A guide to motor insurance & FAQ's

moleyv

I think it is up to nine years that they have to certify.

I also think it has to be sent out with renewal and if requested. Some companies will charge for this request.

Luckily my insurance dropped 18% this year without any haggling. I checked 15 others but it was still the cheapest. I'm with aviva and they never charge for any admin stuff, I must have made 6 or 7 changes to policy last year and not one charge, new cert issued each time.

katydid

moleyv wrote: »

I think it is up to nine years that they have to certify.

I also think it has to be sent out with renewal and if requested. Some companies will charge for this request.

Luckily my insurance dropped 18% this year without any haggling. I checked 15 others but it was still the cheapest. I'm with aviva and they never charge for any admin stuff, I must have made 6 or 7 changes to policy last year and not one charge, new cert issued each time.

It certainly doesn't put Allianz in a good light

Liam McPoyle

katydid wrote: »

A friend of mine is changing her insurer; she's been with Allianz for ten years. They sent her a "proof of no claims" which only states she has a bonus for four years. Because of this, her new insurers want to charge her more. She rang Allianz, and they refused to issue a letter reflecting her true status, until she lost her rag with them on the phone. Eventually they grudgingly issued one.

My question is, surely they are obliged by law to provide true and accuratue information about her no claims status?

Did she have a claim 4 years ago?

Even something like a windscreen claim still counts as a claim, even if it doesn't effect the bonus.

She may have a full bonus and still have had a claim.

I'd imagine thats the most likely scenario rather than them only issuing a 4 year letter for the hell of it.

katydid

Business Cat wrote: »

Did she have a claim 4 years ago?

Even something like a windscreen claim still counts as a claim, even if it doesn't effect the bonus.

She may have a full bonus and still have had a claim.

I'd imagine thats the most likely scenario rather than them only issuing a 4 year letter for the hell of it.

No, nothing. No claim whatsoever.

I was with her when she made the phone call. They acknowledged she had ten years claim free but that they only issued letter for four. I know, it's bizarre.

Danger781

So I have finally gotten around to getting some quotes. Having a claim is such a balls. For a little perspective, last year my premium was roughly €1000. I was a 22 year old with L plates in a 1.6 MINI with my Dad as a named driver. I have since gotten my full license. The claim was settled about 3 months ago or so for €1200 (Which is far more than his car was worth but that's for a different thread..)

Just had a chat with Liberty over the phone about my renewal. It's coming to €2162 including the additional cost of the claim on top (€700 orso). If I choose to pay off the claim separately my premium drops to €1312 and I gain a 1 year NCB. I don't know how much they would charge to pay it off separately but I imagine it wouldn't be far off the €1200 mark. Gave Chill a ring as well and when I explained the claim over the phone they told me it would be close to €2000 even if I paid off the claim separately. Did a quote with First Ireland and got a premium of €1800.

I feel like I'm 17 again :mad:

What would you do in my shoes? Pay the additional money and keep my NCB, or let the premium go up which seems cheaper in the short run..

Toyotafanboi

Pay and keep my no claims for sure. a claim will stick around to haunt you for the next 5 years.

Danger781

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Pay and keep my no claims for sure. a claim will stick around to haunt you for the next 5 years.

When getting a quote I still need to inform them of the claim though. So for the next 5 years I'm gonna need to explain "Yes I have a claim but it was paid off in full and I kept my NCB". So far that hasn't gone in my favour either - As soon as they hear claim the premium spikes regardless.

MugMugs

Danger781 wrote: »

When getting a quote I still need to inform them of the claim though. So for the next 5 years I'm gonna need to explain "Yes I have a claim but it was paid off in full and I kept my NCB". So far that hasn't gone in my favour either - As soon as they hear claim the premium spikes regardless.

An at fault claim with a €0 exposure shouldn't have any real if indeed any impact at all.

Danger781

MugMugs wrote: »

An at fault claim with a €0 exposure shouldn't have any real if indeed any impact at all.

Anyone I have phoned so far treated it as a normal claim even after explaining everything.

arleitiss

Such bull**** these insurance companies are.
Was looking for quote on 523i, 22 years old, 3 years NCB, full license. - 5200 Euro and only one company quoted me.

2 years ago when I was 19, had 1 year NCB, Provisional License, had 318i E46 - 1900 Euro.

Where is the ****ing logic in this.

timaru89

Got a quote off coverinaclick.ie this morning but they wouldn't say who the quote was with. Thought this was strange... any ideas which companies they compare quotes from?

loyatemu

SeaFields wrote: »

Just said I'd answer this myself as checked it out in case it is handy to anyone else. Driving other cars is covered "in an emergency" along with the other usual conditions - owners permission, own car not off the road, etc.

I haven't seen driving other cars phrased in such a manner before and would be reluctant. AIG giving a similarly good quote so leaning towards them.

we've been with 25plus the last year, no problems. We were with them previously a few years back and queried the "driving other cars" provision at the time and were told it was fine:

25plus.ie wrote:

25Plus.ie car insurance would have Driving Others Cars Extension. You can drive anyone elses car third party only. Provided that you have no financial interest in the vehicle and that the person whose car you are driving does not live at the same place of residence as yourself.

as it happens our renewal is due shortly and I've been getting quotes; 25plus were still the cheapest by some distance until I checked blueinsurance.ie today who are slightly cheaper (this is for full license, no claims/points, family car, over 35 - quote is a little under 400). Blueinsurance will also let you pay for 2 years upfront at a discount, if you want.

bennyineire

Hey peps, I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment.
I'm on holidays in the UK at the moment and my car broke down yesterday.
Roads side assist brought it and me to the garage.
The car is a BMW 318 2L, basically the engine is ****ed so I bought a new car from the garage and they are scrapping my old one, I'm still sick about it.
I tried to amend my policy with Aviva but the Irish site wont except the UK reg, I can't get hold on anyone in Ireland on the phone until Tuesday.
Do you think I'm covered ?

katydid

bennyineire wrote: »

Hey peps, I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment.
I'm on holidays in the UK at the moment and my car broke down yesterday.
Roads side assist brought it and me to the garage.
The car is a BMW 318 2L, basically the engine is ****ed so I bought a new car from the garage and they are scrapping my old one, I'm still sick about it.
I tried to amend my policy with Aviva but the Irish site wont except the UK reg, I can't get hold on anyone in Ireland on the phone until Tuesday.
Do you think I'm covered ?

I seriously doubt it.

Liam McPoyle

bennyineire wrote: »

Hey peps, I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment.
I'm on holidays in the UK at the moment and my car broke down yesterday.
Roads side assist brought it and me to the garage.
The car is a BMW 318 2L, basically the engine is ****ed so I bought a new car from the garage and they are scrapping my old one, I'm still sick about it.
I tried to amend my policy with Aviva but the Irish site wont except the UK reg, I can't get hold on anyone in Ireland on the phone until Tuesday.
Do you think I'm covered ?

No, it wouldn't be covered.

The only possibility would have been if you drove it under the driving of other cars extension however that only works if you dont own the other car.

If you have someone with you that has their own insurance then they could well have DoC on a third party only basis however territorial limits ie driving outside of Ireland may not cover this.

If not, the only safe option is to not drive it until Tuesday when you can contact your insurer and get them to transfer the insurance.

sderref

Hi guys,
1.2 Fiat Stilo, 2002, 5 years NCB, comprehensive, Full EU license, insurance last year €540. No claim, low milage, 5-10k/year, male.
This year quotes:
Axa renewal offer: €670
Allianz: €666
KennCo: €783
Zurich: €888
123.: €823
Aviva:€904
Liberty: €821
First Ireland:€682
Britton Insurance:€688
FBD: 'unable to provide you a quote'-on line
No nonsense: 'unable to provide you a quote'-on line
25plus: €390, adding full NCB protection €420...

Padkir

2010 Audi A4 2.0 TDI
7 penalty points
4 years NCB

Kennco were the best by miles at about €1,100 for ages until I heard back from a couple of brokers who were getting quotes of €650 from Octane.

Apparently they are a branch of Prestige Underwriters and are recently in the Irish market focusing on over 25s who have >5 points, claims history, etc. They are a decent player in the UK insurance market by all accounts.

I had a look at their policy booklet and while it may be slightly bettered by some insurers, e.g. it doesn't have breakdown cover, it's fairly good and has almost everything else you'd expect, i.e. driving other cars, step back protection, windscreen cover, etc.

Anyone have any experience of them?

timaru89

Does anyone have a list of all the car insurance companies? Getting quotes at the moment and want to be as comprehensive as possible

Padkir

timaru89 wrote: »

Does anyone have a list of all the car insurance companies? Getting quotes at the moment and want to be as comprehensive as possible

Good way to get a list is to pick an insurer, go through the quote details, then look at the list of possible insurers when selecting your previous insurer from a drop down menu.

The_Bullman

Any idea how much a one day open drive addition would be to insurance? Need to borrow a car on Monday for me to drive one way and a mate to drive back.

jessei

just dealing with 25plus at the moment,
finding them to be a nightmare,
cancelling my ins with them and going back to axa.
not worth the hassle for a €100 saving.

cson

Anyone know if theft (?) claims affect your NCB?

Car was broken into (not stolen though); window gone & some cosmetic damage to the door. Wondering if I should just cover it myself.

Danger781

cson wrote: »

Anyone know if theft (?) claims affect your NCB?

Car was broken into (not stolen though); window gone & some cosmetic damage to the door. Wondering if I should just cover it myself.

I think something like that would depend on the specific policy, but I assume it would not be covered by NCB..

timaru89

25 year old male, full licence for 5 years, 5 years NCB, 0 penalty points driving a 1.6L i30 diesel.

Renewal letter from Chill arrived and they were "delighted" to offer comprehensive insurance quote of €1047 with AIG. Had been €599 last year with AXA through Chill.
Rang around to every insurer I could find online and got a ridiculous range of quotes:

123.ie €1531
First Ireland €1,282
AXA €1,254
AIG €1,156
One Direct €1,140
Zurich €1,012
Aviva €1010
Liberty €990
FBD €921
No Nonsense €851
AA €850
Quotedevil (KennCo) €830
Cover in a click €780
25plus.ie €777
Allianz €743

Went with Allianz, fully comp, full NCB protection, windscreen cover and driving other cars.

sderref

cson wrote: »

Anyone know if theft (?) claims affect your NCB?

Car was broken into (not stolen though); window gone & some cosmetic damage to the door. Wondering if I should just cover it myself.

Hi,
my good friend had this. Old Opel Corsa, they broke the steering wheel, windows, stole small stuff. Car is written off-too old and repair just does not worth it anymore. Insurance paid, NCB next year -2 years, and insurance up by +300 euros...

Colemania

My Australian girlfriend recently exchanged her australian license for an Irish one as we thought it would be easier to get insurance, and also for practicality, but nobody will give her a quote.

She has 7 years full license driving experience in Australia albeit the car wasn't in her name. She has no driving experience in Ireland as this would be her first policy in Ireland.

Does anyone have any experiences like this and could recommend an insurer?

loveisdivine

Just got our renewal in and its a 40% increase on last years price! I rang 123.ie straight away to be told its the RSA's fault for increasing their prices. 40% still seems a ridiculous increase to me though. Is anyone finding their renewals to be way higher? Nothing has changed, no points or accidents, over 8 years NCB. Its really disappointing to see how much more money its going to cost.

cplwhisper

loveisdivine wrote: »

Just got our renewal in and its a 40% increase on last years price! I rang 123.ie straight away to be told its the RSA's fault for increasing their prices. 40% still seems a ridiculous increase to me though. Is anyone finding their renewals to be way higher? Nothing has changed, no points or accidents, over 8 years NCB. Its really disappointing to see how much more money its going to cost.

o

Query -

So your saying -
123.ie are blaming RSA insurance for the increase... Read the small printt on your 123 renewal as RSA own and trade as 123.ie .....,

jinkybhoy

loveisdivine wrote: »

Just got our renewal in and its a 40% increase on last years price! I rang 123.ie straight away to be told its the RSA's fault for increasing their prices. 40% still seems a ridiculous increase to me though. Is anyone finding their renewals to be way higher? Nothing has changed, no points or accidents, over 8 years NCB. Its really disappointing to see how much more money its going to cost.

That's what happens when 300 million goes missing from their Irish operation and RSA in the Uk have to bail them out!!

jinkybhoy

Colemania wrote: »

My Australian girlfriend recently exchanged her australian license for an Irish one as we thought it would be easier to get insurance, and also for practicality, but nobody will give her a quote.

She has 7 years full license driving experience in Australia albeit the car wasn't in her name. She has no driving experience in Ireland as this would be her first policy in Ireland.

Does anyone have any experiences like this and could recommend an insurer?

I've came across this a lot recently - emigrants returning after 2 years to ireland. Full bonus prior to going abroad but now that they are back bonus has expired. Some crazy quotes of 1500-2500!!

Would an option maybe would be for you to take out a 2nd policy with her as named to get driving experience? Some companies will give a discount equivalent to a full bonus on a 2nd car if you have a full no claim bonus already.