Insurance Thread - No Twist

Every one of the top 20 UK insurers lost money on private car last year - they averaged 120% loss ratio e.g. 'costs' of ?120 for every ?100 received. This clearly is unsustainable & hence premiums have started to go up over the last few months & will continue to do so throughout this year at least. -An average of ?40 per policy goes on fraudulent claims

Therefore I would get a policy in your sons name as soon as he turns 17 (you should be able to get a quote/take out a policy up to 30 days in advance). If it is too expensive then wait until he passes his test & get him to do the pass plus extra test, which can be worth up to 20% discount off a policy in his name (generally subject to him being the only driver).

Perhaps look at getting the lowest possible grouped car for his first car, Micra 1.0 etc. -also age of car makes a difference the older the cheaper - just for the first couple of years to build up some NCB in his name.

I found this http://www.provisionalmarmalade.co.uk/young-driver-insurance-application.asp

Which costs ?260 for 3 months provisional cover (Which sounds alot, but given that the cheapest quote I've had for a group 1 car with him on my policy was ?1100 more per year than it would be for me and the wife alone) So whilst he's learning it's cheaper and easier to insure him on the wife's Cavalier (or even the MX5 at no extra cost). The only problem with that is that he can't drive home from the test station as once he's passed he's no longer covered.

Sounds like half a plan. My internal commitment (which I'm keeping to myself and sharing with you lot, but not telling him) is to help him pass his test not provide him with transport. I'm a firm believer that 12 leasons with a decent instructor and Lots of practice in the Family car is the best way to learn to drive, it's how I learnt and how I helped my wife to pass first time. I watch my neice learning to drive and 1 leason a week for god knows how long seems to just drag it out and gives no real appreciation of road craft. Agreed with the pass plus idea though.

If I remember correctly my Dad handed me the keys of his Sierra Estate on my 17th Birthday and made me drive up the A roads to Coniston. I suppose he thought that a year on a moped (was I the only person to pass a moped test in 1983 I wonder) was enough practice to be able to drive 60 miles. Although it did take 2 hours.

Daz_2 said:

Spot on, although our end of year figures represented more like 130%.

Unfortunately too many injury claims spoiling it for everybody else, is the general concensus that get hit in the arse and claim for whiplash?

insurancefactory.com

Click to expand...

The insurance industry brings it on itself to a certain extent. IT NEVER DISPUTES the obvious lies.

A case in point.

Some years ago I had an accident with a Mrs Alison Campbell, Employee of Tesco, Formby.

Now in a 30 mph zone on a B road leaving town in a deserted industrial estate looking out towards the NSL signs in the distance I noticed a silver Picasso braking and moving to the left as if to stop at the curb. Now my assumption was based on the fact that the speed was VERY low and that on some mornings cars stopped to drop off an employee of the local tesco's. The car being level with the back entrance.
As I accelerated and overtook, she gently turned into the tesco staff carpark.
Now the point of impact was such that my front wing peeled off her headlight from the rear, and the damage to the picasso was pretty much : Headlight, wing and wheel trim. As I went past the wing of the picasso, it removed my indicator, wing mirror and most of the paint from from to back over a 30 cm stripe. I then mounted the curb with both front wheels locked, destroying one wheel, and bending the suspension. It's probable that I was traveling at slightly more than 30 mph I think. IF I'd be going a bit slower I'd have hit her full side on and killed her

Now I was totally uninjured except that my arms were a bit stiff and I was a bit shocked for most of the day. I still got paid for not going to work.
The impact to the piccasso bearly moved it more than if you drove over a speed bump too fast.
Mrs Campbell admitted at the road side, that she was both uninjured and that she had not been indicating.

You can guess the rest.

As soon as my insurance company knew that a doctor had signed her off work for a fortnight with whiplash, there was no way they would dispute her new claim that she had been indicating. The cost of going to court being much higher than the cost of rolling over and paying up a few thousand.

But my insurance company decided to write off my car, because their 'Prefered' repairer and their estimator thought it would cost over ?2K to fix the damage.
I'd already priced it up and I could have had it back on the road for ?600. and perfect but with some second hand and pattern parts. They refused to let me have the salvage making it a cat B. They also offered me ?600 minus my excess, which was silly as it was worth ?1500. After 3 weeks of negotiation they ended up sending me a cheque for ?1350.

I tried to point out that Campbell and doctor were committing insurance fraud in my view and that they should contact the police, but they'd clearly heard that before from thier clients.

I'm not entirely sure what the solution is. Fight every claim for whiplash ? or just look a bit closer at the damage ? Insist all claimants for whiplash attend a private clinic for assement? In my humble oppinion the average GP will do pretty much anything his 'customers' ask and just takes the patients word for it.