Toyota Insurance

[Chris Dance]

For me it is the time for the annual car insurance renewal. I searched for previous posts on this forum but could not find any.

The Renewal for our Gen 4 Prius arrived today. I was shocked to see it was £793.88. I phoned Toyota Insurance and after deduction for my membership of Toyota Club the best price was £756.59.

I contacted other insurance companies and the best quote from a reliable company was £644. None of the companies I contacted would guarantee that in the event of accident genuine Toyota parts would be used or if I could insist on the car be repaired by a Toyota repair Centre. One company said I could insist that any repairs necessary were carried out at a Toyota repair Centre but I would have to pay £400. I did get lower quotes from other companies but not with the same cover.

After an accident I had previously, recovery and repairs were all done by Toyota using genuine parts. The service was excellent and the repairs made no difference to the trade in price. For this reason alone it looks like it makes sense to stick with Toyota Insurance.

 

[Heidfirst]

23 minutes ago, Chris Dance said:

None of the companies I contacted would guarantee that in the event of accident genuine Toyota parts would be used or if I could insist on the car be repaired by a Toyota repair Centre.

It is your legal right to insist that the car be repaired where you want it done. However, they can have a higher excess if you don't use their preferred repairer (but this has to be made clear in the quote/policy ). e.g. esure charge an extra £200.

[Catlover]

You say you got quotes from reliable companies, and best quote was £644. Do you consider LV (Liverpool Victoria) to be reliable?  I part exchanged my Gen 3 for a 2016 Gen4 Excel just as my insurance was due for renewal.  I always compare the market via the internet and compare carefully with my renewal letter. For a number of years now LV has usually been the lowest of there about, but this year, with having changed right on renewal date I got an internet quote with LV, tweaked it with how I wanted it, and it came out at £280.55 (I kid you not-and before I tweaked it was lower).  That is considerably cheaper then what my renewal letter for the Gen3 was.  For me, LV is a no brainer, and they get decent reviews for customer service.  Less then 2 weeks after getting the Gen4 I got a chip in the windscreen. Contacted Auto Windscreen direct, they sorted out the insurance direct with LV, and I paid out £10 toward the repair. Pleased with that. 

[Tom stuart]

Out of interest the insurer who tops car insurance satisfaction surveys is NFU Mutual.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The current Which? Recommended Providers for car insurance are, in descending order:

NFU Mutual

Age UK

LV

John Lewis

Co-op Insurance

Toyota

Having said that, the Which? Car Buying Guide 2018 is due, where they revisit car insurance, so it is possible the Recommended Providers may change shortly ........

[RWaggers]

I paid £190.47 this year for my comprehensive renewal through Saga.  I'm covered for un-insured drivers and European cover.

Now, will they use genuine Toyota parts for a repair?  Probably not.  However, the money saved each year will, I hope, allow me to haggle a Toyota repair at an extra cost and still leave me quids in.

Having said that, I (thankfully) had a car insurance claim, so I have no idea how Saga react when a claim is made.  

[Parts-King]

Insurance companies bully people into thinking they have to go to their own approved company, and will make it as awkward as possible to go elsewhere. When you go on these comparison sites you are giving hundreds of companies your data, make sure you tick the no marketing boxes as the comparison sites make millions out of selling your data. So always check with companies that don't use those sites as well. I personally use LV for Mrs Kingo's car and also for building/contents insurance, they were cheaper this year than last year, I also tweaked it for some extra cover and it was still cheaper than last year, I was very pleased with the price. 

Kingo

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 hours ago, RWaggers said:

Having said that, I (thankfully) had a car insurance claim, so I have no idea how Saga react when a claim is made.  

Presume this should be 'not'.

[Chris Dance]

Thanks for replies. I looked up reviews for the suggestions given. Reviewers praised but mostly criticised the companies I researched. Yes we are legally right to select the repairer for our cars in the event of a collision. Most companies make it difficult to do this. Toyota Insurance was the dearest of all the companies. Toyota insurance were so brilliant after a serious collision I had in 2016, I decided to renew with them again. Some companies I contacted were about £120 less than Toyota for the same cover. I did not consider it was worth the hassle of having to negotiate for the car to be repaired by an approved Toyota repair centre using genuine Toyota parts. If we had an older car I may have gone for a lower quote.

Parts King I seem to recall some time ago you recommending to use Toyota Insurance. 

[TAuris]

On 8/28/2018 at 7:55 PM, Chris Dance said:

For me it is the time for the annual car insurance renewal. I searched for previous posts on this forum but could not find any.

The Renewal for our Gen 4 Prius arrived today. I was shocked to see it was £793.88. I phoned Toyota Insurance and after deduction for my membership of Toyota Club the best price was £756.59.

I contacted other insurance companies and the best quote from a reliable company was £644. None of the companies I contacted would guarantee that in the event of accident genuine Toyota parts would be used or if I could insist on the car be repaired by a Toyota repair Centre. One company said I could insist that any repairs necessary were carried out at a Toyota repair Centre but I would have to pay £400. I did get lower quotes from other companies but not with the same cover.

After an accident I had previously, recovery and repairs were all done by Toyota using genuine parts. The service was excellent and the repairs made no difference to the trade in price. For this reason alone it looks like it makes sense to stick with Toyota Insurance.

 

I doubt there are pattern parts for your 2017 Toyota. This only applies to very old cars where insurance company will use second hand parts to reflect the value of the vehicle.

[Parts-King]

13 hours ago, Chris Dance said:

 

Parts King I seem to recall some time ago you recommending to use Toyota Insurance. 

I did indeed, I see insurance claims come through the door every day, the hassle from a Toyota Insurance claim is zero compared to what the Bodyshop guys have to deal with through other insurance companies. They are not the cheapest, like all good things, you get what you pay for and non of us know until, sadly, we have to make a claim. 

[RWaggers]

On 8/31/2018 at 6:51 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

Presume this should be 'not'.

Thank you FB - I'll take my self outside and give myself a good talking to!

[Chris Dance]

Just had the latest renewal quote from Toyota INS. It has gone up from £573 last year to £823 this year. This is very expensive.

LV will not insure my 2017 Prius stating they do not insure this type of car.

Aviva reject me on age.

I would be interested to other oldie Prius owners who are having this issue. Any recommendations appreciated.

[Yugguy1970]

Weird, I am with Admiral now who I believe are underwritten by LV, we have the Rav and Yaris hybrids on a joint policy.

[olddriver]

On 8/30/2018 at 11:56 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

The current Which? Recommended Providers for car insurance are, in descending order:

NFU Mutual

Age UK

LV

John Lewis

Co-op Insurance

Toyota

Having said that, the Which? Car Buying Guide 2018 is due, where they revisit car insurance, so it is possible the Recommended Providers may change shortly ........

In addition to NCB, NFU also give loyalty bonus, I’ve been with them years and I’ve given up looking around.

[Chris Dance]

Tried MFU mutual. I am too old to be taken on as a new customer. If I already had a policy with them I would be OK.
Tried SAGA quote received was far too much.

Looks like I may have to renew with Toyota who I have been with for years.  Toyota rep told me all car policies have gone up? 
Any recommendations welcome.

[Cyker]

Can they do that? I thought that sort of discrimination was illegal now!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

Can they do that? I thought that sort of discrimination was illegal now!

Yes they can. Quite a few insurers have minimum and maximum ages they will insure. Eg. LV - max age 110, NFU Mutual and Churchill - 80, Aviva - 84, etc.

Some have no maximum age - Direct Line, Saga, AXA, etc.

[Cyker]

But isn't that discrimination? Like e.g. if they refused to insure someone because they were a woman or gay or black etc.

Surely if they're deemed fit to drive they can't be refused insurance purely on age alone??

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Same as if they judge your postcode, car, occupation, etc, as a risk factor.

Age can be used to assess risk and this can be used to work out the price you pay for a financial product or whether it's made available to you. They're also allowed to set age limits and offer products to people in certain age groups only.

See: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/discrimination-in-the-provision-of-goods-and-services/discrimination-in-the-provision-of-goods-and-services1/goods-and-services-what-are-the-different-types-of-discrimination/what-doesn-t-count-as-unlawful-discrimination-in-goods-and-services/age-discrimination-when-discrimination-is-allowed-in-the-provision-of-goods-or-services/

[Cyker]

Well the risk factor is something else; That just ups the premium.

Usually if they don't want you, they'll set a ridiculously high price for the premium, but I didn't think it was okay to just refuse out-right for that reason alone, but I see your point as I'm aware some insurers will refuse to insure certain marques of car so I guess it comes under that umbrella...?

 

[Chris Dance]

You are correct Cyker. LV refuse to insure a Prius but do not refuse a person on age. LV is recommended by age concern.

Premiums are hiked on age with lots of motor insurers.

I have renewed my insurance with Toyota they are the best if you own a Toyota vehicle but not the cheapest.  In the event of an accident at least you know your vehicle will be repaired with genuine Toyota parts. 
Must admit the cost of renewing my Toyota insurance this year was a surprise.

[Harters]

I have been insured with LV in the past for my car, so not sure why they are saying they will not insure a Prius now?  

I am currently with Flow who are underwritten by LV, so maybe give them a try.  I have just renewed my premium with Flow for £285 with two named drivers and max no claims.

[olddriver]

Had a chat with a  lady at NFU Mutual today, who was really knowledgeable, said that the miles that you do in a year, can make a huge difference to the premium, and I could have saved a lot of money because since covid I have cut down drastically on my mileage.  

[TonyHSD]

Guys, you can try Adrian flux and mention that you are members of the forum you can get discount and fairly good prices. I had insurance from them for business  use last two years, this time with Aviva but next year we try them again if they beat Aviva will switch back to them.