Strangely(?) I got a reasonable reduction in premiums when I added my wife to my policy even though we both have unblemished licenses and claims histories (although I subsequently hit a deer on the M61 a few months later). Apparently you may also see a reduction if you fit a towbar.

Rather than have to keep changing companies every year or so, it would be nice if they weren't so damned cynical, shafting anyone who stays longer than a year or two. Many of those penalised are elderly, insecure, infirm or have lots on their plate so this practice must be hurting people who could do without the grief.

With ISPs, I found that if you move part way through your (typically 18 month) contract, most insist on renewing the contract from the beginning again. Conversely, if you try to cancel early, they also expect to collect the remaining premiums. I was lucky enough to be coming up to the end of my contract with Talktalk so they are now history – and good riddance.

Particularly funny that one of the ISPs is running a big ad campaign right now, trumpeting how there is "no line rental charge" with their product. Funny that it still works out almost exactly the same price but clearly the idiot in the advert is too dumb to bother checking the bottom line. I guess they believe that most of their potential customers are similarly retarded….

I was with Direct Line for ages. Supposedly got a "discount" for having car, travel, house and pet insurance with them. Lord knows what it would have been without the discount!

Changed the house insurance 2 years ago and paid half. Dumped the pet insurance for one with better cover. Will cancel the travel insurance when it's next due.

Last June my car insurance cover seemed steep with a significant increase. Asked the Meercats for their opinion. Got 85 quotes below Direct Line's price. Now pay £150 less for the same cover except for a slight increase in the excess for a chipped windscreen.

It seems the insurance companies have a different interpretation of the word loyalty. I shall shop around again next June.

I got rid of my car because of insurance companies trying to screw me all the time, they're a bunch of thieves and I'd rather not encourage them

We're lucky in the UK, in the USA you get individual healthcare insurance each year and have to spend days reading it and figuring out if you're going to buy a lemon and it's 2000-5000 dollars a pop

Then you've got dental on top of that…yikes

It's a insurance thieves paradise

I always preferred using a broker btw, they do all the nonsense with the insurance company if there's ever a claim and don't put up with insurance company runaround tactics

Edited By Ady1 on 11/10/2016 21:19:47

I have tried to get insurance for my workshop which is in a detached single garage, but here in Ireland I can get cover for all my 'Outdoor' items – gardening stuff as well as workshop bits for a maximum of EU 5000 only. They just don't want to insure anything out of the ordinary and a hobby workshop is something out of the ordinary here. Now, according to them I have under-insured my Outdoor goods, so if I have to make a claim I'm not sure if I will be able to get the maximum EU 5000.

I can't get any form of supplementary insurance because everything is on the one property.

Not saying exactly where I am in case I get any unwanted callers one dark night!

Dave
The Emerald Isle

If you live abroad, even for just a month or so, the insurance companies will refuse to recognise your no claims history when you return, even from before you left the country. They insist that you start again from scratch. Very convenient. So you lose your NCD (my wife and I had the full 70%?). And even better than that, the few that will insure you will shaft you blind. I ended up having to get insured by Adrian Flux alongside drink/drug/banned drivers and paying £1800 for the first year for me, having been used to coughing up around £300 previously. We managed to recover a few years of NCD but the damage is cumulative over several years. It's bloody outrageous opportunism. At least when we got to year 2 we had a slightly more reasonable choice of insurers and mine came down to just over £400.

And another thing, you can't get a phone contract or mortgage until you have been resident again for a year because as you know we are all swindlers, money launderers and drug smugglers. Your credit rating is useless without electoral role, credit card, bank account etc. Even after a year there are only 2 companies that will offer you one (Santander / Abbey and Halifax), unsurprisingly at somewhat uncompetitive rates. And then you can try opening bank accounts for your kids who are also drug smuggling, money laundering swindlers, obviously – all you can get are the "basic" accounts that were created for bankrupts and convicted swindlers. We are indeed in safe hands.

(Rant over)

In my book, insurance trades on fear. The basis is the statistical risk odds.

Keep getting pleas from the water board, to insure the plumbing. My last payout to a plumber was in 1964, so £5/month would have been a nice earner for someone. The blowlamp, pipe cutter, and pipe nut spanner were much cheaper, and immediately available!

Cars were insured with Direct Line, for years, each year renewal increase by 22 -23%. Phone up, supervisor says "Two cars, loyal customer, £2 less than last year". Until one year, they did not want to know; so did not get the business. Now they keep pleading for me to return! No wonder, last claim was 1981.

Long pockets, short arms at payout time, is my perception of insurers.

They probably compete for bottom place in the popularity stakes with Parking Wardens

Howard.

When checking out policy price, also check out the company's attitude to paying out on claims. Some years ago my wife lost an expensive ring when out walking. Reported it to the police in case it was found and handed in, was given a crime number, contacted our insurers and inside 10 days was able to go to any jeweller with the necessary paperwork to get a replacement.