www.iva.co.uk

Hi all,

The wifes car insurance is up for renewal next month, and she as just had her renewal letter from Direct Line - its increased by over £350.....WOW.

I thought this may be due to us both entering an IVA, but having spoken to friends it would seem that the cost of vehicle insurance regardless, as rocketed.

Would being in an IVA have any bearing on the premium an insurer would offer?

Many thanks.

Hello Sinking Fast,

I dont think this will have anything to do with the IVA.

Direct Line, and motor insurers in general, seem to punish loyalty from customers rather than reward it.

When they've done this to me I've been on the comparison sites, got a lower quote, called them up and all of a sudden they're ready to match it.

A shame that they make people jump through these hoops to get a decent deal.

Try the old fashioned way and ring your local insurance broker. I have done this for years now and they are always similar or better in price than comparison sites. Also if you are unfortunate to have to make a claim its easier to sort out. You just go round and see them. I believe you get things done quicker face to face.

Thanks all.

Yes good advice Pugwash, may just pop into our local agent during the week for some quotes.

Hi Sinking Fast. You are correct premiums are going up across the board.

This is due to increased repair costs from Garages, the ever rising claims for injury and hire cars and staged accidents.

I used to work for Direct Line in Motor Claims and I can tell you that they and TEsco and in fact insurers in general will give you a good deal the first year and then increase it the year after.

Basically they punish loyalty so do yourself a favour and move insurer every year. Best to use a comparison site and you should get a good price.

I can't agree with Pugwash on the Broker comment though as doing your claim through the broker will just delay things. Typically in my experience claims involving brokers took 3 times as long to settle because of them acting as a middleman.

Cheers Luke thanks for the advice.

It doesn't take longer lukeofyorkshire and its definitely cheaper. Just try it you dont have to buy it.

Compare the market.com......................SIMPLES !

Saved over £150 on hubbies !

Try the Co-op - the were about £150 cheaper for me last year, and it only went up by £3 this year.

Mine went down by only 3 pounds this year - but could not find cheaper on the compare sites & I also use a broker. Ive been with the same company for my car now for 3 years n the previous year they matched a price I had found.
The only thing that does bother me is the APR that the finance company they use for paying monthly.
Ive only been insured for 4 years n going into my 5th, between my 1st & 2nd year it went down by half after shopping around.

My daughter is with Direct Line and even though she checked with a lot of companies, they were still the cheapest this year.

Brokers are fine if they are local and if you can get in to see them. Most of them work normal office hours the same as a lot of people which does make it awkward.

Both my car & home insurance are with different brokers & Ive had no problems so far.
With my car - I phone my insurer directly n home directly when I remember who they are! Mainly cos the broker changes my home one each year to get the best deal!
I have done searches on both n cant get cheaper on the compare sites - so happy for them to do the work.

I always shop around at renewal time and remember Quidco or similar and you could end up with some cashback too as an added bonus. x

Mine doubled this year, i just phoned up and argued the case! got it reduced back down again, took some doing though. Now i have to claim, not going to be good i think!

This was the first year I didn't really shop around. I had my renewal through from the Co-op and got one more quote which was over £100 more so I didn't bother with any more as I knew I couldn't get it any cheaper.