Difficulty getting car insurance quote after a recent claim

I'm in shock after getting my motor insurance renewal. The premium is approximately treble last year's. The reason is that I had a third party claim for under €3k and lost my no-claims bonus. It was my only claim in at least 5 years. I looked at the possibility of paying the claim myself but reckoned that the cost would be greater than the increase in premium (even after allowing for the fact that the higher premium will have to be paid over a number of years). The problem I'm now finding however is that it's practically impossible to get an alternative quote. No other insurer wants to quote when you don't have a full no-claims discount. Can anyone advise on where I might get a quotation?

Carramore said:

I'm in shock after getting my motor insurance renewal. The premium is approximately treble last year's. The reason is that I had a third party claim for under €3k and lost my no-claims bonus. It was my only claim in at least 5 years. I looked at the possibility of paying the claim myself but reckoned that the cost would be greater than the increase in premium (even after allowing for the fact that the higher premium will have to be paid over a number of years). The problem I'm now finding however is that it's practically impossible to get an alternative quote. No other insurer wants to quote when you don't have a full no-claims discount. Can anyone advise on where I might get a quotation?

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You don't say who your current insurer is.

Quinn Direct make no mention in their driver requirements to be claim free, which should mean they'll quote.
[broken link removed]

AFAIK St Pauls Travelers Insurance (via a broker) quote people like drink drivers, so I'd imagine they'd quote for a claim also.
http://www.travelers.ie/

Thanks Ted. I thought that Quinn wouldn't quote when I didn't have a full no-claims discount but they did. Their quote was substantially less than I was being quoted by my current insurer (Axa) and, much as I dislike doing business with Quinn, my pocket spoke louder than my conscience, and I decided to go with them.

If you haven't alreay gone with Quinn, it would be worth going back to your original company to see if they will match the quote.

My company gave me an uncompetitive quote a number of years ago. I shopped around and got much better prices & I went with one of them (wasn't the lowest, but I was happier with the level of cover & reputation). My old company came back to me & when I told them I had gotten a better price & was planning to go with them, she told me to hold for a minute. She came back & matched the LOWEST quote. I still didn't go with them as I reckoned they should have given me their best price to begin with.....if they had, I wouldn't have shopped around and they wouldn't have lost my business.

Point is, many of them do this, so if you really would rather stay with your original company, go ask the question.

Hi Sam. I tried that line, but unfortunately it didn't work. The difference between the two quotes is so large that someone must be making a mistake in assessing the risk. I'm inclined to think that Quinn have assessed it better. They're still charging me 60% more than my old company charged last year. I don't think I'm a higher risk than last year, just because I was unlucky enough to have incurred a minor claim that cost less than €3k

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Carramore said:

I'm in shock after getting my motor insurance renewal. The premium is approximately treble last year's. The reason is that I had a third party claim for under €3k and lost my no-claims bonus. It was my only claim in at least 5 years. I looked at the possibility of paying the claim myself but reckoned that the cost would be greater than the increase in premium (even after allowing for the fact that the higher premium will have to be paid over a number of years). The problem I'm now finding however is that it's practically impossible to get an alternative quote. No other insurer wants to quote when you don't have a full no-claims discount. Can anyone advise on where I might get a quotation?

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There are quite a large number of things you are not disclosing here.

Treble ?

Don't think so. I amend the rating tables and I know you are talking rubbish.

I know that Allianz (through a broker, not sure about direct) will reinstate a bonus back to a full 5 year bonus after a claim of under €3k, if you had a full bonus prior to the claim. Very beneficial if you have lost your full bonus as with any other insurer it will take you 5 years to build back your bonus.


www.powerinsurances.ie

Guys, interesting thread.

Spring 2007 - early morning accident writing off two cars due to skidding on black-ice seriously injuring couple in other car.*
Summer-December 2007 - continued paying insurance premium as was advised to build no-claim year (this despite having no car at the time)
Summer 2008 - new car and hefty but manageable insurance (claim not finalised at time of agreeing)
Summer 2009 - insurance up for renewal and have discovered claim has been settled for twice what the assessor thought it would be originally.

My question:- will my insurance shoot up ? Do i need to appraise other insurers of the exact details of the accident ? (I haven't received any correspondence in realtion to the settlement/accident etc) I'm a finance professional, male aged 36.


* no dangerous driving, drink involved. Gardai involved but no charges/fines/points/ban etc.