# Weird price changes



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Looking around for insurance on the new car, know I'm going to get stung a bit this time as all my NCD is being used on my other cars and the prices for the new car from those insurers is silly expensive compared to online comparison sites.

Was playing around with excess figures last night and factoring in excess insurance to get the lowest overall price and discovered weird price changes depending on the date i want cover to start.

I have always been told the optimum price is gained when you buy car insurance 21-23 days before commencement date but thats not possible.

When I put in commencement day two days ahead I got a decent price, going out to 4-7 days ahead the premiums rose by £50-60, this was on all 3 of the main comparison sites

Definitely worth checking if you use the comparison sites to research car insurance prices


----------



## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

A phone call has generally always got me the best deal. Price comparison to get a price to use with existing company works with the option to move.


----------



## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Speak to your insurance company about a multi car policy, often a better deal and able to carry you no-claim over to every vehicle.
Because their thinking is if there are 2 policyholders and 3 cars, not all cars will be at the same time on the road. 
Talk to them on the phone, and speak to other companies to move the whole fleet over. 
Last time I had to pay 35 quid to cancel the policy and saved a lot more by doing so.


----------



## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

as above. I used my NCB on both my cars, defo worth a phone call


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

kingswood said:


> as above. I used my NCB on both my cars, defo worth a phone call


Have done with both my current insurers who I have my existing policies with, both point blank refused to mirror and quotes for the additional vehicle were ridiculous - strange as I'm 54, 12 years NCD, no claims in last 20 years, 3 points on licence.

I have a decent deal on offer from one of the comparison sites = main point was the variation in premium based on policy start date which I find completely bizzare


----------



## Sam6er (Apr 3, 2016)

Esure mirrored my no claims (back then 7 years worth) and they also do a discount for multiple cars, worth a phone call


----------



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I hate real time pricing, not that I do much personal lines business.

Nothing worse than doing a quote for someone and they want it a few days earlier as the car is ready sooner than originally advised and the premium rate changes. It is difficult to explain when the risk hasn't changed.

At least rates are still honoured for 30 days in the commercial market.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Sam6er said:


> Esure mirrored my no claims (back then 7 years worth) and they also do a discount for multiple cars, worth a phone call


Even though I'm insured with Esure on my other BMW. they refused to even quote on the new one - bizarre


----------



## enc (Jan 25, 2006)

andy665 said:


> Even though I'm insured with Esure on my other BMW. they refused to even quote on the new one - bizarre


that is odd 

have you spoken to them on phone? ... asked the reason?


----------



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Happy as my renewal document arrived today, £50 cheaper than last year and pleased to see that Direct Line SDP includes commuting to a permanent place of work. :thumb:


----------



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Happy as my renewal document arrived today, £50 cheaper than last year and pleased to see that Direct Line SDP includes commuting to a permanent place of work. :thumb:


Presuming you're still shopping around? If renewal is cheaper then that's a sign elsewhere will be.

As an aside for others too, I noticed at my last renewal lots of companies had removed the "insured to drive other cars" clause. Something I've taken advantage of when driving my mums car a couple of times a year. Luckily don't need it now as mum has given up her car but did think it was lucky I picked up on it.


----------



## ridders66 (May 24, 2019)

I have used the same insurance brokers for donkeys years for my house, car and holiday insurance etc. I just leave it to them to sort out. Once I did go on insurance websites to check against the price they quoted, once I had put in like for like, the other companies were always more expensive than my brokers. If you can use a decent local brokers it can pay dividends. 
Cheap insurance is just that. Cheap. It is all well and good until you have a claim, then you find out how good they are. My mate always got the cheapest quote for his house, when he had some tiles blown off in a storm the insurance company agreed to pay to have the tiles replaced, but refused to pay for the black dye in the mortar to match!!! He went with my brokers after my recommendation, and has been with them for 15 years now.


----------



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Decided to stick with Direct Line, insurance has dropped to £32 a month, comprehensive with personal accident, windscreen, guaranteed hire car, legal cover, protected no claims and full UK breakdown cover, car is a Golf 2.0 GT.


----------



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

ridders66 said:


> I have used the same insurance brokers for donkeys years for my house, car and holiday insurance etc. I just leave it to them to sort out. Once I did go on insurance websites to check against the price they quoted, once I had put in like for like, the other companies were always more expensive than my brokers. If you can use a decent local brokers it can pay dividends.
> Cheap insurance is just that. Cheap. It is all well and good until you have a claim, then you find out how good they are. My mate always got the cheapest quote for his house, when he had some tiles blown off in a storm the insurance company agreed to pay to have the tiles replaced, but refused to pay for the black dye in the mortar to match!!! He went with my brokers after my recommendation, and has been with them for 15 years now.


I couldn't agree with this more. When buying your own insurance, you are relying on your own understanding of a question set made by insurers, although car insurance is relatively simplified these days. All these cheap sites, comparison sites etc are "non-advised" sales - in other words, they give you what you ask for, and can not advise you whether that is right for you or meeting your insurance needs. This allows the companies to employ data input clerks rather than qualified insurance professionals. You are also on your own when it comes to a claim.

A Broker has a duty to assess your "demands and needs" and to find a suitable product. They can advise on the correct use that you will need for your car and every aspect of the policy cover. In the event of claim they will be there to fight you corner if needed, especially when an insurer is being unreasonable.

The amount of times i have spoken to people with Direct or non-advised insurance and they have been incorrectly insured as it was a case "oh i didn't know/realise that" because they've never been told otherwise.

Obviously there is plenty of insurance that you can't do without a Broker, eg commercial, especially complex commercial insurance.

Public Liability Insurance has become something that is easily available online with the click of a few buttons and that is scary. The amount of valeters & detailers that buy cheap insurance from likes of Simply Business not having a clue that it doesn't cover their activities properly and misses out on essential covers. But all people tend to see is the price as opposed to the value.

I was once up against it on a renewal for a fencing contractor, heavy risk stuff, although they saw themselves as a fencing contractor which is what they did in a way. I was up against a policy £10k cheaper, which was nearly half the price. I checked the alternative quote in a meeting with the client and it was for a typical fencing contractor on a normal tradesman type which would have been totally unsuitable, so i asked the client if the quote included cover for work on live motorways, to which the reply was "they never asked". He went back them and sure enough the company withdrew the quote and he renewed with me at what turned out to be a very good price after all.


----------

