By 
Renewing my motor cover last week provided me with yet another opportunity to marvel at the insurance industry’s ability to pump premiums.
The benefits of shopping around, rather than accepting the insurer’s inflated renewal price, are by now well known. That done, I attempted to use a tip gleaned from a recent article in these pages to chip a few more pounds off.
Insurers base their prices on dozens of factors – relating to the driver, car model, location and so on. The trouble is that the exact formula used is a closely guarded secret.
Admiral, my insurer, said it looked at more than 50 factors but refused to list them, saying it was “commercially sensitive information”.
I started, as our article recommended, with changing the job title on my policy. Decades’ worth of claims and risk data mean insurers price a writer, journalist, editor and reporter differently, despite the roles being used interchangeably.
Naively I thought being an “editor” more grand (so cheaper) than a mere journalist, yet Admiral’s call handler told me this would actually add £20 to my bill. When I asked for an explanation he cheerfully admitted he had “never really understood” how pricing worked.
That plan aborted, I turned to additional drivers – and things became murkier still. Anticipating the need for a designated driver as Christmas party season approaches, I decided to add my brother-in-law to the policy.
He’s only 26 and I assumed this would bump the price up a bit. But no, £30 was shaved off. Admiral’s magic black box had struck again.
The firm later told me this was down to a combination of his job being a “lower-risk occupation” – he works in marketing – and the fact that he is named on other motor policies. No matter that he may never actually drive the car.
Far be it from me to question the processes of companies that have been pricing risk since the days ships’ captains haggled for cheap cover in the 17th‑century coffee shops of the City.
More galling than not being able to see inside the black box is how unwilling firms are to help you legitimately bring down premiums. If I could save 99p being a physician rather than a doctor, why not suggest it? The risk of me crashing is no different.
As it stands, I’ve set aside four hours for 2019’s renewal phone call, when I’ll try every conceivable combination. And it’ll serve them right.
So, if you’re in a nice safe job with a sparkling record, please do get in touch – I’d love to add you to my policy.
sam.brodbeck @Finance.co.uk
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