# Has anyone got personal experience of Quinn Direct?



## OhPinchy (22 Aug 2005)

_This thread in its original form made unsubstantiated allegations based on "a friend of mine told me" type stories. These have been removed to be fair to the company and to provide relevant information to users of Askaboutmoney

Brendan Burgess
Administrator of Askaboutmoney_


I’m a 25 yr old male in Dublin with full license and named driving experience since Dec 2004. No other driving experience.

I’m looking to get fully comprehensive insurance in my own name for my 1999 Opel Astra G 1.4Litre 16V. I also want to have my girlfriend on the cover as a named driver: she’s 25, provisional license and no driving experience.

Have done a lot of shopping round and only really FBD, Quinn Direct, and AXA were in the running.

FBD: €2042 fully comp with girlfriend on cover, €1471 without
AXA: €1990 fully comp with or without girlfriend
Quinn Direct: €1570 fully comp with girlfriend.

Others came in at around the €1950 mark but wanted me to do the Ignition course to get that price – yeh good luck with that lads, hardly gonna take a day off work when you’re more expensive than the opposition anyway am I?

At €1570 that’s a good quote from Quinn Direct as some companies were looking for 2.5k – 3k and I had to laugh when they said ‘that price is killing us we can’t afford to compete with that’ and then I refer to their recently revealed monster profits and they still say theres nothing they can do.

_Has anyone got direct personal experience of Quinn Direct_

They offer the same benefits as the other quotes above and as far as I’m concerned they’re legally obliged to cover me if I have a legitimate claim. Other than that I don’t wanna talk to them till this time next year when I’m shopping around again. But I’d really appreciated any insight on this people might have – is the price hiding something?

Either way I’ll try get FBD to match the quote as they were the only company that had a big difference between having the girlfriend on it and not having her on it, but we’ll see.


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## Cahir (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

They're bad if you try to switch to another insurance company.  Do an aam search for quinn direct and you should find the hassle I had.

Plus they won't insure sports cars.


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## Ann-Marie (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

[broken link removed]

See are these any better


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Hi Cahir

You were not very specific about the problems in the  I could find on the subject. What exactly happened? Was it a case of one-off bad service to you? Or was it some practice of theirs which makes their insurance worse than the others? 

Hi OhPinchy

I deal with their life side from time to time and I find them very efficient. I never found the car insurance competitive, but that's probably because the Institute of Chartered Accountants car scheme seems to be great value.

Brendan


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## CCOVICH (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

I have been insured with Quinn Direct for 2 years now.  I find their service fine, i.e. when I ask them to do something, they do it fairly quickly.  

I have heard from a friend of mine who is a solicitor that Quinn are hard to get money out of, but maybe that's why they have low premiums than other insurers?

I have also heard (on this board IIRC, but I may be wrong on that) that Quinn pay out if someone claims against you without letting you know that they have done so (are they obliged to?).

Quinn also don't cover windscreen damage.  Again, maybe this is how they keep their premiums low-most other insurers let you claim up to 3 windscreens a year without affecting your no claims discount.

Bottom line (for me), Quinn offered me the cheapest quote, I wasn't bothered about the bells and whistles that other insurance companies offered, I have no reason to complain about their customer service, and I have been fortunate enough not to have had reason to make a claim.

If it wasn't for Quinn, I would have struggled to get affordable insurance on my first car.  I  wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to younger/inexperienced drivers.

Rest assured though, I will be shopping around when renewal time comes.  We have our apartment (contents) insured with FBD, does anyone know if this will have a favourable bearing on any quote I might get from them?  

I will also be checking out Britton, Insure.ie, and the Wright Group in Wexford.  I'm also eligible for a discount through my membership of the ICAI, so I have more options now than when I first started out on the road.


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Hi CC

Have you checked out the DriveSure from Frank Glennon? It's always been way cheaper and it gives me open driving which apparently is difficult to get.

Brendan


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## CCOVICH (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Thanks Brendan.  Are these the guys who have a relationship with the ICAI?  I'll definitely look into it.


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Hi CC

I don't know if the relationship is with the ICAI or the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants, but either way, you should check them out.

BB


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## Cahir (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

I'm sure I wrote about the specific hassle in another thread but can't find it now so must have been a different website.

I was changing to a different insurance company because Quinn wouldn't insure my new car.  Ended up on the phone to them 2 or 3 times a day for over a week trying to get my no claims cert and it was a different story from each person I spoke to.  First they said they'd send it out then a couple of days later they said they couldn't send it out.  Then it was apparently sent out and so on.  They constantly asked why I wouldn't stay with them even though every time I spoke to them I told them it was because they wouldn't insure my car and would they please just write that on their records for next time I called.

Hibernian were very patient and said that Quinn Direct always cause trouble and delays when people are trying to switch.

On the day I was picking up my new car I still hadn't got the documentation from Quinn so I went to their office in Blanchardstown and told them to fax it to Hibernian.  I had a contact name in Hibernian who said they'd wait by the fax machine!!  So, in the office the girl said that there was no record of me wanting to cancel my insurance.  I told her to fax it while I was there so off she went and told me it was done.

Outside the office I called Hibernian and they said they didn't get the fax so I went back inside and told her it didn't go through could she fax it again.  She said she would so I waited.  When she told me it was faxed I asked for the fax receipt and she said she didn't get one so I called Hibernian and told them it had apparently been faxed again.  When the Quinn girl heard me on the phone she said "oops, maybe I forgot to do it properly" or words to that effect and off she went and did it again and this time Hibernian got the fax.

I asked to speak to a manager to complain but apparently there was none around so I wrote a letter of complaint but not surprisingly heard nothing back.


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## wirelessdude (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

what is drivesure?


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## LDFerguson (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

For what it's worth, my wife crashed her car last year and it was an economic write-off.  She was insured with Quinn Direct.  We found their claims service to be excellent - we had a cheque within a week.


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## Chris (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

We've had one car insured with Quinn direct for 2 years as well. Never understood why people seem to complain about them and claim that everyone they know is not happy with them. We were recommended by other friends who also had been recommended, and so far none of them have had a complaint.
When it came to a second car we needed a letter of named driving experience. They said this would take about 2 weeks, but when I asked kindly if they could speed it up as it was urgent, it arrived 3 days later.
So, we have one car insured with Quinn and one with Hibernian. Hibernian offer a good discount for having your partner on the insurance as well and for having othe policies with them.
Anyway, bottom line is, I can only recommend Quinn for young drivers, especially male.


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## Wiggles (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Hearsay criticism of Quinn Direct deleted

Brendan


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## CCOVICH (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*



			
				Brendan said:
			
		

> Hi CC
> 
> I don't know if the relationship is with the ICAI or the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants, but either way, you should check them out.
> 
> BB


 
Brendan, thanks for the reminder.  I just got an extremely competitive quote from Glennon, and they seemed willing to go one better if Quinn manage to undercut them when it comes to renewal time at the end of next month.  The policy features are quite good as well (windscreen and breakdown cover, cover on other cars, step back protection), the only 'negative' would be no 12 month instalment plan (pay 3 instalments over 5 months, so not too bad, and saving finance charge of 8%).

I spent around an hour last night using online quotes engines.  The results were as follows:

1. Britton Insurance (slightly better than number 2)
2. Bestquote.ie (recommended on boards.ie, looks like a network of Leinster brokers?)
3.  Insure.ie
4.  123.ie (although I ignored the XS Direct quote)
5.  Wright Group (no quote online)

Tesco would probably be as cheap as 1 or 2, but as this is underwritten by Hibernian, I will avoid as I am not willing to do the Ignition course, and I can get the same quote from a different company without it.


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## OhPinchy (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

Hi, thanks for the views on this.

This document here leaves me in no doubt that QD are offering me a strictly no frills basic insurance. Only one of these that really concerns me is that I lose my no claims bonus if I have to claim for theft.

As its a whopping 500 cheaper than nearest competitor offering the frills I'm gonna go with it in the hope that this time next year I'll have a full year's no claims bonus under my belt and this will make the other insurers give me a more competitive quote which may lure me away from QD.

Anyone have any rough idea on the % drop I can expect with 1 yr no claims?


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## CCOVICH (23 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*



			
				OhPinchy said:
			
		

> Hi, thanks for the views on this.
> 
> This document here leaves me in no doubt that QD are offering me a strictly no frills basic insurance. Only one of these that really concerns me is that I lose my no claims bonus if I have to claim for theft.
> 
> ...



My premium fell by 25% after 1 year of no claims with QD.


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## Chris (24 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*



			
				OhPinchy said:
			
		

> Hi, thanks for the views on this.
> 
> This document here leaves me in no doubt that QD are offering me a strictly no frills basic insurance. Only one of these that really concerns me is that I lose my no claims bonus if I have to claim for theft.
> 
> ...



Our insurance dropped by 40% after the first year. It was similar for friends of mine.


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## PGD1 (24 Aug 2005)

*Re: Are Quinn Direct really that bad?*

QD will charge your extra for everything.


If you need to get your car serviced and want to take a hire car QD will charge your €50 to swop you insurance over for the day.

It's stuff like this that can add up and be very inconvenient.


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## Brendan Burgess (24 Aug 2005)

_This thread in its original form made unsubstantiated allegations based on "a friend of mine told me" type stories. These have been removed to be fair to the company and to provide relevant information to users of Askaboutmoney

Brendan Burgess
Administrator of Askaboutmoney_


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## SteelBlue05 (24 Aug 2005)

Was with Quinn Direct for 3 years, with my premium falling each year (by about 500 euro over the 3 years). Switched to another company this year when they beat Quinns quote. No hassles swtiching anyways. I thought they would come back with a matched offer but they didnt. They let go a customer very easily.


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## lockner (19 Oct 2010)

*Quinn Direct*

Quinn Direct are very good untill you make a claim.
I was driving on my side of the road when my car got crashed head on by someone else.
It happened on last friday and my car is still at the scene of accident and Quinn Direct is doing nothing except of bull****ing me around.
I have fully comprehensive insurance and in such a black/white situation like this I'd expect that everything would be taken care of.
Instead of that they are concerned about the guy who crashed to my car,
( cos he is insured with them as well) regardless that he is the one who is guilty and therefore I have to hitchhike to make my way to work 55km.
My conclusion is clear:never again by no means to be insured by them even if they offered me 1 euro quotation.


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## WicklowMan (19 Oct 2010)

I had a terrible experience with Quinn Direct's Motor insurance, though in fairness it was 10 years ago when my first car decided to self - ignite while I was stopped at traffic lights. It was declared a write - off. It took the whole summer to try and get money out of them. Basically they grossly undervalued the car and then blamed me for delaying the payout! I got a half - satisfactory amount in the end, but it ruined my summer.

I find AXA good, though not the cheapest. Then again - and this may sound like a sales pitch but I'm a firm believer - you've got to look at value as opposed to the lowest possible price. In other words, it's worth paying a few bob extra than be yanked about when it comes to payback time. What I would suggest to the OP is to look again at fully comp. How much is a 1999 Astra worth? You'll likely have an excess to pay in the event of a claim anyway, and if €2k. worth of damage is done to the car the insurance will write it off anyway as an 'uneconomical repair'.

In other words, should the worst happen the gap between what you could likely pay out of your own pocket and what's covered by fully comp mightn't be as big as you think. Once it goes over a certain level, they will just declare it a write off (and that could be just for panel damage / lights / bumper with the car still driveable) The old yoke I drive would probably be declared a write off if someone broke a headlamp


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