A guide to motor insurance & FAQ's

Cleveland Hot Pocket

MugMugs wrote: »

1. While there is an open claim on your policy you're more or less tied to that Insurer and your premium is calculated on the reserve on the claim. The reserve should be accurate but could be higher than the claim may be worth for "worst case scenario" You WILL suffer inflated premiums whilst there is an active and indeed inactive claim against your policy. You could try and get Insurance with another provider and employ a broker for this cause but the odds of another crowd taking you on with an open claim are slim.

2. Insurance confidential will pass your concerns onto your own Insurer. They won't investigate it seperately. Your Insurer is spending their money and will ensure that they are fully satisfied that the claim is dealt with properly and one would assume that as they are spending their own money they would ensure that the claim is legit.

Long and short of it is, a lot of people claiming Injury (in my view) aren't actually injured. It can be quite difficult though to disprove this.

The two bolded points are the crux of the problems that I have with the motor insurance industry.

MugMugs

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

The two bolded points are the crux of the problems that I have with the motor insurance industry.

It's unfortunate that Insurers are the mercy of the court.

Pay 5k to somebody or go to court where a judge will most likely side with the poor old soul holding their neck and pay inflated costs.

It's a pity but without reform we're all pretty stuffed.

greengog25

It just sickens me that this chancer will probably be paid out big money while I(and everyone else that is the victim of this) am now struggling to get money together to pay insurance every year. Thanks for the replies i knew myself that there wasnt a whole lot that could be done just needed some confirmation I suppose!

Cleveland Hot Pocket

MugMugs wrote: »

It's unfortunate that Insurers are the mercy of the court.

Pay 5k to somebody or go to court where a judge will most likely side with the poor old soul holding their neck and pay inflated costs.

It's a pity but without reform we're all pretty stuffed.

And also the fact that they use an open claim on your policy to enforce a monopoly where they can charge whatever they want as a premium.

MugMugs

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

And also the fact that they use an open claim on your policy to enforce a monopoly where they can charge whatever they want as a premium.

It's not so straightforward.

An open claim could have the potential of a €2,000 payout or a €2,000,000 payout.

Premiums are calculated on a range of factors but a massive influence is risk so if a claim is open the risk is undefined it becomes difficult to weigh the risk accordingly.

It does suck, yes but it isn't a blanket way of stiffing people for money.

Musefan

Hi.

I'm currently finished the 12 driving lessons & my instructor thinks I should apply for my test soon and get up and running with my own car. I was wondering if I can take out a policy for the 8 weeks or so which I'm still on my provisional and then change the policy once I pass my test.

I was also wondering where the best place for insurance for a 21 year old, female would be (I know the female bit does not make a bit of difference now though!)

scamalert

greengog25 wrote: »

Hi all wanted to ask a question hope its ok to post here! I ran into the back of someone last year, there were two people in the car, guards were called and they told me there was nothing to worry about.
I admitted that I was at fault and a few weeks later I started getting letters, the one that shocked me most was the claim he was putting in for almost €1000 for damage to his car that wasn't even worth that much. Unfortuately due to the shock of my first car accident at the time I didnt think to take photos but the damage was minimal even though it was quoted in the letter I received that the back of the car was smashed in. Anyway the insurance company was dealing with everything and as far as I know they paid that.
Next came the personal injury claims for the two people in the car(which I am also convinced is lies). Beacuse of the open claims my insurance was almost €2000 last year (28 year old woman) and as the claim is still open can I assume that it will be the same or more next year? Is there absolutely any way to avoid paying so much?
Also is there any point contacting insurance confidential and reporting these people or will that just make the claim go on for even longer? Im just so frustrated at the thought of having to pay so much for insurance, sorry for such a long post any advice would be great.

Hi in similar situation here,last year had an accident on frozen patch of road that cost me whole car,as i hit wall and someone seconds later ended up driving into my side.I was named driver on a car and only third part insurance,the person who ran into me got paid fully for her car,and didn't suffer any injuries ,as i called ambulance and guards she said she was ok and didn't want to go to hospital or anything.Now couple days later i get letter that person is also claiming personal injuries,basically over the past year matter didn't move anywhere on settling claim or what injuries one wants to claim for,and when renewal came my insurance went almost x4 nearly 3k for a year,driving 1.3 car that's worth less then 800e.Called company to cancel insurance and got told that claim remains open,But as i payed my excess they said i can move to any company i want. But basically i cant afford to do anything now,since i work only part time, sometimes even less then 2 days,and car is only used for work and shopping.And as far as i know no company will take anyone with open claim on their name

MugMugs

Musefan wrote: »

Hi.

I'm currently finished the 12 driving lessons & my instructor thinks I should apply for my test soon and get up and running with my own car. I was wondering if I can take out a policy for the 8 weeks or so which I'm still on my provisional and then change the policy once I pass my test.

I was also wondering where the best place for insurance for a 21 year old, female would be (I know the female bit does not make a bit of difference now though!)

MugMugs wrote: »

Where can I get an Insurance quote?

Well you're on the internet so you could use the internet. Click Here.

Can I get Insurance for a few weeks?

It's not something that is offered in Ireland really however the EU have changes coming down the line on this. Most insurers will only write 12 month policies. This doesn't mean that you can't incept a policy and then cancel when you don't need it any more. This may attract an admin fee and the refund given will be on a pro rata basis.

I'd suggest a Broker and a phonebook.

Liam McPoyle

Musefan wrote: »

Hi.

I'm currently finished the 12 driving lessons & my instructor thinks I should apply for my test soon and get up and running with my own car. I was wondering if I can take out a policy for the 8 weeks or so which I'm still on my provisional and then change the policy once I pass my test.

I was also wondering where the best place for insurance for a 21 year old, female would be (I know the female bit does not make a bit of difference now though!)

Musefan, If you pass your driving test while on a provisional all you need to do is tell your current insurer - they will require either a copy of the licence or the actual form from the tester saying you have passed - and the insurer will adjust your policy and reduce your premium based on the difference between full and provisional.

dharn

Any suggestions as to who is giving best quotes for 24 year old female with own car full driving licence, 3 years ncb, car valued at 8000

Liam McPoyle

Chill have a fairly wide range of companies they broke for, likewise Brittons.

Pick up the phone or go on to their sites, that's the only way to tell to be honest.

I'd recommend calling though as you will invariably get a cheaper price over the phone as the online rates are set and at least talking to someone you can haggle.

Esel

Coleman Slawski wrote: »

Chill have a fairly wide range of companies they broke for, likewise Brittons.

Pick up the phone or go on to their sites, that's the only way to tell to be honest.

I'd recommend calling though as you will invariably get a cheaper price over the phone as the online rates are set and at least talking to someone you can haggle.

When I tried Chill, they were looking to charge a €100 fee on top of any premium.

jimbooth

Hi, just wondering if anyone can shed some light for me, I had an accident a few weeks ago in my van, I was at fault. Thing is my van is in for repair and one of the parts is unavailable at the moment so I am unable to work. Is there any way I can claim for loss of earnings ? If I do am I just driving up my premium even more ? I am almost 7 weeks out and it will be another 2 at least before I get my van back and I can't afford to be off much more, am borrowing as it is to keep head above water. Any help is much appreciated.

oldyouth

jimbooth wrote: »

Hi, just wondering if anyone can shed some light for me, I had an accident a few weeks ago in my van, I was at fault. Thing is my van is in for repair and one of the parts is unavailable at the moment so I am unable to work. Is there any way I can claim for loss of earnings ? If I do am I just driving up my premium even more ? I am almost 7 weeks out and it will be another 2 at least before I get my van back and I can't afford to be off much more, am borrowing as it is to keep head above water. Any help is much appreciated.

What you describe is a claim for vehicle hire while yours is being repaired. You can only claim for loss of earnings if you are injured and unable to work or if the vehicle itself is so specialised and essential to your work and cannot be replaced.

In all of the above circumstances, someone else needs to be the cause of the accident and you would claim on their policy

stoneill

Why do I have to have Motor Insurance?

Because it is the law. It is illegal to drive or be in charge of a vehicle in a public place, unless there is a policy of insurance in force, which covers liabilities for injury or damage caused to others.


In terms of this - legislation requires you to have a contract with a private firm, for a cost that you have no control over, that they calculated
using some internal formula that you do not have any input to.

If is a legal requirement then shouldn't insurance bee a fixed price for all?

MugMugs

jimbooth wrote: »

Hi, just wondering if anyone can shed some light for me, I had an accident a few weeks ago in my van, I was at fault. Thing is my van is in for repair and one of the parts is unavailable at the moment so I am unable to work. Is there any way I can claim for loss of earnings ? If I do am I just driving up my premium even more ? I am almost 7 weeks out and it will be another 2 at least before I get my van back and I can't afford to be off much more, am borrowing as it is to keep head above water. Any help is much appreciated.

As oldyouth said, Loss of use on at fault claims is usually excluded from motor policies.

You'd have to check your own policy to ensure that it is however.

oldyouth

stoneill wrote: »

Why do I have to have Motor Insurance?


If is a legal requirement then shouldn't insurance bee a fixed price for all?

Because the State has decided that it does not want to operate the administration of implementing the legislation and that the expertise gathered over the decades by insurance companies serves the public better

MugMugs

And if it was fixed, the average customer would most likely suffer as a direct result.

Premiums are based on varying risk. I'd be paying for an overall risk instead of an average risk.

I pay €300 a year. My brother pays €900 a year. He drives a riskier car and is a younger age.

stoneill

MugMugs wrote: »

I pay €300 a year. My brother pays €900 a year. He drives a riskier car and is a younger age.

This is understood and not an issue - my beef is with legislation enacted by the oireachtas making motorists have a contract with a private company who's only aim is to make money, that they have no control of the price, nor do they have access to how the price was attained.

MugMugs

I think this discussion could well fall outside the remit of this thread.

oldyouth

stoneill wrote: »

This is understood and not an issue - my beef is with legislation enacted by the oireachtas making motorists have a contract with a private company who's only aim is to make money, that they have no control of the price, nor do they have access to how the price was attained.

It's not a single private company, there are dozens available. If they are not competitive, they won't make they money you rightly say they seek. What's the point of knowing how the price was attained?, If it is too dear, people go elsewhere, if it is competitive, then happy days

pudzey101

Anyone know off hand of any cheap companys / brokers ?

Done online quotes and they ranged from 750-2500?

23 Full clean lisence

6 year NCB

oldyouth

pudzey101 wrote: »

Anyone know off hand of any cheap companys / brokers ?

Done online quotes and they ranged from 750-2500?

23 Full clean lisence

6 year NCB

Yesterday you had 5 years NCB and this morning you sorted your insurance for €600+

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=87378690

pudzey101

Yeah got my ncb off previous insurer turns out to be 6 not 5 ") and the quote i taught for 600 was only based on an estimate. Different story when they ring you about it.

stoneill

oldyouth wrote: »

It's not a single private company, there are dozens available. If they are not competitive, they won't make they money you rightly say they seek. What's the point of knowing how the price was attained?, If it is too dear, people go elsewhere, if it is competitive, then happy days

I want to know, I want to see how my premium is calculated. I want to see how my money is spent. I have paid thousands over the years of driving, never made a claim. I want to see where that money is going.
Insurance companies state that they provide a service. If you have never made a claim what service have they provided?

marcus2000

stoneill wrote: »

I have paid thousands over the years of driving, never made a claim. I want to see where that money is going.

Your thousands over the years are going to pay for the claims that others have made.

oldyouth

stoneill wrote: »

I want to know, I want to see how my premium is calculated. I want to see how my money is spent.

When you buy a pint, do you insist the barman tell who what he paid for the barrel, what he spends on light and heat, his wageroll, his Sky subscription etc???????

It is none of your business. It's not Public money

stoneill

oldyouth wrote: »

When you buy a pint, do you insist the barman tell who what he paid for the barrel, what he spends on light and heat, his wageroll, his Sky subscription etc???????

It is none of your business. It's not Public money

That info ifor a pint s easily accessible -

Do none of you care where your money goes? No wonder it's easy to fleece the Irish.

oldyouth

stoneill wrote: »

That info ifor a pint s easily accessible -

Do none of you care where your money goes? No wonder it's easy to fleece the Irish.

And if you found out that your own insurer had claim costs of 10% and profit of 90% but was still able to provide your with the best premium out there, compared to an inefficient insurer operating on 5% profit margin, would purpose would that serve????

stoneill

oldyouth wrote: »

And if you found out that your own insurer had claim costs of 10% and profit of 90% but was still able to provide your with the best premium out there, compared to an inefficient insurer operating on 5% profit margin, would purpose would that serve????

Royal Sun Alliance are competitive - would you insure with them?