Stick or twist?

[leclerc]

Ok, so it's car insurance renewal time and the best price I found was 70 quid cheaper but was with a company called Hastings Direct....I haven't heard good things about them but I rang my insurer cos I thought they might have a cheap deal.
They offered me £10 off. Even my bank is cheaper than that so do I stick or twist?

[charitynjw]

Re: Stick or twist?

Never mind the quality, feel the width? lol!

[des8]

Re: Stick or twist?

I wouldn't touch Hastings, but then I never go by price on insurance.
It's the same as anything else in life... if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Everything is fine, until the accident, then watch out.

[Tools]

Re: Stick or twist?

Hastings is a well known and reputable insurance company Nattie, I've used them before and not had any issues (although I have never had cause to claim)

[leclerc]

Re: Stick or twist?

I got a quote from Lloyds who work with Aegeas Insurance services and they have quoted me nearly £100 cheaper than the original quote. I've checked like for like cover and the windowscreen cover is £75 rather than £50 but that is all on the cover so would that have really made that much difference?

[des8]

Re: Stick or twist?

Different insurers target different sections of the market, which is the main reason for differences in premiums.
EG not many insurers want young drivers, hence many have exorbitant rates for that section.
I appreciate you have checked the cover..... did you also check the exclusions, and what they mean?
EG some years ago one of my daughters had a problem with an insurer who declined a claim because their policy wording excluded "written off" vehicles.
The third party was claiming for whiplash, and my daughter's insurers pointed to this clause because her vehicle had earlier been declared uneconomic to repair by a different third party's insurer.
In fact her vehicle had been repaired economically privately.
The result was that they rewrote that section of the policy whilst I was "discussing" the matter with them.

And on a slightly different tack we think she drives around with a powerful electromagnet in her car.
She has had 5 no fault accidents.
In one case she went to school to collect her offspring.
Parked away from any other vehicles, and as she walked away a driverless car on the otherside of the playground rolled down writing off her car. There were no other cars within 50 feet!!

[Chris_P]

Re: Stick or twist?

Hastings is a well known and reputable insurance company Nattie, I've used them before and not had any issues (although I have never had cause to claim)

It's when you go through a claims process that you find out whether they're good or not. Otherwise they just smile and take your money.

[rds60h]

Re: Stick or twist?

I got a quote from Lloyds who work with Aegeas Insurance services and they have quoted me nearly £100 cheaper than the original quote. I've checked like for like cover and the windowscreen cover is £75 rather than £50 but that is all on the cover so would that have really made that much difference?

I apologise for this being such a late reply but it may make a difference to people's opinion regarding Lloyds.
If you have any problems that you disagree with when using the large majority of car insurance (general insurance) companies then you have the option to report them to the Financial Ombudsman who will make a completely impartial decision about your problem and the insurance company has to comply with this decision.
However, Lloyds are a law unto themselves and do not have to deal with the Ombudsman and they have their own Acts of Parliament to set out their own rules and regulations. So if you are insured with them and have a claim that you disagree with the outcome of then unfortunately for you, that's tough you have to accept whatever they want to do.
I had the misfortune to find this out some years ago when I had a car stolen, then recovered but badly damaged. It took them almost 18 months to pay out less than half the market value of the car, and it was during this drawn out period that I discovered about Lloyds being a law unto themselves and virtually untouchable.

[Snoopy1948]

Re: Stick or twist?

Just a rider to this late discussion, after having been a lease car driver working for a local authority for many years, spending cuts kicked in and in 2011 my lease car was taken away and I had to buy and insure a car fro the first time in 23 years.

Even though I had one no fault claim on my record ( vehicle hit while parked ) that was three years old and the fact that I am an IAM member, I was looking at quotes of £1200. I managed to reduce that to some £400 through Direct Line with a 2 year NCD supported by a letter from my employer. But since then I have changed insurers twice as premiums tend to remain level for the first renewal and then explode almost exponentially in year three. Somehow that seems a trend among all insurers.

This year I received my Aviva renewal and it has risen 35% from last year. No explanation given and no claims experience on my part for six or seven years. I therefore went over to LV at some £130 cheaper and I got that fabulous Brian Toy!

Hastings Direct is run from offices within a mile of where I live and I have never contacted them, I have to say. But I have one or two friends who are with them and have actually experienced total losses with. they report, excellent claims experience from Hastings Direct. Hastings Direct do state in their blurb ..'Defaqto 5 Star rated', whatever that means in practice but then many companies claim this.

People are right, a premium is a premium but a claim is another ball game and one may safely assume that 'you get what you pay for' .... But for me, I will no doubt continue the 'stick or twist' approach to car insurance as I continue the race to save money.

[leclerc]

Re: Stick or twist?

I got my insurance through Lloyds so thanks everyone for their help but with my existing Co-Op person only allowed to take of 5% of their first quote then the saving almost £100 by going elsewhere was perfect. Next year maybe I'll go somewhere else again.....

I have to say I shied away from Hastings Direct because their reputation is not very good. This is the first time I have read anything positive about them.

[des8]

Re: Stick or twist?

http://defaqto.com/star-ratings/car-insurance

[Snoopy1948]

Re: Stick or twist?

http://defaqto.com/star-ratings/car-insurance

Seems this 'defacto 5 star rating' is pretty universal in the land of car insurers who all have 'like for like' levels of policy standards having due regard for the features and benefits that they offer. So with so many companies offering the same level of defacto rating, the only comparison we can have at source may well be the premium and boy do they vary. It seems that one man's underwriting meat is another man's poison, to be sure! Is there anywhere we can go to see 'customer service or claims experience' feedback? Or, as I suspect, do most people buy on premium without that concern?

My view is that if the TV ad is great, then so will my cover be! Mind you, I have kept well away from MoneySuperMarket.com with that guy twerking in hot pants and high heels ... how could you take that seriously ??

[des8]

Re: Stick or twist?

The ratings give"like for like" lol

The important bit they don't give are the exclusions, and the definitions of the coverage (not just the heading!)

Best advice is learn to read a policy and do your own research!
Probably not feasible for most people who have to rely on comparison sites and high street brokers (untrained staff who are profit driven)