To think that car insurance has gotten to be a scam

[MaloneMeadow]

Tell me in what world is it reasonable that I’ve just paid £4500 for my (very sensible) DD’s first year of insurance, whilst DM’s 80 year old best friend is still tootling around with severe eyesight issues and dementia, having a near miss on a daily basis yet paying next to nothing insurance wise! Absolutely scandalous that the government are sitting back and allowing the horrendous price gouging currently going on with car insurance in the UK.

The statistics are also true that ethnicity, disability and perhaps even sexuality might make you more likely to have an accident. Should we have different premiums for these characteristics as well? Overall cancer risk is higher in white people than other ethnicities, should critical illness premiums be higher for white people?

Interestingly there is a study that shows women and gay men are the worse drivers. I think it is better if we just use time driving, vehicle, location, points on licence and no claims bonus to determine premiums because I don’t think we end up in a good place if we go down a road looking at things people can do nothing about.

https://www.4autoinsurancequote.com/gay-men-are-bad-drivers-and-therefore-pay-more-for-auto-insurance/

A very quick Google shows most minis as being in insurance group 11 or 12.

Why not get a car in a much lower group?

Well the premium has to reflect the risk.

If insurance companies were overcharging (over estimating the risk) they would make enormous profits. If they were undercharging they would go bust.

Since neither is actually happening that indicates that they have the risk about right.

Maybe there is some argument that they are estimating the risk correctly, but apportioning it inappropriately across their portfolios. If that were the case you would hope that the market would intervene to correct that (one insurer would be able to offer substantially lower premiums by apportioning risk correctly and only targeting that particular market).

I think there are also a number of technical reasons why insurance is going up, for example car repair prices becoming hugely expensive and cars that have been in accidents more likely to be written off completely rather than be considered repairable.

DD wanted a Mini and we are fortunate enough to be able to afford it. The same can’t be said for every teenager

DS is 16 but I've just done a quote online with his DoB as 17 to get a rough idea how much it would cos to add him onto my mine (1.6 diesel caddy van so nothing sporty).

Put my premium up by £3,000.

Then why bother starting a misinformed thread about insurance costs when you choose not to mitigate that cost?

Car insurance for all, not just young people is an absolute disgusting disgrace! I agree with you OP - its a total scam.

I drive a new Range Rover. Im 58, have 25+ years no claims, no convictions, passed at 17 and without a black box the cheapest was £1,700 !!

So I drive around like Miss Daisy with a black box fitted for £562 pa. I drive a few cars so thats for 4,000 miles a year.

Total joke 🤣

You purchased your daughter a fancy car you’ve struggled to afford the insurance premiums on. If you’d checked out the insurance groups first you could have purchased a car with cheaper insurance and you’d never have needed to have started this thread.

Because it’s a ridiculous price for all young people, not just DD! I don’t know a single one of her friends who would be able to afford and insure a car (no matter how much of a run around it is) with the way things are at the minute, parents helping out are the only reason that they are able to but not everyone is this fortunate

They should just use their parents' car for the first year. After that the premium will go down.

I was under the impression though the companies were supposed to be offering the same rate to new or existing customers

You're still getting the new customer deals though, It just means changing company every year. So they're only getting your business for one year

I can afford it perfectly fine - it’s the principle of young people paying astronomical costs no matter who they are or what they drive which bothers me. Of course I checked out insurance groups - a polo, traditionally a common first car comes in around the same price as a Mini these days due to being a popular car among 17 year olds and therefore ‘high risk’. It’s a monopoly and you can’t win

For a lot of people this isn’t an option. DD needs her own as I also work full time and she wouldn’t be able to drive my big SUV insurance wise anyway

Ah it’s the principle of those poorer than you having to pay through the nose for car insurance. I get you. Those people are probably struggling to even pay for driving lessons to be fair, everyone else is purchasing shitty little cars and keeping the insurance as cheap as possible. Not so fortunate you see.

This thread is mad.

Poster after poster coming on to say "it's a scam!" while understanding absolutely zero about it.

Utter thickos.

It can be done. My niece is paying £750 for her car insurance, she's 20 but she's driving a 10 year old car. Its her friends who are buying new or newer cars who are getting the eye watering quotes

You can get a group 1 car.

The average insurance cost is £1,200 pa for 17-19 year olds according to this.

https://www.independent.co.uk/advisor/car-insurance/car-insurance-for-17-year-olds

Most insurance companies are currently making BIG LOSSES on car insurance. For example, 'Direct Line' lost £180 million on car insurance in the half-year to July 2023.

You sound like an absolutely delightful person!

I think its perfectly fair to say that insurance is expensive, overpriced even but I don't see how it can be called a scam

But accurate.

Thisisnotarehearsal · Today 21:40

It is a total scam

My premium has gone up 50 per cent for no reason.

NO, your premium has gone up 'for a reason'; the reason is, insurance companies (Direct Line, Admiral, Aviva etc.) are MAKING LOSSES on car insurance. Hence their share prices are in the pits, and several CEOs have been sacked.

I moved & my car insurance decreased by about £50 this year !

That doesn’t work. Think about it.

we have a relatively new, biggish family car. As do most grown up adults with families.

adding 18 year old dc would have been absolutely astronomical, I did the quotes and calculations.

cheaper and more practical (3 drivers sharing one car doesn’t really work) to buy a cheap run around for a few grand that is only £1k to insure. The car will last a good few years until the premiums on a decent car become affordable. Plus it will also do younger dc, saving money there too

I have a 10 year old car and I am paying 200 less then your neice!!
I have been driving 28 years, no accidents.
Kine went up 20 a month this year.
I need to demand a recount.