# 123.ie



## woodpecker (13 Aug 2008)

Has anyone insured with 123.ie?,how do you rate them?,any feedback 
will be appreciated.Currently with Hibernian for car and house insurance 
but considering a change.


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## z105 (13 Aug 2008)

AAM search throws up this -


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## ClubMan (13 Aug 2008)

> *123.ie*


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## LDFerguson (13 Aug 2008)

It should be noted that 123.ie are a broker so in theory you could still end up insured by Hibernian, even though you go through 123.ie to purchase.


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## allthedoyles (14 Aug 2008)

If Ferguson is right , it means you probably pay more by insuring with 123.ie . So its best to stick with Hibernian or Quinn Direct , however always get quote from a broker who has access to a multiude of insurance companies .


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## WaterSprite (14 Aug 2008)

allthedoyles said:


> If Ferguson is right , it means you probably pay more by insuring with 123.ie . So its best to stick with Hibernian or Quinn Direct , however always get quote from a broker who has access to a multiude of insurance companies .



123.ie is definitely a broker, not an insurer.  Best to check 123.ie and also call the primary insurers directly to compare quotes.

Sprite


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## LDFerguson (14 Aug 2008)

allthedoyles said:


> If Ferguson is right , it means you probably pay more by insuring with 123.ie . So its best to stick with Hibernian or Quinn Direct , however always get quote from a broker who has access to a multiude of insurance companies .


 
On general insurance, some bigger brokers negotiate preferential rates with insurers that are not available through other channels.


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## Towger (14 Aug 2008)

You always have to shop around each year with 123. When renewing my car insurance, dispite sending me a letter stating that they had gotten the best deal for me. I re-entered my details on their system and got a much better quote, on phoning them up to complain I got an even better price. Abount €200 better then my origional renewal!


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## demoivre (14 Aug 2008)

Towger said:


> You always have to shop around each year with 123.



You have to shop around each year with *every* broker and direct insurer imo. which, partially at least, defeats the purpose of having a broker in the first place!


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## G123 (14 Aug 2008)

I have just switched from a direct insurer (€957 qoute) to a broker ($535 quote!

From my experience I will probably switch back again next year.

Why do companies operate this way? Surely there must be an advantage in keeping your customer? (Less spend on advertising etc.)


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## mathepac (14 Aug 2008)

Might be slightly OT, but I switched from 123.ie two years ago when the premiums began to creep up and they sent me a renewal notice with the reg no of a car I had sold!

There is a strange phenomenon in the insurance market at the moment whereby insurers sell differently underwritten products through different brokers.

Brokers may appear to "compete" for your business from an insurer, the reality is they operate with different T&C's, exclusions, add-ins and  deductibles.

As an example, my quotes with 11 years NCB, comprehensive cover, for my next renewal, from the same insurer are :

Broker A - €286 incl. windscreen cover, Step-back bonus protection
Broker B - €328 excl. windscreen cover, Full Bonus Protection
(reduced to €300 incl. windscreen cover & Full Bonus Protection when I gave them the quote from Broker A above.)
Broker C - €356 incl. windscreen cover, Full Bonus Protection

My current direct insurer was €615 for the same cover.

One major issue, when completing a proposal form, not all of the T&C's will be listed. Most insurers / brokers won't give you these until after the proposal is accepted and your premium is paid (one exception is Quinn Direct who sent me the Booklet with the proposal form).

Some brokers / insurers won't send out proposal forms and one insurer when they heard I'd had quotes from some of their brokers, refused me a quote (appropriate action taken by me).

IME, other insurance products have the same problems from a consumer's perspective, in that the brokers or companies won't allow a situation where we can compare "like-for-like".


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## tosh100 (14 Aug 2008)

Shop around is my advice - 123 renewal this year for house insurance was 20% higher than last year. Phoned and got a much lower quote from Quinn. Then 123 ring me to see why I was not renewing and when I tell them the Quinn quote I got a much improved quote !!! What chancers!


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## Peeete (14 Aug 2008)

I've had car insurance for the past 11/12 years and i think I only kept the same insurer for 2 conecutive years. You need to shop around each year. I told my sister about 123 last week and she got a quote of them. The quote she got of them was €350 ish, Axa had quoted her €800 ish for similar policy! If I hadn't suggested she shop around she would have lost a considerable amount.


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## woodpecker (15 Aug 2008)

Thank you all for your input.Shopping around seems to be the best option.


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## mathepac (15 Aug 2008)

woodpecker said:


> Thank you all for your input.Shopping around seems to be the best option.


It's a must, but a PITA.


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## ClubMan (15 Aug 2008)

mathepac said:


> It's a must, but a PITA.


I don't think so. A few hours browsing/ringing around once (or more) a year is usually worth the savings to be made.


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## AB74 (16 Aug 2008)

All 123.ie house insurance business is currently underwritten by Zurich.


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## bond-007 (16 Aug 2008)

Correct. 

It seems all house insurance from 123.ie is via Zurich. So at renewal time you are still with Zurich and no effort is made  by the broker to get you a better deal from a different insurer.


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## PGD1 (16 Aug 2008)

My renewal with 123.ie for house insurance was not competitive. I rang around and they agreed to match the quote.

When the policy doc came out the quote was matched but the value insured was too low. 

Customer service sorted it out quickly and I think I got a good deal.

But I would shop around and just treat them like any other insurer and not assume they are getting you the best deal.


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## bond-007 (16 Aug 2008)

They are not very competitive in terms of travel insurance where they are consistently dearer for similar policies.


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## tipping (18 Aug 2008)

I recently got a home insurance renewal from 123.ie for €187.

Ignored the renewal notice and let them ring me. When they rang me told them that I was shopping around and that I'd contact them if I wanted to renew.. 1 week later got another phone call about renewal, told them I still hadn't decided and they instantly dropped their price to €131. 30% price drop just for delaying..


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## PaddyW (19 Aug 2008)

bond-007 said:


> Correct.
> 
> It seems all house insurance from 123.ie is via Zurich. So at renewal time you are still with Zurich and no effort is made  by the broker to get you a better deal from a different insurer.



Hi, I have my buildings and contents cover through 123.ie and the insurance company is Eagle Star.

On a side not, my insurance is coming up for renewal in a few months and have been looking around several insurers and still getting best quote from 123.ie, in fact, 50+ euro cheaper than the nearest competitor.


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## bond-007 (19 Aug 2008)

Eagle Star is now called Zurich.


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## PaddyW (19 Aug 2008)

My apologies, was not aware of this.


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## net64 (20 Aug 2008)

I have three policies with  Tesco Hibernian for cars and house and contents.If you have 2 policies you get 5% discount and 3 policies 10%. M y car insurance ,fully comp  is only 412 euros down nearly 200 euros on my previous insurer! Shop around!


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## Deirdra (29 Aug 2008)

I reduced my house contents by half, by changing to 123.ie last year.

Got a letter from them, last week, to advise that my insurance is due for renewal soon. Got a phone call today asking if I wanted to renew and the price dropped by 80 euros, they told me I could pay by laser or credit card, but this deal could only be done by end of business today, which didn't suit me at such short notice.

Is this telephone bargaining normal practice? or is 123.ie just the 'bargain basement' of insurance policies? Or if I call on Monday, will I get the same deal?

I note that no other posters in this thread gave any info about claims they made or how easy to deal with 123 in a claim situation. Must say I am a bit suspicious of the low prices....


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## bond-007 (29 Aug 2008)

In a claims situation 123 have no role whatsoever, you have to deal with the insurer directly.


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