Car insurance: anyone else seeing a reduction?

The Askaboutmoney experience seems at variance with the rest of the country.

www.independent.ie

Time for the Government to come down heavily on insurers for not passing on cuts

HAS your motor insurance premium gone down lately?
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform says that preliminary results from a poll it is conducting online show no reductions, with some business and voluntary groups actually seeing a rise in costs.

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty says a survey his party has conducted shows no cuts in most motor policies.

And Michael Kilcoyne of the Consumers’ Association reports members saying there has been no change in premium prices.
 
I just renewed mine with AVIVA. I had a quote from them last yr (as the car grew moss on the drive, and for which they offered no reduction) for 390. This year it went to 516. I got an alternative with AXA (who have my house insurance) for 465. I rang AVIVA and they offered the same cover (within a minute) for 453. I got a reminder from CHILL ( I must have asked them for a quote before) and they offered ALLIANZ for around the 360 mark with a step back NCD. As I already had paid AVIVA and am planning to ditch car I stuck with them as I'll get a pro rata refund when I cancel.
 
Mine renewal in with Allianz with them 5 years no changes

This Year's Renewal Premium: €787.38
Last Year's Renewal Premium: €809.92

Other quotes are around this mark or higher. But Aviva seems to come out the winner with €608 ( policy the same as Allianz but excess is actually lower €300 it was €500 with Allianz)

2004 Honda Accord Sport
2L Petrol
No Penalty Points
3 other named drivers

I will ring Allianz to see if they can bet Aviva before they loss a 5 years old customer.
 
horusd said:
I just renewed mine with AVIVA... I rang AVIVA and they offered the same cover (within a minute) for 453.
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irbx said:
I will ring Allianz to see if they can bet Aviva before they loss a 5 years old customer.
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This practice of ringing your current provider to give them 'the chance' to be competitive is enabling the dysfunctional market. All its doing is getting the consumer closer to their point of inertia. 'Its not worth the hassle to send on the documents to the new crowd for a saving of €x'

They should be encouraged to offer the best price, first time. From the insurance company's point of view, in say 50% of renewals, the customer will call them back and say 'this is price that at which I will allow you to maximise your economic surplus'. How does that get you a competitive quote? At best it gets you into a position where you avoid the hassle of emailing your NCB to another company but you haven't, in fact, avoided the hassle at all, with all the phone calls back and forth!

When I switched energy provider, from Energia, they called to say 'Oh we have a better deal for switchers, its not on the website'. They didn't ring me to offer the great deal when my contract expired, they rang me after I initiated the switch. At least some of the mortgage suppliers tell you how much they will screw you after the fixed rate deal expires!
 
I had a renewal quote from my broker AA Insurance (policy was with Aviva) for € 404 - last year was € 329

The accompanying email said they had checked their leading insurers to find the best price.

I went online, tried a few companies and am now insured with Zurich for € 285

Honestly, the whole sector is a disgrace and a plague on all their houses - brokers and insurers alike
 
irbx said:
Mine renewal in with Allianz with them 5 years no changes

This Year's Renewal Premium: €787.38
Last Year's Renewal Premium: €809.92

Other quotes are around this mark or higher. But Aviva seems to come out the winner with €608 ( policy the same as Allianz but excess is actually lower €300 it was €500 with Allianz)

2004 Honda Accord Sport
2L Petrol
No Penalty Points
3 other named drivers

I will ring Allianz to see if they can bet Aviva before they loss a 5 years old customer.
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Check out Chill as well. I think they do an online quote. I did use them for a quote before. To avoid an annoying phone call, I altered my mobile somewhat!
 
With Allianz for years, but for last two years, price has fallen significantly from €650 / €700 to c. €450 but only after waiting for policy to run its term & then signing up immediately as a new customer. Big penalty for being loyal & renewing
 
Absolutely no reduction in original quote in May albeit I believe any "alledged" possible reductions were not anticipated to be seen later in the year I believe.

I called, had the annual haggle etc and got €40 reduction happy enough. I'm with one of the companies who offered no voucher during the pandemic despite car barely moving for 8 months, I almost considered creating a garden feature out of my car at one stage :)
 
I'm baffled by this annual chasing our tails pantomime to fulfil the need to meet a basic legal requirement for motor cover.

I'm in the process of changing my car - I have the "new" car on the driveway, taxed, fresh NCT, but no insurance until 1/8/2021. I rang around to get quotes on a car that is one year younger, has 105,000 fewer miles, is not a UK import, has a 1.4 petrol engine (I know, it's a starter motor!!) rather than a 2 litre diesel, has no toys (no cruise control, auto lights, auto wipers, no auto-dimming mirrors, no A/C, electric windows only in the front, and so on).

I started with my current broker, QuoteDevil, who wanted an additional €140 for the 6-months left to run on my existing policy PLUS €30 service charge for having the temerity to change cars mid-stream, so to speak.

123.ie were at a very competitive €385, plus finance fees to do it on the never-never

Kennco were €640!! which was a short conversation.

FBD were a washout.

Its4women were €460.

AIB as an AXA broker came in at €375 for comprehensive, with breakdown cover, homestart, driving other cars (brother's, sister's, daughter's, etc from time to time), no annual mileage restriction IIRC, and NO finance charges to pay on the drip. €56 deposit paid yesterday, and 9 equal payments for the balance begining 1/9/2021.

That's not an exhaustive list BTW and the frustrating and incomprehensible bit for me is that many of the brokers were trying to sell me AXA policies some at what must be massive margins.

Why the delay in swapping from the (much loved) Avensis H/B to the "new" Corolla Terra saloon? Lack of NCT on the Avensis (it failed on a rusted suspension component earlier in the week), a full tank of fuel which I intend burning off, and expensive motor-tax that expires 1/8/2021!!!
 
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Brendan Burgess said:
The Askaboutmoney experience seems at variance with the rest of the country.

www.independent.ie

Time for the Government to come down heavily on insurers for not passing on cuts

HAS your motor insurance premium gone down lately?
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform says that preliminary results from a poll it is conducting online show no reductions, with some business and voluntary groups actually seeing a rise in costs.

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty says a survey his party has conducted shows no cuts in most motor policies.

And Michael Kilcoyne of the Consumers’ Association reports members saying there has been no change in premium prices.
Click to expand...
You'd hardly expect any of those three esp Doherty, to say that there have been reductions.

I'm driving 35 years including several in the UK and my renewal in June was the lowest price I have ever paid for insurance at €361 including business use

Down from €478 in 2020.
 
I don't know why people expect their premiums to be reduced because of Covid. Your car still has to be insured if it is sitting in the driveway. What if someone steals it? Don't you want cover? How is an insurance company going to know if you drive it or not? Get a declaration saying you aren't going to drive it? Then you'll get all the cases of "my mum was sick, so I had to get her shopping and that's when I crashed it. But won't you cover me anyway?"

Then there is the lack of returns in the bond markets. Insurance companies buy bonds with your premiums to generate a return. There is no return in the bond market at present, so they are not generating a return from their investment. As insurance companies are listed companies, they have to keep their shareholders happy, so they are not going to accept a fall in profits, so they will increase premiums to customers in replace the lost returns.


Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
 
mathepac said:
Lack of NCT on the Avensis (it failed on a rusted suspension component earlier in the week), a full tank of fuel which I intend burning off, and expensive motor-tax that expires 1/8/2021!!!
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Is your Avensis pre 2008 when you say the motor tax is high?
And could the rusted suspension component be replaced cheaply?
 
2007, €200/quarter. Rusted component replaced (no bill yet) and re-test booked for Weds 14.07.2021 @ 10:00 pm.
 
Steven Barrett said:
I don't know why people expect their premiums to be reduced because of Covid. Your car still has to be insured if it is sitting in the driveway. What if someone steals it? Don't you want cover? How is an insurance company going to know if you drive it or not? Get a declaration saying you aren't going to drive it? Then you'll get all the cases of "my mum was sick, so I had to get her shopping and that's when I crashed it. But won't you cover me anyway?"
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This is a bit simplistic. The overall risk of an accident decreased significantly due to lower mileage. The probability of someone robbing your car from your driveway is trivial in comparison to the risk of being involved in a collision. Premiums should reflect the overall reduction in car usage, although having said that, I reckon mileage will be back close enough to pre-pandemic levels before long.
 
Steven Barrett said:
I don't know why people expect their premiums to be reduced because of Covid. Your car still has to be insured if it is sitting in the driveway. What if someone steals it? Don't you want cover? How is an insurance company going to know if you drive it or not? Get a declaration saying you aren't going to drive it? Then you'll get all the cases of "my mum was sick, so I had to get her shopping and that's when I crashed it. But won't you cover me anyway?"

Then there is the lack of returns in the bond markets. Insurance companies buy bonds with your premiums to generate a return. There is no return in the bond market at present, so they are not generating a return from their investment. As insurance companies are listed companies, they have to keep their shareholders happy, so they are not going to accept a fall in profits, so they will increase premiums to customers in replace the lost returns.


Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
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The largest costs of insurance relate to accidents not theft. COVID19 restrictions meant we drove very little for considerable periods of time. The risk to the insurer were hugely reduced during these periods, some gave refunds to reflect this, many (including my insurer AVIVA) did not. Given the extent of home working, a reduction to reflect the new realities and lower risks isn't unreasonable. I think the point is that there seems to be profiteering. I would also add that almost invariably, when clients complain about the renewal premiums a reduction is offered. This suggests there is an element of creaming of an amount of money from those who simply renew.
 
24601 said:
This is a bit simplistic. The overall risk of an accident decreased significantly due to lower mileage. The probability of someone robbing your car from your driveway is trivial in comparison to the risk of being involved in a collision. Premiums should reflect the overall reduction in car usage, although having said that, I reckon mileage will be back close enough to pre-pandemic levels before long.
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horusd said:
The largest costs of insurance relate to accidents not theft. COVID19 restrictions meant we drove very little for considerable periods of time. The risk to the insurer were hugely reduced during these periods, some gave refunds to reflect this, many (including my insurer AVIVA) did not. Given the extent of home working, a reduction to reflect the new realities and lower risks isn't unreasonable. I think the point is that there seems to be profiteering. I would also add that almost invariably, when clients complain about the renewal premiums a reduction is offered. This suggests there is an element of creaming of an amount of money from those who simply renew.
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Looking at quotes on Chill, there is no difference in price between saying you drive 1,000, 3,000 or 10,000 miles a year. While people drove less, they still drove to the shops. Looking at how there is no difference in price in those mileage range, I would guess that, unless driving a lot, mileage isn't a big factor in assessing the premium.

Add in, no one knew how long the Covid lockdown would last. Would there be reduced driving for a week, a month or a year? Who knew but it was always going to be temporary.

As for profiteering, loads of companies offer discounts to keep customers. It's nothing new. It's built into their model.
 
@Steven Barrett . The cumulative effect of all restrictions likely had an effect on claims experience. 5K limits, homeworking, other people homeworking etc. and lower mileage (it kinda follows if the car is a driveway ornament it's not getting into accidents) then we can take it insurers had lower claims experience overall. Insurers may argue (as they often do) that we need to see this working out over time, but it seems obvious that if a car is insured with an assumption, that in the round, X number of accidents will ensue given X amount of driving, also in the round, then the insurers come out the better of it. The less cars were driven then insurers are in a position, as some did, to offer a rebate. I suggest all companies are in a similar position. I accept as a commercial reality that insurers will drop some premiums when clients kick off about them, but it makes a lie of the stance that premiums are solely the result of underwriting experience and methodologies..
 
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