Hi all.... I've just received my insurance renewal invitation from Direct Line, with whom I've been for several years. The premium for an unchanged spec and no claims etc., has gone from £418 to £547 (+31%) without comment or any attempt at explanation.
When I called them they blamed the 'cost and difficulty of obtaining spares' and effectively said take it or leave it.
Any recommendations/comments please?

77year old driver, clean licence, 9 years NCD, 4000 miles pa, secure private parking, rural location. MY14 SD4 Metropolis. I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

Definitely leave it! As it looks like you have fallen out of there target demographic.

I'm with Aviva & do it all online and the premium is £210 with protected no claims etc, excess £150, I'm 58 accident free (touch wood) & conviction free for 10 years plus.

2010 HSE TD4 manual & do about 5k miles a year.


Cheers
Brian

Enter details on either or both Confused.com or comparethemarket.com or one of the many comparison sites. I ended up with the AA at £277 comp plus a £20 gift voucher. Age 77 to include spouse and 15plus years ncd. MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

That seems expensive insurance, but I think premiums go up when you are over 70.
Does that include breakdown cover?

I was with LV for several years and paid £187 last year
(64 yr, max protected NCD, No claims /convictions, 5000 miles pa, Fully Comp, SD&P, legal cover, CV9 post code, private drive, - no breakdown cover).

But this year LV wanted £100 more. So I shopped around and got same cover from Halifax for £198. Jules

Just tried Aviva Direct online and they quoted £757 FFS! I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.

Just renewed my i6 with Direct line for £257.00 I'm 65 with full no claims, clean license, 10,000 miles, parked on drive on the outskirts of large city. £290 more seems like a right rip off. Common sense isn't very common.
_______________________________
2007 Land Rover Freelander2 I6 hse Auto

Glassman - why not use comparison websites as I've detailed above. I reiterate, I'm the same age as you live just outside of Stroud (Gloucestershire)and renewed last month at £277. MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

I would echo Tenets advice . I’ve just insured my new car . The broker that I’ve extolled before as great , friendly , best to deal with , apparently wanted to rob me blind ! Adding £250 to a quote I received last month ! In the end I received a great quotation from LV ! who knows what algorithms these companies use when quoting insurance . I thought quoting better rates for new customers had ended , but to me it still seems the only thing to do is put a day aside every year , hit the comparison sites , hit the direct insurers . The one thing about being retired is having the time to do that . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

I seem to have the most expensive policy invented with a Saga Plus - £876.

I am 81 with 14 years protected NCD, with 1 Windscreen replacement showing in last 5 years. (+Clean Licence)

I had a shock last year when I took my wife off the policy (as she has stopped driving) and my premium went up by £198. They said that it was because we could no longer share driving on long journeys.

Otherwise before the increase I was reasonably happy as the policy has quite a few add-ons.

I would be interested to know what the low quotes mentioned above cover, as I have only had similar low figures quoted on 'classic' very low mileage usage cars that I have owned in the past. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

Good points posted above.

I hate to be "ist" but sounds like it is age related, as posted above my premium is £210 based on max NCD, myself as main driver & wifey as named driver (even though she has ever driven it once as she hates "big cars" ), she drives a Fiat 500 - enough said, but i digress. With windscreen cover and protected NCD (the one thing I didn't bother with is legal cover), I've just turned 58.

Sounds like I'm still classed as " young un" compared to all you oldies out there



Cheers
Brian

IanMetro wrote:

I seem to have the most expensive policy invented with a Saga Plus - £876.

I am 81 with 14 years protected NCD, with 1 Windscreen replacement showing in last 5 years. (+Clean Licence)

I had a shock last year when I took my wife off the policy (as she has stopped driving) and my premium went up by £198. They said that it was because we could no longer share driving on long journeys.

Otherwise before the increase I was reasonably happy as the policy has quite a few add-ons.

I would be interested to know what the low quotes mentioned above cover, as I have only had similar low figures quoted on 'classic' very low mileage usage cars that I have owned in the past.

theglassman wrote:

Hi all.... I've just received my insurance renewal invitation from Direct Line, with whom I've been for several years. The premium for an unchanged spec and no claims etc., has gone from £418 to £547 (+31%) without comment or any attempt at explanation.
When I called them they blamed the 'cost and difficulty of obtaining spares' and effectively said take it or leave it.
Any recommendations/comments please?

77year old driver, clean licence, 9 years NCD, 4000 miles pa, secure private parking, rural location. MY14 SD4 Metropolis.

IanMetro wrote:

I seem to have the most expensive policy invented with a Saga Plus - £876.

I am 81 with 14 years protected NCD, with 1 Windscreen replacement showing in last 5 years. (+Clean Licence)

I had a shock last year when I took my wife off the policy (as she has stopped driving) and my premium went up by £198. They said that it was because we could no longer share driving on long journeys.

Otherwise before the increase I was reasonably happy as the policy has quite a few add-ons.

I would be interested to know what the low quotes mentioned above cover, as I have only had similar low figures quoted on 'classic' very low mileage usage cars that I have owned in the past.

sid wrote:

well put her back on then!

Saga has undoubtedly got the best policy on the market . However the company has gone down hill rapidly since it was floated on the stock market share price fallen by 90% . I’ve still got shares in it , but only so I can write off the huge losses against new capital gains . The demise started with a new CEO called Lance Bachelor and hasn’t stopped . They have sold one of their tailor made holiday companies , they are trying to sell off their insurance business , one bidder an Aussie company has just pulled out . Their two new cruise ships have to be paid for and massive finance was put in place to keep them sitting there through Covid , they’ve only just started in earnest .

They wanted to increase my Subaru policy by £200 so I left them 12 months ago .

Best policy on the market yes , but you’re paying for bad management decisions , not cover . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .