Insurance companies (rant)

[Podie]

Got home yesterday to find a flyer from car insurance company... save upto 30% etc etc "careful drivers"... at least four years no claims etc etc.

Insurance is due for renewal, so I thought I'd give them a call... got the automated crap (press 1 for..) - not a good start. 25 minutes later I FINALLY get through to an operator.. so I give them the reference number and details are brought up.

"I see you're nearly 25 sir, we'll be able to save you money on your premium" - result I thought... can you confirm that you have 6 years NCB / drive a Puma / etc etc" - Yep to all of them...

THEN I get, "sorry, we can't insure you on that car until you are 30" - DO WHAT? It's only a bloody Puma, not exactly going to set the world alight is it?

"our policies are geared at careful drivers sir" - er? pardon? I'll be 25 at the time of the insurance (so theoretically out of the danger bracket), no accident history, full NCB, safe area, car garaged etc etc - how the hell do I not fit into that catagory?

Realising I wouldn't get anywhere, I then asked to be removed from the mailing list... "why would you want to do that sir?"... oh jeez. "Look, YOUR company sent ME a flyer telling me I could save money. You KNEW my age, history and car KNOWING forewell that I couldn't be offered a quote AND I'm paying for this bloody phone call - so I don't want any more of your company's literature or else I will complain to the ombudsman. Get it?" - I hang up..

WHY do these companies do things like this?

[incorrigible]

My old man rang Saga, got a similar response

How old are you
Where do you live

Yes sir you're definately the sort of person we like to insure

Ooh 127 years no claims you really are a careful driver aren't you sir

And the car...
A Fiat coupe 20v turbo

"We don't insure them"

FFS

[VTECDave]

Renewal shopping time for me to. Not used the phone yet but my online shopping has been fun enough....

All they companies claims the same - we're the cheapest, we're great, save pounds. Then they go and quote as much as £500 over my best quote (obviously can't mention em here). Muppets! How do they ever get any business at all?

[Animal]

Am also sniffing around for renewal terms. I love arguing with some dimwit on the phone about their quote, only to interrupt their "But sir, your car will be insured with Lloyd's of London..." by telling them that I'm a Lloyd's Broker and therefore understand a little bit about insurance!

Of course, they're the only people I'd tell - I usually just tell everyone else that I'm a milkman or something good like that...

[lotusfan]

I was with admiral for a while, full no claims and protection. one year had one car nicked and W/off and crashed the replacement quite badly but not quite write off. A while later, handbrake fails and my car rolls into another on the carpark, claims done etc
next renewal - £1500 (was 390), no claims gone.
ring around, went to direct line told them the tale and they came in at £900 ish but requested the proof of no claims from admiral. they sent this to me, five years on the cert! Sent off to D.L. who promptly dropped the coverage to £350-including protection Bonus! (I did explain to them but they were happy with the cert).

[cotty]

quote:
Am also sniffing around for renewal terms. I love arguing with some dimwit on the phone about their quote, only to interrupt their "But sir, your car will be insured with Lloyd's of London..." by telling them that I'm a Lloyd's Broker and therefore understand a little bit about insurance!

Of course, they're the only people I'd tell - I usually just tell everyone else that I'm a milkman or something good like that...

Yeah but only a little

The best way to confuse them is to tell them that Lloyds of London dont insure anything, its the sindicates and insurance companies that conduct business in or through Lloyds

Oh and get this my BMW 325i touring costs £100 more to insured that my TVR S1 2.8i as it is classed higher

[VTECDave]

Oh got confused about PH naming policy.

My best quote so far is actually Direct Line. I await my initial renewal quote from Tesco's though (who are more or less DL anyway IIRC)

[pbrettle]

To add a whole aura of mockery to the procedings, I have just insured my Chimaera with A. Manning. Previously insured on one of those 10 month accellerator dobries for £770.00 per year with Elephant.co.uk (which is not bad I admit). However, A Manning comes in at - get this - £440.00!!!! Now that is cheaper than I could get for a stuffing Audi A3 1.8 (NON-Turbo) and only £80 more than my Citroen ZX TD...!!!!

This is a joke.... some people get cheap insurance, others not... I dont get it.... I mean the TVR is group 20 FFS! Makes a mockery of the whole grouping stuff...

Cheers,

Paul

P.S. I am only 32 too...