Car Insurance prices.

[TWR]

It it a fair system? should it be calculated on your driving record / experience / accident free motoring / postcode area / age?

[VHG]

It is calculated like that.

A 60 year old living in a rural area will pay less than a 17 year old living in an inner city.

A person driving a sports car will pay more than a person driving a Ford Focus.

And so on.....

[bednobs]

it is calculated on those things :) It seems fair to me. Higher risk people pay higher prices, lower risk people pay lower prices. it encourages you not to drive like a knob lest your insurance goes up (although that statement probably doesn't apply to 17/18/19 year olds)

[EcclesCake]

What alternative would you suggest?

[TWR]

Let the people who have numerous bumps pay, people who have a clean record, a lot less, "Simples" but it does not work like that.

[hc4361]

I have been involved in two 'bumps' in all my years of driving, one fatal.
Neither were my fault, in the non fatal one the other driver was prosecuted for dangerous driving.

So, even though I have been driving over 30 years, choose to drive a car that is neither a thief magnet nor antoganistic to other drivers looking for somebody to race, keep my car locked in my garage you think I should pay more?

A car parked outside a house on a busy road is more likely to get bumped. An inexperienced driver is more likely to have an accident.
Certain cars are more likely to be stolen than others.
Somebody who drives 50k miles a year is more likely to have a bump than somebody who drives 5k.

I may be biased as I pay under £200 per year fully comp with the all the add ons, but I think it works just fine as it is.

[shoota]

It's stupid for youngsters and new drivers - son2 is a gamekeeper in a very rural area, wants to use my Suzi Jimny 1300 which is worth £650 and has been quoted £2,500............

[paddiez]

The cost of insurance is largely dictated by the amount of salary and bonus and company profit the insurance chiefs want.

[EDDIE51]

People who have a lot of 'bumps' do pay more . Try getting insurance when you have 2 or 3 claims inside 5 years. You will find your premium 3 or 4 x what a claim free driver would pay. Protected bonus is a joke they just put the basic premium up so you pay more with the same bonus.

[Purple_Popple]

Its all a rip off, Ive just had my renewal through - its only £2 dearer - however, I have taken it out online again with the same insurer at £20 cheaper !!! It makes no sense !

[excelsior-1]

i lost my car twelve years ago. at that time i was up to 70% no claims.

three years ago i got another one, and when i re-applied for insurance, i was not permitted to draw upon that previous clean record..i had to start from scratch again ..... that is unfair

[Purple_Popple]

That is a toughie Excelsior! How can this be ??? 'Not permitted' what reason did they give ?

[excelsior-1]

all they said was that too much time had elapsed

[Mobius1]

Indeed it is standard practice to disallow NCB if you have not had an active insurance policy on a vehicle for something like 3 or more years. That seems fair to me. You might have driven a lot in your life, but if you haven't driven for 3 years or more then you're likely to be rusty. You're not legally obligated to complete a refresher course so instead you lose your NCB.

It makes sense really. Say you had 10 years NCB but hadn't driven for another 10 on top of that. Would you still expect the NCB to apply? The line has to be drawn somewhere.

I think the manner in which car insurance is calculated is fair in terms of calculated risk and likelihood of claim. I also think it's good that people who have poor credit histories are taken into account and charged more, since they are less likely to pay when it comes to it. On the other hand the 'renewal price' is a complete fiasco. Quoting loyal customers above the odds just on the chance they won't shop around is a nail in the coffin of good customer service and it is a trait that other industries follow now too. Your loyalty as a customer is worth less than dirt.

[vroth173]

Calculated based on those things.

http://www.accidentattorneysnow.org/