hammyS2

There have been numerous threads relating to this much loved subject and with the industry facing what they consider challenging times, I thought I'd share two things with you prior to seeking advice on other organisations you may have discovered.
Whilst previous threads have been useful the recent trends affecting pricing have shown a varying swing in competiveness between the companies so this post serves to create an up-to-date view.
Bear with me on this as this is slightly detailed although I hope it serves a good purpose. Here are the two topics:

1) The observations surrounding insurance premiums
2) A list of quote comparisons that may serve to assist those who will be looking in the near future.

The latter point above is of course dependant on your own personal circumstances (location, age, history, modifications etc) all of which have a material impact on the likelihood of obtaining quotes and of course the premium.

Two key things before I start; I am not affiliated to any insurance organisation and I am one of the older generation (where life begins before the banter starts!!).

Following point one above, during discussions with the many agents there are common themes within the industry that have undergone significant change for this vehicle and generally, mainly around the hike in prices. Here are a few to mention:
• The insurance industry has increased premiums between 20-40% over the last 12-18 months due to (quote), bad weather increasing claims, fraudulent claims and the internet.
The last part surprised me as this mechanism always served to reduce insurance costs through staff reduction although some would argue that it takes some time to get a return on investment (ROI) and of course the premiums associated with ‘search the market’ sites have been muted as expensive. In my own humble opinion neither serve a valid reason to pass the pain to the consumer especially as our premiums will unlikely reduce in the future.
• The S2000 insurance market has been hit hard. The car has attracted a different audience over recent times and as two S2000 insurance specialists informed me, last year this vehicle was one of the highest risk vehicles in terms of the number of claims made – primarily due to accidents.
• As a consequence of the above the underwriters deemed it necessary to enforce two changes. Firstly to raise the age group of individuals seeking cover and secondly to increase the premium further to the wider audience. So the number of companies providing quotes deemed suitable has dwindled.
This is somewhat disappointing given that the key issue for the underwriters was to mitigate risk yet they included an audience who by their own reckoning didn’t affect this position previously. Enough said as this will fuel a whole new topic!!!
• The risk factor and high grouping of the vehicle is the main cause of the high premiums. Whilst this may sound an obvious statement other factors such as the use of the vehicle, where it is stored (garaged or not), type of alarm etc. do not make a substantial difference. The one possible exception here is whether the vehicle is garaged. I tested this with one quote that came in at just over £1000 and a garaged vehicle reduced the premium by £90.
• Try adding another person to your premium (preferably a member of your family who would typically obtain cheaper insurance). In most cases this reduces the premium.
• If your home insurance can be wrapped in with the same company you may see a drop in premium – may!!

The information below was based on a reasonable location and with 8 years no claims with a 2008 model. I suspect that this last point will create a noticeable variance in my premium given the existing value of the vehicle.
It is standard, kept in a non-garaged location, albeit on private grounds, and with limited mileage at 8k per annum. I didn’t test the water with regards to modifications so this may serve as a sticking point for some.

Also worthy of note is that all companies advertised on the S2KUK membership site were very helpful, knowledgeable and didn’t appear to solely follow the script when asking questions. For example, when mentioning my trade they recognised I would be travelling between varying business sites and therefore would not be attending a fixed work abode. This appeared to be taken on board before they started their investigation of quotes. Whilst few others adopted this approach it was a refreshing change (and to be fair something you may expect from a specialist firm).

The parameters were pretty much the same for all quotes received – i.e. excess, mileage, benefits associated with courtesy car etc. The one exception to this was A-Plan who provided a custom policy that featured a higher excess although this could be offset with an additional premium to deal with claims where you were not to blame (slashed roof, hit up the posterior etc.). The quote below includes this premium.

The detail below (rounded) are based on my circumstances so will of course vary between individuals so please use as a guide only.
It is also worth mentioning that premiums can be reduced if a call is made to an agent.

Company Price
A Plan £690.00
Academy Group £1,062.00
Admiral Awaiting renewal
Adrian Flux £1,144.00
Aviva £1,063.00
Bell £750.00
Chris Knott £900.00
Coop £915.00
Elephant £741.00
eSure £814.00
Footman James £1,600.00
John Lewis £1,213.00
LV= £871.00
Nationwide £910.00
NFU £1,700.00
Performance Direct £980.00
RIAS £2,568.00
Sheilas Wheels £887.00
Sky Insurance £696.00
Swinton £1,080.00

I hope this information helps in your quest to save some pennies for the ever increasing fuel prices!!

Please let us know if you recently discovered any others.

lovegroova

Mod comment: Hammy, I merged your post in here, as it makes a bit more sense and enhances the really useful info you've posted.

hammyS2

samg1988

Im on the insurance boat just now. It would be good if a new spreadsheet was started since the prices have risen?

Petron

Swiftcover seem to be cornering the market at the moment. Well at least they do in our house! Over the last 12 months we've ended up switching all 3 cars to them one by one as they were cheapest in every case.

Cover for the S2000 today:
£350 fully comp inc business
Excess £250 + £250
Age 51 plus wife 39
7 years no claims
Garaged
2 speeding convictions (me not wife)

Not bad considering Liverpool Victoria were charging me £570 to renew

Given my ancientness I tried Saga which quoted £360 initially but when I put the convictions in they wouldn't quote me

hammyS2

Good idea although the quotes vary so much between companies depending on the time of year.
The spreadsheet could however show the variances over time. The problem is that they are sooooo unpredictable. It is very much dependant on personal circumstances.

exalto

Just tried Adrian flux

39years old
8 years protected ncb
One total loss - theft - 2008
Decent post code
No points

£2805.36

Hahaha

razorsharp192

hey guys, i'm on the hunt for car insurance on my s2000, i pick it up this week so need to sort the insurance out. direct line were previously the cheapest on my other cars, but just had a quote on the s2000 for £1200?!

here's my other quotes

SWIFTCOVER £825
ELEPHANT £1169.63
BELL DIRECT £1192.95
DIRECT LINE £1,247.62
MORE THAN - wouldnt give me a quote!
QUOTELINE DIRECT £1,137.44
AVIVA £1,623.84
ITS4ME £1,357.35


i'm with adrian flux at the mo, but want to call them last (as i know they'll beat/equal my best previous quote).

i'm 29, no points, no claims/convictions, 7 years no claims, car will be parked on drive, live in a nice area, i dont really understand why its so expensive?

help!! where do all you guys (who are roughly the same age as me) get your insurance? the car has aftermarket alloys and exhaust

LTB

They can be expensive to insure due to them getting pranged quite often and being quite expensive to repair.

Use the search function, there are quite a lot of topics on the subject and a few moments searching should give you an idea of who to call.

razorsharp192

i've searched, going through a list of insurers getting quotes now, i dont expect it to be cheap, but over £1000 is excessive for my age, no claims etc