StormWhite Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) For the past two years I have been insured with Hastings Direct and come renewal time they send me an email with a renewal quote. On both occasions they have been eye wateringly high. However, after spending a considerable time on hold on both occasions they then happily check the details and reduce the price for the same policy by a considerable amount. This year the email quote was £433 which they then reduced to £301 for identical cover. Why do they do this? It certainly doesn't enhance the car insurance industries reputation, especially when comparison websites show their "true" policy quotes. Edited March 28, 2019 by StormWhite Extra info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kryptek49 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 It doesn't really make much sense to me from a business point of view - surely most people see the high quote and immediately go elsewhere, instead of calling & then being offered a lower more realistic price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I would suggest that enough people just allow the renewal to go through that it makes it worth their while. The whole thing is a cowboy show though, I recently was hunting around for quotes and spoke to an well known specialist insurer who gave me a quote but wouldn't send me an email confirming it as they didn't want me using it to negotiate better quotes elsewhere. The joke is that insurance companies are forcing customers to do this because of their own high new/renewal quote approach to customers. I was made to feel I was trying to play them, but I am only doing this because they force me to do this due to unfair new/renewal pricing. They have brought this behaviour upon themselves, but apparently its not fair customers try to get the best deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 15 minutes ago, coldel said: I would suggest that enough people just allow the renewal to go through that it makes it worth their while. That's what I think, Had my renewal a few days ago, went on the comparison sites and it was nearly £200 less!!! - My insurer has a "We guarantee to beat any like for like quote" in the renewal letter, I called - they came down £150 and said they would not match/beat without proof, I emailed them screen shots of the comparison website and they then matched, Now I would switch companies and avoid the aggro but my insurer offers some add ons that the competition just don't do so I decided that getting nearly £200 off my renewal was worth it. But I agree with the point that they should do it at a more competitive price to start with! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 It’s also where the insurer isn’t the underwriter, the renewal will be based on using the same underwriter with some pre-determined “assumed” changes - in some cases this simply means another year no claims, in other cases it had turned out to assume significant changes to the car and claims assumed to be made. In all cases they do not account for any actual changes unless you call to confirm them - after all, you’ve agreed to their auto-renewal policy so you’ve accepted these assumptions in advance remember! If the insurance company has access to multiple underwriters, they won’t check alternatives on an auto-renewal basis, hence they’re likely to be able to reduce the auto-renewal price when you do call and they do check, and they use the actual confirmed changes rather than the assumed changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormWhite Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said: It’s also where the insurer isn’t the underwriter, the renewal will be based on using the same underwriter with some pre-determined “assumed” changes - in some cases this simply means another year no claims, in other cases it had turned out to assume significant changes to the car and claims assumed to be made. In all cases they do not account for any actual changes unless you call to confirm them - after all, you’ve agreed to their auto-renewal policy so you’ve accepted these assumptions in advance remember! If the insurance company has access to multiple underwriters, they won’t check alternatives on an auto-renewal basis, hence they’re likely to be able to reduce the auto-renewal price when you do call and they do check, and they use the actual confirmed changes rather than the assumed changes. Thats Ilogikal. Seems like daylight robbery to me. I stupidly expect insurance companies to give me the best quote first time rather than devoting half of my day off day on hold, on my mobile phone, to achieve this. Edited March 28, 2019 by StormWhite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Pretty sure I have stayed with the same underwriter two years running and managed to reduce my renewal though, in fact since 2010 I think I have only had two different ones with renewal prices all over the shop. I would argue it is quite simple, broker adds some cream to the top and hopes to get away with it knowing if challenged they have somewhere to move down to in an attempt to retain the customer. Don't get me wrong, I get it makes sense from a business perspective, the thing that really boils my xxxx is when insurers come up with stupid comments like not emailing quotes to prevent people shopping around BUT its their own corporate behaviour in the industry that has created this customer behaviour - all insurance companies are complicit in this and have brought it upon themselves, its pathetic that they then try and push the guilt onto the customer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 To be fair, it's not really that different to any other service - the vendor offers a price and you choose whether to accept it or not. As a business I'd expect the vendor to ask the highest price they feel they can get away with, similarly I'd expect a buyer to offer the lowest amount they think they can get away with. Whilst it's more prevalent with insurance (in general, not just motor insurance) than with some other industries, it's generally how the retail and service sector works; it's just so well ingrained in most people when it comes to insurance that it's expected that the first price anyone offers is not going to be their lowest price. It's like buying a car, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) I totally agree, as I said from a business perspective why wouldn't you? Although you can't broad brush it with 'retail' as things like grocers for instance run on profit margins of 1%-4% so hardly milking the public and anything more you would have government intervention to prevent the large grocers using an essential like food to profiteer. What I have an issue with is a company not offering to give me an official quote because of concerns I am going to use it to get the best quote I can - when the insurance industry has created the behaviour themselves. It's quite frankly a laughable policy especially when on the phone I am the one being made out to be the person being unreasonable in asking for it. Just to add to the hilarity they asked me what my best quote was and said the policy would only be verified if I supplied evidence of the quote they aimed to beat Edited March 28, 2019 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormWhite Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) 32 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said: To be fair, it's not really that different to any other service - the vendor offers a price and you choose whether to accept it or not. As a business I'd expect the vendor to ask the highest price they feel they can get away with, similarly I'd expect a buyer to offer the lowest amount they think they can get away with. To be fair, I expect my Insurance company to offer their best quote initially and I shouldn't really have to contact them to achieve a better renewal quote. Clearly, this doesn't happen which to me is not right. If I went to a supermarket and queried the price of a product should I expect a 30% decrease? And TBH am I not an existing valued customer that they want repeat business from? Edited March 28, 2019 by StormWhite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) 17 minutes ago, StormWhite said: To be fair, I expect my Insurance company to offer their best quote initially and I shouldn't really have to contact them to achieve a better renewal quote. This is how I feel - One of my brokers (my business fleet insurance (sounds good but I actually only have 2 vans )) actually says - we have researched the market and this reflects a competitive quote - the meerkats disagree. My point is "they" are my broker and supposed to get me the best quote other wise why do I need a broker? On a side note from @ilogikal1 post above my personal car insurance does say your circumstances are "assumed" and you should call us to confirm - but that is a cop out as my circumstances had not changed at least not for the better as one named driver had a non fault claim, yet keeping the same underwriter I still got a 30% reduction when I pointed out that the top 10 quotes on a comparison site were all at least £100 less! That's a large percentage and in this case another mod I can afford Edited March 28, 2019 by Keyser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Expect? No. But if you ask, you just might get it. As Col says though, certain sectors operate on lower margins, and that's in no small part due to the culture - for some reason it's much more widely accepted that your insurance premiums are going to be all over the place whereas you expect the price of a pint of milk to be roughly the same wherever you buy it from. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with the practice but it is so widely accepted that it's unreasonable to expect the businesses benefiting from it to do anything to change it without outside influences. 22 minutes ago, coldel said: I totally agree, as I said from a business perspective why wouldn't you? Although you can't broad brush it with 'retail' as things like grocers for instance run on profit margins of 1%-4% so hardly milking the public and anything more you would have government intervention to prevent the large grocers using an essential like food to profiteer. What I have an issue with is a company not offering to give me an official quote because of concerns I am going to use it to get the best quote I can - when the insurance industry has created the behaviour themselves. It's quite frankly a laughable policy especially when on the phone I am the one being made out to be the person being unreasonable in asking for it. Just to add to the hilarity they asked me what my best quote was and said the policy would only be verified if I supplied evidence of the quote they aimed to beat As I say it's more prevalent in some sectors than others, but as a generalisation... Grocers in this country operate on small margins, for whatever reasons that hasn't translated to the insurance industry here (yet at least) but there are plenty of cultures around the world where this is not the case and bartering for your weekly shop is much more commonplace than not - indeed some cultures are offended if you don't try to negotiate. Not providing a written quote is a ridiculous policy though, I can't offer any (even questionable) rationale for that one. @Keyser Yep, absolute cop out, but then again what in the insurance industry isn't? "You drive your car a lot? Statistically you're more likely to crash then, we'll have to increase your premium". "You don't drive your car much? Statistically your car is more likely to be stolen, we'll have to increase your premium". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 They know that a lot of people just cant be bothered to shop around. All insurance companies do it - regardless of if its house insurance, pet insurance or car insurance. Old people especially seem to just assume that's the price & pay it. My parents were royally ripped off for years and years with their insurance`s by having a false sense of loyalty to their insurance companies, believing that as an existing customer they would be looked after. Whenever I get my insurance renewals in, it nearly always is twice the price I can get the same cover elsewhere and have to play their little game. Its a pain, but something you have to do each year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne370Z Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 It`s a game every year come renewal time to get the cheapest price. I`ve been with Hastings Direct for the past couple years. Originally it was around £180. Renewal last year was still around the same price. Renewal this year went up to about £240. When I rang them to cancel the auto renewal they could get it down to around £200 but no lower. I took out new insurance with them via GoCompare £180 (and due £26 cash back from Quidco for using GoCompare). Same with the bike insurance. Was cheaper to take out a new policy via GoCompare with the same company I was already with than accept their renewal price. (and some cash back due again). You couldn`t make it up could you... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbeast35 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I read an article on money saving expert recently and they claim that using the comparison sites 21 days before renewal is when you get the cheapest prices, no idea if it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack94 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 It is a joke but sadly it seems to be normal practice across lots of different industries like broadband, energy etc- you get penalised for loyalty to a certain company rather than rewarded. I've been with Admiral for 7 years because they always come up cheapest but it's always a fight to get a fair price, especially seeing as they try and take themselves off price comparison sites if they detect you're a customer nearing your renewal. This year my renewal quote was £650 but I managed to get it through confused for £400 with a £250 lower excess and added NCB protection. I always make sure I start getting quotes as soon as I'm within the 30 days because I find a lot of companies increase the quote the sooner you put the start date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Muxlow Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 My renewal came in at over £400 more this year. Although i have had someone reverse into me, however full responsibility was taken by the 3rd party. Phoned up my insurance provider and after a little chat i am now insured cheaper than last year. I think they prey on complacency for people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Heres another good one - spoke to Greenlight (and they seemed a pleasant bunch to be fair) but cannot insure me on the VX220 because my last car was four wheel drive and I don't have experience driving rear wheel drive cars I mentioned the 320bhp rear wheel drive Skyline I had before the Celica, and the rear wheel drive VX220 I had before that and the 350z of course...but apparently that doesn't count as it has to be the last car I owned has to be rear wheel drive. But apparently as I had the Celica for so long (4 years) I am not experienced in driving a rear wheel drive car. Also ignoring any cross European road trips I have done without incident. Jesus wept what is the world coming to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 That’s what you get for driving a girly-wheel-drive car for so long 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Ekona said: That’s what you get for driving a girly-wheel-drive car for so long Go back to work you lazy so and so...! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Day off today, sat in a nail bar with the girlfriend whilst she’s getting an infill or something so I’ve plenty of time to kill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 The way you’ve written that it almost reads like you’re waiting for her... almost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Over a sodding hour I was in there for! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 So got a great quote from AIB then went to cancel my renewal and lo-and-behold they can now smash that great quote I got. Using the same underwriter. It was a reduction of around 20% on the renewal premium which means that was all padding they just threw on to their normal margins in the hope to get away with an easy renewal and more money in the Friday drinks pot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Strange that!!!!! Just goes to show you how much profit they try to make. What really gets me is when you phone them up the first thing they do is to go through all your details again to make sure they are correct as if thats the reason why the renewal premium is high when 9/10 your details are probably the same as they were last year and its purely their greed which has caused the high premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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