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Old 12th April 2018, 10:59 AM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Default D2 insurance renewal time

It's that time of year that presumably makes us all think.

I've been with the same insurer (Direct Line) for several years and premiums have usually stood up well to comparisons, so I've not changed.
But this year the premium has gone up about 20%, I have absolutely no idea why and in fact for the last couple of years I think it has actually gone down a bit.

So I started rummaging around via comparison websites and ended up favouring Privilege, who as many of you may know, are actually a "sister" company of DL.
(Sister as in twin sister in a slightly different frock!)

I already have some other insurance with them (house) which also helps a bit so tried to get a detailed online quote. Couldn't get in online which was odd and couldn't reset/recover my password either so I just phoned them up.

The quote over the phone was a bit higher than the comparison site suggested, but not bad, so I asked them to post it to me so I could review it. Arrived the other day.
This was for fully comprehensive, 2 drivers, protected (maximum) NCD and legal cover. No breakdown cover needed, we have that separately for us as individuals in any vehicle.

Meanwhile I managed to sort out online access (browser incompatibility issues!) and played with voluntary excesses etc. to get the best value for me.
Doing that it appeared that the online quotes were lower (by about 5%) than the phone equivalent. But I had also mentioned having two sets of wheels (winter/summer) as that is a specific item listed as a "modification" on the DL policy, so thought that might be the reason, illogical though it is.

Yesterday I decided I needed to get this sorted so phoned them up. Interesting points from that:
1. When I quoted my exact online premium and what options produced it they could compare it (they can't see my online quote directly) and immediately said they would match it.
2. When asked they said online was slightly cheaper but that they would always match the online quote if people called in to complete the purchase.
3. When I asked about the wheels they said there was no need to note them as they were only really interested in performance modifications. In contrast Direct Line even wanted to record that our old Ford Focus had (factory-fit!) aircon and ABS options on it!
4. The premium was a lot lower than DL for a virtually identical policy. The only difference I can see is that Privilege charge an admin fee if you make any changes during the term of the insurance whereas DL don't, though both can change the premium if relevant factors apply.

So the punch line: The Privilege premium was just 55% of the Direct Line one.

Has anyone else made such a saving on such a closely-aligned change?

And another little irony. When I first insured my PF S8 I chose Privilege, which I "think" at that time may have been separate from DL, or recently acquired by the same holding company. At the time they were marketed as being a specialist for rarer/premium cars.
Over time I was migrated by them to Direct Line, without any conscious choice of mine. I guess DL expanded their remit and this was all before online insurance took off.
Subsequently Privilege seems to have been rebranded as the Direct Line "face" that appears on comparison sites, whereas DL themselves stand "aloof" from that.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!

Last edited by HPsauce; 12th April 2018 at 11:32 AM.
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Old 12th April 2018, 11:42 AM
tintin tintin is online now
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Apparently, according to a broker that I know, DL and Admiral control a fair chunk of the market between them. The whole sector is a sham, and ripe for the sort of mis-selling investigation that happened with PPI - there's no effective competition, no transparency and a range of pretty dubious anti-competitive practices across the board.

As a related example, my RAC policy premium - which is an insurance policy, just a different type - jumped by more than 50% on renewal, and I had to cancel my policy, leave the RAC after 17 years, leave a shi**y (but accurate... ) review of how they handled it before they responded properly.
End result: policy renewed by them at the same price as last year, but what a waste of my time and their management time, and so typical of the sector as a whole.
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Old 12th April 2018, 11:56 AM
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briang9 briang9 is offline
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It's also worth noting that if you are in your renewal period, Admiral goup will not show up on the comparison site quotes as said quotes are for new customers only. I suspect Admiral are not the only ones who do this.
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  #4  
Old 12th April 2018, 12:06 PM
HPsauce HPsauce is offline
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Oh, don't even get me going on my house insurance.
My buildings policy had been linked to my mortgage, repaid long ago, but I just let the insurance run on (inertia!) and paid it monthly so didn't really notice it creep up. This was despite having a separate contents policy with a different insurer, paid annually. Renewal dates were close but not identical.

When both went up significantly I reviewed it all and went for a combined "premium" policy with much better cover and lots of extra supporting services.
A bit of overlap due to non-synchronous renewal dates , but I didn't care!
The new combined policy was less than 30% of the other two premiums added together.
__________________
2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
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Old 12th April 2018, 10:49 PM
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tc4332 tc4332 is offline
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We are with Zurich and they have warned us that they will not continue cover after my 80th birthday.
Ageism?
They were my first vehicle insurer ever. I was 18 and in Germany. I've been with others inbetween then and now.
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Old 12th April 2018, 11:41 PM
H-M3 H-M3 is offline
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I think insurance need to be regulated more! It’s unbelievable the difference between sister companies. I have max discount and ended up paying 20% more this year. Please do not be fooled by the multi car rubbish as sometimes it works out cheaper to do it individually. We had several cars with Admiral but went up by massive this year so had to break it all up. Esure came out decent this year. Another thing I don’t understand is the companies adding all these additional gimmicks like legal cover, You would think that with FC cover you should have that as standard, but no they say in case it’s a fault accident Also last year one of our parked car had been hit by a drunk driver, he damaged 4 cars, police caught up and the company took all liability but guess what our premium went up stating that it does not matter non fault, WTF. Also now if you claim windscreen then it becomes a actual claim. Jokes! Sorry that’s my rant
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Last edited by H-M3; 12th April 2018 at 11:46 PM.
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Old 13th April 2018, 07:24 AM
Simonbartlett Simonbartlett is offline
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My renewal came in from admiral for wife’s and daughters car £1500. I did all the usual comparison quotes and got it down to £1000, I then phoned up to cancel twice due to my wife and daughter needing to speak on the phone. On both cancellation calls they said they would look at the quote, second time I said don’t bother your mate tried and was miles off. Anyway she was a lovely sounding Canadian girl so I gave her a couple of minutes and she came back with £883 for my wife’s 2.0 TDi a3 and my daughter 1.6 TDi Fabia who is only just 18 !

If they can offer 600 discount how much are they making ?
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Old 13th April 2018, 02:51 PM
Davey Blueeyes Davey Blueeyes is offline
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I wonder if you could get a D2 on a classic policy? Most of the PF are over 20 years old now? If not, you should be able to!

I wonder whether we could get a 'club' scheme for these? I am sure a broker somewhere would be interested in something like this?
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2002 D2 S8 - Avus Silver, Valcona red leather, Dark Myrtle wood inserts, Heated rear seats, Heated windscreen, Auto dim rear view mirror, Bose, Xenon Plus, Servotronic, Extended leather, Heat & UV Reflective glass & Ski hatch. Gearbox went bang but she's sleeping safely away.
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Old 13th April 2018, 06:10 PM
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briang9 briang9 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davey Blueeyes View Post
I wonder if you could get a D2 on a classic policy? Most of the PF are over 20 years old now? If not, you should be able to!

I wonder whether we could get a 'club' scheme for these? I am sure a broker somewhere would be interested in something like this?
I got a decent deal on my RS6 via another forum where a broker offers bespoke deals to members over the phone rather than some computer generated stuff, they do seem to focus on "special" requirements though
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  #10  
Old 13th April 2018, 08:22 PM
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steamship steamship is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tintin View Post
The whole sector is a sham, and ripe for the sort of mis-selling investigation that happened with PPI - there's no effective competition, no transparency and a range of pretty dubious anti-competitive practices across the board.
Quote:
Originally Posted by H-M3 View Post
I think insurance need to be regulated more! It’s unbelievable the difference between sister companies.
Have to agree on both points, as I consider them all to a shower of (insert appropriate word)! As well as the points made by everyone so far, the one I can't tolerate, or comprehend is insuring multiple cars.

Take for example my D2. I've had it insured since I bought it with the same company. Always a competitive quote compared to others, and usually when you go to renew, they drop the price bit. Car is insured fully comp, protected NCD and driver only. Fast forward to the S8 and phoned for a quote, and based on previous history with the D2, got an even better price than the D2, and same conditions. Not going to argue with that.

Less than a month ago, I phone them up and ask for a quote. They look through the existing policies I have with them, including house insurance and give me another good competitive quote. Based on that, I go ahead with the purchase and arrange flights, ferries, etc. About a week later, I phone up to confirm the quote and to get the policy started. I'm then told that they can't quote me for the car. But they did the previous week! Ah, but they made a mistake. They didn't check thoroughly enough, and shouldn't have quoted me at all. In fact, they wouldn't even quote me for the car because of its insurance group. Needless to say, I'm getting a bit miffed at this having forked out for all manner of transport relating to it. After about 30 minutes of let's say discussion, and some manager intervention, they agreed to honour the quote.

This is the bit that gets to me about insuring multiple vehicles when I'm the only going to be driving them. Despite quoting lower annual mileages (split between them), I can't drive them at the same time, so why should the premiums still be so high. Each car will be on the road for less time, so theoretically less likely to be in an accident.

Oh, there was one other area, occupation. When I renewed the D2 insurance last year, I just happened to look through the policy document and noticed that my occupation was down as retired. Now when I took out my first insurance with them back in 2012, I said I was unemployed, but somewhere along the line it was changed. Since I was phoning to renew, I pointed out their mistake in my occupation, to which he said 'that will be an extra £70'. It seems that retired people are less prone to having accidents, and since I told them I was unemployed and not retired, I can't change that, as any policy I had after that would be void because of providing false information.

If I had my way, they would be occupying the same spot at the bottom of the sea set aside for all lawyers/solicitors. Even bigger rant than M-H3
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2001 A8 D2 FL 3.7 Q - LPG Conversion, Engine: AKC, Gearbox:FBB, Colour:LY5X Aqua Blue pearl effect, Interior:WJ light beige/dark beige valcona leather with burr walnut inserts

My DIY jobs - Replaced alarm horn, Replaced Coolant Temp sensor, Updated RNS-D firmware, Installed Reversing Camera and Digital TV, Dashcam Installation, Retrofitted Rear Blinds, Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror, Chrome Boot Struts

Sold! 2008 S8 D3 5.2 V10 - Engine: BSM, Gearbox:KLW, Colour:LY7F Suzuka Grey Pearl Effect, Interior:Black/Black with Silver/Black valcona leather with carbon atlas inserts, Bang & Olufsen, Heated windscreen, Soft-close doors, TV, DAB, AMI, Quad Zone, Auto Boot, Auto dim Mirrors, Keyless entry, PDC with rearview camera, AFS II Headlights

My DIY jobs - Fan Jet Windscreen Washers, Retrofitted Electric Side Blinds
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