Need help with Car Insurance

Yo fellow septic tanks.

Been in London since January '15, Dual-Nationality,  got my UK license (finally!) two months ago.  I'm starting to get work in the film/tv industry so I need a car.   I'm doing CompareTheMarket with hypothetical car listings--mostly a Ford Focus 2004--- I'm getting estimates from 3,000 to 8,000(!!) quid annual fees.   Super confused by this. 

I'm being told the fact that I just got my license is the reason for this and have been unjustly advised to 'bite the bullet' and pay these extortionate fees.    Suffice to say, I can't pay that price.

Any help/counseling on this would be greatly appreciated.  I'm a total idiot to this process, but even my brilliant Aunt in Scotland is having trouble racking her brain as to why this is happening.

Yo fellow septic tanks.

Been in London since January '15, Dual-Nationality,  got my UK license (finally!) two months ago.  I'm starting to get work in the film/tv industry so I need a car.   I'm doing CompareTheMarket with hypothetical car listings--mostly a Ford Focus 2004--- I'm getting estimates from 3,000 to 8,000(!!) quid annual fees.   Super confused by this. 

I'm being told the fact that I just got my license is the reason for this and have been unjustly advised to 'bite the bullet' and pay these extortionate fees.    Suffice to say, I can't pay that price.

Any help/counseling on this would be greatly appreciated.  I'm a total idiot to this process, but even my brilliant Aunt in Scotland is having trouble racking her brain as to why this is happening.

It could be the car that is the problem too. Why not go for a less powerful engine? Like a 1.2 or 1.4L engine? I got my license last August, bought a 2004 corsa and my insurance was about £600... but I am 31 and female so those work in my favour.

It could be the car that is the problem too. Why not go for a less powerful engine? Like a 1.2 or 1.4L engine? I got my license last August, bought a 2004 corsa and my insurance was about £600... but I am 31 and female so those work in my favour.

how much was your car?  This is ridiculous.

how much was your car?  This is ridiculous.

£3,000-8,000 seems very expensive - I would have thought that insurance for a new male driver would be more in the region of £2,000. Actually, I just did a Google search for general rates for new drivers and apparently the average cost of insurance for new male drivers is about £2,200/year (which still seems a lot to me - when my brothers learned to drive at 17, I'm sure their insurance was closer to the £1,000 mark... though that was about 10 years ago).

Have you tried calling any companies to ask for a quote? Assuming you have a US licence too, you could explain that you have been driving in the US for X years and see if they will consider your overseas driving history.

You could speak to an insurance broker who would run the numbers on a few different cars for you. Brokers have access to companies that don't appear on the comparison websites, and will also check with underwriters to see if they can take your previous driving record into account. There are also companies such as Directline that don't appear on comparison sites.

Hi,

I've mentioned it previously in 'car insurance' threads here that there's many variables that go to make up a premium. There's no set 'price' of '£1000' or '£2200' even as a ballpark as rates vary tremendously all over the UK.

Also, more recently, the whole insurance industry is adjusting their fees to be on the rise after several years of 'relatively' low premiums so that's also partly the reason.

What you need to do is speak with a number of insurance brokers, get quotes from various insurers who are not on the price comparison sites and then also talk to specialist insurance agents who offer specific policies depending on the industry you are in. Unfortunately, I think the 'Film & TV industry' is one of those 'higher priced' ones so you are really going to need to ring around a lot to try and find better premiums.

Don't be urged to pay £3K + for car insurance, look to different cars as already mentioned. Where in the UK do you live? if you are near to a particularly busy area for car insurance related payouts a 'hotspot' then unfortunately your rates will be higher.

Talk to companies like Adrian Flux, A-Plan, Performance Direct, Classicline. I've insured some of my previous cars with them over the years depending on who gave the best cover etc.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hi,

I've mentioned it previously in 'car insurance' threads here that there's many variables that go to make up a premium. There's no set 'price' of '£1000' or '£2200' even as a ballpark as rates vary tremendously all over the UK.

Also, more recently, the whole insurance industry is adjusting their fees to be on the rise after several years of 'relatively' low premiums so that's also partly the reason.

What you need to do is speak with a number of insurance brokers, get quotes from various insurers who are not on the price comparison sites and then also talk to specialist insurance agents who offer specific policies depending on the industry you are in. Unfortunately, I think the 'Film & TV industry' is one of those 'higher priced' ones so you are really going to need to ring around a lot to try and find better premiums.

Don't be urged to pay £3K + for car insurance, look to different cars as already mentioned. Where in the UK do you live? if you are near to a particularly busy area for car insurance related payouts a 'hotspot' then unfortunately your rates will be higher.

Talk to companies like Adrian Flux, A-Plan, Performance Direct, Classicline. I've insured some of my previous cars with them over the years depending on who gave the best cover etc.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks for the reply.   I live in Borehamwood, in the Greater London area.  Not really busy. To see if the price flinched, I used both my previous postcode in the Isle of Dogs and my aunt's postcode in Greenock, Scotland and the price did not flinch.

Seems like I read an article about people getting a big discount on new driver's insurance by agreeing to have a box that monitors your driving, and agreeing to a curfew.  Look it up on the guardian web site if you don't mind being treated like you are 16 again.

Do you have a history with a car insurance company in the US? I had the same situation, but Aviva accepted a letter from State Farm that showed our clean driving history and it lowered our rates significantly.

I take that back, Aviva has for some reason decided not to insure us... I think because our no-claims policy is now two years old? I am totally at a loss here, everyone I'm talking to is either refusing to insure us (I've had my license less than a year) or quoting us at least 3000 pounds a year for third-party/fire/theft coverage. I'm so frustrated I could cry! (Actually I did cry.)