Practice what you preach

I’m the first to tell anyone not to auto-renew any policy but to take the time to search the market, switch providers and find a better deal. It has been a proven process that has allowed me to make savings year on year. So when I tried again with my car insurance I was in for a shock. I could not find a deal to make me move from my current insurer! Read on to find out why.

Previous savings

As per my previous blogs on securing the best home insurance and pain before gain with car insurance it is widely known that by having enough time to shop around you can make a saving simply by changing your service provider. Whether it is for home or contents insurance, utilities, broadband or of course your motor vehicle. Well, not so much on the vehicle front it seems.

My latest quote from my current insurance was £368.50 more than last year (11% increase). I thought great, got my timely alert from BeeMyMinder lets go find a better deal. However after a lot of market research and completing comparison site forms I was none the wiser or better off.

I could not find a better introductory offer that was better than my current provider to make me switch!

Is it true? That an 11% quote to auto-renew is better than the rest of the market. Well yes.

What has happening?

I needed to learn why this was. Is it me not doing a thorough search, something I’d accidently added to make the premium increase or something else?

With BeeMyminder I was able to first track my spend over the last few years. To my dismay I realised apart from one year of great saving, my car premiums have been growing (see below).

Nov 2012 – £374.18

Nov 2013 – £279.84 (25.2% saving)

Nov 2014 – £303.16 (8.3% increase)

Nov 2015 – £331.79 (9.4% increase)

Nov 2016 – £ 368.50 (11% increase)

Then I came across some more concerning information on the true extent of rising costs.

On average there has been a 17% increase year on year. 28% increase if 66 years of age or older and London drivers facing an average 23% increase (read more here). It makes for sad reading. Looking at my effort, I’m still paying less now than in 2012.

Why is it costing more?

Firstly is that the insurance premium tax has been increasing. From when it was first introduced in 1^st October 1994 at 2.5%, the last price rise took place on 1^st October 2016 and took it to 10%. However, after the Autumn statement it’s due to rise again to 12% next June.

Next, insurers are having to cover a growing number of costs which make the premiums more expensive. We have the cost of personal injury claims, whether this are for real or fraudulent. The additional cost of new technology on care like bummer sensors. People in general driving more expensive cars which cost more to repair. More cars on the road, equals more likelihood of collisions. Cost of courtesy cars with higher value than the damaged one. Maybe over charging by garages carrying out the repairs.

Summary – unable to secure cheaper deals!

Given the the growing list of costs that are passed down to the consumer, you can understand why it is difficult to switch providers and make any savings.

I always recommend that you use more than one comparison site to ensure you are finding the best deals on offer (not the preferred deals so they can secure more referral money, read here). But on this occasion I was unsuccessful.

What is interesting is this statement from the AA – “Insurers were becoming less inclined to offer low introductory rates to attract new customers”

Have we reached a point that the only people who will really benefit from switching are those who have not changed providers in a very long time? Those who have been paying over the odds year on year?

Are comparison sites not the way forward? Is it better to remain a loyal customer?…….. Only time will tell.

Last updated by Nigel Brokenshire at November 28, 2016.