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I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Jim Kooper

Hello everyone,

My current car insurance rate is way too high. I've been with this company for 10+ years but I am now going to switch. It is the company that my parent chose for me when I first was learning how to drive. I have received a bunch of quotes for car insurance, which are all significantly lower. Can you give me tips on selecting one? I'm not sure which companies are trustworthy.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - gordonbennet

The only time you really find out how good your insurer is when you have a claim.

With some of the really cheap quotes you find that should you need to alter something during the term of the insurance they charge ridiculous admin fees, so some in depth reading might be on the cards to weed those companies out.

Best insurer for customer service i found was NFU by a country mile, they operate local offices and tend to be rural based obviously, always worth a phone quote you never know, they never charged me any admin fees at all and were a delight to deal with, just wish i could afford to have stayed with them, if they were say 50% more i would choose them every time, but we're talking twice or three times as much as DL.

I've recently gone over to Direct Line, who are not on the usual comparison sites, but do have their own website, they were very efficient on the phone when setting the cover up, and very keenly priced, and i also swapped the home cover to them this year, however as with everything in this i will only find out how good they are should we have need to claim...the only company who proved too inefficient to even take my premium was LV, and i backed away from them because of that.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Engineer Andy

Hello everyone,

My current car insurance rate is way too high. I've been with this company for 10+ years but I am now going to switch. It is the company that my parent chose for me when I first was learning how to drive. I have received a bunch of quotes for car insurance, which are all significantly lower. Can you give me tips on selecting one? I'm not sure which companies are trustworthy.

You may also wish to review the ratings from Which? magazine - you odten can buy a cheap trial subscription for the online service (just remember to cancel in time it if that's all it was for) or most local public libraries keep 1-2 years worth of the paper magazines (read only in the library, not to borrow) which may have a report showing which firms are best for customer service, price, etc and possibly for difference age groups and areas of the country (high/low risk of claims, etc). They normally keep an index to show which magazine has which reports on each issue.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Theophilus

Check the Defaqto website - they give star ratings to all major insurance companies for the quality of cover offered. Rule out any which don't get 5 star rating and you should get an indication of which policies to look at in more detail.

Also, consider whether you need any additional cover and factor in any increased costs - eg I used to be insured with Direct Line (excellent service in my experience), but I switched companies when DL introduced a charge for extending my cover to include travel to Europe whilst other companies include this at no extra charge.

Look at the level of excess (both applied by the company and the variation if you choose to opt for a different excess) - this may affect the premium you pay quite significantly.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - madf

Most insurers try to sell you addons at silly rates. Resist unless you really need.

And many add auto renewal.. Note how to stop them doing it (their website will say) and if you buy from them, deactivate it..

I treat insurance companies as highway men with no morals.. so am on my guard...

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Galaxy

I've been with LV for many years. When I've needed it, I do have to say, I've received good service from them. I've found their rates very competetive, too.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - thunderbird

I'm buying car insurance for the first time.

My current car insurance rate is way too high. I've been with this company for 10+ years

Which is it really? If you have been with a company for 10+ years you cannot be buying car insurance for the first time can you.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Ian_SW

It depends a bit how old the car is. If it's something ordinary and relatively old, the most minor damage can write a car off, so it doesn't matter too much who you are with as the car won't be repaired anyway after an accident. If it's something new or expensive, going with a "better" provider can mean you have more choice of repair shop if you do need to claim.

I've pretty much always bought on price (comparing cover like for like, and sticking with companies I've heard of). Over the last 20 odd years, I've had to claim twice. The first time I was with Admiral, (18 month old car which was broken into by drilling through the door and wrenching both doors apart, needing two new doors and half the car repainting!). There was no difficulty claiming, despite it having happened in France, just a phone call and a fairly simple form. They were fine for me to go to a main dealer for the repair, as long as I did the work getting quotes etc.

Second time, it was with Axa for a cracked windscreen claim. Again, fixed with no fuss at all, one phone call to report, and the autoglass man came out a couple of days later.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Andrew-T

<< If you have been with a company for 10+ years you cannot be buying car insurance for the first time can you. >>

If you read carefully, the OP explains that a parent chose his/her first company ....

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - thunderbird

<< If you have been with a company for 10+ years you cannot be buying car insurance for the first time can you. >>

If you read carefully, the OP explains that a parent chose his/her first company ....

I had read where the OP said his insurers had been chosen by the parents 10+ years ago but nowhere has the OP said that the parents have ever paid for the insurance let alone paid for 10 years.

Thus I think its fair to assume in the absence of more info the OP is asking about choosing an alternative insurer for the first time and not buying insurance for the first time.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Bromptonaut

Thus I think its fair to assume in the absence of more info the OP is asking about choosing an alternative insurer for the first time and not buying insurance for the first time.

I read the OP and thought there were hints that English was not poster's first language. In those circs nit-picking over phraseology is probably not worthwhile.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - thunderbird

I read the OP and thought there were hints that English was not poster's first language.

Looks OK to me. There are plenty of posts on here that make far less sense.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Zippy123

Avoid companies that require a black box to be fitted (TELEMATICS etc).

LV have been good to me. Not the cheapest though.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Bromptonaut

Avoid companies that require a black box to be fitted (TELEMATICS etc).

LV have been good to me. Not the cheapest though.

Currently in second of two long spells with LV (had an interregnum with Elephant/Admiral) and found them to be good too. Not quite cheapest - Admiral look cheaper but add stuff on to what the Meerkats quote. They were very efficient on occasions I've had to claim.

I wouldn't avoid telematics just for them selves but you need to understand what's involved. Direct Line and then Admiral with 'black boxes' made a significant difference for my son - under 25 and on a fairly high risk Liverpool post code.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Bromptonaut

Looks OK to me. There are plenty of posts on here that make far less sense.

It's a bit more subtle than that; look at way words are used.

I'm buying car insurance for the first time. - Jim Kooper

Hello everyone,

My current car insurance rate is way too high. I've been with this company for 10+ years but I am now going to switch. It is the company that my parent chose for me when I first was learning how to drive. I have received a bunch of quotes for car insurance, which are all significantly lower. Can you give me tips on selecting one? I'm not sure which companies are trustworthy.

Thank you my issue has been solved,...

(Edit: this poster and one named Penny Woloz have both ended their latest post with this phrase, and added a link, which I've deleted. Each attempt to sell us luncheon meat seems to be even more inept than the last.)

Edited by Avant on 22/10/2019 at 00:53