Author Topic: Motor insurance through comparison sites  (Read 1802 times)

Offline donnybob

Every year I change my car insurers and the Meerkat one has all My details stored the confused one doesn't.
So I'm trying to fill in all the details and I have a problem.

Meerkat says I have had 1 claim, which was a windscreen claim  but I've got no details of when it was
So I can't answer the question on confused and I can't remember when it was, was it 2 years, 3 years etc so I don't even know which insurance company to contact to ask when it was

Is there some central register somewhere ?


Offline daviemac

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Windscreen claim don't count.

Offline Spunky34

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Can you maybe check your bank statements?  I’ve always had to pay a small excess for a windscreen claim.

Good luck when you get the quotes - just got mine through and with absolutely no changes to the car, claims, address, work, mileage etc the best quotes I could get were still about 40% higher than last year! 

Offline RandomGuy99

Every year I change my car insurers and the Meerkat one has all My details stored the confused one doesn't.
So I'm trying to fill in all the details and I have a problem.

Meerkat says I have had 1 claim, which was a windscreen claim  but I've got no details of when it was
So I can't answer the question on confused and I can't remember when it was, was it 2 years, 3 years etc so I don't even know which insurance company to contact to ask when it was

Is there some central register somewhere ?
Yes, there is a central register of insurance claims. Try asking your current insurer.

Offline PepeMAGA

Windscreen claim don't count.
Some count it, some don't.

Regarding the original question, is you contact your current insurance provider they'll tell you how many years no claims you have, you can then use that to generate a quote with a different comparison site

Offline mr.bluesky

You need to read the policy,  some will have window screen replacement or repair as standard and won't effect your no claims bonus some don't. I used to be insured by Direct Line for many years and probably got complace and stuck with them for too long , then went online at money market and got it it a lot cheaper with the RAC. It pays to shop around now.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2023, 07:48:17 pm by mr.bluesky »

Offline Bonker

Yes. There's a claims database that major insurers share.

Offline southcoastpunter

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Good luck when you get the quotes - just got mine through and with absolutely no changes to the car, claims, address, work, mileage etc the best quotes I could get were still about 40% higher than last year!

i have just had my renewal invitation from an insurance company and it too, is about 40-50% higher than last year with no changes or cliams, convictions etc

Offline RandomGuy99

i have just had my renewal invitation from an insurance company and it too, is about 40-50% higher than last year with no changes or cliams, convictions etc
I paid £20 more on my renewal this year.  :unknown:

Offline Squire Haggard

Mine is due for renewal soon. I've still to search for the best deal. This might explain some of the jump in costs. There are other reasons.

''Vehicle thefts rose by a quarter in England and Wales last year, new figures show.

Some 130,389 incidents of vehicles being stolen were recorded in 2022 - an increase of 24.9 per cent from 104,435 cases the year previous, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The jump in motor thefts is mostly the result of criminal gangs using a 'variety of hi-tech methods' to steal vehicles - three 'advanced practices' in particular, says AA Insurance Services.''

External Link/Members Only
« Last Edit: June 26, 2023, 10:38:01 pm by Squire Haggard »

Offline Ghost89

Just renewed mine. The initial quote was £124 more than last year. Quick phone call to them and managed to get them down to cheaper than 2 years ago. Always worth a phone call to give them a chance. My renewal was the same price as the cheapest quote on money supermarket.

Offline catweazle

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I'm in the same boat.  Renewal with the existing company is £140 higher.  I tried the " not on comparison sites " companies, like NFU, Direct line  and so on, and they were absurd. Saga wanted twice what the cheapest  quote on Meerkats was.

Offline Ghost89

I’ve got at least 15 years no claims but this doesn’t seem to count for much anymore. And they hold it against you if you have an accident that wasn’t your fault. As my Dad once told me…insurance is a con.

Offline billybobsmith

Mine has gone up by 40-50% the last 2 or 3 years.  Change providers every year now as loyalty counts for nothing.
No accidents, no claims and no points.

Don't see why I should have to be chasing them up to try and get a better quote.  If they're happy to try and rip me off by increasing costs by 50%, is that a company I would trust?

Expecting to be looking around again when my renewal comes in at say £600 instead of the £400 or whatever I'm paying now.

Can't remember if I went through a comparison site or just went direct this time.
I do sometimes use them to compare quotes and then check direct to see if that's cheaper (although companies such as Direct Line definitely aren't for me)


Offline dadio

According to Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert), the best time to shop around is around 21/23 days before your renewal date. Has worked for me in the past.
Best thing to do is put a reminder on your phone for 23 days before your insurance runs out and hit all the comparison sites as well as the non comparison ones.
Another tip is look at your job title and see if you can tweak it. Use this External Link/Members Only

Offline Jumping Jack Flash

I work in the insurance industry in Lloyds of London looking at complex aviation and nuclear risks.

All insurers re-insure themselves against large claims and the re-insurance treaties were all due for renewal back in the spring. The increases in re-insurance premiums were around 75% and this is inevitably passed on to each of us. Bottom line is that if an insurer’s costs have gone up then that increase will be passed on to each of us as insurance consumers via premium increases.

Offline Stevelondon

I work in the insurance industry in Lloyds of London looking at complex aviation and nuclear risks.

All insurers re-insure themselves against large claims and the re-insurance treaties were all due for renewal back in the spring. The increases in re-insurance premiums were around 75% and this is inevitably passed on to each of us. Bottom line is that if an insurer’s costs have gone up then that increase will be passed on to each of us as insurance consumers via premium increases.

I think we should be thinking what a few punters think on the SP pricing argument thread 😂

Just stop paying the high premiums and they will come down.       Apparently. 😂

Offline Jumping Jack Flash

I think we should be thinking what a few punters think on the SP pricing argument thread 😂

Just stop paying the high premiums and they will come down.       Apparently. 😂

Ha! Maybe!

I did some research in the trade press yesterday, in 2022 car insurers had an average loss ratio of 109%, so for every £1 they took in premiums they were paying out £1.09 in claims. That means premiums will inevitably increase.

Always shop around and don’t forget your local broker too, they have access to products that aren’t on the comparison sites.

Offline RandomGuy99

I think we should be thinking what a few punters think on the SP pricing argument thread 😂

Just stop paying the high premiums and they will come down.       Apparently. 😂
But if the garages, car parts and car rental places are all charging more due to inflation then the cost of repairs will have increased, so they'll take the opportunity to crank up the prices and you have to have insurance, so you got to pay the £££.

The car insurance industry is now just a huge scam.  See what happens when you make a claim. Your insurance company may offer you a way to get yiur car repaired withiut making a claim on your insurance. They do this by having you take out a credit agreement to cover the cost of repairing your car just incase the insurance company can't recover the cost from the other party's insurance company.  So.... You paid your insurance company to cover the risk of you having an accident and having to get repairs done. Your insurance company protects itself by having you take out a credit agreement for you to cover the cost of repairing your car..... this makes you liable for paying for your own repairs.  You took out an insurance policy to cover this risk and your insurance company now pushes you away from making a claim.... If ever offer you this option just say NO especially if the accident wasn't your fault.  It's a total scam to orotect the insurance company's profits.  It also makes a nice commission for making you take out a credit agreement and then all the other ambulance chasers descend making their % by offering you hire cars, etc. which is why insurance claims now cost more to resolve. 

The car insurance market needs reform.

Offline akauya

I think we should be thinking what a few punters think on the SP pricing argument thread 😂

Just stop paying the high premiums and they will come down.       Apparently. 😂

Great post  :lol: :lol:   :thumbsup:

Offline JontyR

According to Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert), the best time to shop around is around 21/23 days before your renewal date. Has worked for me in the past.
Best thing to do is put a reminder on your phone for 23 days before your insurance runs out and hit all the comparison sites as well as the non comparison ones.
Another tip is look at your job title and see if you can tweak it. Use this External Link/Members Only
One thing which always lowers my price is to put a second driver on the policy. 


Offline chrishornx

Some count it, some don't.



Correct. It doesn't affect the no claims bonus but it is still a claim and has to be declared as a material fact although its shouldn't affect the underwriting calculations.

Offline mr.bluesky

Re newed my RAC breakdown service the other day, that had also shot up in price  :scare:
Not had any need to use them since I recently changed my car ( touch wood) but always handy to have in an emergency.

Offline Drayki

Re newed my RAC breakdown service the other day, that had also shot up in price  :scare:
Not had any need to use them since I recently changed my car ( touch wood) but always handy to have in an emergency.

Have you tried shopping around for a cheaper quote, I know green flag are reasonable, and some banks include breakdown insurance in their monthly fees, I have in mine as well as mobile insurance and also holiday insurance

Offline george r

mine is due in a few weeks and this yrs quote is a lot more than last yrs ? so will be shopping around soon  :thumbsup:

Offline mr.bluesky

Have you tried shopping around for a cheaper quote, I know green flag are reasonable, and some banks include breakdown insurance in their monthly fees, I have in mine as well as mobile insurance and also holiday insurance

Yeah, I used to be in Green flag many years ago, like you say it pays to shop around.

Offline RandomGuy99

Re newed my RAC breakdown service the other day, that had also shot up in price  :scare:
Not had any need to use them since I recently changed my car ( touch wood) but always handy to have in an emergency.
Usually you just phone up and they immediately offer you a discount especially if you haven't used the service for years.  That's what the AA did with me.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2023, 11:46:27 am by RandomGuy99 »

Offline Peter5069

I have just renewed mine with an increase of about 6%.  Looked at comparison site and although I could get it cheaper from some companies acting as brokers the overall impression was that the cost could more than double for some reason even using the same search criteria as used for my existing company.  I would be very wary of using comparison sites and get your own quotes from known insurance companies.  My only claims in the last twenty odd years have been for two windscreens within a couple of months of each other but in different insurance years.

Offline southcoastpunter

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and when doing any comparison, make sure you are comparing apples with apples. Its easy to get a lower premium if you accept a higher excess figure. and check both voluntary and compulsory excesses as it's both you have to pay on a claim.

Offline Blackpool Rock

But if the garages, car parts and car rental places are all charging more due to inflation then the cost of repairs will have increased, so they'll take the opportunity to crank up the prices and you have to have insurance, so you got to pay the £££.

A mate has just had his car written off after a no fault accident and the insurance company wrote it off immediately after only reviewing a few pics he sent them, the car was about 12 years old but given the recent increase in used car prices it was still worth about £3K and the damage didn't look that bad.

Anyway he thought about buying the car back and getting it repaired thinking it would only cost about £500 to fix, the repair centre which was a reputable insurance approved place said it would cost around £4K to repair and there was a 3-4 month wait to get it fixed.
They then said insurance companies are writing cars off at the drop of a hat or if the repair is more than around 60% of the cars value.
Doesn't make sense on the face of it as they appear to be losing money by doing so however they then said that once you factor in the insurance having to pay a hire car for 3 or 4 months it's cheaper to write the car off.

The end effect is that used cars are then in even shorter supply which keeps the price of old cars higher for longer  :thumbsdown:

He was told that being a No fault claim it wouldn't increase his premium when he needed to insure again but he's now waiting to see whether that's actually the case once he finds another car, you just know they will claw the money back somehow over the next 5 years  :thumbsdown: