How do car insurance companies work out how much people pay?

[ChildrenOfTheDamned]

DH's car insurance is £1332 per year, we pay it monthly. He's been driving for 8 years, 3 points on his licence for speeding which he got 4 years ago. No claims, although haven't carried any no claims bonuses over as we usually change every year and go with the cheapest quote. Car is 12 years old, no one else on his insurance.

DSD just got car insurance after getting it free for the first year with her new car. She's 22, car is 1 year old, she has no points, but does have a claim as someone shunted into the back of her pushing her into the back of someone else's car earlier this year. Her car insurance is £1350. She's been driving for 3 years, and has DH as a named driver on her insurance.

The only difference could be our postcodes I suppose, we live in an awful area with a high crime rate and she lives in a decent area with not as much crime. We both have drives.

I don't get it. I thought that ours would be much cheaper as DH is older, been driving longer and the car is older. I'm glad that she's managed to get cheap (well sort of) car insurance, but it makes me think DH's should be much cheaper?

You're definitely paying too much - my husband has more points and drives a car with a big engine / turbo and is only £400 a year I think. I would think even with no NCD it is too high - I only have a few years and mines is only £350 (admittedly on a small engined car)

Postcodes matter a LOT. I paid £300 a year in a bog standard area of Hull, flat with street parking. Then moved to one of Manchester's most ££ suburbs, with a drive to park my car on and more years NCD racked up.

The buggars cancelled my insurance altogether and said they do not insure my postcode! I found another insurer for £700, a whopping £400 more. Sadly car crime is a real problem in bigger cities like Manc and you're more likely to have a bump too.

I don't understand why you wouldn't carry your no claims over even if you move? They're still valid even if you go with a different company every year...

What am I missing?

Oh dear. You can carry your no claims across insurance companies, it is a bit of a faff granted. You need a letter from your old insurance company once your insurance has expired.

3 points should not make a difference.

Can he add his daughter as a second driver? This is likely to bring it down.

Postcode can be a big factor though.

Car type and job also makes it more expensive. There is a good reason footballers are excluded from most insurance!

I always transfer my no claims over. It's usually just a telephone call from the new insurer to the old one - you just have to ask them to do it!

Save a small fortune carrying no claims over. I rarely stick to the same insurer year to year and I have max no claims- usually 10 to 12 years depending on the company.

Your renewal quote from current insurer will suffice, and give you information about how many years no claims you have. This is proof enough.

although haven't carried any no claims bonuses over as we usually change every year

Presumably you're mega-rich so can afford to throw away about 800 quid a year without noticing it. NCD is portable from company to company.

I even managed to get 60% with immediate protection upon returning to having my own insurance after fifteen years of driving a lease car on company insurance. And it was a rather esoteric "any employee driving any vehicle" policy held by my employer, rather than anything even nominally associated with me personally. The company's insurers (plural) wrote letters saying "we have no record of duhg having had a claim over the past six years" and every insurer I got a quote from was quite happy to give me 60% with protection on that basis.

Why has no insurance company ever mentioned that you can carry no claims over? Have you always changed just before the year is over or something???

I have to say... I'm 27 and have been driving 8 years. 9 yrs no claims as had car insured before I passed my test. Car is BMW 318. I pay 631.

Statistics, postcode and statistics relating to your car are what matters. I think.

As your aware from pp ncd can be transferred between insurers after each full year (providing no more than 2 yrs has passed since last insurance in that persons name).

Ncd of 8 yrs would be at least 70% with most insurers.

Postcode and vehicle grouping are major considerations.

The fact you have an older car can work to your detriment, for example more likely to be written off than worthy of repairs, even basic repairs can become expensive due to age of car therefore the ease of getting parts can then be harder as they won't be manufactured anymore.

Even if car is older car grouping factors still apply, and (from personal experience within car insurance) if it's an auto it'll be dearer than the equivalent manual, if it's a diesel it'll be dearer than the equivalent petrol and so on.

Loadsa things to factor in. But anyway! Get your ncd transferred over fgs!

Also it's no faff. Just ask them to send the letter of proof and then post it to them.

Adrian flux who I am with have the cars in groups tho (probably just normal insurance groups but I doubt it due to what in about to say)

I had a 55plate focus 1.6tdci. It cost x to insure. Half way through I changed to a 03 focus zetec 1.6 petrol (all sporty) it cost the exact same to the penny as was the same 'group'. I then changed to a 53 Picasso 1.6 people carrier and again no change in cost. My new but extremely old a reg BMW is the group up so more.

Random info but kind of relevant.

S reg not A

You've really got to carry your no claims over, it will save you a fortune. Post code does matter, but you've been paying waaaaay over the odds for years.

Old cars aren't necessarily cheaper, I bought a new one last year and my premiums came down from an already low point.

Wowzers, I'm amazed at the cost of some of your premiums!

You can carry across your NCD from insurer to insurer.

Your profession (or lack of) can make you more of a risk in the eyes of the insurer.

I'm just past 30, 3 years NCD (licence held for 8 yrs), brand new BMW 116i Sport with access to other vehicles, dodgy area and only paying £273 per year.

Use every comparison website as I get wildly different quotes between them. My most favourable is the one with the cuddly toys.

I don't think the OP is coming back.
Possibly too embarrassed at having made such a basic mistake year after year.

Old cars aren't necessarily cheaper,

The main element in most insurance calculations is third party risk, which is pretty much independent of the age of your car.

Just brought a new car 64 reg, changed from a 09 Reg. Bigger engine, gone from 1litre to 1.4litre.
Higher vehicle value, 9,000 to 11,500.

No other factors have changed (same driver, same parking location, same annual mileage, same occupation).
So if insurers do it on engine size and value of the car... then insurance should have gone up - right? Nope... it remained the same.

Love to know the algorithm insurers use. Doubt they will ever tell us.

Mine went up when I worked from home. But then the home insurance went down.

Agree nanny nick. Thinking about it I had an S reg Ka 1.3 before my focus 1.6 tdci and the focus was more than half price!

I agree fish.

Minty is it a 1.6 tdci around 2005. If so read this and similar AND SELL.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=91541

www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/honestjohn/7885493/Focus-diesel-problems-are-adding-up.html

how on earth do some people make it through the day?!