# Insurance rip off.



## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

Just come to insure my little Polo for the coming year. Renewal appears and I brace myself and have a look. £246, So I'm thinking cool about the same as last year. So think I'll do it over the phone and get it done with. I get asked the usual questions has anything changed, etc?

Now I've just come out of work so mention that I'm no longer an NHS technician, but unemployed for the moment. Oh he says that might effect the premium, I'll check.... £409!!

Wtf is that all about, I have the car down for business use and am out and about every single day when working. Now I'm off and the cars sat in the garage they increase the premium by £160. Talk about kicking a man when he's down. I'm astonished and disgusted in equal measure.


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## pharmed (Feb 11, 2013)

Unfortunately insurance works in weird and mysterious ways! 

Have you tried quotes with a few other companies? I never trust my renewal figure and always shop around PLENTY before deciding. Also, do you have any other cars in the household? Multi car policies seem to be offering good discounts at the moment.


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

pharmed said:


> Unfortunately insurance works in weird and mysterious ways!
> 
> Have you tried quotes with a few other companies?


Mysterious indeed, legalised theft would be how I phrased it. I'm doing the ringing round for quotes now.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

This was on Watch Dog a couple of months ago I believe. 

The reason given was that people unemployed might not be able to afford the maintenance of the vehicle.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Unfortunately the rating is somewhat archaic.

You've probably been hit with a double whammy, as NHS is one the occupations that usually gets a discount, so you've probably lost your discount and then been hit with a loading for being unemployed.

It's one of those annoying things about insurance that doesn't reflect the real world we currently live in quite the way it used to.

Many years back, being unemployed was seen by insurers as a bit dodgy on the moral hazard of rating due to things like having jobs on the side, poor upkeep of vehicles and an increased likelihood of claiming. Also access to vehicles throughout the day, so more likelihood that they will be driven on the road (unlike people who work who will be sat behind a desk, or in a factory etc all day). Contradicting the fact that if they can't afford basic servicing then they can't really afford the petrol to be driving around willy nilly all day!

As above, shop around until you can find the best price, rating structures vary considerably from Insurer to Insurers so hopefully you will be able to find one that makes little or no difference being unemployed.

I agree though, it is one hell of a kick in the teeth when you least need it.


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

Things are looking a little better after an hour on the TinTerNet and a bit of ringing round. Looking more like £300ish including a bit of breakdown cover. I'll wait until I have a couple that are close and then try and knock en down quote for quote.

It really has irritated me though. I don't mind paying the going rate but what does what you do for a living have to do with what you should be paying unless it is directly related to driving. As for the cars not being serviced properly by the unemployed I wonder if there is any proof at all to support that. Mine has free servicing chucked in for 3 years anyway.

Do you do std motor insurance quotes?


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## piston_warrior (Jul 25, 2012)

Can you not change your occupation to 'housekeeper' and say its voluntary work for your wife? :lol:

I'm a manager in a supermarket and if I actually put 'supermarket manager' my quote was £1400. Instead I opted for just 'manager' and it dropped it to £1200. I'm not lying but I'm saving money


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

DampDog said:


> Do you do std motor insurance quotes?


We do, but being a commercial Broker we often struggle to compete with some of the cheaper online offerings.

You are welcome to give us a try though.


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

matthewt23 said:


> Can you not change your occupation to 'housekeeper' and say its voluntary work for your wife? :lol:
> 
> I'm a manager in a supermarket and if I actually put 'supermarket manager' my quote was £1400. Instead I opted for just 'manager' and it dropped it to £1200. I'm not lying but I'm saving money


Too right, now I'm aware of it I'll be more careful. Once bitten twice shy as they say.


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## LittleMissTracy (May 17, 2012)

Same thing happened to BF's last year, his went up over £150 to over £500. Didn't make a diffeence on him being on my insurance. He shopped around and they were all dearer. 
He put down that he did 5000 miles to get it to that. 
Yet lots of unemployed for a living folk have cars, wonder what they put?


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## DeeTailer (Aug 13, 2009)

I used to work for an insurance company and the hard truth is that the whole point of insurance is that its based on the reality of previous claims.

So there's hard evidence that different employment types (or not) have different claim experiences and these are a factor in how they calculate the premiums, just like age, type of car, etc, etc.

It maybe unpaletable, but its a reality of insurance underwriting risk.....


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

DeeTailer said:


> It maybe unpaletable, but its a reality of insurance underwriting risk.....


The predominant factor should be my claim history, I've not made one in the past 25 years+ regardless of what I've been driving or what I did for a living. I don't mind being classified so long as it has some basis in fact. Not some statistical probability used to justify a price hike.

What the fine for being uninsured £250? looks cheap.:devil:


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

What's the definition of being unemployed? Claiming Jobseekers? There could be a way around the definition.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Put down 
Civil servant
You get paid by the govenment dont you??? (allbeit dole money) 
Its a play on words isnt it so play the word game


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

^^^ and good luck when trying to make a claim if they try and take a run at you


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

and you watch the likes of motorway cops and they are apparently astonished when people don't have insurance.

Working in the real world sucks unfortunately, sometimes i wonder if ive been too honest with my insurance companies in the past and just get ripped off for the sake of telling them the words that rings there money bells


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

I've always thought of myself as an honest person, but I'm starting to think that the way the world now operates, it puts you at a distinct disadvantage, and not from just the obvious thieves and crooks.

If a business stretches or bends the truth, it classed as good business acumen.

If a Banker fiddles the books and loses trillions it's called a bonus.. 

If an MP milks his expenses or lies it's a misunderstanding of oversight.

We even have lawyer who specialise in getting people off speeding fines and such.

Maybe Chris Huhne, should have forked out for one..:doublesho

The worlds gone a bit mad..


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## piston_warrior (Jul 25, 2012)

B17BLG said:


> and you watch the likes of motorway cops and they are apparently astonished when people don't have insurance.
> 
> Working in the real world sucks unfortunately, sometimes i wonder if ive been too honest with my insurance companies in the past and just get ripped off for the sake of telling them the words that rings there money bells


I think you are being too honest! Tell them you drive a 1 litre Micra and that you're a 68 year old female.

Play the game!!


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

matthewt23 said:


> I think you are being too honest! Tell them you drive a 1 litre Micra and that you're a 68 year old female.
> 
> Play the game!!


If i pull 3 sparks plugs out and wear a wig i could get away with that


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## jcrease (May 4, 2011)

Beancounter said:


> ^^^ and good luck when trying to make a claim if they try and take a run at you


Do you have to prove your occupation when claiming?


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

It's insurance........do you really want to take the risk and give them 'a chance' to get out of paying up


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

Nope.. As much as it grieves and irritates me, I wouldn't give em half a chance to void a claim. Its just me, I'm sure some wouldn't bat an eyelid at stretching the truth.


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

Sorry DD, was aimed at jcrease, but seems you are of the same opinion as me


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Question is when you get a job will the price drop to the original quote? I think we all know it won't. Wife got quotes recently and forgot to put business use on. She changed the online quotes to add business and it was increased by £17. For some reason she took out a policy without the business use. Realised 6weeks later when she had to provide work with a certificate. When she rang to add business we expected the £17 plus an 'admin' charge, they said it would be an extra £68!!! Re doing the quote online was like the original but they wouldn't have it. Got her over a barrel now as there's a two month cancellation fee as well!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

DampDog said:


> Things are looking a little better after an hour on the TinTerNet and a bit of ringing round. Looking more like £300ish including a bit of breakdown cover. I'll wait until I have a couple that are close and then try and knock en down quote for quote.


Who's that quote with matey?

Have a look at Quidco as you might be able to get another £50-£75 off...

http://www.quidco.com/insurance-finance/insurance/car-insurance/


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

I has a similar experience with mine last year, I needed to add business use about 3 months in. On that occasion they said no problem we'll just change it, no additional cost. In retrospect I should called that a win. They do appear to be a law unto themselves. Each year they send you a new quote and it's almost always more that the previous years, you ring em up to question it a "behold" they knock it back down. They seem obsessed in gaining new customers and then immediately forget about them. I'd have thought the aim would be to build your repeat custom.


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

DMH-01 said:


> Who's that quote with matey?
> 
> Have a look at Quidco as you might be able to get another £50-£75 off...
> 
> http://www.quidco.com/insurance-finance/insurance/car-insurance/


Cheers will do.

Just been on moneysupermarket and have half a dozen now, all way less than the £400 odd the AA quoted. Odd they were pretty much the cheapest last year. I have a week or so to sort it as yet anyway.


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## Voice of Reason (Mar 26, 2013)

Recently, some insurance companies have started including a clause in your policy which allows them to increase your excess in the event of a claim by £200 if you choose to nominate your own repairer. This information will probably be hidden in the small print somewhere for you to discover when you make a claim. Always ask when renewing, if your right to choose will be agreed to on normal terms. If you don't you could be in for a surprise. There are several reasons why they want you to use their repairer.......... answers on a post card please!


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

Little update for anyone who's interested. Managed to get it down to £277 including breakdown & home-start. (I used MoreThan, in the end)

Cheers for all the input..:thumb:


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## Silky-cookie (Nov 19, 2012)

Yeah never say unemployed. Be a house husband or home maker. They wanted £1200 instead of £450 for our scooby...good thing im self employed! 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


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## adamangler (Mar 9, 2013)

i work full time as a del driver and just started to do valeting part time

currently paying 450

so i tried to insure my van for carriage of own goods, cheapest quote i could find ANYWHERE was over 1100, tried all comparison sites etc.

apparently its because im a delivery driver, i told them i dont use my van for delivering, that just happens to be my job...i only use van to go to work and to valet on a weekend...doesnt matter apparently, because im a del driver it costs loads more...

anyway, if a put van driver as my occupation premium drops to 386 with the same companies!

so now i call myself a van driver lol


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## Vmlopes (Jan 8, 2012)

My 17year old passed his test last month, so cheapest I have found was for £1536 for a 1.2lt Clio, putting him down as in full time education, which he technically is until he mentioned that it was full time at a football academy........got put through to a specialist broker and the premium jumped to £4432 !!!!!


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