Insurance - Add Additional Vehicle vs Take Out New Policy?

[stuzbot]

Hi all.

I know this is a bit of a "How long is a piece of string?" question. But I'm just looking for some very rough ballpark figures.

I currently run two insurance policies. One on my van and one on the missus's car, where I have her as a named driver. It was loads cheaper to do it that way than for her to take out the policy herself, as she's only just passed her test and, having ridden a motorbike before, didn't have any No Claims Bonus that could transfer to her car

[or No Claims Penalty, as it should be called. Since the feckers still put the premiums up every year!]

But, I digress....

Anyway, now that I've got my new toy, I'm going to need to insure that too. I'm assuming that it will work out cheaper for me to add it as a second vehicle onto one of the existing policies, than to take out yet another standalone policy for it. But I've no idea what the difference is likely to be. So, anyone who's done this, can you give me a rough idea of how much it added to your existing policy.

Cheers.

 

[Towpack]

There's so many factors that will affect this. I've done this with bikes but not cars and found prices vary massively from company to company and vehicle to vehicle. When I bought another new bike in 2020 I added it onto an existing policy for way less than the cost of a new policy but when I'd previously tried to combine the two bikes I already owned onto one policy it came out more expensive! WTF!?. I also found trying to add a second bike to an existing policy online virtually impossible so had to call them.

 

[stuzbot]

This is pretty much what I feared. But the eternal optimist in me dared to hope it might be straightforward.

I also found trying to add a second bike to an existing policy online virtually impossible so had to call them.

This is the other factor which has me dreading it. Half an hour on hold, listening to Greensleeves, interspersed with a message saying "Your call is important to us", followed by another half hour speaking to someone in a call centre who insists on taking down every single piece of information on my existing policy again --even though I keep saying none of my details have changed and I just want to know how much it would cost me to add another vehicle.

 

[Gr8Yota]

My experience of multicar was it was good value for 1st year, on renewal they doubled the premium for the Honda Jazz, (not the FJ) no explanation from them so I swapped insurer. I suspect it was a case of ‘try it and see if they just renew’)

 

[stuzbot]

on renewal they doubled the premium

I find that's pretty much par for the course these days. Which is why I referred to it as a "No Claims Penalty" in my first post. My insurance renewal quotes go up every year, even though I have accrued an extra year's No Claims in the meantime. Thank god for the meerkat site and confused.com which means that, when they do this, I can just go online, dredge up my saved details and get a new quote elsewhere in a few minutes.

In Ye Oldenne Dayes when you had to do it all over the phone, it would have been a feckin' nightmare.

 

[Tractionman]

Yep, it's a minefield to be sure with any insurance, whether for your ride on lawn mower or Landcruiser. Cheap(er) ratest to reel you in, then after the first year whack it up with no plausible explanation except the old chestnut excuses. Good luck with it !
I think they pretty much ignore what ncd you have, even with maximum, telling them it is parked on your drive overnight is akin to telling them its on the street. They don't seem to differentiate.
When/if I change, I always have to impress on them it is in a rear locked, enclosed yard, as they babble on and question me about a drive, assuming they are right.
Christ knows if my efforts make any difference, they play by their own rules as we all know.

 

[stuzbot]

...Christ knows if my efforts make any difference, they play by their own rules as we all know...

That's the good thing about the comparison sites. You can fill all the crap in, get a quote and then go back and change various bits to see if you can get it any lower. But, as you say, it does feel like voodoo most of the time.