to the new car. I’ll give them a ring tomorrow and see what they say. I find talking to them so draining

You need to be shopping around. Insurance companies bank on people being lazy and automatically renewing. Go on compare the market

If you shop around you will probably find something cheaper. But the cost of insurance does tend to go up regularly, with inflation and changing amounts of payouts in the industry etc, it's just that at the same time as the cost going up, most of us are getting discounts due to no claims bonus, so that often cancels out the increase when it comes to renewing.

And yes, insurance companies also take advantage of people who don't switch.

I’ve never stayed with the same insurance company two years running. Always better to sip around.

Shop not sip

I think their only reasoning is they do it if they can get away with it. Absolutely no rewards for loyalty. On the contrary - you are penalised if you don't switch every year.

No need to talk to them. Just find a better deal online and go for it.

For the past few years I’ve used compare the market and then contacted my insurance company and asked them to price match. They have always been able to price match.

Your postcode area rating could have changed. Your mileage could be considered too low - about 6,000 per annum would be ok but less is looked on unfavourably. Age is a rating factor too, you may have changed age brackets. So much can change your premium but it's always worth shopping around

I imagine I will have to change this year, last year it went up about £15 so I didn’t bother, I am expecting a bigger hike this year though. It’s such a pain isn’t it having to do the yearly round of changing insurances, utilities, etc etc.

Could be the area- if there’s been more vehicle thefts, break ins, accidents etc compared to the year before . That pushes up insurance

Sometimes they put the price up by a certain percentage so if you've already got a high premium it's more noticeable than if you have a low premium

I used to work in pricing and underwriting. It's known as optimised pricing. Insurers bank on people being lazy and not changing their insurance and add premium loadings to existing customers policies which is why it's always cheaper to get a new quote. It will even be cheaper if you cancel your policy and take out a policy as a new customer with the same insurer. All insurers do it.

There have also been various factors that are driving prices up at the moment. Personal injury claims are increasing well ahead of inflation (for example). There’s an FCA market survey at the moment which is looking (amongst many other things!) at whether renewals are unfairly treated. Equally your insurer may just have experienced more claims recently on the kind of car you drive or in your postcode or on any one of 100s of factors they’ll use to price your cover. Different insurers use different algorithms so your cover cost will vary so it’s always worth shopping around.

Seconding going on one of the price comparison websites.

I stayed with my last insurer for years, but this year the premium went up to £700 from £500 the previous year.

I shopped around and got a new policy sorted for £390 with a new insurer and it was all done and dusted with one phone call. Well worth it.

Got a quote today for £330 for my sports car, which is declined by every company on compare the market. The small insurance companies which don’t use these sites are often cheaper but it does involve a bit of effort. The only online site which did offer quoted £2000

I agree with everyone else. Insurance companies rely on you not bothering to shop around. Last renewal for me, I phoned up to check a detail on my policy, and before I even mentioned shopping around / getting a better price, they started offering me a better deal.

Ring em up and tell them that xyz insurance offered you the same policy for £300 pounds less so you'd like to cancel your policy and see what they say. They usually need to speak to their manager and call you back, then call you and say on this occasion they'll match that quote