Another Insurance thread!!

sha786 · Post by **sha786** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:13 pm

I hope I can help answer a few of the questions that have come up here;

Insurance is all based around risks, age, car, postcode, parked overnight, security, driving experience are just some of them.

With regards to staying out of the city and why it would be cheaper to insure in the city, couple of reasons for this. CCTV cameras are a big part of claims these days, even if there isn't one where the car is parked, chances are there will be one somewhere close by.
What you will find in some cases is that it is actually cheaper to insure your car in a "less affluent" area than the suburbs purely based on the fact that the suburbs have more valuable cars hence the theives are more likely to go there to steal cars. Simples.

When adding on a partner/spouse the price decreases because it is statistically proven that you are less likely to have an accident if you are in a relationship. No, honestly this is the case. Same with kids, if you have kids then you are a safer driver according to some insurance companies.

The best advice I can give anyone is, get on your own policy as soon as possible. There are some insurance comanies that will turn a blind eye to "fronting"(second driver to parents, but main driver) however you will end up paying the same in the long run.
Shop around, I know you have probably heard it a few times but it is true. Plus, just be thankful that you dont have to literally phone around as I did when I bought my first car!
Declare EVERYTHING. Times are hard and insurance companies are doing everything that they can NOT to pay out on claims.

The last thing as to why insurance prices have gone up is that due to the bad weather/floods/riots in London, insurance companies need to make that money back somehow. So they dillute it by putting the prices up for everyone to make their profits back.

Excuse the long post, but having worked for 3 different large insurance companies, I know what they get up to and some of the ins and outs.

Sha

Shiny · Post by **Shiny** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:40 pm

sha786 wrote:I hope I can help answer a few of the questions that have come up here;

Insurance is all based around risks, age, car, postcode, parked overnight, security, driving experience are just some of them.

With regards to staying out of the city and why it would be cheaper to insure in the city, couple of reasons for this. CCTV cameras are a big part of claims these days, even if there isn't one where the car is parked, chances are there will be one somewhere close by.
What you will find in some cases is that it is actually cheaper to insure your car in a "less affluent" area than the suburbs purely based on the fact that the suburbs have more valuable cars hence the theives are more likely to go there to steal cars. Simples.

Sorry but that is not right. Actuaries calculate insurance premiums on probability and loss ratios. It is simple, they analyse loss ratios and probability in post code sectors and base an area rating on those facts. Living in a nice area with neighbours with nice cars doesn't affect an area rating, there is no way of applying factors to this. If all you neighbours had their cars nicked and made claims, then this could be influential as losses have occurred and there is a probability factor.

When adding on a partner/spouse the price decreases because it is statistically proven that you are less likely to have an accident if you are in a relationship. No, honestly this is the case. Same with kids, if you have kids then you are a safer driver according to some insurance companies.

Partially true but still not right. The single/married etc bit is determined by the proposer's marital status and not by having additional drivers. You will still get the married/kids disscount even if it was insured only to drive. Adding a spouse etc used to bring premiums down due to having a lower rated female on the policy, but not so much since the equality act.

The best advice I can give anyone is, get on your own policy as soon as possible. There are some insurance comanies that will turn a blind eye to "fronting"(second driver to parents, but main driver) however you will end up paying the same in the long run.

No insurer will turn a blind eye to fronting, fronting is fraud and is illegal. There are situations where a parent owns a car and the child is the main user. In this case the car must be insured in the parents name and the child declared as the main user. This is not fronting. Fronting is when the parent insures a car owned by a child or the childer is the main user and this is not disclosed. This is fraud.

The last thing as to why insurance prices have gone up is that due to the bad weather/floods/riots in London, insurance companies need to make that money back somehow. So they dillute it by putting the prices up for everyone to make their profits back.

Partially true, but to a degree that is negligible. Insurers have specific CORs for each class of business. Floods etc will have a more detrimental effect on property insurance.

sha786 · Post by **sha786** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:57 pm

As I stated, it is all in my experience. I am not questioning your knowledge of the insurance industry however this is what I was taught at the insurance companies that I worked for. If you tell me differently then fair enough.

My point is that if you live in a nice area with nice neighbours who drive nice cars. If more of these cars are stolen, then the postcode rating would increase. I maybe didn't write it as eloquently as yourself but the theory is the same.

The single/married thing, again in my experience is the case. Aviva will give you a "partner" discount for adding a domestic partner/spouse. Very much like esurebroker will give you a discount for having an "experienced" driver. I have been out of the industry for a while so this might not still be the case.

As for fronting, I can tell you at least 2 underwriters that will accept it if the owner/registered keeper of the car is the child and the policy holder is the parent with the child as a named driver. I agree that it is fraud and illegal, however I can guarantee you that there are people on here that do it. I wasn't promoting it in any way, I was advising people not to do it.

Shiny · Post by **Shiny** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:01 pm

I can't see how an insurer will insure a child's car in the parents name, apart from RTA risks, there is no insurable interest, insurable interest is one of the basic insurance principals....if you don't own it, you can't insure it!

sha786 · Post by **sha786** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:04 pm

Shiny wrote:I can't see how an insurer will insure a child's car in the parents name, apart from RTA risks, there is no insurable interest, insurable interest is one of the basic insurance principals....if you don't own it, you can't insure it!

Let me pm you mate

Shiny · Post by **Shiny** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:06 pm

Post it here.

Post by **Donald** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:07 pm

However it works, she'll be a named driver and save me pennies.
Luckily for me I was saved the task of insulting her, she decided she was never going to drive it before I could tell her she wasn't ever going to be able to.

sha786 · Post by **sha786** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:14 pm

Shiny wrote:Post it here.

As you wish. I will not name the insurance comapanies that I am referring too on a public forum, however I know 100% that they will accept the above risk.

Post by **lewd lude lover** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:15 pm

O.K. guys. can you tell me why this 'equality act' basically seems to be a really easy way to get 25% more cash out of girls?

Surely if the companies are now not allowed to discriminate between the sexes then the girls pay 12.5% more and the boys pay 12.5% less. This eqalises the field and we all go on from there. Anything else STINKS of backroom handouts and population milking on a criminal scale.

considering Sky charged me 750 for the lude last year and the only honest difference I could see between it and admiral at 340 was the possibility of the intermediary company giving me a chance to prove the value of the car before settlement I would like to know why we havn't dragged them all outside and burned the kebabs!

Post by **lewd lude lover** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:27 pm

with respect