Insurance Questions

ckeogh

Im shopping for insurance on new car, and have a full licence test start of july...
IF I pass, will the insurers change the premium the day my full licence arrives, or will I be stung until the end of year? Or does it varies by company?

Also, I can afford to pay year up front, but given that sitting the test soon is it better to pay monthly?

Squidgy Black

ckeogh wrote: »

Im shopping for insurance on new car, and have a full licence test start of july...
IF I pass, will the insurers change the premium the day my full licence arrives, or will I be stung until the end of year? Or does it varies by company?

Also, I can afford to pay year up front, but given that sitting the test soon is it better to pay monthly?

1. Depends on the insurer, but most will generally decrease your premium.

2. I'd wait and see what the price is like and how much extra you'd have to pay if you're paying monthly. I'm not 100% sure what'd happen if you payed up front and then we're looking for a reduction because you passed your test, can't imagine them being to keen on refunding you part of it? If it wasn't too much of a difference in the lump sum and monthly I'd go monthly, you could even stick the money in a bank account you don't use and just have the direct debit set up for that account so you don't have to worry about the payment.

ProudDUB

If you pass your test, most of them will knock some money off the overall cost of the premium. When I passed my test, I got a check in the post for 29 euros and I have similar posts here of people getting a check for the difference in the premiums. I had paid the full whack up front, so am not sure how it works if you are paying by installments. Give the insurance company a ring and ask them what their policy is. They won't all be the same. They can also tell you over the phone what the difference in premiums will be, with a full license vs a learner permit.

However, while you may get a reduced rate, don't be expecting a massive decrease in your insurance premium, just because you pass your test. One of the main factors in calculating your premium is how many years of accident free, penalty point free and claim free driving you have under your belt. None of that is going to change, just because you pass your test.

ckeogh

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to ring around and ask.

I got some quotes online for me and herself, I'm on old provisional with experience, she's on new learners permit - ballpark is 2500(tpft).

Curiosity got the better of me as we both will sit the test in the next 12 months, so checked quotes for both on new Full licences - just under 800(comp), hence why I'm trying to figure out what way it works if your already holding a policy.

Thanks for your replies guys!

ProudDUB

So both of you having learner permits is 2500 and both of you having full license is 800? Wow. That is quite a drop. I've never seen posts from people here, where the decrease in premium price was so big, but that's not to say its never happened. Fair play to you if that is the case.

As to how the insurance companies treat an existing policy holder, there is no one set set policy, so you'll have to ask them individually. Some may issue a refund there and then, some may give it to you when the policy expires or when you renew, some may reduce your monthly payments.

ckeogh

here's the email confirmations to show the difference, i've hidden quote numbers for obvious reasons and cropped my name and other details from email:

http://imgur.com/9nThRAf
http://imgur.com/9nThRAf

http://imgur.com/FAAH1JW
http://imgur.com/FAAH1JW