I realise this topic has been done to death, but I am once again seething with indignation.

Not sure why.

I thought legislation had been put in place to prevent existing customers from being penalised at renewal time.

The legislation is aimed at ensuring that a renewing customer pays the same as a new customer would, all other factors being equal. It doesn't mean that the renewal won't be more than last year.

My More Than insurance for which I paid £295 last year would cost £396 to renew this year. When I shop around I can renew with them for much the same as last time - but only if I have a gadget to plug into the car to verify my annual mileage. Very cunning. I'm not playing.

How much were they WITHOUT the black box i.e. the same conditions as you have currently? If it was £396 then the legislation theoretically works, although it would be very difficult to prove as they obviously know it is you doing the comparison and can just match to your renewal price. I've tried doing comparisons using a made up name, similar address and similar DOB but that never works very well as they know it's not a real person!

So I start the familiar merry-go-round with the comparison sites and find another provider for £319. As an aside, I check Direct Line and get a quote for £583 - baffling.

Not sure what is "baffling" about a different insurer being more expensive. Every company will have their own risk profiles and type of customer / car / area that they price up or down depending on their view of the risk. I have also found DL to be consistently more expensive when I have looked as I obviously don't fit into their desired category.

Now all I need to do is phone More Than and tell them to FO.

Or you could ask them to match the £319 that you mention above, if the level of cover is identical.

I realise this topic has been done to death, but I am once again seething with indignation.

I thought legislation had been put in place to prevent existing customers from being penalised at renewal time.

My More Than insurance for which I paid £295 last year would cost £396 to renew this year. When I shop around I can renew with them for much the same as last time - but only if I have a gadget to plug into the car to verify my annual mileage. Very cunning. I'm not playing.

So I start the familiar merry-go-round with the comparison sites and find another provider for £319. As an aside, I check Direct Line and get a quote for £583 - baffling.

Now all I need to do is phone More Than and tell them to FO.

The answer may be:

1. Your age may have crossed a certain 'threshold' for certain insurers, making it (for them anyway) more of a 'risk' than before.

My parents have gone through this at around 75, and I noticed it as I previously (for emergencies, to drive my car home if was taken ill) had my dad on my policy as an additional driver, and the premium jumped by about 5% or so compared to what it was without him on it, when the opposite used to be true beforehand.

I now have my sister (who now also lives closer and thus it's more convenient) as the additional driver.

2. It may be, in addition or instead of the above, some insurers may be changing what type of 'customer profile' balance they are going for. This may include the age, type or make of the car.

They don't want to be seen to be rude (like a bank just closing your account 'for no reason' [as apparently some do these days]), so, like a building contractor, they offer a (high) price, knowing it will mean you'll likely go elsewhere, for the moment (until their business model changes again).

Direct Line are, to me, the industry 'odd man out'. I've never been a 'high risk' potential customer, and yet they've never provided me with a remotely competitive quote. It may be that they provide a vastly superior service when you do have to claim, but if you claim rarely (for me, not since 1999), then 'reasonable' will do.

For the same reason I've never gone for NFU Mutual, who I do know wins customer service awards but you pay through the nose (for me, quotes come in at at least twice the cheapest I consider). I suppose what each person determines as 'value for money' can be very different.

3. Some insurers seem to be of the midset that long-term customers, especially the retired, are 'mugs' and thus try to fleece them by jacking up prices (though normally more slowly so they hope the customers don't notice) as they think they are less willing to change.

In that last respect, they may be correct, in that many older people are reluctant to change (my dad is in that group, but he eventually cottoned on).

Strange, given I suspect that most Backroomers are not exactly dangerous drivers, rarely have to claim on their policy and thus are a nice easy profit-making machine for the insurer, given they don't need to spend money on marketing, just a decent price and service.

I went through a similar experience with esure (was with them for around 15 years) a few years ago where they (not for age or claims [none] reasons) kept jcking the price up when others' were dropping. I'm now with QuoteMeHappy and about £100 better off each year (over the final year with esure) for the same level of cover.

Just make sure you get the proof of no claims document (mine was an emailed pdf) before giving your existing provider the proverbial middle finger! :-)

Edited by Engineer Andy on 25/05/2022 at 13:46

I have no intention of getting into an argument with some people who have responded and whose views of car insurance are different from mine.

A couple of observations: of course I understand that different insurance companies will have different ways of calculating risk and premiums will vary. Direct Line's quote, however, is so far out of line with most others it is difficult to see what the justification is.

As regards asking More Than to match an alternative quote, I tried that last year, pointing out that the quote I got on a comparison site from More Than was far cheaper than the renewal they were offering me. I was told I had better refuse the renewal and take out a new policy.

It's the palaver and waste of time that gets me, I think. I have just given up trying to phone More Than, having hung on for ages. More time wasted.

There's an interesting article in the Guardian today about how the insurance companies have found ways around the new legislation so that existing customers still don't get as good a deal as new customers:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/may/28/car-insurance-costs-loyal-customers-renewals

Since 1 January, insurers have been banned from overcharging loyal policyholders in order to fund discounts to attract new customers. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which implemented the ban, 6 million customers who stayed with their provider overpaid £1.2bn in 2018. It estimates that the new rules will save consumers £4.2bn over 10 years.

However, consumers who assume that the ban allows them to put their feet up without paying a price may be in for a shock. Loopholes in the new rules mean they may still end up spending more to renew an existing policy than to buy a new one from the same provider. Companies are still allowed to discriminate between new and existing customers depending on when and how they apply for a quote.

Edited by RichT54 on 28/05/2022 at 11:32