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Baz46
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04-10-2019, 09:11 AM
1

Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

It's not as if this is anything new to most people with car and home insurance, it's been happening for years. Most of us now realise loyalty means nothing and it's possible to do something about it, either to telephone and get a better deal or simply switch insurers. However, there will be those who do not realise this and continue paying premiums well over the top, so they will benefit from any steps taken to stop this practice.

It seems as if measures might now be taken to stop the practices involved, about time too I reckon. Do you have any examples of how you have been affected by this rip-off?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49930973
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04-10-2019, 09:16 AM
2

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Not really. My car insurance with Churchill tends to get less every year (apart from last time because I had changed my car). Having been with them for about six years, I decided to look on one of the comparison sites and although I could get it cheaper, it was always for a reason, perhaps not the same cover or maybe a larger excess. The best I could do was about £30 cheaper which wasn't worth changing imo.
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04-10-2019, 09:22 AM
3

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

I always wait until my new premium is due on car and home insurance to decide on whether to stick with my existing provider or go somewhere else. If the premium increase is only negligible say a couple of pounds per month then it's probably easier to stay with them rather than go somewhere else. All the questions over the phone for car insurance is a ballache!

If the rise is is simply ridiculous I'll go on the MoneySupermarket or GoCompare websites for a price comparison and go for the cheapest of the better-known companies. I never sign up for the unknown firms because I like to have heard of them.

The worst ones are the gas/electric energy providers. Doing the switchover can cost hundreds of pounds. I believe that they do rip you off in a lot of cases. We had that last year when we switched and they kept pestering us for more payments way beyond our settlement date. All sorted now thank goodness.

I don't know what the government can do about any sort of 'cap' on this but something needs to be done. As always though, it probably won't change as the government are making too much tax. Same as anything - care home fees, pension age etc - they won't give anything away lightly.
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04-10-2019, 09:48 AM
4

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

The FCA have decided that we are paying over the top for our insurance. Really?

I wonder what they have been doing for the past twenty years?
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04-10-2019, 09:54 AM
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Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Originally Posted by Floydy ->
I always wait until my new premium is due on car and home insurance to decide on whether to stick with my existing provider or go somewhere else. If the premium increase is only negligible say a couple of pounds per month then it's probably easier to stay with them rather than go somewhere else. All the questions over the phone for car insurance is a ballache!

If the rise is is simply ridiculous I'll go on the MoneySupermarket or GoCompare websites for a price comparison and go for the cheapest of the better-known companies. I never sign up for the unknown firms because I like to have heard of them.

The worst ones are the gas/electric energy providers. Doing the switchover can cost hundreds of pounds. I believe that they do rip you off in a lot of cases. We had that last year when we switched and they kept pestering us for more payments way beyond our settlement date. All sorted now thank goodness.

I don't know what the government can do about any sort of 'cap' on this but something needs to be done. As always though, it probably won't change as the government are making too much tax. Same as anything - care home fees, pension age etc - they won't give anything away lightly.
You should alway check out some companies that don't participate in this comparison racket ...

Direct Line, Aviva, ...
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04-10-2019, 10:26 AM
6

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Originally Posted by d00d ->
You should alway check out some companies that don't participate in this comparison racket ...

Direct Line, Aviva, ...
Those two companies are excellent I find, d00d. Energy companies are different though.
I nearly always stay with Aviva for my car insurance and have used Direct Line in the past. They don't rip you off.
It's also nice to see Harvey Keitel every year on my doorstep for a cup of coffee when I hand him his company's annual premium.
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04-10-2019, 11:24 AM
7

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Originally Posted by d00d ->
You should alway check out some companies that don't participate in this comparison racket ...

Direct Line, Aviva, ...
There are also companies that cannot be found anywhere other than through an insurance broker. I've always used a broker for both car and house insurance. Last year I had to make a claim on my car insurance, the only one in 55 years not attributed to claiming on another driver's insurance.
A pheasant and family decided to cross the country lane in front of me without looking, damaging the cruise control sensor on my VW Golf. The re-calibration of this cost £460 but would have cost £1,400+ had the sensor needed replacing. That was why I claimed.

The net result of making that claim was that my insurance would have gone up that year by £110. The broker checked out other companies and came up with one only accessed by brokers, my premium increased by £55 so only half of the expected increase. In making the claim I didn't even have to complete a form, just a couple of phone calls to the broker. They did all the negotiating with the insurance company and VW garage, all I had to do was pay my excess to the garage when collecting the car, the remainder of the claim was paid directly to the garage by my insurer. I have been with the same broker for 14+ years now and find them really good. Also my premium has actually reduced a few times on renewal.
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04-10-2019, 11:26 AM
8

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

It's odd isn't. One of the most horrendous quotes I ever received was from Aviva although everyone else seems to get better results. Churchill were half the price.
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04-10-2019, 05:25 PM
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Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
It's odd isn't. One of the most horrendous quotes I ever received was from Aviva although everyone else seems to get better results. Churchill were half the price.
I went with Aviva (scored 72% in Which Magazine) for one year when I got a large discount though Wesleyan but left when I was faced with the full amount.

I've never tried Churchill (also scored 72% in Which Magazine) and I'm currently with Saga (scored 76% in Which Magazine).

Pricewise, Saga has proved, for me, consistently very competitive.
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05-10-2019, 07:05 AM
10

Re: Insurance: Millions of loyal customers overpay …

Thing with car insurance is, you have to know exactly what you’re getting, other policies might be cheaper but are you getting the same cover?, I am with saga, it was dearer than other quotes,but gave better cover, that said, I never rang them this time as it only went up by a tenner, next year though, I will call before renewal to see what they can do...
 

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