It’s that time of year again when the WK Family have to renew the car insurance.
It never fails to amaze us on how much can be saved by spending a little time researching prices.
TheWKFamily wagon is a 2003 Peugeot 307SW auto with a paltry 1.6L petrol engine. It was purchased when we had additional children and allotments to look after 5+ years ago. As a 7 seater it was perfect to carry around plants and dirty kids. It’s very reliable, costs us very little to run and MrWK can get mountain bikes in the back for trips to Bike Park Wales and Surrey Hills. Due to this we have not seen a reason to replace it yet. Also the 6/7 seats are great when we take friends children out.
Last year when renewal time came along MrWK was in the US and missed the mail. It auto renewed at a higher than expected price but due to circumstances we left as is. When renewal time came up this time, Direct Line quoted us over £900. Needless to say we were a little shocked. MrWK has 9+ years no claims and MrsWK is a named driver with many years on her licence. MrWK had had a small accident a in 2014 when the person in front applied the brakes for no good reason on a roundabout in a maneuver we like to call ‘The f$ckwit’ . But as his no claims was protected this did little to impact the 2015 and 2016 renewals. We were not expecting such a jump many years later.
So off to the internet MrWK went and 20 mins later the WKFamily car is fully insured for a reasonable price of £359 with the AA.
This included:
- Fully comprehensive cover
- Protected no claims
- Legal Protection
- Windscreen
- Low Excess
It was possible to save more money had we chosen to. Lesser known insurance companies were offering prices around the £280 price point. Having experience of low cost insurers offering low standard customer experience, we prefer to pay a little more to use reputable companies. In the event of a claim you tend to get a better service from the nationals. Always take time to checkout other customer experiences prior to booking anything financial.
Even taking into account the premium we paid to pay this on a monthly basis The AA still managed to save over £500 compared to Direct Line. I gave Direct Line an opportunity to match the quote when calling them to stop the auto renewal. They were unable to come even half way.
Our recommendation to everyone is to always check the renewal quotations and to shop around. You may not always find a cheaper quote online however it’s worth checking with your insurance company in person as they will often make you a better offer just for asking. Also put the renewal date into your calendar. That way if you are away for an extended period for any reason you will not forget the anniversary and can work around it.
20 Minutes effort and a £500 saving will pay for a lot of beer reviews 🙂
#DirectLine #TheAA
Featured Image Photo by Nino Ubezio on Unsplash
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