JoshC Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Just spoke to Elephant about my renewal, the auto-renewal price they sent me was £2.5k which they soon dropped when I told them I'd had a new quote with them online for £1200 so of course they matched it (robbing bar stewards). Called them back to say I had a better quote elsewhere (lie) and they suggested dropping my parents as named drivers who have always been on there to bring the cost down. Never would have thought of doing it myself as I thought it would go up and they didn't suggest it of course until I threatened to leave. As I'll turn 25 this year they said it might be beter to remove them now and amazingly it went from £1200 to £840!! Pleansently shocked! Anyway, just thought I'd put it out there for anyone else renewing who might find it helpful as I never would have thought to remove them unless the guy told me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 i know its a 370z but where do you live £1200 for a 24 year old 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 i know its a 370z but where do you live £1200 for a 24 year old In Cardiff, the postcode is an okay one tbh but I wrote off my 350z last year They let me keep 3 years no claims or I wouldn't have been insuring it at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durk Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I found this last year, on the phone to them they said I should try taking my dad off the policy as a named driver and it saved me £600! However, when I tried to do the same quote online (after putting the phone down) it made it more expensive... Couldn't get my head round that one at all but I wasn't going to complain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I had the same thing last year when I renewed. Previously adding my parents, or indeed any random old pensioner would reduce my premium, but upon renewal last year Admiral suggested I remove them and it would drop my premium. Strange! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Everyone does it (well, plenty of people do, at least) to reduce their own premiums. Suddenly the shadier insurance companies (yes, I'm looking at you Admiral group!) determine that old(er) named drivers are a higher risk, thus load premiums accordingly. Or; **Shady insurance companies in a "reviewed the same data but came to a different conclusion to suit their own agenda" shocker**. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay M1988 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 My renewal went down a 10er with admiral they auto renewed which i didnt like but i should check my emails more. Paying 740 now. 27 with 3 years ncb with admiral on the 10 month policy. Ive got my mam as an additional driver me as the main policy holder fully comp. Guess ive missed the boat now. Ill ring round before renewal next year for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim BW Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Hi Josh Did you try our car insurance scheme? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I switched to specialists a few years back after taking the somewhat more lazy option of the online quoters up to that point - never looked back - better cover and better prices, its a no brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 My renewal went down a 10er with admiral they auto renewed which i didnt like but i should check my emails more. Paying 740 now. 27 with 3 years ncb with admiral on the 10 month policy. Ive got my mam as an additional driver me as the main policy holder fully comp. Guess ive missed the boat now. Ill ring round before renewal next year for sure Would you have preferred to be uninsured, with the potential for a £300 fine, 6 points and they could seize your car if caught? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenley Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Another way to save a little bit of money is to readjust your profession. In my case I'm retired, but insurance companies don't like this, so another official option is "house husband" saved me a bit. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance-job-picker/ The above link will give you a cheaper option for your profession. I'm sure there are better links, but couldn't find them on my iPad thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Yeah I was surprised too as I've always HAD to have my parents on there to bring the premium down to a relatively sensible amount at all, strange that it suddenly reverses. Hi Josh Did you try our car insurance scheme? Hi Tim, can't rememeber for certain but I probably did as I tried most of the specialists from those isted on here but to be honest no-one I tried could get anywehere near the price I had in the end from Admiral. Also saves me the fuss of moving. Will definitely keep you in mind for nect year though, I found that a lot of specialists couldn't beat the quote as I'm not yet 25? Another way to save a little bit of money is to readjust your profession. In my case I'm retired, but insurance companies don't like this, so another official option is "house husband" saved me a bit. http://www.moneysavi...nce-job-picker/ The above link will give you a cheaper option for your profession. I'm sure there are better links, but couldn't find them on my iPad thing. I always do the same with profession, I work in IT so theres a fairly wide range of professions that apply to me. I found Computer engineer to be the chepaest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay M1988 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 My renewal went down a 10er with admiral they auto renewed which i didnt like but i should check my emails more. Paying 740 now. 27 with 3 years ncb with admiral on the 10 month policy. Ive got my mam as an additional driver me as the main policy holder fully comp. Guess ive missed the boat now. Ill ring round before renewal next year for sure Would you have preferred to be uninsured, with the potential for a £300 fine, 6 points and they could seize your car if caught? Not at all but lets be fair id not treat any client like that and i think it's poor business. They've my mobile, house and work numbers. One call would have sufficed. To go along the lines of we havent heard from him so we'll renew it anyway is a bit crap. They're quick enough to call when they wish to up the price on the business policy and need payment on alterations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Not at all but lets be fair id not treat any client like that and i think it's poor business. They've my mobile, house and work numbers. One call would have sufficed. To go along the lines of we havent heard from him so we'll renew it anyway is a bit crap. They're quick enough to call when they wish to up the price on the business policy and need payment on alterations. Along with your mobile, house and work numbers, they also have a very clear line in their policy documents which sets out and indeed authorises auto-renewal unless otherwise instructed. As questionable as many of Admiral's practices are, this one is entirely on you for not reading your documents I'm afraid. If your renewal was within the last 14 days, you can still cancel without any penalty though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim BW Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Great, thanks Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay M1988 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Cheers bud much appreciated. I believe im outside the 14 days wasn't for the fact i wish to leave them but to check and see im getting a good deal that was all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Not at all but lets be fair id not treat any client like that and i think it's poor business. They've my mobile, house and work numbers. One call would have sufficed. To go along the lines of we havent heard from him so we'll renew it anyway is a bit crap. They're quick enough to call when they wish to up the price on the business policy and need payment on alterations. Along with your mobile, house and work numbers, they also have a very clear line in their policy documents which sets out and indeed authorises auto-renewal unless otherwise instructed. As questionable as many of Admiral's practices are, this one is entirely on you for not reading your documents I'm afraid. If your renewal was within the last 14 days, you can still cancel without any penalty though. Auto-renewal is fine with me, the thing that really p*sses me off and I think should actually be reviewed by whoever the governing body is that they will do thier best to completely rip you off using auto-renewal. Every year the auto generated price for renewal I get sent via mail is almost double the previous year and without fail I spend 2 mins logging onto compare the market, getting a quote from the same people for half the price which they then gladly match. Just a blanat ploy to rip off people who neglect to check it. My renewal price that I was sent around a 2 weeks ago was £2100 I believe, got this down to £1200 using comparison site and then down to £840 by making some alterations. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) Auto-renewal is fine with me, the thing that really p*sses me off and I think should actually be reviewed by whoever the governing body is that they will do thier best to completely rip you off using auto-renewal. Every year the auto generated price for renewal I get sent via mail is almost double the previous year and without fail I spend 2 mins logging onto compare the market, getting a quote from the same people for half the price which they then gladly match. Just a blanat ploy to rip off people who neglect to check it. My renewal price that I was sent around a 2 weeks ago was £2100 I believe, got this down to £1200 using comparison site and then down to £840 by making some alterations. Yes, I absolutely agree with that - the regulation about what comapnies are allowed to "assume" for the renewal needs to better defined and/or applied. Stick todecent companies that do their best to get a reasonable quote (even though you can always get it down further) straight off the bat, they're the ones that tend to get my business. Admiral had offered me a decent quote for my first year and then tried to double it for the second, when I phoned up to cancel the renewal having got a much better quote from Chris Knott I was offered the whole "we'll see if we get that quoote down for you sir" song and dance; I told them outright that if they can't be bothered to do that first time then I can't be bothered to give them a second chance at it. I now won't go back to Admiral, or any of it's affiliates, even if they offered me free insurance for the year. Edited July 15, 2015 by ilogikal1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Auto-renewal is fine with me, the thing that really p*sses me off and I think should actually be reviewed by whoever the governing body is that they will do thier best to completely rip you off using auto-renewal. Every year the auto generated price for renewal I get sent via mail is almost double the previous year and without fail I spend 2 mins logging onto compare the market, getting a quote from the same people for half the price which they then gladly match. Just a blanat ploy to rip off people who neglect to check it. My renewal price that I was sent around a 2 weeks ago was £2100 I believe, got this down to £1200 using comparison site and then down to £840 by making some alterations. Yes, I absolutely agree with that - the regulation about what comapnies are allowed to "assume" for the renewal needs tob better defined and/or applied. Stick todecent companies that do their best to get a reasonable quote (even though you can always get it down further) straight off the bat, they're the ones that tend to get my business. Admiral had offered me a decent quote for my first year and then tried to double it for the second, when I phoned up to cancel the renewal having got a much better quote from Chris Knott I was offered the whole "we'll see if we get that quoote down for you sir" song and dance; I told them outright that if they can't be bothered to do that first time then I can't be bothered to give them a second chance at it. I now won't go back to Admiral, or any of it's affiliates, even if they offered me free insurance for the year. Yeah, really does pee me off! Most of my experiences with admiral have been very good to be fair, I've only been annoyed with them when it comes to renewal. Sadly I can't stand up to them and walk away as they always have been and still are by far the cheapest I can get a quote from. On comparison sites the closest anyone gets to their quotes for me is nearly £1k more and all the specialists I tried were similarlaly more expensive. They did handle my claim last year very well tbf and were kind enough to let me keep 3 years no claims despite not having them protected, plus their shiny new head offices are a couple miles down the road from me so I can always pop in and kick up a fuss in person if they do mess me about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Auto-renewal is fine with me, the thing that really p*sses me off and I think should actually be reviewed by whoever the governing body is that they will do thier best to completely rip you off using auto-renewal. Every year the auto generated price for renewal I get sent via mail is almost double the previous year and without fail I spend 2 mins logging onto compare the market, getting a quote from the same people for half the price which they then gladly match. Just a blanat ploy to rip off people who neglect to check it. My renewal price that I was sent around a 2 weeks ago was £2100 I believe, got this down to £1200 using comparison site and then down to £840 by making some alterations. Yes, I absolutely agree with that - the regulation about what comapnies are allowed to "assume" for the renewal needs to better defined and/or applied. Stick todecent companies that do their best to get a reasonable quote (even though you can always get it down further) straight off the bat, they're the ones that tend to get my business. Admiral had offered me a decent quote for my first year and then tried to double it for the second, when I phoned up to cancel the renewal having got a much better quote from Chris Knott I was offered the whole "we'll see if we get that quoote down for you sir" song and dance; I told them outright that if they can't be bothered to do that first time then I can't be bothered to give them a second chance at it. I now won't go back to Admiral, or any of it's affiliates, even if they offered me free insurance for the year. Although I agree with your point, they should give a competitive quote automatically etc, but isn't that last statement a bit "biting your nose off to spite your face"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 If I give you my car details, can you get free insurance for me instead? It's a good point actually, I'd quite like to see something like that enshrined in law too. I don't expect their very best cut-throat price, but I do expect something sensible that offers both myself a good deal as well as letting them make a sensible profit based on what they might have lost chasing me as a customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Although I agree with your point, they should give a competitive quote automatically etc, but isn't that last statement a bit "biting your nose off to spite your face"? Quite possibly. But; I'm a stubborn git at the best of times. Admiral (and it's affiliates) employ a number of "questionable" practices that I personally can't and won't abide - their renewals are just a part of that but as a result, even if they are the cheapest quote, they have never been the best level of cover. I would now much rather (and am able to) pay for decent level of cover rather than just taking the cheapest premium. If they one day decide to review their entire business practice, I may reconsider my anti-Admiral group stance, but until then they're blacklisted. Also, to be quite frank, if they're as bad as they are when I'm paying for the priviledge I dread to think what their service level would be like if I weren't. So, Dan, in light of that; gladly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Actually, I wouldn't use them either! I'm like you mate, quality of cover over a few quid saved on the premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 When you guys say quality of cover, what aspects are yo referring to? Like I say I don't treally have a choice as thier quotes are always hugely cheaper for me than any other insurers, but when I did have to make a claim, I thought they were very good. First claim I've made and it did take some chasing up to get it moving along but they allowed my friend to recover it from the yard to get our own opionion on whether or not it was worth fixing, they then allowed me to write it off over the phone, gave me as good a value that I would have had selling it tbh and I even made an extra £600 by buying it back from them and selling it on. Worked out pretty well I'll be honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 For me (in no particular order) it's things like; The whole renewal premium hike, The auto-enrollment in the auto-renewal (even when you explicitly state during the phone call when taking out the policy that you want to opt out of that "optional" service), Their frankly ludicrous policy regarding "modifications" and the "cover" thereof, The staff that can't tell an exhaust change from a bus (especially irritating when attempting to get a definite answer from them on what they consider a "modification" and therefore the minimum level of cover that they can/will offer), Their policy towards speed awareness courses - not only that they ask if you have attended one, or that they load the premium as if you have an SP30 on your licence but also the complete ignorance towards the fact that some of these courses are optional and not a result of a speeding "offence" but load the premium regardless because "bigger risk", Their mid-policy "customer service" is a big old bag of ****. Their cancellantions team are ******* useless too. It's even the little things like only providing a premium rate number on all of the documents whilst (infuriatingly) stating on the very same paperwork that they "have a freefone number for the benefit of [their] customers"... which they don't list. Anywhere. Ever. Ah but they do have a "contact us" page on their website in place of an email address to send any change of details to them... which they ignore. A lot. Even when they acknowledge reciept of those details. Also, their adverts are ****. Sadly this is a particularly restrained Admiral rant from me too... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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