This car insurance rip-off punishes hybrid owners – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Charles Metcalf, Sherburn in Elmet.
The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.ukThe cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.uk
The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to [email protected]

THE subject of car insurance has cropped up several times in The Yorkshire Post. Only last week I read that average premiums had fallen. My experience has been otherwise.

In 2019 and 2020 a reputable company charged me premiums of £369 and £362 respectively to insure my quality Japanese car approaching five years old.

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In June, I looked to change to another model of the same make, but new ones were not available and pre-owned ones all had high mileages.

The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.ukThe cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.uk
The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to [email protected]

I therefore changed to a similar quality car from South Korea, and bought a very low mileage hybrid, more environmentally friendly and, being automatic, considered safer to drive. For this the insurance company quoted a premium of £771 – totally unacceptable and therefore declined.

So began the unenviable search for a new insurer, a nightmare which literally kept me awake some nights.

* Company R quoted £1,134.

* Company S said that they were so busy that “would I phone back in three days as they were not able to deal with the call”.

The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.ukThe cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to yp.editor@ypn.co.uk
The cost of car insurance is infuriating readers. Are their concerns justified - and what is your experience? Email letters to [email protected]

* Company A said that they didn’t insure hybrids!

* Company D quoted £640.

* Company C quoted £603.

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Eventually Company L quoted £489, including motor legal costs and protected no claims bonus, so they got the business.

Their online quote was easily managed and tailored to my exact needs, and a subsequent discussion to confirm and pay were handled by two pleasantly spoken ladies, both well informed and very helpful.

The average waiting time to speak to an “adviser” was 25 minutes, during which I was subjected to several renditions of Mozart 40 – one of my favourite symphonies and heard to perfection on the Proms a couple of nights previously – but ruined whilst on hold to the insurers.

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