# Motor insurance 123.ie is there a catch?



## shesells

Am currently doing some research in the run up to my renewal date. My current insurer wants to charge me €520 for fully comp on my Ford Focus (04), Quinn want to charge me even more but 123.ie only want to charge me €290!!

That just seems too good to be true (but would be a very helpful saving if it was kosher!). Next best is 25plus.ie who want €350ish


----------



## trap4

shesells said:


> Am currently doing some research in the run up to my renewal date. My current insurer wants to charge me €520 for fully comp on my Ford Focus (04), Quinn want to charge me even more but 123.ie only want to charge me €290!!




Adrian Weckler [tech editor Sunday Business Post] is just after writing on his blog about the savings he made on his motor insurance by going through 123.ie -

[broken link removed]


----------



## shesells

Brilliant, thanks! The €290 includes breakdown cover so I'm off to phone my current company to see what they can do before I commit to 123.ie 

This would mean I can actually pay it all in one rather than monthly too. Hurray for 123.ie!


----------



## Sandals

had the same experience with their house insurance for my premium for 08/09. However someone since told me they go up in price for ur second year and your better off to close ur account no. and start afresh, or better still ur husband/wife/partner name.


----------



## dub_nerd

I've been with them for house insurance for a few years. Don't remember the price going up in year two. In fact, IIRC, a very helpful person from 123.ie phoned me at the start of year two, told me the price for sticking with the same insurer and asked if I'd like to move to a different one for a little cheaper. I'm thinking of switching to them for car insurance this year.

(No connection, just a customer).


----------



## MaxKolbe07

I've compared Quinn, Hibernian and 123.com for the same car (a 04 Honda Civic 5-door). Hibernian quoted €800+, Quinn €750 and 123.com €501 (all fully comprehensive).

So, on the face of it, that's all great. 123.com come out on top. 

BUT - 
1) I've read the policy document (Travelers - as mentioned above) and nowhere does it say that I would have the standard third party cover on other cars. For me, this is really important because I would regularly drive my father's and sibling's cars. It comes in very handy time and time again. I'd be inclined to pay the extra €250 so that I could retain that perk (Both Quinn and Hib. both stated that this did apply to their policies).

2) Looking at their Terms & Conditions, you must have a specific (for most people quite low) number of years driving experience in Ireland and/or no claims bonus. I can't quite remember what they are. The thing is, I lived in the UK for a few years and was not driving for so long in Ireland before I left so, technically, I don't quite make the grade. I wonder how strict they are with that condition but I guess with insurance they're only waiting to get out of paying out!

I am open to correction on these points. In fact, I'd love to hear that point 1) above is incorrect.


----------



## shesells

I'm sure I read that there is cover on driving other cars. I thought I went through the policy document carefully.

Luckily I have 6 years NCD here so qualify for their cover.


----------



## bongo2

My motor insurance is up for renewal shortly. AA quoted me €330, 123.ie €290 and insure.ie €250. It pays to get a few quotes. I change my insurer every year.


----------



## shesells

Well I made the switch. Fingers crossed I never have to make a claim,  to see how good their service is!


----------



## Smashbox

I have to say I've been following this post closely. My mother got a crazy quote off FBD, and 123.ie gave a much better one, so I think she'll be switching too.


----------



## PaddyBloggit

FBD seem to be on self destruct.

Their commercial vehicle insurance rates have gone through the roof. An employee told me that head office had ordered the increases ..... and the same employee told me that they were losing customers left, right and centre as a result.


----------



## Smashbox

I can imagine. At one time, both my parents, my brother and his wife were covered. My brother left and is now with AA, my SIL left and is now with Quinn, and at the minute my parents are with  FBD, my mother with her car, and my dad with his jeep, tractor, trailer and house insurance is with them. They still think they can give ridiculous quotes to people, and think that they will stick by them. My parents have been very loyal, but I am insisting my mother at least change, and will try and talk my dad around too.


----------



## Bessa

My renewal with AXA came to me with a price tag of 715 euro, which really annoyed me. I have all the usual no claims everything. I rang them up and the lowest they would cover me for was 550, and that was more than i paid last year on a new car. The lady on the phone told me that times were hard for AXA, to which i told her times were hard at my house also. I called 123.ie and got full Comp. etc. for 350 euro. The guy i spoke to told me that they wanted mature drivers only, so young drivers may not get the best deal from them.


----------



## askU

*Benifits are very small*

Section 8;

*Personal Accident Benefits:*

• Death €5000 

• Total and irrecoverable loss of sight of both eyes €5000 

• Total loss of one or more limbs which have been severed at or 
    above the wrist or ankle €2500 

• Total an irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye €2500


(iii) O*ur liability does not exceed €5000 in any one period of 12 months.*


----------



## shesells

The other companies aren't overly generous with those benefits either. And they tend to be covered by other insurance policies people usually have such as health insurance.


----------



## allthedoyles

Paul O Brien said:


> . I think when the word gets out about 123 there will be people flocking to them because from what I can see, at the moment they are the best out there.


 
I have just processed two on-line quotes with the following result :


123.ie     =    € 290
insure.ie  =    € 270 ( € 300 less € 30 on-line discount )


----------



## Smashbox

I have just changed my mother from FBD to 123, very happy with their quote, and I too will be moving if Quinn give a bad quote for my insurance.


----------



## michaelm

PaddyBloggit said:


> FBD seem to be on self destruct. . .[an FBD] employee told me that they were losing customers left, right and centre as a result.


I only have one FBD policy now, down from three, and I suspect that I won't be renewing that with them.  They're premiums seem to have gone up and they're not reducing them enough when you ring them.


----------



## CCOVICH

I've always found the AA more competitive than any of the online brokers, but it really does depend on who you are/what you drive/where you are based/what age you are etc.  From what I have heard, some insurers have been increasing premiums recently, regardless of claims etc.


----------



## Moneypit

Myself and my husband also got a much cheaper quote from 123.ie for our car insurance which is due for renewal next month.  Our current insurers Allianz have put their prices up a good bit and the very best quote we got from them was €840, 123.ie can do it for €590, big difference but when I checked out Travelers Insurance Reviews (known previously as St. Pauls in Ireland) they come out very badly in the US where they are main Insurer, 68% of their customers surveyed said they were very disatisfied with their service, apparently awful when you want to claim for something so it's hard to know what to do, would that level of service be similar in Ireland?


----------



## allthedoyles

I was going to renew my car insurance with 123.ie . 

However there is an extra € 20 for direct debit payments AND they want a 30% deposit .

This does not suit me ............. , I am staying with Quinn D.


----------



## CCOVICH

I was under the impression that if anyone wants  pay their insurance by instalment there was 3 months upfront and a finance charge?  There was the last time I did so (a few years ago I'll admit) when with Quinn Direct.

Are Quinn Direct now offering 12 monthly instalments interest free?


----------



## Mini3277

I have to agree with what people are saying about FBD, they really seem to pricing themselves out of the market. 

My insurance is due in early March, I recieved my renewal notice today and was completely surprised to see that the quote had gone up €450 from what I paid last year. The quote is €1900. 

I'm in the unfortunate position of having a young named driver on the policy so that explains the high quotes. The policy is as follows; main driver female 50, full NCB 20+ driving experience without one claim - second driver male, 20, 3 years NDE and 3 years driving experience. The car is a 1.6 Copper, value circa €20K.

For some unknown reason FBD seem to think that a Copper is actually a Copper S, idiots!

Anyway to sum the post up; FBD €1,900, Chill €1,140, 123.ie won't quote, Quinn won't quote, Hibernian 1,325.

Got a quote from FBD on a BMW 325D with all the same info as above for €1,680.... It's a complete joke the way they just seem to pick prices out of the sky.


----------



## Ladyxxx

House Insurance across the board has gone up this year. Read the papers.


----------



## Ladyxxx

There is an 8% interest on all direct debits, alot of companies wont tell you this. Also every motor insurance policie requires you to pay 30% up front.


----------



## bhOnGRoSeTeS

I got a renewal quaote (comprehensive) from Allianz for 620 euros but ensure.ie gave me AXA for 593 euros (including the 10 euro charge for AIG), 123.ie quote me for 615 euros. It is more than i pay last year but i found that AXA will not cover the driver and passenger, moving on, i shop around and found 25plus.ie and got a quote for 433 euros including everything on a comprehensive insurance should be. suggestion..... shop around.....


----------



## gerrydean

*123 car insurance (is there a catch?)*

I'm with 123 since July 2009 Fully Comp for 290e, because i was in a car crash this year i'v had to pay an extra 50e so far for administration fees. I'm not covered to drive other cars and get a courtesy car you have to pay extra. i will be shopping around this year.


----------



## kbie

Also with 123.ie, Travellers. They also include NCB protection but was disappointed when I had to pay €15 to transfer insurance for courtesy car when own car was in garage for service. 

Previously was also with FBD and girl in local office said they had a budget fund and some discression to reduce premiums but this was taken from them.


----------



## peteb

In fairness, 123.ie are a tied agent to Travelers on their car and household.  So they cant requote you with any other company if you dont fit the criteria.  

With regards to their charges, they are set out in their terms of business which they are obliged to provide you at the quotation stage.  And it tells you in it that they will charge for temporary changes, permanent changes, letters of indemnity, duplicate documents, suspending your policy.


----------



## maddie

*Stolen and burnt*

I am insured with 123.ie..............I will not use them again.


----------



## maddie

I am insured with 123.ie but they will not honour their insurance policy to me.


----------



## PaddyBloggit

why?


----------



## bearcrossing

*Avoid at all costs!!!*

This company is full of hidden charges.  
I was with them for three years and in that time they made a fortune from me.

€40 for a letter, €25 for a disc, €40 admin fees on EVERYTHING!!!  Recently changed me €137.50 for canceling my policy. :-O  

This is an extract from the email.  "_Please note that the* €40* policy set up is non-refundable once paid and the direct debit service charge of *€57.38* will also be retained. A* €40* cancellation fee will also be deducted from any refund due_."  That's €137.50 from my €284 deposit gone on admin fees.   Anyway I've filled my complaint with them and in 30 days I'm going to the ombudsman.  I think i'll spend the next few days writing reviews/warnings on every site I can.  AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!  If you're not convinced then just type"123.ie insurance review" into google.


----------



## peteb

You don't stand much of a chance.  It's clearly stated in their Terms of Business.


----------



## Time

I was doing some quotes for the brother recently and 123.ie came out the cheapest with their headline rate but as said have charges for everything and don't offer open driving which was a strict requirement for him. Ended up going with Aviva direct for €20 more which included everything he needed. 

I would think long and hard before ever considering 123.


----------



## MrEarl

I don't like they way they try year on year to push your premium up, even if you've had another year of claim free driving.

However, on the flip side of the coin I will say this, I had to put a small claim in on windscreen cover over the past 6 months (no renewal since, before anyone asks) and their staff were very helpful, the claim was processed quickly etc. so credit where it's due.  

My wife had massive problems with Zurich years ago when trying to get a claim settled, even though it was clear to a blind mand that the claim was legit etc. & she ended up having to put a complaint into the Ombudsman to get paid, so it's not always about the cheapest premium I guess !


----------



## TomOC

MrEarl said:


> I don't like they way they try year on year to push your premium up, even if you've had another year of claim free driving.




My renewals with 123 on both house and car dropped this year compared to last year, this was around February.  Both were around 350 Euro.  I have 4 year no claims discount on the car and never claimed on house or car insurance apart from windscreen damage.


----------



## MrEarl

TomOC said:


> My renewals with 123 on both house and car dropped this year compared to last year, this was around February.  Both were around 350 Euro.  I have 4 year no claims discount on the car and never claimed on house or car insurance apart from windscreen damage.




Very interesting, my own car renewal is around the same time. Perhaps it depends on the type of car, area you live in ... or what they think they can get away with.  Like you, I have more than one policy with them.  Same last year ...


----------



## paddi22

we are with 123.ie for car insurance and found them fine.

whats the deal with FBD? They are absolutely crazy prices for premiums. Got quoted 1300 for a commercial van, went to insuremyvan.com and they got me fully comp with aviva for 360 euro!


----------



## MrEarl

paddi22 said:


> ....whats the deal with FBD? They are absolutely crazy prices for premiums. Got quoted 1300 for a commercial van, went to insuremyvan.com and they got me fully comp with aviva for 360 euro!



It's "no nonsense" with FBD, just complete madness when it comes to quoting for business over recent years, in my own experience.


----------



## Boyd

Had strange incident with 123 today. I'm moving into house with someone, who currently lives on same street as me. So we are moving from same street, to the same house, in the same Dublin postcode. 

When we both rang up to change address, we were both quoted E20 admin fee for it, which is annoying. However, I got a E208 refund on a E417 policy, whereas the other person was charged an extra E40 on a E340 policy! How can my policy go down and the other one go up, for the same house?!! 

I'm delighted as it basically reduces my insurance to E209 net, which is unreal, as its a 2.6L petrol car. Needless to say I got her to process the refund on the spot and ran with the cash


----------



## Branz

Pls delete this


----------



## Time

username123 said:


> Had strange incident with 123 today. I'm moving into house with someone, who currently lives on same street as me. So we are moving from same street, to the same house, in the same Dublin postcode.
> 
> When we both rang up to change address, we were both quoted E20 admin fee for it, which is annoying. However, I got a E208 refund on a E417 policy, whereas the other person was charged an extra E40 on a E340 policy! How can my policy go down and the other one go up, for the same house?!!
> 
> I'm delighted as it basically reduces my insurance to E209 net, which is unreal, as its a 2.6L petrol car. Needless to say I got her to process the refund on the spot and ran with the cash



The 40 increase would be their catch all admin charge for any changes.

123 are really cheap for certain niche people/vehicles. For others such as me they are crazy dear and would never be in the running for my business.


----------



## roker

I saved about €150 changing my car to 123, be carful with the house insurance, study the small print, there are so many exclusion clauses it's a wonder they pay out anything


----------



## PatMacG

my daughter's insurance came down from >1k to just over 500 for a 2.2l diesel saloon by switching to 123. I cannot understand the reduction but well worth her while. Parental caveats supplied of course.


----------



## Boyd

No, no I don't think I was clear enough......we were both *already *with 123, so this was not a reduction vs Axa etc! It is simply moving to same address with *same *insurance company resulting in plus E40 for them and minus E200 for me!


----------



## PatMacG

@username123, apologies. Sunday morning, etc, I've lost the ability to read, type or perform any activity that requires brain function.

Odd indeed and I cannot even begin to explain the actions of the RSA in-house broker. As you'll see from some other posts I've had a very unsatisfactory business relationship with them which I terminated years ago. Keep your eyes peeled and watch out next year in case, well just in case - they are 123.ie after all and there's always the second shoe to drop.


----------

