Then I remembered that as I am currently insured with one of the country's largest exhaust and tyre specialists (apparently you can't get better than these boys, they're the ones to trust) and that a free MOT was included with my quote last year. I then recalled that this offer wasn't that great in the end. Yes, the MOT was free, but when the car failed the test because of a hole in the 'back box' (gosh that's technical), the boys to trust were unable to locate the required part and I had to resort to visiting the main stealer (sorry, I mean dealer) to have the work done. Over £400 lighter from my visit to garage, the re-test then cost me thirty-odd quid.
I normally get my MOT done at a local garage who give me a discount because of where I work and retests are usually free. So I decided not to let the free MOT sway my opinion as I probably wouldn't use it again. I quickly scanned the contents of the letter which was rather poorly laid out and could not find any reference to a free MOT and assumed it was something they offered the first year, just to lure you in.
"Her Indoors" was looking over my shoulder and she spotted the renewal price which had been quoted. "That's more than doubled," she said. I thought, "It can't be" (I still hadn't found where the price was shown in the document) and then i saw it... £905.10
I couldn't believe it. My boss managed to get a quote through our company's insurers for his 17 year old grandson which came in at less than that. To pay in installments (which i would need to do at that price) I would pay over more than eleven-hundred quid. Of course this would not be matter of paying in installments like the way things used to be, 'the boys to trust' would do me a favour and arrange some finance for me to help me pay for the insurance, hence the extra two-hundred-and-odd quid. Someone with a more cynical mind than mine might suggest that 'the boys to trust' would also then receive some sort of commission for providing this service but I obviously wouldn't want to comment.
After several Internet searches, I got various quotes together, many of which were similar to what 'the boys' had quoted. What has happened over the last twelve months that has resulted in me being considered as double the risk?
I'm not a seventeen year old lad driving a Corsa with a body kit, I'm in my mid thirties and I drive a Volvo estate.
I sometimes even wear a cardigan
It's ten year's since I made a claim on my car insurance when I rolled into 'that woman' when she hesitated at a junction (another story)and have held my licence for over 17 years. At work I drive vehicles that are forty foot long and weigh over ten tonnes.
Where the hell are these prices coming from? Who is calculating the risk? Who is working out the quotes?
Perhaps there is no method at all and that these company's pick a figure and hope that you will go for it. This must be the case as I also received quotes at less than half that 'The Boys' had quoted. How can there be such a difference in price.
Anyway, I rang 'the boys' and got through to a lovely young girl who was unable to help me in the slightest. I told her that I would not be renewing my insurance with them and that I couldn't believe that the price could double in twelve months.
It seems that they were prepared to stick by their quote. When I told 'the girl' at 'The Boys' I had a quote at nearer five hundred quid I sensed that she did not 'bat an eyelid' (it's amazing what you can tell from a telephone conversation). You might have thought that upon hearing such news she might have considered that perhaps an error had been made with their quote but she accepted what I had said and after only a very brief conversation, she wished me a good day.
Having used several Internet search engines, I also received quotes from 'The Boys' of nearer £600 which were still too expensive.
Working at a bus company, we receive lots of insurance claims and I am therefore quite cynical about insurance companies, solicitors and accident management companies. These companies do everything they can to inflate a bill so they can add as much a management charge onto any claim they have, which is clearly driving up the cost of insurances.
It seems that the insurance companies also have this other scam where they send you a renewal quote, hope you just ignore it or think nothing of it, they then renew the insurance automatically and the customer ends up paying 'through the nose.' The fact that I was quoted at least £400 less from the same insurance company as a new customer (with them knowing nothing about me and how big a risk I might be to them) is surely proof enough.
Alexander, you have a lot to answer for.
