Private insurance for mechanics

james4510

Im fuming. Why cant i get Private insurance for my car when i am a mechanic. I work for a company that provides traders insurance to cover me on car at work etc, but i want a private policy for my own car. Im 30 years old and drive a 03 bmw 320d msport. I had two quotes, both over €4,000!!! And i have 5 years ncb.
It seems they cant get there head around i am insured at work, through works insurance and i want my own on my own car. I had an argument and they said they would insure anyone in my garage inc reception, workshop foreman etc but not me.
If i hear you dont match our acceptance criteria one more time im gonna flip.
I dont see what difference it makes if im a mechanic. Im not asking for open drive, just a standard policy. F***ing hate insurance companies

greasepalm

i was with the AA before moving to garage policy for 4 or 5 years with them and had no issues.

james4510

Will have to try them in the new year, its just annoying there is absolutely no good reason for it whatsoever

greasepalm

agree with you on that dam hard to find one.

CoDy1

Ring a broker. Off the top of my head, Axa, Allianz, AIG & Liberty will quote for mechanics on private cars.

pudzey101

could always put down your unemployed ? , maybe ur a mechanic in your own spare time what difference would it make

james4510

Lol want to do it straight as they will try get out of a claim any way possible but don't want to give them any excuse

barneygumble99

james4510 wrote: »

Lol want to do it straight as they will try get out of a claim any way possible but don't want to give them any excuse[/quote

Not great idea if you e already told them you're a mechanic.

Chris_Heilong

How do you have 5 years ncb? if it is trough your job and now you are looking for a private policey then they wont recognise it and you will be starting again with 0 NCB, otherwise as said contact a broker.

bigroad

The Insurance industry in Ireland are way out of control,somebody from the government needs to step in and sort it out.
They want their cake and eat it.
Its the same with health.
They come out with crazy reasons whey they should charge more.
A law onto themselves.

To Elland Back

Here's a thought. Could it possibly be because

a) Even if the mechanic is insured under a trade policy at work, his private car insurer could legally be brought in to share a loss that occurred in the course of his employment
b) Mechanics have the ability to modify their own vehicle beyond the limit acceptable to their insurers
c) They have a habit of requesting far, far more temporary substitutions than usual as they do 'nixers' or buy and sell cars in their spare time

shietpilot

To Elland Back wrote: »

b) Mechanics have the ability to modify their own vehicle beyond the limit acceptable to their insurers

You don't need to be a mechanic to modify your car beyond the limit acceptable to insurers.

In fact I reckon a mechanic would modify their car in a more safer manner than 99.99999% of any driver in the age 17-22 driving a TDI Golf/Passat/Bora.

bigroad

A mechanic will spot something thats unsafe quicker than a normal punter.
They are trained that way.
A mechanic is well use to driving many different vehicles fast and slow ,big and small.
If anything a mechanic should have cheaper personal insurance if he/she can prove that they are also covered on a road risk policy.
The next thing they will say is your insurance will be more expensive if you want to use your car in the rain.

newacc2015

bigroad wrote: »

The Insurance industry in Ireland are way out of control,somebody from the government needs to step in and sort it out.
They want their cake and eat it.
Its the same with health.
They come out with crazy reasons whey they should charge more.
A law onto themselves.

Insurance companies want to stay in Business. They are all losing serious amounts of money in Ireland. Insurance isnt as profitable as you think it is. The margins in the US are only about 2/3% profit. In Ireland it is currently loss making

FBD is a publicly traded company, so you can look at its account online. You can see they are making no money at the moment.

To Elland Back

shietpilot wrote: »

You don't need to be a mechanic to modify your car beyond the limit acceptable to insurers.

In fact I reckon a mechanic would modify their car in a more safer manner than 99.99999% of any driver in the age 17-22 driving a TDI Golf/Passat/Bora.

Hence the reason why most insurers won't cover 17-22 yr olds

Stoolbend

I haven't been refused a quote based on being a mechanic in years. They all exclude driving other cars though which is a pain.

Two years ago I went with 123.ie. At the time they didn't ask occupation as they said it wasn't relevant. I got insurance with driving other cars for the first time in 14 years.

They've changed their criteria now and wouldn't even quote me as a named driver on the other half's policy even though I'm still with them in my own name. They never asked my occupation on renewal.

I paid €370 for fully comp. with no claims fully protected and key cover in June.

To Elland Back

bigroad wrote: »

If anything a mechanic should have cheaper personal insurance if he/she can prove that they are also covered on a road risk policy.
.

On what do you base that?. Seriously. If a mechanic has an accident while in the course of his employment, his private car insurance can be brought in to share the loss under certain circumstances

mgbgt1978

Any particular examples Elland ????

Irish Steve

newacc2015 wrote: »

Insurance companies want to stay in Business. They are all losing serious amounts of money in Ireland. Insurance isnt as profitable as you think it is. The margins in the US are only about 2/3% profit. In Ireland it is currently loss making

FBD is a publicly traded company, so you can look at its account online. You can see they are making no money at the moment.

And maybe if they didn't pay out without investigating some claims in more depth, they'd not be so seriously loss making.

And yes, there are also some specific local issues that need to be addressed by Government, the most important being the ambulance chasing legal profession that are falling over themselves on a no win no fee basis, and the "compo" culture that they have fostered and nurtured

bigroad

Dash cams should have a reduction in premium.Do they bother with this no they just pay out on cowboy claims.
Insurance have been their own worst enemies and because of that guess who will pay for their lazyness..

To Elland Back

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Any particular examples Elland ????

It's a bit technical, but if a driver has private car insurance with driving of other cars, it can be brought in to play to share a loss if that person caused the accident, even at work There is no motor trade policy out there that accepts responsibility for all it's employees accidents. If there is additional cover out there that covers the driver, it will be called in. It is the same for most people who drive for a living, such as taxi drivers, bus drivers etc

To Elland Back

bigroad wrote: »

Dash cams should have a reduction in premium.Do they bother with this no they just pay out on cowboy claims...

Dash cams are brilliant, they do influence claim settlement but are not used by enough motorists to become a rating feature. They should be. They are the singular most important piece of evidence if you are ever going to defend a claim

bigroad

To Elland Back wrote: »

Dash cams are brilliant, they do influence claim settlement but are not used by enough motorists to become a rating feature. They should be. They are the singular most important piece of evidence if you are ever going to defend a claim

Why are dash cams not promoted by insurance companies,is there something we are missing here.
The best piece of equipment to help insurance companies with claims yet they ignore .
It would also be very easy forcar manufactures to intergrate them into new cars.

NickDunne

bigroad wrote: »

Why are dash cams not promoted by insurance companies,is there something we are missing here.
The best piece of equipment to help insurance companies with claims yet they ignore .
It would also be very easy forcar manufactures to intergrate them into new cars.

I think part of the problem with dashcams is that the picture quality varies wildly. Half the forum were trying to identify a hit and run skoda reg and there was war. Having a DC would be better than nothing but still not enough for an insurance company to automatically issue a discount on a €40 chinese ebay job

To Elland Back

bigroad wrote: »

Why are dash cams not promoted by insurance companies,is there something we are missing here.
The best piece of equipment to help insurance companies with claims yet they ignore .
It would also be very easy forcar manufactures to intergrate them into new cars.

Totally agree. I'm currently working in the claims area and they are the only chance you have in a one on one situation without independent witnesses. I think insurers work on the basis of if you want to avoid a claim against you, you fund the solution. Very poor thinking

bigroad

Thanks for the honest angle.