Car Insurance - Differential pricing

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carmel65

Registered User
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I just got a car insurance quote from AIG. It has increased purely because they increased their minimum premium from €280 last year to €330 this year.
When I did an online quote the minimum premium applied was €280. (Although the quote was still higher).
My question is, are insurance companies allowed to offer different minimum premiums if you are a new or old customer ?
 
The are not allowed to offer different prices to new vs existing clients where all other factors are the same. However they are allowed to offer promotional discounts to new business, and this is how they get around the restriction.
 
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You can always come back in thr the front door as a new customer. Aptly more work.
 
I always reapply as a new customer every year. I always get the insurance cheaper than the renewal quote.

If you decide to stay with AIG you could take out an extra benefit to use up the surplus over 280 euro. Maybe better protected no claim bonus or a lower excess.

Zurich are currently offering an extra discount of you apply for motor insurance via the Onebigswitch website. This was the best value renewal I got this year.
 
What's been said here?

It was decreed that....
It is illegal for insurers to offer different prices between new and repeat customers

so the insurers say
Fair enough, we'll have the same prices for everyone and offer new customers "the new customer differential pricing" discount

and
Our legislative & regulatory systems are kosher or impotent.
 
S class said:
I always reapply as a new customer every year. I always get the insurance cheaper than the renewal quote.

If you decide to stay with AIG you could take out an extra benefit to use up the surplus over 280 euro. Maybe better protected no claim bonus or a lower excess.

Zurich are currently offering an extra discount of you apply for motor insurance via the Onebigswitch website. This was the best value renewal I got this year.
Click to expand...
Same, my quote as a "new customer" with Chill was €100 less then the renewal quote
 
jasdpace@gmail. said:
Our legislative & regulatory systems are kosher or impotent.
Click to expand...
The government should not be interfering in the free market.
Any government interference inevitably leads to a less competitive market and the consumer loses out.

Consumers should always shop around for the best deal and this behaviour should be encouraged by the government.
 
S class said:
If you decide to stay with AIG you could take out an extra benefit to use up the surplus over 280 euro. Maybe better protected no claim bonus or a lower excess.
Click to expand...
That's what I did last year. The minimum premium of c. €280 was kicking in for my quote and adding some extras didn't increase it so I added stuff that I wouldn't otherwise have bothered with.

Don't have my renewal from AIG yet but going in as a new customer gives me a quote of just under €300 again this year. But it's even cheaper and the €291.90 (?) minimum premium doesn't kick in if I go via GetSetGo.ie.
 
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carmel65 said:
I just got a car insurance quote from AIG. It has increased purely because they increased their minimum premium from €280 last year to €330 this year.
Click to expand...
Not my experience going via their website or GetSetGo just now. On the former the minimum premium seems to be €291.90. On the latter I can get as low as €230 if I don't add the two options (NCB insurance and windscreen cover/roadside assist etc.) and increase the voluntary excess to the max €750. Comprehensive in both cases.

Unfortunately the OneBigSwitch offer mentioned above wasn't competitive for my criteria. Only AIG direct or via GetSetGo seems to be competitive for my criteria this year.
 
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Check your getsetgo quote, mine did not have the same benefits as the AIG new customer quote, in particular it did not include breakdown/homestart
 
carmel65 said:
Check your getsetgo quote, mine did not have the same benefits as the AIG new customer quote, in particular it did not include breakdown/homestart
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As I already said all quotes mentioned are for identical cover. I explicitly added those options and NCB step-back protection on GetSetGo and double checked that in all cases the cover was identical.
 
jasdpace@gmail. said:
What's been said here?

It was decreed that....
It is illegal for insurers to offer different prices between new and repeat customers

so the insurers say
Fair enough, we'll have the same prices for everyone and offer new customers "the new customer differential pricing" discount

and
Our legislative & regulatory systems are kosher or impotent.
Click to expand...
They sure are. Asleep at the wheel no pun intended
 
ClubMan said:
Just received my renewal. Identical cover in all cases with AIG:
  • Last year: €300
  • This year's renewal: €344
  • New customer quote via AIG website: €293
  • Quote via GetSetGo: €279
Click to expand...
A year on - again same cover in all cases:
  • Last year (AIG via GetSetGo): €279
  • This year's renewal (AIG via GetSetGo): €425
    • Or if I apply my GetSetGo €50 credit from going with them last year: €375
  • New customer quote via AIG website: €351
    • And if I increase the voluntary excess to the max (€750): €316
  • I've checked widely elsewhere online and can't get another quote that beats this
Moral of the story? You have to shop around every year to avoid paying over the odds...

Edit: oh - if I tweak the GetSetGo/AIG renewal quote to bump the voluntary excess up to €450 and drop the Premier Plus add-on (compulsory excess reduced from €450 to €300, roadside assistance/home start, emergency overnight accommodation) then it's €271. Oddly, increasing the voluntary excess to more than €450 actually slightly increases the premium!

Edit 2: there are also other weird edge case quirks - e.g. when the premium is already at €271 and I remove NCB protection the premium actually goes UP rather than down (I think that it's already bottomed out). Weird but I've noticed similar quirks with most or all other insurers/brokers before.
 
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ClubMan said:
A year on - again same cover in all cases:
  • Last year (AIG via GetSetGo): €279
  • This year's renewal (AIG via GetSetGo): €425
    • Or if I apply my GetSetGo €50 credit from going with them last year: €375
  • New customer quote via AIG website: €351
    • And if I increase the voluntary excess to the max (€750): €316
  • I've checked widely elsewhere online and can't get another quote that beats this
Moral of the story? You have to shop around every year to avoid paying over the odds...

Edit: oh - if I tweak the GetSetGo/AIG renewal quote to bump the voluntary excess up to €450 and drop the Premier Plus add-on (compulsory excess reduced from €450 to €300, roadside assistance/home start, emergency overnight accommodation) then it's €271. Oddly, increasing the voluntary excess to more than €450 actually slightly increases the premium!

Edit 2: there are also other weird edge case quirks - e.g. when the premium is already at €271 and I remove NCB protection the premium actually goes UP rather than down (I think that it's already bottomed out). Weird but I've noticed similar quirks with most or all other insurers/brokers before.
Click to expand...
My cover isn't due for renewal until October 1st but thought I'd do a quick check to see what I might be facing this year and was pleasantly surprised to see that (at the moment, I realise that quotes are only guaranteed for c. 30 days) AIG direct are offering me comprehensive cover with bells and whistles (NCD insurance, home start/roadside assistance, driving other cars, no unilateral increase on excess, etc.) for €295 which is only a few quid higher than TPFT and not much above their minimum premium of €280 + 3.95% levy = €291. I'm already with AIG via GetSetGo but without some of the bells and whistles. If that sort of quote is still on offer next month I'll be going back to AIG direct.
 
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