50 replies to this topic

[Jordie]

Be careful with excess. Check with company if they charge a young driver excess ontop of the standard comp excess. Most do if you look carefully, these might not though as the black box is aimed at a younger market anyway.

[HarrysMini]

What if you add a bit of voluntary excess?

It brings it up. I started at £500 voluntary, so £750 total and it was £1100. If I add £100 voluntary, it reduces it by about £3. 

[HarrysMini]

Be careful with excess. Check with company if they charge a young driver excess ontop of the standard comp excess. Most do if you look carefully, these might not though as the black box is aimed at a younger market anyway.

I'm looking through the policy details, and this is all I can find

Policy excess

Compulsory excess

£250

Voluntary excess

£0

Windscreen replacement excess

£75

Windscreen repair excess

£15

[Jordie]

Gocompare/comparison sites etc are a nightmare for only giving half the information. If you can, click through and double check ALL details on the actual insurers site.

 

I have had quotes from gocompare etc, gone to site and had to re-edit the quote because gocompare assume alot of details and pass wrong information across to the insurance sites sometimes.

[HarrysMini]

Okay! After reading all of the small print it appears you get charged if you use the car between 11pm and 5am (£100).

 

Also, the young driver additional excess is £750, so that makes £1000 excess in total, if I am driving at the time. 

 

So I don't think I'll be using that company. The next cheapest black box quote was £1350, and my cheapest non black box quote is £1400, from Go Girl, who the car is insured with at the moment. They seem like a decent enough company, so I'll probably be going with them.

 

I'll phone Adrian Flux and HIC tomorrow and see what they can offer.

[Jase71]

Try Ingenie, no time restrictions at all.

[HarrysMini]

Try Ingenie, no time restrictions at all.

Ingenie want £1400.

[lawrie124]

Try Sainsburys.

Just insured my 17 year old fully comp on his 998 mini for £940 including breakdown cover.

[HarrysMini]

Try Sainsburys.

Just insured my 17 year old fully comp on his 998 mini for £940 including breakdown cover.

Thanks for the recommendation. They want £2277 with a £400 excess.

[Jordie]

Okay! After reading all of the small print it appears you get charged if you use the car between 11pm and 5am (£100).

 

Also, the young driver additional excess is £750, so that makes £1000 excess in total, if I am driving at the time. 

 

So I don't think I'll be using that company. The next cheapest black box quote was £1350, and my cheapest non black box quote is £1400, from Go Girl, who the car is insured with at the moment. They seem like a decent enough company, so I'll probably be going with them.

 

I'll phone Adrian Flux and HIC tomorrow and see what they can offer.

 

Glad you checked, its something that catches loads of people out!

[HarrysMini]

 

Okay! After reading all of the small print it appears you get charged if you use the car between 11pm and 5am (£100).

 

Also, the young driver additional excess is £750, so that makes £1000 excess in total, if I am driving at the time. 

 

So I don't think I'll be using that company. The next cheapest black box quote was £1350, and my cheapest non black box quote is £1400, from Go Girl, who the car is insured with at the moment. They seem like a decent enough company, so I'll probably be going with them.

 

I'll phone Adrian Flux and HIC tomorrow and see what they can offer.

 

Glad you checked, its something that catches loads of people out!

 

I can imagine. It wasn't exactly easy information to find. It looks like you are not told about a lot of the charges until you have bought the insurance as well. 

[dodgy weedgie]

Just having read all the posts the quotes being offered are fair. It also goes by your post code area not just age and car or where its parked. One of the biggest problems with young drivers, apart from trying to show off in front of your mates and ending in tears, is the parents insuring the car with the child as a named driver. This puts up premiums if you crash and in most cases don't gain a NCD. Insure the car yourself and by all means put an older family member on policy. Start this as young as you can and dont be tempted to switch company's part way through as you were offered a cheaper quote! People do this. A higher priced car to a point will be cheaper to insure in most cases. I also know a friend who's son was a provissional driver and insured as a learner driver for almost a year on the family car and when he passed his insurance was less than if he didnt do that. But when giving details make sure it is the same for all the companys, they can and do check the data base. Also try the companys direct, not through comparison sites, and take the cheapest quote and go to the next cheapest one and ask them to better it. Total pain but does work. Final top tip. If you think you have got the best price/service take the quote near when the finish work! Ask them if this is there best and final price and if they say yes, tell them you would have signed there and then but you have 2 companys to try the following morning and are waiting on call backs. The might then out you on hold, speak to a manager, what they might do is offer you a futher discount saying this is their commission (typically £30-50) they still get money but can have targets to meet. Old trick but i saved £60 this year on two already cheap policys by doing this.
Hope this might help someone.

Edited by dodgy weedgie, 25 September 2014 - 07:34 AM.

[Carlos W]

Have a look at sites like Topcashback.

 

You may get cash back on the policy which may make one company cheaper compared to another

[HarrysMini]

I am now insured with Go Girl, for £1400 with an excess of £250, or £400 if I'm driving. 

 

That was the cheapest around and is with a company that have been good so far. 

[robminibcy]

to be honest 1400 seems pretty good for a 17 year old. I take it the go girl quote is not a black box one? Something I noticed when trying to insure my mini was I was getting quotes with black boxes which if you read the small print Said could not be fitted to cars over a certain age. My mini is a 1979 so there's now way it would meet the criteria so I'm not sure what would have happened had I purchased the policy and they had come out to fit it! As it is the quote was only £4 less so I went with a normal policy!