Insurance is a joke

[sobrique]

OK, just been checking quotes again.
The best I've got from Admiral is £961 (no business cover).

And then, just to see if it worked, I added my Mum as a Named Driver.

And just that simple change dropped it to £819.

This scares me. I thought extra drivers would _increase_ the insurance...

Comments

[mavnn.livejournal.com]

My dad stopped being a driving instructor while I was at university, and looked into dropping his 'any driver' insurance and having me as a named driver instead.

It would have roughly doubled his insurance, despite the fact that I could (and did) legally drive the car under his 'any driver' policy.

[drivenapart.livejournal.com]

I'd have a look at Tesco insurance. I'm with them and the quote they gave me on my first car was a good £150 cheaper than anywhere else. Not a bad service either...

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I checked Tesco - the're basically just reselling direct line policies.

Pretty good price last year, and I was very impressed with the service. This year though £1,350 is just too much of a difference for me to renew my policy with them.

[nuala.livejournal.com]

The theory is, older people, especially women, are thought to be more sensible drivers than young men. And hey, if it keeps it cheaper, do it. :D

As I've not gotten auto insurance here, I can't say exactly how it works, but at least in the States, any of the following will get you cheaper rates: if you're over 25, married, have children UNDER 16, have no prior insurance claims or police tickets (ie speeding, wreckless driving, running stop signs (which you don't have over here) etc). Just keep calling around - and good luck!

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

I understand them doing the whole thing on statistics. That kind of makes ssnse to me.

The thing I Just Don't Get though is just for having my Mum's name on the bit of paper it drops by 15%. OK, this now means she can drive my car, but given that she lives in Hampshire, and I live in the Midlands, it's not going to be a regular occurance by any means...

*shrug* cheap is good, but I can't help but feel that I'm getting robbed when such a trivial thing makes such a big difference.

[nuala.livejournal.com]

It's insurance, for goodness sake. You're getting ripped off, regardless. ;o)

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Most people who put more than one person on their car insurance probably do so because the extra people are actually going to use the car. IOW there is usually some practical difference. You've just discovered how to game the system.

If enough other people discover this sort of thing, the practical difference will be swamped, and the price advantage disappear.

(This is all assuming they really do go on statistical analysis, not their own prejudices!)

[malal.livejournal.com]

I think it works like this. Your Mum is a better insurance prospect than you are. Having her as a named driver makes them assume that for X percent of the time when you take the car anywhere, she drives it instead of you. (They seem to ignore the "Lives in a different county" thing).

I might try that trick myself....

Oh, quick question: What does that do to her insurance? I know it's something they ask you, and therefore is something you need to tell them ASAP if it changes, or they invalidate the insurance...

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

I don't know.
And getting a straight answer on that one is about as easy as getting truth from a politician.

I was always under the impression that being 'named' on someone elses policy was a bonus point - because a) you're trusted by them to drive b) You might be claimin on their policy rather than yours.

[malal.livejournal.com]

It might be a good thing, and drop her insurance. Doesn't mean they wont invalidate it if you don't tell them... :-)