Car insurance HELP!!

[FakeGold]

Hi all,

Need advice on car insurance.

Due to being bloody poverty, I can't afford fully comp on my car.

Third party only is what I'm thinking, as it's a lot cheaper. Thing is I've always been fully comp so have no clue at all about third party only.

So I thought I would ask Mumsnet

If my car gets nicked do I lose my NCB? Or would it not touch it because the cover does not cover it. It seems like a gray area because surely I still have to inform them it's been nicked but no claim would be made so idk 🤷

Also what happens to my car in a crash, with no cover does it just get binned or do I have to scrap it myself. How does that one work?

Yes I know I'm bloody clueless

Hatches are desirable to be stolen which pushes up the insurance bracket. I would be tempted to sell the car and pick up a salon.

I find all these tricks so confusing.

I had five years with no car and lost all my NCB. So when I got a car, my insurance was £1500 - I’d been driving regularly in hire cars but that didn’t count.

Adding my mum didn’t work. Adding my dad didn’t count. Changing my excess helped marginally.

I’ve been driving 20 years now with no claims at all, five years NCB built up and my insurance is still £700 on a ten year old but reliable car.

Annoying in the extreme!

Sell the car. Put the reg of any you are thinking of buying into a comparison website before you buy another.

@GruciusMalfoy I had a black box a few years ago, never again! Was a right pain in the arse. It would put me on the wrong roads, mileage was totally out! By the end of the year I had done over 10k miles but the box said I had only done 3k I used to have to phone up to get "trips" removed as they were wrong. I had 3 boxes in one year as they were faulty. I also used to get red for driving over an hour, driving to many times in one 24h, also driving at night. No never again unless I really have no choice. Also it was only 400 quid difference between black box and TPO this time.

@Alsohuman OMG!! Tbh I'm just glad to hear you walked away with your life. I think if I was to have a blow out like you I would not care about the car tbh, just as long as everyone was ok.

Have you checked that the car isn't a Cat D right off, or has been modified or something?

Is it not third party, fire and theft?? So it would be covered? It always used to be.

I'd go on a price comparison website if I were you. Or phone and ask your insurer, they'll sometimes come back with a more realistic price if you talk to them.

Thank you Fake, my guardian angel was definitely sitting on my shoulder that morning! But do learn from my lesson. And I can’t get my head round the insurance costing multiples of the value of the car.

Wow those quotes are extortionate OP I drive a shitty old qashqai I’m 23 only have 6 years experience and mines only 450 a year😮 has the car been wrote off previously? I know that can cause high insurance?

Gosh, I don't think I have seen a salon for a long time. I never liked them so did not go looking tbh. Never knew they were cheaper to insure. I feel like I have learnt so much from this thread.

Yeah the car is clear, no cat anything.

No @Almostfifty the cover I was looking at was only TPO. Fire nor theft were covered. Tbh the cost of the car I don't care if it gets burnt out or nicked. But I will look at the cost difference out of interest when I next look to see if it would be cheaper with fire and theft.

So there are usually four excesses on a car policy -

Voluntary accidental damage excess - set by you as the policyholder. Higher excess = reduces premium.

Compulsory accidental damage excess - set by insurer, can’t be changed

In the event of an accident you will pay the combined total of the voluntary & compulsory accidental damage excesses towards the damage to your own vehicle only.

If your vehicle is not damaged or you decide not to claim for repairs (eg repairs are minimal) you do not have to pay the excess.

Fire - compulsory and set by insurer, only applies in event of a fire claim

Theft - compulsory and set by insurer, only applies in event of a theft claim

Most private car policies do not have a third party liability excess - so if you crash and do not claim for your own damages, you will have nothing to pay.

Your NCD will be affected if there is a TP claim regardless of wether you claim for your own damages.

Thinking as I go here I believe it’s only Fire&Theft only cover where your NCD is not live as there no road risk & no risk of damage to others.

If you have a comprehensive policy with an accidental damage excess higher than the value of your car you are basically giving yourself a reduced level of cover as you won’t be able to claim for your own damages but the premium is reduced in line with your higher excess.

There are benefits to maintaining your comp cover if possible such as driving other cars extension (TP cover to drive other vehicles) and windscreen cover etc. Comp with a high excess may also be cheaper than TPO / TPF&T.

If you are in a high risk area I would assume you’d want the fire & theft cover.

Even if you're fully comprehensive and have your car stolen, it serious affects your premium. I was fully comp, 7 years protected NCD. Car was stolen off my drive in the middle of the night but is stated as a fault on my insurance policy as theft can not be claimed from any other party. Made my premiums go up too!

It doesn’t have to be stolen either. If some bastard hits it when it’s parked and drives off, it’s the same. It’s happened to me twice.

Something must be off with that quote. To insure my 17 yr old who had been driving for 6 months was only £1200 fully comp.

@FakeGold

Jeez do you live in down town Baghdad??!

I know that sounds flippant, but it's not supposed to be! Even in a high risk area that seems extortionate!!!

Monthly payments will always be a bit more due to interest. Adding an older named driver will help.

It's only illegal if the main driver is put on the policy as a named driver. Its called "fronting"

£3k for car insurance! That’s really high, what an earth have you been doing 😱 I thought £300 was a lot. Without sounding patronising are you sure you entered the correct details, it seems so high!

I looked at paying monthly and the total ended up being more? Yes, because the money is due up-front, but you take out a loan to spread it over 12 months and pay interest on that loan.

Buy another car after checking the insurance group categories. The lower the category, the cheaper the insurance. Smaller cars with lower powered engines will be cheaper. Will save you a fortune. Insurance for under 25s is awfully expensive at times. Good luck.

Try varying your occupation without lieing
When DD was a student nurse she also worked part time in local supermarket and did shifts for a care agency
Student was most expensive
Then carer
Then retail assistant
Student nurse was over £100 cheaper still!

Talk to your insurer - find out why the car is £3300. You may find it's a boy racer vehicle and flogging it (trade in!) and buying another could easily get you back to sane pricing.

@BooKoo thank you for breaking it down for me. I never knew that excess was only if I claimed for my own car and not TP. I guess that's why the TPO had no excess. It's all making sense now!

So am I understanding you right about the NCB, I will still earn it on a TPO? Or I won't earn it but I can still lose it?

@Gemm83 I live on a main road and although I've not seen a bloody burnt out car round here in years, most people have expensive cars so I am guessing cars getting nicked and the fact my car is kept on the road as no drive that it all adds up. Also this Toyota must cost more idk. 🤷

Yes @Alsohuman I left my mirrors unfolded once and someone took it off going past. Luckily was cheap on eBay so no claim.

That figure is crazy. Something can't be right there if you have 6 years NCB. I have a 20-year-old Totota hatch & my insurance is about £200 a year fully comp. I do have more years no claims than you, but 9 years is generally the maximum most insurers accept anyway. I suggest you see an insurance broker.

You may find it's a boy racer vehicle

Seems unlikely if it's a Toyota Hatchback (Corolla?)

3k phew I'm in shock. Something is driving it up there - is it your job? I have an idea anything in the licensed trade isn't helpful. Depending on your mileage is it worth looking at one of the companies who insure per mile?

good grief. The age of the car isn't that relevant, it is the damage you could do with it which relates to you. But if you were on £700 previously (which is still huge - inner city?) then that's really odd.

I'd try an insurance broker to identify what the issue is. Also sometimes tweaks in your job description can help - not lies, just choosing the other option that also describes you.

and yes, add someone with a clean licence as named driver, doesn't matter if they never drive it. You as main driver is what matters.

paying monthly adds interest charges so costs more.