To think my car insurance should have gone down in 12 years

[squaredcircletriangle]

I am still paying nearly £800 a year for the same car I have insured for the last 12 years.
It is older now but I would have thought for a 40 year old who walks to work, has never made a claim or got any points would have been paying less.
I used to think I paid more because I was young but sadly that’s no longer the case.
Does this seem excessive or about right?
I only have a small 1.6 focus.
I know I can shop around but wanted to know if that sounded reasonable first.

I think you need to have a good look around, I have a Ford Focus ST and pay 260 for a year

You need to shop around. Insurance firms rely on customers suffering from inertia who can't be bothered to shop around. Just go onto a price comparison website and see what's out there. It really doesn't take long.

That’s a crazy price. My car insurance is £250 pa, which also protects my NCB.

I paid an extra £40 pa for RAC breakdown cover and home recovery.

I paid £202 this year for a similar sized car, but insurance is very dependent on where you live, I’m in a cheap place in insure

Get on a comparison site now, you don't need to know what anyone else pays and it takes a couple of minutes

Are you saying you've never done this in 10 years?

I'm 40 and just renewed with Hastings Direct. They quoted £299 up from £266. I shopped around, clicked "Not happy with my price" and they matched Lloyds Bank at £219! It will go down with someone else unless there has been a run of car crime in your area.

One thing though - walking to work won't help. The more mileage I drive, the less I pay.

Have you done a price comparison? You should have a decent NCD by now and that’s far too much.

I have been driving since December 2022 and my insurance has gone from around £900 to £600 when I renewed it this year. Same car, no accidents.

What is the area like where you live? I know student heavy areas have higher insurance.

Really shop around OP, loyalty isn’t rewarded I’m afraid and that does seem really high.

You'll only get good rates if you shop around and change insurer every year or so - have you been doing that? Unless you don't have a full licence or have endorsements etc then yes £800 is ridiculous!

Asking ransom people who live all over the UK to compare insurance quotes is a waste of time as there are too many variables.
You need to check on comparison sites and play with things like annual mileage, voluntary excess etc as these can affect the premium.
Even if a renewal comes through from your existing insurer and you think it looks ok, still query it or even get a fresh quote as often it will be lower.

Have you been renewing with the same company every year? If so this is where you are going wrong. If you pay it, they will not change it.

Where you live is a huge factor. When I lived in a city it was always high. Suburbs was better, now I'm more rural it's high again because there are some dangerous winding country roads that are accident blackspots.
Insurance prices generally have gone up, so if you've stayed the same it's actually not too bad. Mine hasn't changed much in the last five years (despite shopping around every time)

Never just accept the renewal offer - car insurers are bastards and will just up the price each year hoping you can't be bothered to shop around. I change insurers literally every year. I just did mine yesterday - RAC quoted me £440 to renew. I did a check on a comparison site and had offers of similar cover from £300. I queried with the RAC and an advisor magically knocked £40 off from just checking again. But still more expensive than elsewhere. I switched to the AA premier and saved about £120 compared with staying.

I am an insurer by trade for a firm which does write motor. It depends where you live and on person circumstances, but that does sound high. I would use a couple of aggregator sites such as go compare and compare the market. My tip is make sure you are comparing like for like- courtesy car for repairs NCD the same, legal expenses if you require it and then go for a brand you have heard of. Be slightly wary of anything that implies the policy is a light touch- such as essentials or standard. This might be fine but be wary of what they have taken out- windscreen cover is a current favourite. Try a couple of direct only providers and then move your policy. It varies, but some policies do penalise people on their own, which is a bit tough.

Shop around OP.

A few years ago my insurance company decided to double my insurance. Despite no changes to car, location, no points etc. I used a comparison website and literally every other company was offering me half or less than what my insurer wanted.

Ive never understood why loyalty isn’t rewarded.

That sounds quite expensive to me, but I am comparing that to my circumstances and my car. I drive a much bigger engine car and I’m over a decade younger and my car is less than that to insure. Definitely shop around. MSE have a section about car insurance and the sites to try.

Echo others. Loyalty is not rewarded. Shop around.

that sounds a huge amount. We pay less than that for a newer discovery in south London.

@Cyclebabblecan you explain why insurers don’t reward loyalty. I don’t understand this business model!

I would not expect to pay more than about £300 for a car like that unless I lived in a place which had particularly high insurance

I stop with Aviva each year and mine is around £200 for a Ford Fiesta

That is very high. I am paying 940 but that is for 2 cars, one with 2 drivers the other with 4 drivers including 2 teenage boys one of whom only just passed his test. You need to find the time to look at comparison sites.

Mu 18 year old sons more than halved, mine has gone down moat years owning the same car. That's staying with the same insurance company.

You have wasted a lot of money by not shopping around. Why would they put it down for you when you have been happily paying it year after year.

Did you never question it not going down or ask them?

It's been 8 years, so you may not expect it in the first 2 years, but what about the last 6 years.

I have been with the same one, for at least 5 years, probably a lot longer and it sometimes goes down by a small bit. Every time there is a renewal and I expect it to go up but it doesn't so I just stay with them. I could probably get a bit less than £200 elsewhere but it's not worth the bother.