Cost of Insurance   <back

“I recently received the renewal notice for my car insurance, the quote being some £628 for a mediocre family estate car with no bells or whistles added, garaged overnight and having a factory fitted alarm and immobiliser.

When I enquired as to why my premium was so high, I received the usual answer: “It’s because you need a permanent Green Card.”

This is not true, as a valid certificate of insurance suffices for all countries of Western Europe, including the majority of the new EU members.

I also asked why my premium had increased and that there was no reduction for No Claims Bonus.  The office staff informed me that my insurance company doesn’t give a No Claims Discount and that I could expect my premiums to keep rising by about 10 per cent a year.

Along with the renewal notice was a Credit Agreement; the privilege of paying by instalment was going to cost me £69 as I was effectively taking out a loan to cover the premium.

When asking about this, my wife was told that it wasn’t a credit agreement, despite the wording at the top of the form.  What was it then?

The name of this brokerage is NAAFI Financial and the insurance company, Norwich Union.

I had seen an advert for an insurance company that says it complies with BFGVLO and DVLA regulations.  I contacted BFGVLO to clarify this and then duly contacted this insurance company using their freephone number.

I was greeted by an extremely cheerful and friendly voice, asking me which service I required.  I explained I wanted two car insurance quotes and also asked about contents insurance.  And guess what?  I am now saving some £760 a year.

The charge for paying by instalments is minimal in comparison and there are no credit agreements either.

Now, before NAAFI say that the cover is not as good as they provide, in all three instances, the cover is better and with no assumptions being made as to what the customer wants.

The advice given by the other insurance company was genuine and not off the cuff, and there were no “I don’t knows” from them either.  All the paperwork arrived within three days of the phone call without any “if you don’t take up this offer” comments.

The name of this company is TF Insurance Services.  And no, I don’t work for them.”