Insurance Advice Needed...

[CraigT]

My insurance is up for renewal this month with tesco. Ive had the quote for the year which Im pretty happy with to be honest.

One question though. I phoned them to see what they had on record as the value of the car, and advised them that the car is not worth that anymore (going by the book price on Autotrader).

I asked her if giving her the new value would alter the quote for the insurance. She said that she put it through the computer and its coming back with the same quote.

Does that sound right to you guys?

I thought I read somewhere that giving a lower value for the car should affect the renewal quote?

[mergli]

I assume that it doesn't matter because if you crash into and write off a £100,000 Ferrari in a £500 car or a £5000 car they still have to replace the Ferrari.

Just a thought.....

[GT4 BOOSTER]

dont they only give bottom book anyways no matter what the value for that particular year of motor ????

[mr2mk1g]

Couple of points.

Average cost of a 5mph fender bender:

Replacement bumper for your car - £100

Replacement bumper for their car - £100

Defending the whiplash claim - £500

Paying the claimant’s legal costs - £2000

Compensation for 6 months whiplash - £2000

Total paid out by your insurance co. - £4700

The only part of the above total which is dependant on the value of your car is the £100 bumper… which might go up to say £150 if it’s a more valuable make of car… but doesn’t really go up at all if it’s the same car but just in better nick.

If it’s a more serious accident the figures all go up but again the cost of your car is always the smallest part of the equation.

The other point is that unless you have an agreed value insurance policy you’re only going to get whatever the appropriate bracket of Glass’s guide gives for your car. If it’s written off it’ll be inspected and you get a payout based on which bracket your car would have fitted into had it not been in the crash. Even if you tell them it was worth £4000 if they find a rusty heap of crap they pay out for the value of a rusty heap of crap.

For those of you with really expensive mods – it might be worth talking to your insurance co. about an agreed valuation unless they’re specifically tell you that those will be taken into account should it become necessary to assess your vehicle.

[CraigT]

Very detailed advice - thanks!

One other question while Im trying to sort out my insurance. I have had a nice quote (£421.05) with tesco. This is a quote for fully comp based on £450 excess in the event of an accident, no courtesy car, and no legal advice(?) but Im not sure whether that would be a good one to go for.

Basically these are my 3 choices:

Tesco: £499.80 - £150 excess, courtesy car, and legal advice

Direct Line: £423.15 - £450 excess, no courtesy car, no legal advice

Tesco: £421.05 - £450 excess, no courtesy car, no legal advice

[Bibbs]

Replacement bumper for your car - £100

where the hell is that ??

Toyota want £585 + Vat for a rear bumper ..

[mr2mk1g]

So I picked the £100 outa the air. :P The other figures are pretty much genuine.

Call it minimal damage and you may well be looking at only that to fix it and still have caused a 2 grand whiplash injury. However you cut it, the damage to your car is still going to be the smallest part of almost any claim involving another vehicle.

Snakeeater - If you can tack on legal expenses insurance it could be worth it's weight in gold (so to speak). I think I paid about £12 or £20 for mine. It's cheap cost the risk of you wanting to use it is very low even though it could cost your insurers a lot should you need it. Try calling those co's that have not offered it and asking what they charge for you to tack it on (if they give you that option).

Depending on the terms of the policy, it could mean your insurer pay for your legal expenses should someone hit you, right your car off/injure you. It means you don't need one of those crappy "no-win-no-fee" companies as your insurers pay for it. (In practice the claim may be done in house by the insurer or passed on to one of a group of solicitors firms who do the work for them).

This allows you to bring a claim against the numpty that hit you for the cost of your car, car hire, bus fees, physio and all the pain you've been in and your insurance co. picks up the couple of grand bill the solicitors have for their time... all for a few quid a year.

Course that only works if it wasn't your fault. ;)

As for curtsey cars if you have legal expenses insurance one of the things they’ll claim back for you is either £5 - £15 per day for the inconvenience of not having your car, or the actual costs of hiring a replacement till yours is back on the road. Of course it has to be the other guys fault again for that to work, but at least you didn’t lose out. In fact, if your insurers give you a hire car they simply go claim that money off the other side at an extortionate rate anyway so it’s a little bit sickening that they charge you for the privilege of something that doesn’t actually cost them anything and often makes them money.

I can't answer your question; I can only provide you with some of the information about each of the choices. What you have is a choice between "gamble - open the box" or "take the money". Gamble you're not going to have a crash - saves money on insurance. Take the money and run... costs more in your premium but you get peace of mind in the event of a smash.

I went for a bit of both. I've got a high excess but I'm covered by legal expenses insurance. For you, it’s red pill or blue pill time. At least now you already know how deep the rabbit warren goes.

[jazzyjc123]

snakeeater just out of interest how old are ?

i went with tesco got a quote online and when i rang it was cheaper

im 34 had a total write off claim this year got a quote of 633 i know its expensive but i got full leagal cover replacement car but they also threw in their top of the range breakdown cover that covers me for everything

and i only put down 2500 for the car and 350 vol excess

[dawolf]

I had to claim off Tesco a few months back when I crashed my 106 GTI into a hedge, I was the only party involved. They said it would cost around £5k to repair (seemed a bit steep!) It's true they only OFFER you the lowest book value BUT you are quite entitled to claim for more money and go to the Ombudsman. I queried the value of my GTI and they offered me a nice extra sum without any hassle. They're a good insurance company who seem to sort things out quickly. Only thing is their excess tends to be high.

[CraigT]

mr2mk1g - Thanks for all the info, makes things a lot clearer. Im gonna have a good think about what will suit me best over the next week before I renew.

jazzyjc123 - Im 27, with 5 years no claims. Compared to what I was paying last year though the quotes this year are around £200 minimum CHEAPER. So either way Im happy whichever one I decide to go with. Had an accident in 2002 which I have to mention so that may be a factor even though I have 5 years no claims?

[tony4]

Legal cover is a must!!!! My friend's car was hit by a careless driver and the careless driver admit it his own fault.

As my friend try to claim off the other driver's insurance, he gets a bill of £800 to pay the other guy???!!!! This is how insurance company bully people

He can't affort to get a solicitor and left with no car.

[Bobby-H]

dont they only give bottom book anyways no matter what the value for that particular year of motor ????

They might try to offer bottom book price at first but they should offer the amount it would cost to replace the car with a similar one bought from a trade dealer, I suspect you would need to argue your point tho.

[kalmr2]

i worked for an insurance company for 6 years..................man, get legal cover!

it's more important than the insurance itself

[Jimlad]

trust Kal on this... he's like Mr Insurance man... can quote car groups of the top of his head and everything !! ... lol

[CraigT]

trust Kal on this... he's like Mr Insurance man... can quote car groups of the top of his head and everything !! ... lol

Yeah after having a think about it, Im not going to try and save a few quid by cutting out potentially important things. Knowing my luck Id have an accident

I should be glad that its £200 cheaper than last year anyway. Besides £499 is pretty okay I think, and the excess of £150 is really good.

[Jimlad]

yeah that's a good price.... try insuring my car mate !!! ..... lol.

[EarL]

Quoted these loads of times.

Try Egg.com

Cheapest I found.