Insurance - 328i
Discussion
I'd have a very careful look at the options with Direct Line - do the quote on their website and you can keep varying all the parameters to see how it affects the premium. Last time I got a quote with them it started out at about £450, but I managed to get it down to £330, by
1. Opting out of the protected NCD. You only need to be claim-free for about 3 years to save the equivalent of the two years NCD you'd lose in the event of an accident. So unless you plan on having at least a claim every two years it doesn't make financial sense.
2. Taking the maximum optional excess for the same reasoning. In my case reducing the excess by £150 puts about £60 on the premium so it's just throwing money away unless you claim every 2 or 3 years.
3. Opt out of the Drivers Legal Cover. If you have an accident and you have a strong case most solicitors will take it up on a "no win no fee" basis. If you don't have a strong case the legal cover won't help you anyway. I used it once and found it was more of a hindrance than a help! Total waste of money IMHO.
4. Look carefully at your annual mileage and don't insure for more than you need. You can always up it later if it becomes necessary.
That lot saved me about £120. If your initial premium is higher then it will undoubtedly save you more.
1. Opting out of the protected NCD. You only need to be claim-free for about 3 years to save the equivalent of the two years NCD you'd lose in the event of an accident. So unless you plan on having at least a claim every two years it doesn't make financial sense.
2. Taking the maximum optional excess for the same reasoning. In my case reducing the excess by £150 puts about £60 on the premium so it's just throwing money away unless you claim every 2 or 3 years.
3. Opt out of the Drivers Legal Cover. If you have an accident and you have a strong case most solicitors will take it up on a "no win no fee" basis. If you don't have a strong case the legal cover won't help you anyway. I used it once and found it was more of a hindrance than a help! Total waste of money IMHO.
4. Look carefully at your annual mileage and don't insure for more than you need. You can always up it later if it becomes necessary.
That lot saved me about £120. If your initial premium is higher then it will undoubtedly save you more.
BlackStuff said:
1. Opting out of the protected NCD. You only need to be claim-free for about 3 years to save the equivalent of the two years NCD you'd lose in the event of an accident. So unless you plan on having at least a claim every two years it doesn't make financial sense.
Load of crap - you never know when or how often you'll need to claim.
rich_b said:
1. Opting out of the protected NCD. You only need to be claim-free for about 3 years to save the equivalent of the two years NCD you'd lose in the event of an accident. So unless you plan on having at least a claim every two years it doesn't make financial sense.
Load of crap - you never know when or how often you'll need to claim.
If you claim frequently enough for protected NCD to actually save you money then they stop offering it to you!
Before dismissing my opinion as a "load of crap", it might be worth doing the sums...
My insurance costs £330. Now the "average" motorist has a prang once every 7 years. So without NCD protection that means that during each 7 year period I spend 5 years with 65% no claims (£330), then one year back at 40% (£565) and another at 50% (£471) before the cycle restarts. So having an accident once every 7 years works out at an extra £53.71 per year in additional premiums. But in reality, not all accidents result in claims - there's a 50% probability that any accident will be the other guy's fault and leave your NCD intact, so the true "extra premium" is more like £27 per year.
Now last time I checked, protected NCD cost a lot more than that.
That's the mathematical analysis, which also explains why insurers are happy to offer you protected NCD in the first place - they make a considerable profit out of it. Of course if you have frequent claims then it would definitely be worth your while, except that the option is only offered to people who DON'T have frequent claims!
One golden rule I've always followed is not to insure against losses that I can afford to bear, such as an extra couple of hundred quid premium should the worst happen. In my eyes Insurance is there to protect against the costs I can't afford to bear, such as a £20k written off car, or my house burning down. A temporary £200 premium hike every ten years is not worth paying £60 or £70 a year to protect against.
Thanks Guys,
When I took the insurance out, Direct Line were by far the cheapest I think from memory by a couple of hundred quid. I was wondering if I'd missed out any golden opportunity to reduce it further. You know what it's like trawling around.
I note what your saying about protected NCD, but I think I'll keep paying for this. My wife drives the car don't forget.
I have played around with the excesses (online)and of course don't take up the optional legal expenses cover. I work in the accident management industry so I know how it all works. Albeit it is difficult to get an RTA solicitor to take up your case on a "no win no fee" basis unless you've got a personal injury to go with it.
I will try the suggested insurance companies and see if any difference, notwithstanding the fact that Tesco and Direct Line are from the same stable (UK Insurance Ltd).
Thanks once again.
Steve
When I took the insurance out, Direct Line were by far the cheapest I think from memory by a couple of hundred quid. I was wondering if I'd missed out any golden opportunity to reduce it further. You know what it's like trawling around.
I note what your saying about protected NCD, but I think I'll keep paying for this. My wife drives the car don't forget.
I have played around with the excesses (online)and of course don't take up the optional legal expenses cover. I work in the accident management industry so I know how it all works. Albeit it is difficult to get an RTA solicitor to take up your case on a "no win no fee" basis unless you've got a personal injury to go with it.
I will try the suggested insurance companies and see if any difference, notwithstanding the fact that Tesco and Direct Line are from the same stable (UK Insurance Ltd).
Thanks once again.
Steve
anniesdad said:
wiggy001 said:
Don't forget that protected ncb is useless if you transfer to another insurance company next year... they ask about accidents and claims, not the amount of ncb your current insurer thinks you have.
I've had no accidents either so this shouldn't affect me.
I think the point here is that should you have a claim then you are locked into staying with the same company for the following two renewals.
Bear in mind that protected NCD doesn't mean your premium will be unaffected by a claim - you may still get a loading applied to your basic premium irrespective of NCD. Furthermore, it may be that the current company puts a much heavier loading on than another company, but if you switch to the other company you have to forfeit your protected NCD. As is so often the case with insurance you can end up in a no-win situation, where the money you have paid all the years saves you nothing when it comes to the crunch.
All of which is another reason against protecting your NCD in the first place. The best way to "protect" it is to get a quote with and a quote without, and put the difference in a bank account somewhere each year. If you can manage a couple of years or so without a claim then there will be enough in there to cover any increased premium AND it still leaves you free to shop around for cheaper insurance should you have a claim. And if you don't have a claim the profit's yours!
I'd like to say that this is exactly what I've done, and that I now have a nice little nest-egg built up over the last ten years. But strangely I seem to have spent the saved money each year...
>> Edited by BlackStuff on Thursday 5th August 17:26
BlackStuff said:
wiggy001 said:
Don't forget that protected ncb is useless if you transfer to another insurance company next year... they ask about accidents and claims, not the amount of ncb your current insurer thinks you have.
I've had no accidents either so this shouldn't affect me.
I think the point here is that should you have a claim then you are locked into staying with the same company for the following two renewals.
Bear in mind that protected NCD doesn't mean your premium will be unaffected by a claim - you may still get a loading applied to your basic premium irrespective of NCD. Furthermore, it may be that the current company puts a much heavier loading on than another company, but if you switch to the other company you have to forfeit your protected NCD. As is so often the case with insurance you can end up in a no-win situation, where the money you have paid all the years saves you nothing when it comes to the crunch.
All of which is another reason against protecting your NCD in the first place. The best way to "protect" it is to get a quote with and a quote without, and put the difference in a bank account somewhere each year. If you can manage a couple of years or so without a claim then there will be enough in there to cover any increased premium AND it still leaves you free to shop around for cheaper insurance should you have a claim. And if you don't have a claim the profit's yours!
I'd like to say that this is exactly what I've done, and that I now have a nice little nest-egg built up over the last ten years. But strangely I seem to have spent the saved money each year...
>> Edited by BlackStuff on Thursday 5th August 17:26
Exactly what I meant but, with my employers expecting me to work for a living, I didn't have time to elaborate!
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