Car insurance is CHEAPER with 1 years NCB versus 2 years NCB

[Ricochet J]

Seemingly bizarre thing is happening. My insurance quotes are CHEAPER when I say I have 1 year NCB versus 2 years NCB.

I noticed as I got a quote, and as I was double checking the details I noticed I accidentally punched in 1 year NCB versus 2 years. When I went back in to correct it, it INCREASED the premium by £80!!!

What?!?!!

This trend is on all price comparison websites and when getting quotes directly from insurers, so it's not an isolated thing.

 

[muon]

Stop going round changing your details as you look dodgy (or in your case get your details correct the first time).

It's the kind of thing people lying or stretching the truth do.

Also if they are fresh quotes with the same start date, the closer they are to starting the more expensive they will be.

It's also worth noting there is no rule that says if you have more NCB that the price must be the same or cheaper.

 

[Zico]

Insurance quotes are just mental. For the past 6 years Aviva were pretty cheap for me and decent cover with an increasing NCB. Gradually over the last 2-3 years things crept up a little each time but nobody else could even come close to them (usually ~£100 to the next reputable company).
This year Aviva wanted a £125 more than I paid last year for whatever reason. Spent a couple of minutes on Direct Line and got a quote for £173 less than Aviva.

As @muon states, getting a quote as far as possible in advance before your due date is the best way to go and most quotes are valid for 30 days (or whatever duration stated) so you can still shop around and come back to a quote later. The closer to the due date, the higher the quotes will be.

 

[Hades]

Seemingly bizarre thing is happening. My insurance quotes are CHEAPER when I say I have 1 year NCB versus 2 years NCB.

I noticed as I got a quote, and as I was double checking the details I noticed I accidentally punched in 1 year NCB versus 2 years. When I went back in to correct it, it INCREASED the premium by £80!!!

What?!?!!

This trend is on all price comparison websites and when getting quotes directly from insurers, so it's not an isolated thing.

Insurance is done on statistics. There were probably more claims from people similar to yourself, with similar vehicles, in the second year of NCB than the first year. As a complete guess maybe new drivers are more careful right after pasing their test and then become nonchelant in the second year resulting in more crashes or more thefts.

 

[champ222]

Insurance is done on statistics. There were probably more claims from people similar to yourself, with similar vehicles, in the second year of NCB than the first year. As a complete guess maybe new drivers are more careful right after pasing their test and then become nonchelant in the second year resulting in more crashes or more thefts.

It does all seem a bit random. Its all based on statistics apparently, but if all the insurers use similar statistics, or similar data at least, why such a huge variation in cost between them? i understand that there are some cases where you dont meet the criteria for a particular set of insurers, but for a regular guy in his 40s, driving a normal car in a typical town, doing a regular job, they should all be about the same surely? i see quite a scope of prices. I'm not disagreeing, it just baffles a little.

 

[Hotwired]

It does all seem a bit random. Its all based on statistics apparently, but if all the insurers use similar statistics, or similar data at least, why such a huge variation in cost between them? i understand that there are some cases where you dont meet the criteria for a particular set of insurers, but for a regular guy in his 40s, driving a normal car in a typical town, doing a regular job, they should all be about the same surely? i see quite a scope of prices. I'm not disagreeing, it just baffles a little.

They don't have to use the same numbers, or agree on what weight to give anything or agree on which people to give the best prices to or the profit margins they want.

If you copy the guy next to you you just get into a price war when you could instead be making money in different areas.

 

[champ222]

They don't have to use the same numbers, or agree on what weight to give anything or agree on which people to give the best prices to or the profit margins they want.

If you copy the guy next to you you just get into a price war when you could instead be making money in different areas.

yeah, fair enough.

 

[ezekial]

Insurance rates are a mystery

 

[Sargatanas2511]

I really hate that whenever you query a price increase they just tell you it's all an algorithm and statistics. They could honestly do whatever they want and just give you vague statements as a reason.

 

[Nasher]

It's random AF. Sometimes you get a different price on comparison sites vs their site directly. It's like whoever wrote the crazy system intended on it being gamed to death.

 

[HangTime]

It does all seem a bit random. Its all based on statistics apparently, but if all the insurers use similar statistics, or similar data at least, why such a huge variation in cost between them? i understand that there are some cases where you dont meet the criteria for a particular set of insurers, but for a regular guy in his 40s, driving a normal car in a typical town, doing a regular job, they should all be about the same surely? i see quite a scope of prices. I'm not disagreeing, it just baffles a little.

Absolutely not. There are a myriad of factors that impact this e.g:

• If you compare the detail of policies they may not be identical
• Some insurers may have negotiated better rates with service providers (brokers, repairers, assessors, hire car companies etc etc)
• Some insurers may have higher expense costs that have no direct correlation to the insured e.g. IT systems, call centres etc
• Some insurers may be seeking to make an underwriting profit from motor lines whereas others may simply be looking to run around 100% loss ratio and use it to generate capital for investment
• The statistics are just the input into pricing algorithms, not the outputs. Insurers will have their own bespoke risk modelling, and as a result price the same risks differently
• For solvency reasons some insurers may need to pare back a bit in certain segments, effectively 'pricing themselves out' to reduce exposure

 

[IAmATeaf]

My wife’s cars insurance is due for renewal. Got a reminder from the meerkats so run off a quote, cheapest decent insurance is 464.xx with the same company I’m with so I called them. They couldn’t find the quote, turns out I had done the quote with her previous Reg plate which I had changed last year. Updated the plate, so same car, same everything and their quote engine comes back with 684.xx She couldn’t understand why just changing the plate increased the quote so much.

Went back to the meerkat, changed the Reg and all the quotes increase by around £150? So what the hell is going on?

 

[dlockers]

I just renewed my wifes and ended up saving a fortune by adding her to my Admiral policy through a multi car agreement. It only covers her till Sept and then I renew both cars so will wait and see the outcome but per day it was cheaper than her lowest offer so far.

My wife’s cars insurance is due for renewal. Got a reminder from the meerkats so run off a quote, cheapest decent insurance is 464.xx with the same company I’m with so I called them. They couldn’t find the quote, turns out I had done the quote with her previous Reg plate which I had changed last year. Updated the plate, so same car, same everything and their quote engine comes back with 684.xx She couldn’t understand why just changing the plate increased the quote so much.

Went back to the meerkat, changed the Reg and all the quotes increase by around £150? So what the hell is going on?

I've found this too - so always print screen the quote reference number when quoting.

The change in plate - is it the same car? You could find the old quote and ring up directly.

 

[HangTime]

If it's a cherished plate it might provide a link to 'undesirable' statistics from the past that aren't linked to the standard plate. It could even be that she is deemed a bigger risk if she has a personalised number plate of any type due to stats around that etc.

 

[EdGey]

I'd imagine that people with personalised plates are more likely to crash than those with standard plates. Boy racers etc...

 

[Akagi]

I'd imagine that people with personalised plates are more likely to crash than those with standard plates. Boy racers etc...

 

[Antony101]

I had an accident and got three points on my license and my insurance dropped from £1600 to £800. People need to stop trying to work out how insurance is calculated as there is just so many variables.

 

[adolf hamster]

People need to stop trying to work out how insurance is calculated as there is just so many variables.

problem is it's a not insignificant chunk of the cost of running a car.

at least with fuel and VED you can pretty easily figure out how to reduce those costs.

 

[Antony101]

problem is it's a not insignificant chunk of the cost of running a car.

at least with fuel and VED you can pretty easily figure out how to reduce those costs.

Obviously before purchasing a car you would do a search and account for the cost of insurance. I did the same when I purchased mine and and it was £1800+ for the first year, then I just assumed it would stay at roughly that cost so long as nothing major changed. But I wouldn't go worrying about why it costs what it does, there is so much involved in calculating the cost that it can often seem to make no sense from the outside.

 

[IAmATeaf]

The car is a Yaris and the kids got the plate for the wife as a present. Even the lady I was talking to was surprised and advised me to try the compare sites in say a weeks time to see if the prices change. She even put me on hold to ask somebody there if there might be something wrong with their system.