Quinn Direct Insurance Reputation? Help please!

IrishPhoenix

I'm a first time driver, (-Not a teenager!) with my own little 1997 Ford Ka. I've gotten insurance quotes from Hibernian and Quinn but Quinn is several hundred euro cheaper.

Now, I've heard that Quinn have a bit of a reputation for being cowboys but beyond that, I have no clue.

Does anybody have any experience with them? Would I be okay if I went with them?

TURRICAN

go with them,if ur insured ur insured;)

pete4130

I'm with Quinn and while they do the job cheaply, don't expect much customer service or help if you need it. You are basically dealing with a call centre when you ring them up with peopleunable to leave their desks to check anything, so if they don't know something, or its not on the system you'll be put on hold until they find osmeone who does know. It's those sorts of things you have to expect.
I needed to rent a transit van before and there are 2 options, take out the rental company insurance for about €30 (with €1600 excess!) or get temp cover from Quinn which was €52 with no excess.
I tried to use Quinn for this and they said no problems. The rental company just needed a fax from Quinn to confirm I had fully comp insurance. I asked quinn to do this at 12pm as I was collecting the van at 4pm......4:30 rolls by and no fax from Quinn, several phone calls later, Quinn told me they'd sent it twice already and sent it just again.....no sign of fax coming thru as I watched the rental companies fax machine. They said it was typical of Quinn.
Heard other stories where they aren't too keen in releasing your no claims bonus if you leave them, even though this is illegal they tend to take forever to do it with alot of chasing up.

cornbb

TURRICAN wrote: »

go with them,if ur insured ur insured;)

That about sums it up really. I've had a claim with them and found them reasonably quick and professional.

The policy benefits aren't great though, you won't get a load of extras like good breakdown assistance, car hire etc. Also you'll lose your NCB for any little claim. But as he said, once you're covered you're covered.

cantdecide

TURRICAN wrote: »

go with them,if ur insured ur insured;)

What you're implying is that you're actually not insured??

They're a company that has grown very quickly and most of these companies by their very nature, have what I think they term, organizational complexity. it's not like these little annoyance wouldn't happen with any isnurance company. My sister has been trying to get proof of named driver experience for 3 weeks from hibernian.

I've never had any problems and i always find them very professional and very responsive.

No, there's not too many perks but it's an honest to God good, professional service and there's nothing dodgy about them as I've found in the years I've been with them.

TychoCaine

pete4130 wrote: »

Heard other stories where they aren't too keen in releasing your no claims bonus if you leave them, even though this is illegal they tend to take forever to do it with alot of chasing up.

They're total wasters, but the above statement is 100% untrue. I was with them for my first 4 years of driving, and every year without fail I'd get a letter in the post a month before expiry with my NCB cert and a written quote (usually over the odds, but everything is negotiable:D) for the following year.

Gary

dudara

Have you tried www.insure.ie? They got me insured a year ago (first time in my own name) and I've always been more than pleased with their customer service.

vengeance52

pete4130 wrote: »

I'm with Quinn and while they do the job cheaply, don't expect much customer service or help if you need it. You are basically dealing with a call centre when you ring them up with peopleunable to leave their desks to check anything, so if they don't know something, or its not on the system you'll be put on hold until they find osmeone who does know. It's those sorts of things you have to expect.

Thats crap, i work there and they only put ya on hold if they want to confirm a detail with their supervisor. which would ya rather, not be put on hold and possibly not given complete info, or to be put on hold for two mins and given correct info. Yes they leave there desks and the customer services has vastly improved. Im not saying the 100% perfect, but no insurance company is. AXA screwed me over so im not going near them again.

pete4130 wrote: »

Heard other stories where they aren't too keen in releasing your no claims bonus if you leave them, even though this is illegal they tend to take forever to do it with alot of chasing up.

The only time quinn dont release your no claims is if you HAVENT returned your cert and disk.

To the OP, ya can try them for your first year, and at EVERY renewal stage, no matter what company your with, SHOP AROUND

Trampas

Speaking from experience with dealing with Quinn after someone ploughed my wall out of it they were more than satisfy to pay a builder a cash price instead of a invoice price.

With Quinn you get what you pay for.

If you are insured with them and you claim against other person. Dont expect Quinn to help as only wasting there money.

IrishPhoenix

Thanks to everyone who replied.

So basically the consensus is, Quinn is grand for the basics?

Seth Brundle

Me? I wouldn't waste the call after dealings with them several years ago.

Triangle

Quinn are the cheap airline equivilent insurance company.

You only get what you see. If i was a first time driver i'd go with them but after a few years under my belt i'd move to a more reputable insurance company.

vengeance52

I been with them 3years and never once had a prob. id never go near AXA so ya will get people who will give ya good and bad reviews.

Its up to you. What i suggested in a diff thread is ring a broker, as they will have dealt with all the big insurance companys in Ireland and ya can ask them what there opinion is and see what sort of quote they can get ya.

jimmycrackcorm

dudara wrote: »

Have you tried www.insure.ie? They got me insured a year ago (first time in my own name) and I've always been more than pleased with their customer service.

And a vote from me too - first class customer service.

coolmoose

been with quinn 2 years myself and never had any problems, not even with their customer service. at the end of the day if you're getting it cheaper, and don;t need stuff like breakdown etc (i pay AA seperately, always have, 7.50 a mth) then quinn are fine!

bucks

The Ryanair of the insurance world, sadly they are the only option for some drivers.

Im paying €200 more to be insured with Hibernian instead of Quinn.

Cionád

Go ahead, my quote was 2600 euro at the time, but was still 2k cheaper than all the others....


They give you the NCB in the post along with your renewal notice. <which you sign and send to your new insurer>

lassykk

ive heard mixed things about them in the past but for the most part I think you get what you pay for with them. They are significantly cheaper for me under my own name than any other insurer and as a 1st time driver being properly covered for the cheapest quote was the criteria i was looking for

as for axa i recently had to claim off someone who was insured through axa and i found them very easy to deal with and everything was dealt with very quickly

again everyone has different experiences with insurance companies

craichoe

Insurance is a legal requirement in this country, third party fire and theft would be what i'd go for on a car worth under 10 grand.

Over 10 grand i'd get fully comp.

You end up paying the money through your policy at the end of the day anyway.

Seth Brundle

I would disagree craichoe. I reckon that if you can't easily afford to replace the car then get fully comp, irrespective of the value - do you want to be paying two car loans at once?
I have also found a few times in the past (several years ago) that FC was cheaper than TPFT for the same policy - no idea why!

Henry Ford III

They have as mixed rep. regarding claims. Very mixed.

How Strange

craichoe...Insurance is a legal requirement in this country, third party fire and theft would be what i'd go for on a car worth under 10 grand.
Over 10 grand i'd get fully comp.
You end up paying the money through your policy at the end of the day anyway.

Craichoe, totally disagree on this. If the car is worth more than 2k then fully comp. It's usually only a few quid more. You get what you pay for.

OP, there are loads of internet sites so don't go with the household names. insure.ie is very good, its4women.ie is good (if you are a woman!) and the aa are v good for competitive quotes but I think maybe they want you to have a full licence.

I've got 7 years ncb, full licence, female driver and Quinn has always given me the most expensive quote. Definitely shop around.

jlang

I haven't been insured with them (they never had the best offer), but I did have a crash last year where the QD-insured other driver was at fault. They reversed into me at traffic lights which left damage on the front of my car and, with Quinn's reputation, worries in my mind that they mightn't accept liability. I got an estimate for the repairs, they sent out an assessor and paid by cheque a couple of days later. Very efficient process from my point of view.

JohnCleary

cornbb wrote: »

The policy benefits aren't great though, you won't get a load of extras like good breakdown assistance, car hire etc. Also you'll lose your NCB for any little claim. But as he said, once you're covered you're covered.

When I renewed in July 2007 (fully comp) I was told (in writing) that I have breakdown assist and windscreen cover... Fingers crossed ill never need either

craichoe

How Strange wrote: »

Craichoe, totally disagree on this. If the car is worth more than 2k then fully comp. It's usually only a few quid more. You get what you pay for.

OP, there are loads of internet sites so don't go with the household names. insure.ie is very good, its4women.ie is good (if you are a woman!) and the aa are v good for competitive quotes but I think maybe they want you to have a full licence.

I've got 7 years ncb, full licence, female driver and Quinn has always given me the most expensive quote. Definitely shop around.

Nah, you lose your NCB, even with Step back protection another insurer won't accept it, so your tied to the same crowd for around 2 years as noone else will touch you.

I've seen prices jump from 400 to 1700 with a claim on fully comp with 4 years NCB.

Your just paying it back over time and on top of that you have a car that's been repaired, your lucky if they deem it a write off.

Most important thing about insurance is to cover the other party, as their costs could be astronomical for personal injury/property damage etc.

Alot of employers became self insured for that very reason.

How do you think Quinn Direct started out in the first place ?

daedalus2097

Generally I've found them to be grand to deal with over the past 3 years. Have had hassle with them recently but they were very quick to admit the mistake and correct it. They were also pretty helpful when I had my car written off early this year - can't say the same for Axa whose customer caused the write-off and who shafted me for €300 that I'll never see again. I have fully comp and for the last 3 years it's been the cheapest of any insurer (though still pricey for me...) and I have full glass cover and breakdown assist. Haven't had to use either yet tho so I can't comment of how good they are...

Our man in Havana

you lose your NCB, even with Step back protection another insurer won't accept it, so your tied to the same crowd for around 2 years as noone else will touch you.

This is something that is never mentioned when taking out such policies.