8 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

The only one I've heard of asking is Admiral, mentioned by a lady on the course I was on 5 years ago...

I was on my course just a couple of months ago. Full of arrogance, thinking, this'll be a waste of time, turned out to be a very enjoyable morning in which I genuinely learned stuff I didn't know! I would recommend it if you are ever given the option to attend...

10 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I was on my course just a couple of months ago. Full of arrogance, thinking, this'll be a waste of time, turned out to be a very enjoyable morning in which I genuinely learned stuff I didn't know! I would recommend it if you are ever given the option to attend...

Most people go in to them feeling like that, I did and though it was going to be hours of being lectured that speeding is bad and I’m going to hell for being a couple of mph over but, it’s not like that. there’s always at least one that argues as they don’t feel they should be there. Best thing is if they go in and stay quiet, they will learn something new or have something refreshed in there memory, and the course will finish quicker lol.

Might be better if everybody did this type of course as a refresher every few years, I have to renew certificates for work every 1-5 years depending on what it is, yet we can pass a driving test at 17 and that’s it.

6 minutes ago, MarksST said:

Most people go in to them feeling like that, I did and though it was going to be hours of being lectured that speeding is bad and I’m going to hell for being a couple of mph over but, it’s not like that. there’s always at least one that argues as they don’t feel they should be there. Best thing is if they go in and stay quiet, they will learn something new or have something refreshed in there memory, and the course will finish quicker lol.

Might be better if everybody did this type of course as a refresher every few years, I have to renew certificates for work every 1-5 years depending on what it is, yet we can pass a driving test at 17 and that’s it.

If you get onto the CPC courses there is a lot af intresting debates that sometimes get a little heated with the different views of particular drivers of certain vehicles 😉

Yes, my experience was very like Mark and Stephen. The 2 guys running it were great, both ex- traffic officers and admitted that they had both attended a course themselves. The only downer was that (obviously) they had to cover the "syllabus" and I think we would all have got more out of it with more time to respond to and discuss matters raised by the "students".

I agree it would be a sensible thing to have these courses for all licence holders from time to time, in a similar way to driver CPC for LGV, etc, just to keep drivers updated on changes in law, signage, etc.

I used to have to do a number of courses as "continuing professional development" to retain my professional qualifications (I don't now 'cos I'm a retired member, LOL) and this is just as, if not more, important.

On 4/4/2023 at 9:24 AM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

The only one I've heard of asking is Admiral, mentioned by a lady on the course I was on 5 years ago.

Coincidentally, recently did the free 3 day driveaway cover (it used to be 7 days iirc) from Ford Insure to enable the dealer to easily register my new car. I noted it currently seems to be operated by Admiral (though I wasn't asked about SAC on this occasion). 

I did find the process a bit of a PITA - the system kept telling me my DOB didn't match the date on my driving licence (it did!) in the end I just skipped the driving licence question. Also though retired it asked for previous occupation and the look up tables didn't seem to cover a lot of perfectly normal jobs, in the end I had to go for closest thing I could find.

I had a look at their reputation on a few rating sites and found a lot of "worst ever", "don't bother", terrible service", etc reviews, so I'll probably give them a miss when my normal policy is due for renewal!

34 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Coincidentally, recently did the free 3 day driveaway cover (it used to be 7 days iirc) from Ford Insure to enable the dealer to easily register my new car. I noted it currently seems to be operated by Admiral (though I wasn't asked about SAC on this occasion). 

I did find the process a bit of a PITA - the system kept telling me my DOB didn't match the date on my driving licence (it did!) in the end I just skipped the driving licence question. Also though retired it asked for previous occupation and the look up tables didn't seem to cover a lot of perfectly normal jobs, in the end I had to go for closest thing I could find.

I had a look at their reputation on a few rating sites and found a lot of "worst ever", "don't bother", terrible service", etc reviews, so I'll probably give them a miss when my normal policy is due for renewal!

I've had a policy with Admiral before - didn't have to use them though.  I tend to shop around every year and use Quidco cashback.  I'm with Aviva this year.