Does this sound like an accurate insurance quote to you?

tommy21 · 07-11-2009 2:18pm #1

I'm 24, have a full licence and 2 years no claims. Car I drive is only 1200cc. My insurance renewal through AXA broker arrives this month to the tune of just under €1000, an increase of 50-60€ on last year in fact. I paid the first time because I just figured you have to bite the bullet this time, but I did expect it to at least drop (and by more than 60€) this year. Its the type of money you'd expect a 19 or 20 yr old to pay.

I sent a letter to my broker who rang me back and said they'd try do something but were not hopefully. I did go online and look at Hibernian who were about 70 cheaper and if I qualify for the ignition test and pass it, apparently another 20% off.

I guess I'm not sure of the purpose of this thread. A bit of a rant, a bit of seeking your own experiences and how much your paying, and basically any advice. Its crazy I know a guy with the same company, 6 penalty points, drives a high powered car, 27 - €1200 quote.

Anan1 · 07-11-2009 2:22pm

Have you shopped around properly yet? Ring everyone.

djk1000 · 07-11-2009 2:24pm

insurance companies make their profits by investing your premium and keeping the returns. Investments have been terrible lately, so insurance costs go up. Shop around is all I can say. Try 123.ie, I got a good quote there but I'm not sure how good the cover is.

Gumbo · 07-11-2009 2:25pm

you have to ring every insurnace place you can.

www.123.ie
www.insure.ie

to name but two.

Max Power1 · 07-11-2009 2:51pm

britton insurance were great for me, at least 300e cheaper than hibernian.

tommy21 · 07-11-2009 4:38pm

I have used a few comparison sites but they're all a bit more expansive apart from Hibernian. I'm going to approach a few in person/phone on Monday, but I appreciate the suggestions, keep them coming

Is there anyone here around the 24/25 age bracket that is paying more or less?:eek:

Matt Bauer · 07-11-2009 4:49pm

Try www.25plus.ie - they saved me nearly 300 euro on my insurance.

Seth Brundle · 07-11-2009 6:05pm

Matt Bauer wrote: »

Try www.25plus.ie - they saved me nearly 300 euro on my insurance.

Read the first post again and then slowly read out the name of the insurance company you cited!
You will notice something that will prevent the OP getting insurance from them!

johndaman66 · 07-11-2009 7:54pm

Unfortunately motor insurance is going up across the board in general tommy21. As hard as that may be to stomach it is the reality of the situation. It is one of the things (I wont say the one thing) that is going in the opposite direction of the prices of goods and servies at the moment. If you do a serch on boards you will find plenty more threads in the same vein as your own. Also I've found little point in the past comparing quotes I got with that of friends. My insurance remained very high for the first 3/4 years of driving despite having a full license and no accidents/ claims/ motoring covictions. I had many people say to me you should try x company John because they I'm only paying them x which is very good. Then when I tried x company whatever this insurance company might be they either wouldn't quote me or quote me a silly figure altogether. The fact that your friend is 27 years old means that he is in a better buyers market than you and age is highly critical above all other particulars at the end of the day despite how unfair this may seem.

However, enough waffling on. As a few other posters have suggested get quotes from as many as possible. I'm not a big fan of 123.ie from my own experience and a story or 2 I heard/ read but they do seem to buy and sell insrance in bulk from a paricular company from time to time so they may well be worth a go. Bricks and mortar insurance brokers are well worth checking out. If you have a few hours to spare some weekday well worth popping into your local town and trying them all. Otherwise a few phone calls could save you some big bucks!

Tazzle · 07-11-2009 8:23pm

That's mental, I'm 24 with 3 years no claims and I just renewed last month fully comp on a 1.2L for 500 quid with Quinn.

caprilicious · 07-11-2009 8:50pm

I'd second whoever recommended britton insurance www.brittoninsurance.com I've always found them the cheapest by far.
I got a quote for my husband last year on a jeep, Hibernian wanted €800+, we got it from Britton for just about €300!
Better in my pocket than theirs

I think anything over €600 sounds extortionate for a 24 year old with 2 years ncb & full licence, unless you have previous claims

I did the Hibernian ignition course a few years ago, also found that great for getting decent discounts on their insurance.

johndaman66 · 07-11-2009 9:03pm

caprilicious wrote: »

I think anything over €600 sounds extortionate for a 24 year old with 2 years ncb & full licence, unless you have previous claims.

Big BIG difference between male and female drivers though caprilicious. So big that in many cases it is just a laugh. I know from my own experience that I would have being doing very well to get it for under €600 or even anything near that figure when I was 24 would have being absolutely fantastic despite having 3 years claims free on a full license and regardless of the vehicle.

Max Power1 · 08-11-2009 4:26pm

caprilicious wrote: »

I'd second whoever recommended britton insurance www.brittoninsurance.com I've always found them the cheapest by far.
I got a quote for my husband last year on a jeep, Hibernian wanted €800+, we got it from Britton for just about €300!
Better in my pocket than theirs

I think anything over €600 sounds extortionate for a 24 year old with 2 years ncb & full licence, unless you have previous claims

I did the Hibernian ignition course a few years ago, also found that great for getting decent discounts on their insurance.

Yeah that was me that reccomended britton. Think I saw them on cars ireland or some site like that. Im 23, and they saved me 300 over evry other insurance site.

Vertakill · 09-11-2009 4:25am

Travelers were excellent for me with my last quote aged 23. I went through 123.ie with them.

Iirc, the likes of AXA and Hibernian were the worst every time for me without fail by literally hundreds of euros.

DO'Carlo/Wex · 09-11-2009 5:08am

Didn't start the driving & ondly bought my 1st Car there in 2008 when I were 30.
1st Provisional I got One Direct as I got them for E1100 & Quinn who were "supposed to be good for first-timers" were E1300 iirc.
This year went to renew & 1-Direct were up to E1200. Quinn were E1300. AxA were E1600.

123.ie/Travelers gave it to me @ E683-Something.
Unbelievable compared to the others. Mind boggles.

Are the insurance systems (I did a course in MitSys which is an isurance programme years ago) so tied-down & ridgid that negotiating downwards or asking for extras is a no-no? Is it the stereo-typical "Computer says No"?
Like if I was buying a car or a bike, I'd ask for a full-tank or an extra service on top of what was being provided foc or in a bikes' case, a free pump, lights etc. If not, I'd go elsewhere.

TestTransmission · 09-11-2009 6:58am

I left AXA this year as their renewal was expensive and actually the highest quote I got.They wanted 1400,I got my insurance for 650 in the end.

They sent me a letter a few days ago asking if I forgot to renew my policy with them,even after they told me on the phone they wudnt budge on their quote.

daveyboy_1ie · 09-11-2009 7:53am

Insurance is always a sticky point with young blokes like ourselves (well maybe not so young anymore for me

As people have advised shop around and just a quick question, why u going through brokers? Anyway my own search every year brought me cheaper and cheaper quotes and I went from comppany to company, rarely showing any loyalty to them.

I woudl advise www.fbd.ie and get a quote from them, they usually give me the best quotes.

tommy21 · 09-11-2009 3:01pm

Tazzle wrote: »

That's mental, I'm 24 with 3 years no claims and I just renewed last month fully comp on a 1.2L for 500 quid with Quinn.

Are you male or female though?

Berty · 09-11-2009 4:41pm

Pah! :rolleyes:

Less than €1000. I paid €2400 when I was first on the road and I was 21 with a 998cc Car.

Ring ring ring and play them all off against each other. They do not have ads on the TV and radio because they are beating customers from the door. When you are speaking to them ask

"What discounts can you offer me?"

eyesofvenus · 09-11-2009 5:06pm

Its a bit all over the place at the moment...

Im 24 and living in kilkenny. Driving a 1.5L almera with Provisional Licence and Comprehensive cover with quinn and paying €890 or so a year...

Now heres the thing...Ive been driving 2 1/2 years, no claims and been with quinn all that time. Never been bothered to get full licence but their premiums always seem fair enough. The almera has been acting up lately and is now off the road.

My fiancees mam has offered to let me use her spare car. Its a 2.0L 1999 Mondeo and a nice enough car. So i rang quinn direct just to see how much extra it would cost me to insure it and was told we can't insure you in that...

Now cmon like, fair enough its a 2.0L car but its not a performance car or anything and not that much more powerful than the almera(IMO)...

So i hung up and checked online. A few wouldnt quote me and others were quoting 2k+ until www.123.ie

They quoted me €1000 Third party and €1300 fully comp, anybody see something wrong here???

My own insurance company that ive been with 2 1/2 years wont even insure me yet this crowd not only will but at a very reasonable price..

Any comments on this??

Cuddlesworth · 09-11-2009 5:14pm

No point in trying to compare just age and engine size. Location, occupation, sex and the model and spec of the car you are trying to get insured on all make a big impact on your quote.

Berty · 09-11-2009 5:29pm

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

No point in trying to compare just age and engine size. Location, occupation, sex and the model and spec of the car you are trying to get insured on all make a big impact on your quote.

Very much so. Take a Ghia Mondeo for example which has a Sony radio(new model of course). This radio costs €850+vat to replace if stolen.

The Zetec radio would cost around €200+vat to replace.

Ghia Alloys would be more expensive to replace that the steel wheels of a Mondeo Ecotek.

An Automatic would be more expensive because the gearbox costs much more.

Instead of asking them for a FULL transfer you can ask them for a temporary transfer to another vehicle for UP TO 30 days. This is what Hibernian / One direct offer anyway.

eyesofvenus · 09-11-2009 5:33pm

Sorry forgot to mention that the reason they wouldn't insure me on the Mondeo was because i had Provisional Licence.

Very much so. Take a Ghia Mondeo for example which has a Sony radio(new model of course). This radio costs €850+vat to replace if stolen.

The Zetec radio would cost around €200+vat to replace.

Ghia Alloys would be more expensive to replace that the steel wheels of a Mondeo Ecotek.

An Automatic would be more expensive because the gearbox costs much more.

Its a manual LX model with a cassette player

boomer_ie · 09-11-2009 6:02pm

One thing ive just noticed with Britton insurance...

Is not imported, has not been modified and is registered in your name in the republic of Ireland (IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO INSURE A VEHICLE YOU DO NOT OWN)

Isnt every car in Ireland imported at some stage... (leaving aside some classics etc etc)

TestTransmission · 09-11-2009 6:06pm

boomer_ie wrote: »

One thing ive just noticed with Britton insurance...

Isnt every car in Ireland imported at some stage... (leaving aside some classics etc etc)

Are you serious?

boomer_ie · 09-11-2009 6:11pm

jackncoke wrote: »

Are you serious?

Oops i left out the massive smiley and sarcasm warnings sorry!

MarkN · 09-11-2009 6:12pm

I dunno why any male would go with AXA they are a complete rip off and have this bizarre "better than anyone else" attitude when it comes to males.

I STILL HAVE YET to own a car I don't "need to be over 30 to insure with AXA". :rolleyes:

24 is still quite young in the grand scheme of things OP and as has been said everyone's premiums in general seem to have gone up - mine went up about 200 quid.

I've suggested First Ireland to a lot of people www.firstireland.ie

tommy21 · 09-11-2009 7:49pm

Well its been a busy day of phonecalls. Here is my progress, keeping in mind the original quote was €954.

Allianz - 768 comp, 793 third party fire theft (TPFT)

Hibernian - 891 TPFT

My current crowd (Axa Broker) - agreed to drop the price to €915 after I sent them a nicely worded letter.

McCarthys Fermoy (Hibernian Broker) - €1093 TPFT (!)

Tesco - €1,003 (par for the course really)

Eagle Star - wouldn't quote even though I had 2 years no claims

Britton Insurance - 973.48 TPFT

FBD - 1,170 TPFT (!)

Quinn Direct - 633 TPFT with possible 5% more off if I do it online (so about €600)

123.ie - 698 TPFT

Two clear winners here. Quinn direct being cheaper offer: free breakdown cover, 24hr claims help line (woop di doo , audio equipment cover (nothing of value really), loss of keys including replacement of locks (handy since I only have one key and told if lost that's the end of it)

123.ie is more expensive but includes:
Step Back No Claims Bonus (so if you claim instead of losing entire bonus you lose two years the first time.)
* Fire Brigade Charge - €1500
* Driving Other Cars Extension (No good to me for 6 months but still)
* Replacement Locks (if lost key etc.)
* 24 Hr Breakdown Assist, 365 Days
* Permanently Fitted Radio/Audio (meh)
* New Car Replacement
* European Cover Free up to 30 Days

So its a toss up between the two. Even the more expensive is saving me a total of €256 on the original quote and the better quote about €350. Some truly ludicrous quotes there. A few of the people I was taking to sensed I wasn't going with them and asked what the difference was in other quotes I got. When I said in one case about €400 there was silence on the phone and then she laughed and she said "Ohh, that's very good isn't it!" I would not like her working for me!

Since I don't have a landline I went to one of those fone internet cafes to make the calls. Most of the numbers were premiun 1850/1890 ones. A handy website I found that lists the normal landlines numbers for these companies can be found at http://www.saynoto1890.com. Total costs of an hour on phone and about 8 lengthily calls? €2.30 thanks to the normal numbers

All except for Tesco of course who the site operator states removed this landline number as they were losing too many people from their premium rate line.

johndaman66 · 09-11-2009 9:59pm

daveyboy_1ie wrote: »

I woudl advise www.fbd.ie and get a quote from them, they usually give me the best quotes.

daveyboy_1ie your circumstances must be signiicantly different to mine or else Im guessing your kind self or a parnet has a farm insured with them but anytime I got an insurance quote from FBD they were outlandishly expensive even compared to other companies.

tommy21 · 09-11-2009 10:11pm

johndaman66 wrote: »

daveyboy_1ie your circumstances must be signiicantly different to mine or else Im guessing your kind self or a parnet has a farm insured with them but anytime I got an insurance quote from FBD they were outlandishly expensive even compared to other companies.

My 1170 quote will attest that! I also just checked AA and One Direct, both were in region of 1100. What a rip-off.

Boskowski · 09-11-2009 10:13pm

djk1000 wrote: »

insurance companies make their profits by investing your premium and keeping the returns. Investments have been terrible lately, so insurance costs go up. Shop around is all I can say. Try 123.ie, I got a good quote there but I'm not sure how good the cover is.

I'm not saying that there is no insurance companies who operate like that but it's def'ny not the way an insurance company should operate and it's def'ny not the way the insurance company I work for operates. Unfortunately we don't do motor insurance.

Insurers insure risks and in order to do that they have to get their maths right - meaning their risk assessment - and then they charge administration and a (hopefully) modest profit. That is unless there is an investment aspect built into the policy which with motor insurance would be pretty much unheard of to me. If you're with an insurance company who is gambling with your premiums and charging you for their losses vote with your feet.

Does this sound like an accurate insurance quote to you?

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