Do you get what you pay for ?? (1 Viewer)

snooky

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Just looking around for motorhome insurance, I have been quoted as litttle as 200 pound up to nearly 900 pounds, with very similar extras. is it worth going with a cheaper quote or are they cheap for a reason ie they wont pay out for a claim etc.... TIA
 
Dec 11, 2011
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If the low quote provides the cover you want and is from a known company then why pay more? If you're uncertain about the company then post the name and ask if anyone has any thoughts about it!
 

funflair

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It would have to be a very very very posh van to cost £900 to insure, unless you are a bad risk of course, between £200 and £400 would be the normal ballpark I would think.

Martin

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snooky

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Staveley head was the cheapest at £203 but only had european cover and no other extras, where another quote I got was £245 and had european cover, breakdown cover and legal cover which is a better deal but lost the name of that one but will find it again when I do another go compare quote again.
As its my fist motorhome im not sure of what kind of cover you need !
Is the 2nd quote enough of a cover or do you get better offers elsewhere ?
 

Judge Mental

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Legal protection essential IMO

Go compare are not independent they are paid commission to promote certain company's
 

Emmit

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I'm not arguing with you Judge but GoCompare, (and the like) are, in this modern world, doing no more, surely than Swinton. (other brokers are available)
ie, taking a commision for services offered.

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Jim

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Go compare is a broker for brokers :)

Insurance prices can be a mystery. Often different brokers get wildly different quotes from the same underwriter for the same policy, if that is the case, the choice is easy. If ever "shop around" was good advice, it's certainly true of the insurance industry.
 
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snooky

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If go compare is a broker but is very well priced then thats w win win isnt it ?
I tried comfort insurance and they want £500 and joined the caravan club and tried through them and it was late £800s,
its a mine field out there for insurance but I suppose as long as they have the cover you want and pay out if ever needed then it and happy with the price then ill go for it.

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Feb 13, 2013
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My advice would be, irrespective of the price, read the small print to make sure you have the cover you require. For example: Some policies can very restrictive on how many days you can leave the vehicle unattended i.e if you store the MH in secure storage you are only allowed to leave the vehicle for 36 hours unattended when away from the storage, which for us, was too restrictive. We ended paying a bit more for a policy that meets out needs.
 
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snooky

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The company that gave me a good quote of £280 is from grove and dean and I spoke to them today and the insurance is going to e the same as weather its parked on my drive or if its in storage and ill get european cover and uk breakdown cover as well as legal aid too.
Seems like its a decent quote.
 

MillieMoocher

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There seems to be a bit of confusion between Broker and Insurers.

Grove and Dean are a Broker, the person to worry about is the risk carrying company (AKA underwriter or Insurer) involved as ultimately they are the entity who you have the contract with in respect of the insurance.

If you use a broker you will also have a terms of business agreement with the broker. That's the contract where most people have the problem - for example with roll-over renewals, admin fees and the like. Insurance companies themselves generally won't charge an admin fee (but some might, especially the direct players such as Direct Line). Fees etc are detailed in the contract you will have with the Broker.

Companies like Go Compare and Compare The Market are technically known as "aggregators" and are not brokers, and aggregators are not regulated by the FCA, unlike brokers and insurers. Their business model charges the broker a fee when the policy is taken out.

So, for example, you go to one of the aggregator sites, and buy the policy from (say) Budget. Budget themselves are a Broker so they will place the risk with one of their panel of insurers.

Budget will have to pay the aggregator for your business, which will have to come out of the difference between what you pay them (the gross premium), and the amount they pay to the insurer (the net premium).

This difference also has to pay for their own costs, and a profit. Bear in mind the extensive adverts you see from Brokers and you can imagine their market expenses are £multi million per year.

The difference between the net premium and gross premium is the brokers margin, and this is what generally drives a difference between quotes from different sources where the Underwriter (for example Aviva) is the same.

The level of the brokers margin is something each broker company will decide and is what is flexed when you call the broker and challenge the premium. Brokers are businesses the same as any other and exist to generate profits for their owners, consequently they will push this as far as they can without risking losing the customer.

Different Insurers have different prices depending on their "risk appetite" so some insurers will like certain risk profiles (I.e the combination of motorhome, value, postcode, age of driver, claims experience and a whole host of other things) more than others. It doesn't mean by any stretch that the dearer one is better.

So if for example Equity Red Star quote you £1,000 and Aviva quote you £350 it's simply because your risk profile fits the business Aviva are looking to write, but doesn't fit the risk profile Equity Red Star are looking for. This risk appetite can change year to year or more frequently depending on the results the insurer is seeing.


It's a bit opaque because as the end user you never get to know the true risk premium passed on to the insurer by the broker because as explained above the brokers margin can disguise this.


So in summary, when selecting insurance the critical part is to know who the risk carrier is, so you can do investigation into them to satisfy yourself.

Awkward question to ask the Broker is where the Company is based, as there are loads based in Gibralter etc where the regulatory regime is a lighter touch so is attractive to more marginally capitalised insurers, and what the insurers Standard and Poors rating is ( anything that is not rated by Standard and Poors, or has a rating of less than "BBB-" ( I.e "BB", " B" or "C" ) should be regarded with suspicion. Any Standard and Poors rating with an "A" should be fine.But there are no guarantees in life.

It is also worth considering the reputation of the Broker too.

Hope this helps!

NB.

The content of this post is personal opinion only and is not to be taken as "financial advice" (y)

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MillieMoocher

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Apologies for length of reply above, it's a complex area!
 

Easyliving

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On the subject of the likes of GoCompare and Confused.com they are useful but obviously are out to make a few quid i.e. they get commission from the insurance companies.

I often use quidco.com a cashback site where they pass the commission on to you - since I have been a member I have had over £800 paid into my bank account. Always worth checking on quidco to see what sort of deal you can get on holidays, mobile phone contracts etc.

Paul
 

Chris

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I agree with @Judge Mental 's suggestion that you always get legal protection as part of the policy.

Often for an additional cost of maybe £20 per annum it's a no brainer, but please be sure that you renew it every year so you don't give the insurers a chance to crawl out of giving you cover.
 

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