A few days ago my car insurance renewal quote came through from Ford Insure. I’d already done some online quotes to get an idea what I would be expecting to pay, so I was quite surprised to see the Ford quote come in at 50% more then the majority of the other quotes.
Even when I queried this with them they basically said “we’re better than the rest, so you have to pay more”. It started to get amusing when I pointed out that their own online quoting system had given me a far cheaper price. The response went something like: “Oh, you can’t trust those online systems, they’re never right”. Confidence inspiring, eh?
So, I was after a new insurer. I had a list of insurers from last year, so first off I went through them and got a load of quotes (all online, it’s easier that way, but pretty tedious). Then I discovered InsureSupermarket, which performs a similar function to Confused.com. It’s interface was straightforward, and it gave me a good set of quotes which were similar to what I’d got myself. Interestingly, though, the prices through here were cheaper – even when I used it’s links to go through to the insurer’s site and complete the quote. Maybe that can be attributed to the random nature of insurance, or maybe they get a special discount.
At the end of this process I’m left with two fairly similar prices from RAC and Norwich Union. Not much to chose between them really, other than whether I like yellow or orange. Then I recall my breakdown cover is with RAC. I punch those details in too and the RAC quote drops some more, and it says I can become a “Plus” member. RAC it is then.
Just as I finish writing this I see that “RAC plc has been acquired by Aviva plc” and that it’s being “integrated into the Norwich Union Insurance division”. Maybe that’s why the choice was so hard? 🙂
Reflecting on what I’ve written I can see that I’ve made the process sound pretty easy. It’s not – it’s a minefield. It’s hard and repetitive work going through all those sites to get quotes, and differentiating between what you get is an impossible task. The interfaces seem to come in about three or four different varieties, but all with their own subtle differences. I’m left wondering how anyone is really meant to make an informed decision without weeks of research.
At the end of the day insurance companies don’t want to help you, they just want your money. I really hope I don’t have an accident, because I’ll be screwed over for years…
Norwich union is a very good insurance company.
My health insurance is from them and very pleasent to deal with and absolutely pleasant customer service. Accept collect calls with pleasure.
In constract to that I also subscribe to health insurance from Allianz and have had troubles with claiming from them.