On 17/04/2024 06:29 pm, alan_m wrote:
> On 17/04/2024 17:13, Chris Hogg wrote:
>> On 17 Apr 2024 15:33:21 GMT, Spike <aero.spike@mail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> …from £280 to £415, a 48% increase.
>>>
>>> Is this normal these days? Why?
>>>
>>> Please don’t mention ‘climate change’.
>>
>> Motor insurance is similar. Mine went up by 30% recently. When I
>> queried it, I was told that my increase was on the low end of the
>> scale!
>>
>
> My car insurance went up by 42% early this year and the comparison sites
> showed I could better the renewal quote by less than £10. Most companies
> were quoting a higher premium, and some by a large amount.
>
> My building and contents insurance renewal is due in about 2 months time :(
>
> One thing to watch out for with a renewal quote is the company
> increasing the excess amounts which can be the hidden price rise if you
> have to make a claim.  Also if you have optional legal protection on a
> car policy you probably don't need to have optional legal cover on your
> house insurance (or visa versa) because the cover is for any claim. Read
> the T&C carefully to see what is covered.

Motor insurance renewal quote here less than 6% up on last year, and
still less than £225.

I'll let it renew.

On 18/04/2024 17:16, Andy Burns wrote:
> alan_m wrote:
>
>> GB wrote:
>>
>>> Insurance is a surprisingly cyclical business. Premiums go up, making
>>> the business profitable. So more capital is raised, to allow a bigger
>>> market share, but that provides increased competition, and premiums
>>> reduce.
>>
>> Possibly they are not allowed to offer deals to new custom that they
>> don't offer to existing custom. In theory they are no longer able to
>> fleece loyal custom in the way they once did.
>
> I think that is easily got round, if the new policy is in any way
> different to the old policy.
>

One thing I've noticed that some items that used to be included in the
policy are now optional extras. Pay a extra £30 for item X but people
don't seem to realise that it's still subject to the compulsory policy
excess of maybe £250.

In the old days item x would be included in the main policy but as a
very low risk to the insurance company because most or all of the cost
would be met by the excess. Now the insurance company still has the very
low risk but charges the (optional) extra £30.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Wed, 17 Apr 2024 15:33:21 +0000, Spike wrote:

> …from £280 to £415, a 48% increase.
>
> Is this normal these days? Why?
>
> Please don’t mention ‘climate change’.

I've just received my renewal notice from Aviva: £230.86 from £145.32,
58.8% increase.

I might shop around, although when I made a claim over 20 years ago they
paid up without a murmur. Also we own Aviva shares so we'll get it back in
dividends! ;)

--
TOJ.

Spike <aero.spike@mail.com> wrote:

> …from £280 to £415, a 48% increase.

> Is this normal these days? Why?

> Please don’t mention ‘climate change’.

Thanks to all for the useful comments.

Just renewed (not by using a comparison site) for less than I was paying
last year, for the top-level option (basically unlimited everything (or
almost so)).

--
Spike

On 17/04/2024 06:42 pm, Andy Burns wrote:
> Chris Hogg wrote:
>
>> Motor insurance is similar. Mine went up by 30% recently. When I
>> queried it, I was told that my increase was on the low end of the
>> scale!
>
> I know this year there have been various "hot" factors for car insurance
> (e.g. EVs and Land Rovers).
>
> I'd been with LVE for 6 years with only slight increase in that time,
> this year they tried to jump it from £420 to £685, so I found a
> replacement for £470.
>
> That car is an Audi A5, and I have been trying hard *not* to think about
> replacing it, but the thought does keep entering my head of a Q5 PHEV, I
> got as far as getting a quote from existing insurer for one over the
> weekend ... That'll be an extra £1000 premium for the remaining 10
> months of the policy, plus a fee for changing it ... same story from
> specialist insurers and comparison sites ...
>
> All similar plugin hybrid mid-size SUVs seem the same story, so I think
> I'm suitably put-off changing for now.

Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?

That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?

JNugent wrote:
> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> car is an Audi A5, and I have been trying hard *not* to think
>> about replacing it, but the thought does keep entering my head of a Q5
>> PHEV, I got as far as getting a quote from existing insurer for one
>> over the weekend ... That'll be an extra £1000 premium for the
>> remaining 10 months of the policy, plus a fee for changing it ... same
>> story from specialist insurers and comparison sites ...
>>
>> All similar plugin hybrid mid-size SUVs seem the same story, so I
>> think I'm suitably put-off changing for now.
>
> Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?
> That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?
Don't know, suspect insurers wouldn't tell you why even if they knew,
anyway I've forked-out for a full set of discs, pads and tyres now, so
it can stay for another couple of years ...

JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
> Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?
>
> That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?

Putting some quotes in, I'm getting similar quotes for EVs and non-EVs...
with the exception of Teslas. eg MG5 EV quote £500, Tesla Model S quote
£1200.

That is likely because:

a) Tesla service centres are a PITA, they take a long time to fix things
(more courtesy car costs) and they block insurers' tame repairers from
getting parts to do the job at a lower cost

b) they tend to only supply parts in whole module form (they won't sell you
battery components, just the whole battery) - like Ford only selling you a
whole engine rather than a head gasket

c) Teslas are 'performance' cars which are driven by people who are more
risky than people who drive MG5s (which are basically an EV Passat estate).

I hear Admiral is more EV friendly, but they wouldn't insure my hypothetical
Tesla. Depends whether they're competitive for you generally (they weren't,
for the Toyota I actually wanted to insure).

Theo

Theo wrote:

> Putting some quotes in, I'm getting similar quotes for EVs and non-EVs...

I did throw a lot of theoretical cars at the meerkats, non-PHEV SUVs
were about 6-700 quid cheaper in my case than PHEV SUVs, of course the
PHEVs are generally more powerful since they can combine engine + motor.

Made me laugh to see some plug-in Range Rovers have 3 cylinder 1.5 litre
engines, after using up the ~35 miles of battery range, will those tanks
even make it up a hill?

On 01/05/2024 17:52, Theo wrote:
> JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
>> Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?
>>
>> That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?
>
> Putting some quotes in, I'm getting similar quotes for EVs and non-EVs...
> with the exception of Teslas. eg MG5 EV quote £500, Tesla Model S quote
> £1200.

The problem could still be EVs. If the owner of an ICE car hits an EV
then the insurer of the ICE car could still be liable for the cost of
repair or scrapping of the EV. If EVs c ost more to repair and/or more
liable to be scrapped in the event of an accident then the more EVs on
the road the more likely that the insurance cost for all types of
vehicle will rise.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 01/05/2024 18:06, alan_m wrote:
>
> On 01/05/2024 17:52, Theo wrote:
>> JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
>>> Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?
>>>
>>> That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?
>>
>> Putting some quotes in, I'm getting similar quotes for EVs and non-EVs...
>> with the exception of Teslas.  eg MG5 EV quote £500, Tesla Model S quote
>> £1200.
>
> The problem could still be EVs. If the owner of an ICE car hits an EV
> then the insurer of the ICE car could still be liable for the cost of
> repair or scrapping of the EV. If EVs c ost more to repair and/or more
> liable to be scrapped in the event of an accident then the more EVs on
> the road the more likely that the insurance cost for all types of
> vehicle will rise.

That may be true of a new EV, but if the ownership cost skyrockets then
the market value will plummet and so will the write-off value.

I have wondered of the circumstance where a manufacturer provides a
comprehensive warranty, but any part destroyed in an accident will cost
a small fortune to replace, whether that would constitute a monopoly?

In practice, third parties will proved alternative parts, though I am
reminded of an issue with Ford body panels and copyright issues. In the
end there was an agreement where manufacturers paid a 5% royalty.

On Thu, 02 May 2024 04:28:22 +1000, Fredxx <fredxx@spam.invalid> wrote:

> On 01/05/2024 18:06, alan_m wrote:
>> On 01/05/2024 17:52, Theo wrote:
>>> JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
>>>> Is this because of the high costs of repairs to electric vehicles?
>>>>
>>>> That plus a dearth of suitably skilled repair workers?
>>>
>>> Putting some quotes in, I'm getting similar quotes for EVs and
>>> non-EVs...
>>> with the exception of Teslas. eg MG5 EV quote £500, Tesla Model S
>>> quote
>>> £1200.
>> The problem could still be EVs. If the owner of an ICE car hits an EV
>> then the insurer of the ICE car could still be liable for the cost of
>> repair or scrapping of the EV. If EVs c ost more to repair and/or more
>> liable to be scrapped in the event of an accident then the more EVs on
>> the road the more likely that the insurance cost for all types of
>> vehicle will rise.
>
> That may be true of a new EV, but if the ownership cost skyrockets then
> the market value will plummet and so will the write-off value.
>
> I have wondered of the circumstance where a manufacturer provides a
> comprehensive warranty, but any part destroyed in an accident will cost
> a small fortune to replace, whether that would constitute a monopoly?

No more so than when you kill the engine by driving
thru deep water and the only repair possible is from
the car manufacturer for the replacement engine.

> In practice, third parties will proved alternative parts, though I am
> reminded of an issue with Ford body panels and copyright issues. In the
> end there was an agreement where manufacturers paid a 5% royalty.