Just had my renewal from Direct Line. It's £76 more expensive than the quote I got online when I bought my new car a few weeks ago. They're also advertising intrest free monthly payments. When I rung up to challenge it, I got the usual 'for new customers only'. Well, I am now an 'old' customer as will my wife next month when she renews her insurance.
Eventually got an excellent policy through What Car Ins. It worked out substantially cheaper, even with monthly payments taken into account.
Can't understand why companies treat existing customers with such contempt.
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It's because most people put up with it. Sometimes it's a case of 'better the devil you know' but often I think they just leave their renewals to the last minute and don't then have the time or patience to ring around for a better deal.
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The quote you got online has a 10% discount, which they only give to new customers, and if bought online.
I challenged it a couple of years ago and they did give me the 10% discount for being a loyal customer - that and threatening to take my custom elsewhere ;o)
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It's a lot more than 10%. My insurance is £300, so the £76 increase is a 30% increase. That and refusing to give interest free instalments to exsisting customers. They're attempts at taking me for a ride has cost them two customers. Not good business.
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DL always cough up the 10% discount for Nicolle. Specially as I explain that fifi the dog is insured through DL, The Chateux is insured through direct line, as are the fine tapestries, furniture, paintings, wine cellar, iron maiden etc.
A quick explain to a supervisor that *all* would go walkies seems to work.
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I love the building society advert where the chap goes to his bank but finds that all the decent offers are "sorry sir, brand new customers only", even including the pens on the desks.
However, there seem to be two problems with it. First, I can't remember the name of the society so their advert seems to have failed miserably in its primary task. Ho hum. Second, when he goes into their office and is given lots of tempting offers, isn't he, err, a brand new customer?
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Its always the same and I think the proper term for it is 'inertia marketing'.
I change insurers every year for both the car and the bikes and the process is always the same.
Get excellent quote, take out insurance.
Get renewal quote which is higher than last year, sometimes 100%+ increase!
Go to confused.com get best quote, take out new insurance.
Call old insurer for proof of no-claims bonus to be sent out and to tell them I'm not renewing with them.
Get put through to 'customer relations'. Explain that I have renewed with other insurerer and get told (huffy voice) 'we could have matched that price why didn't you call us'.
Explain in no uncertain terms that if they don't send me the best quote at renewal time they lose my business.
As said above it must work in some cases otherwise they'd stop doing it.
Also, (going off topic). The new scam on the market is charging an annual fee for your credit cards. Process as follows:
Fee appears on statement. Call, get put through to the 'front line' staff. Get told fee is payable by everyone on the planet and in no circumstances can I have the card if I don't pay. Say 'cancel the card immediately'. Get put through to 'customer relations' who agree to waive the charge if you keep the account open.
In the words of Paul Weller, 'this is the modern world'...
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My insurance is due in a month or so, and I've two weeks holiday between now and then, so i've started to shop around. That said, for the past 10-15 years I have used a series of brokers (initially because I had a modified car and a requirement for road rally insurance). Their quotes have always been competitive, and on several occasions they have, at renewal time, said 'your current insurer is bumping up the cost to much, here is their quote and a better quote from somebody else). I've never had to change broker for price or service reasons, and over those 10-15 years, with three different brokers, I'd be suprised if i've actually spoken to more than half-a-dozen different people.
The only reason I've had a change of broker is that they have gone out of business and sold on to someone else - a result of the growth of on-line insurance and sites like confused.com, I suspect.
Anyway, here's a question for you - has anybody got insurance through Easymoney.com, who are now one of HJ's advertisers. Having just seen the link today I got a quote which was £20-30 cheaper than the lowest on confused.com, but as MarkRLBS will tell us, we are too obsessed with price when it comes to buying insurance. Then again, if the service from the insurance arm is like the service from Easyjet at Liverpool airport, I'd think twice about a £300 quid saving
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Iron maiden - er, why would you want a medieval instrument of torture? How decent though of DL to insure it for you!
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Its in the torture chamber of the RF chateux, you seen the price these things fetch on Ebay? of course its insured.
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Can't understand why companies treat existing customers with such contempt.
I guess Volvoman is right - people do put up with it.
And because they (or the vast majority of them do) I rather suspect that any company that treated existing customers with respect would see their profits drop. Then either the shareholders would kick up a fuss, or they would be taken over by a more aggressive company.
One day, perhaps the Consumers Association (or someone else)could do a survey to find which insurance companies (& banks) treat existing customers with respect.
Short of that, can any back-roomers recommend motor insurance companies that do NOT offer special discounts to new customers, or that otherwise show respect for existing customers?
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There was a very similar thread to this about a week ago, and Mark posted a very good explanation of exactly why they don't mind that they're treating their existing customers so badly.
Can't remember what the thread was called though, sorry.
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I think Mark got it right on another thread. They make more money by charging existing customers more than they lose by losing people who moan.
I just renew online as a new customer when the paper renewal costs more. Or move.
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I find this quite strange. In the past when I renewed my insurance with them, their quote always beat any other quote I obtained.
Last year I changed my car and got lots of quotes as it was more powerful and expensive car. The AA was over £100 dearer than I paid, despite their television adverts and being a member. The next lowest was £35 dearer. I stayed with Direct Line because they were the cheapest.
When I checked the difference between 1.6 petrol and a 2.4 turbo diesel, the diesel was only £35 more. Hence I bought the diesel car.
I should mention that I am over 50, fully comp, 2 named drivers only, plus a 70% protected discount. May be my driving record makes them want to keep me - no accidents in over 25 years and no points on my licence in the past 30 years. The only claims have been 2 windscreen repairs and 1 new screen in the same period. Possibly I am a good risk for any insurance company.
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Mark (RLBS) explained very well, I thought, some of the thinking behind the current insurance marketing strategies;
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=31...5
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life's all about cycles - loyalty's currently unfashionable because new business (via internet) is more profitable, but it will return, I predict.
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I too was shocked at seeing an increase in premium from Direct line. I phoned around and got a cheaper quote. When I phoned Direct Line up to ask if they wanted to match it, they stated that they do not do this. I took my business elsewhere.
It appears that insurance companies take on new customers at a discount and then in subsequent years bump up the premiums hoping that people wont shop around.
Every year I now get my quote and shop around to see if it is still competitive.
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After five years with Direct Line, I was amazed to find that I could cut my premium in half (seriously) by going elsewhere (Admiral). DL had no interest at all in keeping me as a customer, so I've no interest in ever bothering with them again.
Can't fathom their logic at all. I'm mid-30s, 9yrs no claims, etc, but I guess they simply don't want business from people who live in Central London without a garage.
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As an aside, if you are happy with DL (Which I have been) then try Privilege. I got my renewal about 2 months ago, tried Confused.com and saw what my business might be worth. Eventually got DL down to roughly what I thought I could get; no great desire to leave DL, as they have treated me very well.
As a final thought, used the Privilege website to see what I could get, and took 16% out of both cars' premiums with them. It appears from the documentation that they are part of the DL group, and underwritten by them.
Cheers
Jono
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I've been through the old "renewal more expensive than buying from scratch again" scenario with Directline. I have only just gone back to owning my own car whilst my wife had been with DL for years.
But to be honest, when I ring up about it, they admit it straight away, and tell me to just go back onto the WEB and buy directly as a new customer online.
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I feel really disappointed about all this.
Every year I routinely check how much I can save on my London Victoria/Frizzell insurance, boosted by CSMA membership, and every year find out that they are cheaper than everyone else by a good chunk.
So this year I didn't bother to check, just renewed. Thought better of it and spent an evening checking and still couldn't get within £50 of their price.
Creates a certain brand loyalty.
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