Some background knowledge to help, I’m 19, been driving two years but not on my own insurance so no ‘no claims’, and although I’ve had motorbike insurance in my name that doesn’t count with most companies. Unfortunatly I’ve had an accident but no claim was made on my insurance (his fault) so I don’t think that will have affected possible premiums much. When asked where I store the car I told them in a garage most of the time but sometimes on the drive to let them make their own mind up. I didn’t want to get screwed over if I got it stolen from the driveway but also would prefer to have the garage as the stored location as it’s obviously cheaper.
My car is a 1992 K registration, Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i which seems to be more expensive than the 1.3 even though it’s apparently got worse performance.
Firstly I phoned Performance direct
They have different numbers for different types of mini’s, I have included what I believe to be the most useful 3 below.
Modified mini - 08704584102
Specialist Cooper insurance number - 08704584103
Any other classic mini's – 08704584104
They came up with the following quotes
£1,241 TPFT
£1,353 Fully Comp
Sureterm Direct provided absolutely shocking service in my opinion. They talk really fast through all the information, made me wait ages and a call to them is like having the small print held in front of your face for about 3 seconds and expecting you to have read it. They just babble it out as fast as possible so they can say they told you it all.
There number (doubt you’ll really want it is 08702020230
They also never gave me a quote as my lowest quote was so much lower than anything they could offer me.
Next up was Abbey And Bragg Fairly average service, but at least made things more clear.
There number is 07000828000
They quoted
£1,526 Fully Comp and
£1,346 TPFT
Graham Sykes was next on the ‘hit list’
08704446322. They in fairness could possibly provide cheap quote’s to many people in a better position than I am as they get quotes from many companies and offer you the same price as the cheaper one. Unfortunately for me they were still high but as I said for others may be cheaper. They were also quite slow to give the quote, put me on hold for a lot of time even played me music by Kylie which would have been lovely if it was a video call but it distracted my listening of the self preservation society which has been on repeat since I paid my deposit.
They informed me that “Sabre” actually came up with the cheapest quote which was £1,443 TPFT or I could opt for the price “Highway” would offer me for Fully Comp cover at a massive £1,660.51, it didn’t take me half as long to hang up as it took them to answer.
Barry Graingner was the next company I spoke to on 01892542736.
They called me back and offered fully comp insurance at £1,475 and third party at £1,346
The company I saved till last was the one I had highest expectations of and although I know this might seem biased Mini World’s own insurance (08451258258) gave not only fantastic service but were very helpful and gave me what I feel is best value for money on the money I will be spending out. They aren’t the cheapest but I do feel they give the best cover. They informed (some of which has already been mentioned on here) that with my cover I receive
• Cover on the mini track day at Castle Combe race circuit
• 90 days cover abroad which for a 19 year old is fantastic and very valuable which also gives me the opportunity to join runs to France which I have seen talked about in the magazine itself and on the internet
• The opportunity (for £15) to received an agreed valuation. This is an awesome addition to the policy in my opinion as most companies will give “bottom book” for a car so the opportunity to prove your cars worth and receive a fair payout is almost too good to turn down. £15 is also a good price for something which will obviously mean they have a lot more work to do studying pictures and adverts. They apparently decide if another enthusiast would pay a similar amount for your car and being mini specialists will obviously not just look at it and think rust bucket (unless it is
)• I also received a discount for being an “enthusiast”. http://www.theminifo...?showtopic=4338 by following this link it describes more but basically being a member of this forum and telling them I was planning to join my local mini club I got %15 discount.
• Also get the opportunity to modify your mini by £1,500 on cosmetic type modifications and up to 10 BHP before the premium goes up or become invalid which is obviously better than other companies.
There is however £350 excess for me which is reasonably high but the quote was
£1,168.60 fully comp which not only lower than most but the bloke I spoke to (Martin) was not only helpful and polite but genuinely seemed interested about finding a good deal for his customers. Also offer to phone you back when your going to kept waiting and played the Rocky theme when I chose not to take advantage of this offer. When I phoned back they then offered me £1026 Fully Comp. Definitely the best for everything, service, price cover and extra’s. I know who’s getting my money.
CO-OP was next, fairly uneventful with the price as follows
£1,282.69 Fully Comprehensive
Direct line kept me waiting 17 minutes which is such poor service I don’t even think they deserve to have their number added to the list. Other companies when leaving you waiting offer to take your number and phone you back. No Kylie but this amount of time is a joke in my opinion. I’m not overly bothered about the service given when requesting a quote but irritating me that much is unacceptable.
I then tried a few internet companies for quotes
http://www.Elephant.co.uk
basically they offer two kinds of policies. Either the normal 12 months or for a decreased premium they offer a “ten month bonus accelerator policy” which basically means you pay less for 10 months cover but they give you a years no claims for those ten months cover. Apparently though no other company will give you a discount if your “years no claims” has been accumulated using this scheme which mean staying with they is almost a must.
They did however give me the best quotes. Unfortunately they don’t give very good valuations for cars and therefore right off your pride and joy and you’ll be looking a nominal payout like most companies. In my opinion its defiantly worth getting a quote from them just to see how much you do save and would also be very good for anyone with a Mini that is in bad condition as the small payout disadvantage may make them very competitive. Their site is well laid out, very easy to use and quote retrieval is also very good
Fully comp
10 month bonus accelerator £889.22
12 month cover £1,026.90
TPFT
12 Month £887.25
10 Month £750.17
http://www.Tesco.com
Thought these would be good for me. Working part time for them entitles me to a discount but they would not quote me : (. Assuming this is because the premium is a high amount I didn’t bother ringing them. Funny thing is they will on a 1.3 but not on a 1.3i which is kind of annoying. Site is quick and easy but quote retrieval is rubbish in my opinion.
Esure.com transferred me to First Alternative as they won’t offer me cover, only to find out after filling in more details neither could First Alternative.
Norwich Union made me chuckle, £2,148 although their site is very simple to use so if your in a better position than me (e.g. older or have ‘no claims bonus’) may be worth trying as it literally took two minutes. If your Mini is modified don’t even bother.
Finally Liverpool Victoria, I used the quick quote option which is a good option to have on a site as it saves wasting peoples time. Not worth wasting any time on though in fairness. They proudly announced
“Your motor insurance could be between:
£3098.30 - £3424.44*”
Nearly fell of my chair. That’s twice as much as I put the car was worth. I could write it off twice completely my fault and still not cost the a dime. Do they really expect someone to click “buy” when that price premium is displayed?
The RAC website provided me with this information
Insurer Sabre Norwich Union Fortis
Annual Premium £1644.52 £1839.70 £1905.99
As you can see clearly the best for me was Mini world insurance more than happy with the outcome although is till think £1,000 is a lot of money to insure a £1,500 car for one year.
