Car Insurance

It's that time of year again. When the Car Insurance needs to be renewed.
And the insurer sends out their renewal documents, and their letter, explaining that they have tried all they know, with their expert knowledge and experience, to find you the absolute best price on renewal, and then you do some research and discover that, if that is the case, they are obviously really, really crap at searching, since you can find 10 or 20 quotes for the same cover for less. Usually including one from the same company...

This year, my renewal quote was nearly 10% higher than last year's premium.
The quotes for the same cover, from other insurers, were significantly lower than last year
The quote I found from the same insurer, via price comparison sites, was almost 25% lower than the renewal quote. (Yes, the same policy - exactly the same cover, excess, underwriter etc) And it wasn't the best quote quote out there.

Which, even for an insurance company, is pretty bad.

So, Zenith, no, I won't be renewing with you.

The policy I have now bought cost less than 80% of what I paid last year.( I didn't go for the cheapest quote, as the companies concerned were ones with poor reputations for customer service). So, the 10 minutes or so I spent shopping around has saved me over £70, compared to what I'd have paid if I'd just accepted the renewal quote. And, as it happens, the cover is slightly better, too!

I suppose that enough people must just auto renew to make it worth their while to lose the custom of the rest of us, but I can't help thinking it would be nice if you could trust the buggers.

Oh, and apparently paying for car insurance triggers the automatic fraud alert on your credit card. Who knew buying insurance could be such a suspicious activity?