AIBU to think that car insurers should give us all £25 as a goodwill gesture

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

We've been on lockdown for weeks now with weeks still to come and using our cars only 10% as much as we used to use them but not a dickey bird from the insurance companies who must be absolutely raking it in.

The approximate annual mirage within a band of a few thousand might be a small factor in your insurance, it certainly isn't worked out on how far you drive assuming you have a standard UK car insurance policy.

Maybe your insurer will give you a goodwill gesture at some point, surely better to be happy for a little extra if you do get it rather than whinging because you haven't. The petrol and wear and tear on your car that your saving is worth many times £25

My renewal was due mid April.
I'd got the renewal price through in early March and run it through a comparison site as usual, my renewal quote was very competitive so I was just leaving it to renew.
As it happens I was on my online banking a couple of days before renewal date and they had a 10% cashback for new policies offer, so I ran a quote, £272 compared to £356 for my renewal.
When I added my provisional licence 17yo it went up to £335 - my previous insurer wouldn't even include him.
I've got a new policy!

I wonder if it would be worth looking at cancellation policies and considering a new policy if rates have fallen.

Used to work in insurance - the miles you drive is a very very small factor in the cost of your insurance (for most people), and counterintuitively some policies will be more expensive with less miles.

If the cost of claims goes down you might see a reduction in your renewal last year but my former colleagues are all still working (most actually still working in the office). There are definitely still cars on the road, people are still driving about. Cars still need to be insured.

Ridiculous idea , doesn’t matter whether the car is used once a month or daily . For people who were doing 1000s of business miles they could easily have rung their insurer , altered the mileage and got a slight discount that way if they so desired .

If insurers aren’t paying out as much on claims that will be reflected in renewal premiums. If you feel your mileage will drop more than 2000 miles in the year call your insurers and adjust the mileage on your policy and see if any refund is generated.

I work for an insurance company that has had to spend thousands upon thousands on IT equipment to allow staff to work from home. They have had to cut opening hours to ensure there are enough staff available to answer calls.
Car insurance claims are lower than expected at this time of year yes. But the claims that are made are harder to deal with trying to arrange repairs, courtesy cars trying to liaise with other insurers many of which are closed or have very skeleton staff.
People aren’t buying new cars or moving address so insurers are losing out on administration fees.
People are putting vehicles on SORN and aren’t renewing policies or purchasing new business policies- again massive loss in revenue.
Guidelines state insurers must cover people who are volunteering to help in the pandemic. So mr Jones who used to drive 20 miles a week is now driving 200 miles a week to deliver food parcels to vulnerable people. His insurer won’t charge him anymore and will cover him if he has an accident. Mrs smith used to go to Tesco on a Sunday morning when it was quiet in her car. She is shopping for neighbours now and goes to Tesco 5 times a week when it is heaving so much more likely to have an accident. Keyworkers are working long hours and are exhausted. A nurse that has just done a 14 hour shift in a hospital is more likely to have an accident then ever before- insurers won’t charge her more.

Home insurance claims have increased 40% for April. Mainly due to accidental damage people being at home all day everyday and kids not being at school.

In April alone the company I work for has lost approximately 2 million in revenue. There is strong doubt if the company will still be trading if this goes on much longer.

Not to mention other parts of the business like travel insurance that is frankly hemorrhaging money paying out for refunds for holidays.

OP, and those of you with annual travel insurance. Given the billions of pounds travel insurers have lost on paying out tens of thousands of holiday cancellation claims, are you happy for them to write to you demanding an extra £25?

Thought not.

How about those with life insurance. They must've taking a right caning, with 20K plus extra deaths, many of whom will have life cover. Happy to be asked to pay extra?

People aren’t buying new cars or moving address so insurers are losing out on administration fees.

I guess we all knew it anyway, but thanks for the casual confirmation that such "administration fees" are profit for the insurer.

I guess we all knew it anyway, but thanks for the casual confirmation that such "administration fees" are profit for the insurer. of course admin fees are profit for the insurer if the insurers don’t make profit they don’t have a business.

"If £25 is a drop in the ocean, then why can't they pay it?" *

Really?? Can you truly not see the difference between an individual receiving £25 and a company having to pay out thousands of £25's?? A single payment is a drop in the ocean but hundreds or thousands of them is far from it.*

Dd moved to live and work in a large city and her car insurance premium went up 60% because apparently it’s a high risk area compared to home.
She returned to the family home six weeks ago when her employer asked her to work from home as she only has a small flat with no outside area. Funnily enough no reduction for being back in a low risk area with the car locked in the garage.

@Fairyliz

Have your DD phoned and asked for reduction? What was the response?.. Just curious how they explained/reasoned as to why they would not reduce it.

Has*

@HappyBuyer no explanation when I phoned apparently they don’t do this.

I'd rather see them reduce everyone's premiums proportionately to reflect the reduced risks during lockdown and/or reduced use over the next six to twelve months if we're not using our cars.

Admiral are giving me £25 which is great because I only pay £20 a month, and I'm still using my car.

I’m with Admiral and we’re supposed to be getting a £25 rebate. I was very surprised (and pleased) that they were giving one as I definitely wouldn’t expect them to do it. Anyway no sign of the rebate yet.

I'd rather see them reduce everyone's premiums proportionately to reflect the reduced risks during lockdown and/or reduced use over the next six to twelve months if we're not using our cars

If they did that it would take about ten years to work out. A blanket £25 to all motor insurance holders would be far simpler. As with many other businesses, those that behave well through this will gain when it’s over. Admiral clearly has some decency and will get my business come renewal time.

From the e-mail I received from Admiral regarding when the rebate happens.

When will I get the money?
We aim to issue all refunds by 31 May. There’s no need to contact us as we'll be in touch over the coming weeks to confirm when you can expect payment.

So hopefully we'll get it by the end of the month.

I’ve been with elephant for 2 months and had an email to say they’d be sending me £25. I thought it was a really good gesture of solidarity.

My car is still insured to sit on my drive so if it gets stolen and set on fire I'm not worrying. So I'm still getting cover?

My husband has a car insured only for fire and theft, no driving. It costs £59 a year. How much is your insurance?

Lol this is as ridiculous as it gets. You still need to insure your car and it's not their fault you can't go out haha. Would u still be expecting them to pay out a whole claim or would they get a similar discount if something happened? Lol crazy times

If you go over the annual mileage you declare when you take out a policy, you are supposed to let them know so they can charge you more for the increased risk.

Surely, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander?

" Insurers and brokers have shared a lukewarm response to the automatic rebate of £25 per customer – collectively £110m - by provider Admiral announced last week. "

www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurer/7510186/covid-19-should-all-motor-customers-get-a-rebate

I'm still driving to work...and still parking my car on the same drive every night 🤷‍♀️

Plenty of people are still using their cars. The streets around me are just as busy as usual.