AndrewL, if Drive Assist charged that much for a 1.2 Corsa, I dread to think what was charged for the brand new 3 Series BMW my son had a courtesy car provided by Swiftcover from Drive Assist when another car wrote his 10 year old Rover 600 off last year. He was completely blameless so I'm sure the other driver's insurers were charged the maximum possible ! He subsequently accepted the offer for his written off Rover and bought a Mondeo.

Since then, a car shunted his Mondeo in the rear while he was stationary at a roundabout. He has now had it repaired through Swiftcover and apparently it is still in dispute. Lord knows how that can be in the circumstances. Swiftcover say that if they can't recover costs from the other insurers, he will have to pay his excess. How can that be fair ?

The insurance game really needs sorting out.

AndrewL, if Drive Assist charged that much for a 1.2 Corsa, I dread to think what was charged for the brand new 3 Series BMW my son had a courtesy car provided by Swiftcover from Drive Assist when another car wrote his 10 year old Rover 600 off last year. He was completely blameless so I'm sure the other driver's insurers were charged the maximum possible ! He subsequently accepted the offer for his written off Rover and bought a Mondeo.

Since then, a car shunted his Mondeo in the rear while he was stationary at a roundabout. He has now had it repaired through Swiftcover and apparently it is still in dispute. Lord knows how that can be in the circumstances. Swiftcover say that if they can't recover costs from the other insurers, he will have to pay his excess. How can that be fair ?

The insurance game really needs sorting out.

Don't worry about it too much, I had exactly the same happen to me a year or so ago, rear end shunt, 3rd party fault. My car was repaired, courtesy car returned and then I received a letter from insurance saying exactly what you said, if they can't recover costs from the other insurers, I will have to pay my excess. A coupe of weeks later I got an update letter saying that the 3rd party had accepted all responsibilty and everything was finalised. I'd had my car back at leat 2 weeks at this time. It's just probably a standard letter they send out.

Don't worry about it too much, I had exactly the same happen to me a year or so ago, rear end shunt, 3rd party fault. My car was repaired, courtesy car returned and then I received a letter from insurance saying exactly what you said, if they can't recover costs from the other insurers, I will have to pay my excess. A coupe of weeks later I got an update letter saying that the 3rd party had accepted all responsibilty and everything was finalised. I'd had my car back at leat 2 weeks at this time. It's just probably a standard letter they send out.

I'm sure your right although it was some time in January when he got his repaired car back. I am realistic enough to realise that insurance companies are businesses and must recover their losses from somewhere. It's just that the victim still seems to suffer one way or another.

I'm 41 and I've had my licence since 1993, it's been clean all that time. I live in East London (E7). I have no FPNs or tickets.

My car is a standard 1998 S-reg 1.3 Finesse, which is parked on road and I cannot find a sensible insurance quote.

I moved back to the UK from Ireland in 2007, but didn't get a car until June last year. Because I hadn't been driving for three years, many insurers classed my Irish NCB of five years as lapsed.

My current premium is £466 Fully Comp with Insure The Box. They are one of these companies that fit a GPS box to your car to track your driving, which reduces your premium. It's a restricted (6000 mile) policy. As I wasn't going to be thrashing the car, and rarely use it (I've done less than 4500 miles), this was perfect.

Anyway, I've got my renewal and it is 66% higher, at £733! Despite trying all the price comparison websites, all the companies that aren't on comparison sites, firms that specialise in over-40 drivers and those that specialise in older cars, I cannot get a quote less than £608, which is still a 50% increase!

My current insurer says the bulk of the increase is because of the age of my car, which to me makes no sense! How can a car which is worth less cost them more if I have an accident?

As an exercise, I found a classic (a 1989 Scirocco) on eBay and tried to get a quote on that. I got a quote just £100 more than my current premium (and £80 LESS than my best renewal quote) for an older, more powerful car!

I work in a sensible job at at railway station. I don't commute in the rush-hour. There is no-one else I can add as a named driver. I'm more comfortable taking FC rather than TPF&T, because of the risk of being hit by an uninsured driver.

SO, with all that in mind...why is my premium going up so much? Who can you suggest as a better insurer? I'll be calling Sky on Monday for sure but any other ideas? Many, many thanks in advance!

I'm 41 and I've had my licence since 1993, it's been clean all that time. I live in East London (E7). I have no FPNs or tickets.

My car is a standard 1998 S-reg 1.3 Finesse, which is parked on road and I cannot find a sensible insurance quote.

I moved back to the UK from Ireland in 2007, but didn't get a car until June last year. Because I hadn't been driving for three years, many insurers classed my Irish NCB of five years as lapsed.

My current premium is £466 Fully Comp with Insure The Box. They are one of these companies that fit a GPS box to your car to track your driving, which reduces your premium. It's a restricted (6000 mile) policy. As I wasn't going to be thrashing the car, and rarely use it (I've done less than 4500 miles), this was perfect.

This is a good idea to a certain extent and personally I don't see why more, especially the youngsters, don't take these type of policies out.

Anyway, I've got my renewal and it is 66% higher, at £733! Despite trying all the price comparison websites, all the companies that aren't on comparison sites, firms that specialise in over-40 drivers and those that specialise in older cars, I cannot get a quote less than £608, which is still a 50% increase!

Don't know if you have, but try ringing and talking to someone, they usually able to offer finer details to the policy that can help cut the cost that is not available on websites.

My current insurer says the bulk of the increase is because of the age of my car, which to me makes no sense! How can a car which is worth less cost them more if I have an accident?

The only person who can definitaley answer that are the people who gave you a quote. did you ask them why? It's a possiblity they take lots of criteria into the reckoning. A car built in '98 won't be as safe as a new car (all being equal), for example, crumple zones, airbags, strengthening, interior protection like seatbelt pretensioners have all improved in those years. Security such as alarm, locking wheel nuts, deadlocks have all been improved. Brakes is another aspect that have probably improved. Also, you can do as much damage to other cars in a 10 yr old car as you can in a new one, they have to take that into account, so all being equal, a newer car is a safer car and less of a risk to cost in an accident. Obviously they have costs to consider but a replacement wing on a new car may well be cheaper than a 10 yr old car. They rarely take into consideration the value of a car under £30,000.

As an exercise, I found a classic (a 1989 Scirocco) on eBay and tried to get a quote on that. I got a quote just £100 more than my current premium (and £80 LESS than my best renewal quote) for an older, more powerful car!

That's only a fair comparison if the quotes are all from the same company, you don't say if they are. Again, more powerful car, more than likely, more powerful brakes etc. It could also have better security, interior and exterior protection to passengers and pedestrians alike. Again, there are a multitude of criteria the quotes are based on, not just power and cost.

I work in a sensible job at at railway station. I don't commute in the rush-hour. There is no-one else I can add as a named driver. I'm more comfortable taking FC rather than TPF&T, because of the risk of being hit by an uninsured driver.

From what I've seen lately, there isn't a great deal of difference between TPF&T and FC cost wise, especially at my age (similar to yours) and as you say, it isn't worth the risk unless the car is worth peanuts. Have you no friends or family you can add, they don't have to drive the car but they can bring the premium down considerably, along as they aren't 17 or so. ;)

SO, with all that in mind...why is my premium going up so much? Who can you suggest as a better insurer? I'll be calling Sky on Monday for sure but any other ideas? Many, many thanks in advance!

I know of a few people now who are using Sky, they are a sponsor on another forum I visit and are offering competitive quotes. But what I would suggest is ring them and personalise the policy the best you can to suit you. Ask them for alternative prices regarding excess etc.

There are a multiude of reasons why premiums are on the rise. For a starters, we've had two really bad winters with more claims than normal because of it. Then you have fraudelent claims, fronting, uninsured drivers and various other reasons why the insurance companies are paying out more, the result of which, we pay more than them.

Your postcode is one of the biggest negatives in insurance quotes and if you have a poor one, they hit you hard.

Just to throw another idea in, you say you had a quote for a 'classic' car (I question whether an 89 Scirroco is really a classic), have you considered actually buying and insuring classic car ? I have had several, the last being a 1971 Beetle which cost about £120 to insure comprehensive - including breakdown cover ! In the past, they have imposed an annual mileage restriction but the last time I renewed the VW policy there was no restriction. I used Footman James as brokers who are well known for classic car insurance.

The Beetle was worth about £2000 so we are not talking expensive classics here.

Take a look at this from here - http://www.mini2.com/forum/finance-insurance/22869-insurance-company-uk-postcode-risks-listing-here.html

Can't guarantee that it's actually used by insurance companies and it is from a few years ago, but I've ran some insurance comparisons using different postcodes and it does seem to be accurate.

I'm going to be moving at some point soon and reckon that if you want to stand a chance of insuring a performance car at a youngish age these days, good area selection could be vital.

A = Low Risk

F = High Risk

AB Aberdeen

10-16, 21-25, 30-39, 41-45, 51-56 . . . . . . . A

AL St Albans

1, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2-3, 8-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

B Birmingham

1-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

23-26, 36, 70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

27, 29, 31-35, 37-38, 42-44, 66-69, 71 . . . . D*

28, 30, 40, 46-47, 62-63, 72-77, 79 . . . . . . C

45, 48-50, 60, 64, 65, 78, 90-98 . . . . . . . . . B

61, 80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

BA Bath

1-2, 5, 6, 8, 11-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3, 7, 9-10, 15-16, 20-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

BB Blackburn

1, 4-5, 8, 10, 12, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

2-3, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

6, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

BD Bradford

1, 3, 4, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2, 9, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

5, 11, 15, 19, 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

6, 8, 12-14, 16-18, 20, 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

23-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

BH Bournemouth

1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

6-7, 11, 13, 15, 17-18, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

8-10, 12, 14, 16, 19-24, 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

BL Bolton

0-2, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

3-5, 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

BN Brighton

1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

5-8, 13-14, 17, 24, 27, 41-42, 44-45 . . . . . . A

9-12, 15-16, 18, 21-23, 25-26, 43 . . . . . . . . B

20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

BR Bromley

1, 3-5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

6, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

BS Bristol

1, 3, 5, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

4, 6-7, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

8-9, 13-16, 23, 30, 32, 34-35 . . . . . . . . . . . C

20, 22, 24-25, 29, 31, 39, 40-41 . . . . . . . . . B

21, 26-28, 36-37, 48-49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

CA Carlisle

1-3, 5, 7, 13, 18-21, 23-24, 26-27 . . . . . . . . B

4, 6, 8-12, 15-17, 22, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

14, 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

CB Cambridge

1, 5, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2-4, 6-8, 10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

CF Cardiff

3, 15, 42, 61-62, 71-72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

5, 10-11, 14, 23-24, 63-64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

31-41, 43-48, 81-83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

CH Chester

1, 64-66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

41-42, 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

43, 45-46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

47-49, 60-63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

CM Chelmsford

0, 2, 4, 8-9, 11-12, 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

1, 3, 6-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

5, 13-14, 16, 20-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

15, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

CO Colchester

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2-3, 5, 8, 10, 15-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

4, 6-7, 9, 11-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

CR Croydon

0, 4, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2, 8-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

3, 5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

CT Canterbury

1-2, 4, 6, 8-12, 16-17, 19-20 . . . . . . . . . . . C

3, 5, 7, 14, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

13, 15, 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

CV Coventry

1-3, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

4-5, 7, 11-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

8-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

13, 21-23, 31-34, 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

35-37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

CW Crewe

1, 3, 5, 7, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2, 4, 6, 8, 10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

DA Dartford

1, 5, 7, 9, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2-3, 6, 11-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

8, 14-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

DD Dundee

1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

5-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

DE Derby

1, 3, 22, 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

4, 12, 14-15, 45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

5-7, 11, 13, 56, 65, 72-75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

21, 23-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

DG Dumfries

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3-14, 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

DH Durham

1-3, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

6-7, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

DL Darlington

1, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

2-5, 14, 16-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

6-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

DN Doncaster

1, 4-5, 11-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2-3, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

7-9, 16-17, 19-20, 37-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

10, 14, 18, 21-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

15, 31, 33-34, 36, 40-41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

32, 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

DT Dorchester

1-3, 5-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

DY Dudley

1-6, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

7, 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

8, 10-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

E London E

1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

10-15, 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

EC London EC

1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

EH Edinburgh

43-46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

26-27, 38-42, 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

23, 28-37, 47, 49, 51-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

11-13, 15-22, 24-25, 48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

1-10, 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

EN Enfield

1, 5-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

EX Exeter

1-5, 8, 20, 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

6-7, 9-19, 21-24, 31-33, 35-39 . . . . . . . . . . A

FK Falkirk

1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

6-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

11-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

FY Blackpool

1, 4, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

2, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3, 5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

G Glasgow

1-5, 11, 13-15, 20-23, 31-34, 40-42, 51, 53 Refer

12, 43-46, 66, 69, 71-78, 81 . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

60-62, 64, 67-68, 82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

52, 63, 83-84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

GL Gloucester

1, 4-5, 7-11, 13, 15, 18-19, 51, 53-56 . . . . . A

2, 3, 6, 12, 14, 16-17, 20, 50, 52 . . . . . . . . B

GU Guildford

1-3, 5-10, 13-17, 19-24, 27, 30-31, 33-34,

46-47, 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

4, 11, 25, 29, 32, 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

12, 18, 26, 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

GY Guernsey

1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

HA Harrow

0-2, 4, 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

3, 5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

HD Huddersfield

1, 6-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

2-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

HG Harrogate

1-2, 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

3-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

HP Hemel Hempstead

1-3, 6, 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4-5, 7, 10-14, 19, 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

9, 15-18, 22-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

HR Hereford

1, 3, 5-6, 8-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

2, 4, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

HS Outer Hebrides

1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

HU Hull

1-6, 8-9, 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

10-11, 14, 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

12, 15, 17-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

HX Halifax

1, 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2, 4-5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

IG Ilford

1, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2, 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

3, 9-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

4-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

IM Isle of Man

1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

IP Ipswich

1-3, 5-23, 26-33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

4, 24-25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

IV Inverness

1-28, 30-32, 36, 40-49, 51-56, 63 . . . . . . . . A

JE Jersey

1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

KA Kilmarnock

1-26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

27-30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

KT Kingston-upon-Thames

1, 3, 6, 17, 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2, 4-5, 7-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

13-16, 18, 20-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

23-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

KW Kirkwall

1-3, 5-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

KY Kirkcaldy

1-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

L Liverpool

1-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

23, 29, 34, 38, 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

24-28, 30, 32-33, 35-36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E*

31, 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

LA Lancaster

1,3-4, 14, 19, 22-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2, 5-13, 15, 17-18, 20-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

LD Llandrindod Wells

1-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

LE Leicester

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

3-4, 6, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

7-9, 11-12, 17-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

13-16, 65, 67 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

LL Llandudno

11-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

14, 29, 31, 33, 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

15-28, 30, 32, 34-40, 42-49, 51-78 . . . . . . . A

LN Lincoln

1, 5-6, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2-4, 7-8, 10-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

LS Leeds

1-13, 15-16, 19, 26-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

14, 18, 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

17, 21-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

20, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

LU Luton

1, 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

6-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

M Manchester

1-9, 11-24, 40, 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

25-29, 32, 34-35, 38, 43, 45-46 . . . . . . . . . F *

30-31, 33, 41, 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

ME Medway

1-2, 4-6, 8-13, 15-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

3, 7, 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

18-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

MK Milton Keynes

1-5, 7, 9-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

8, 16-17, 19, 40-42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

43-46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

ML Motherwell

1-2, 6, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

3-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

8, 10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

N London N

1, 7, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2, 4-6, 8, 10-11, 13, 15-17, 19, 22 . . . . . . . F *

3, 14, 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

12, 18, 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

NE Newcastle-upon-Tyne

1, 4-6, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2-3, 7, 12, 27-29, 32-33, 36-37, 39 . . . . . . . F *

45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

9-11, 15-17, 21, 30-31, 34, 38, 40-42, 63 . . E*

13, 22-25, 35, 61-62, 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

18, 20, 26, 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

19, 43-44, 46, 48-49, 65-71 . . . . . . . . . . . . B

NG Nottingham

1-4, 6-8, 10-12, 16-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

5, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

9, 19-21, 25, 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

13-14, 22-24, 31-33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

NN Northampton

1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

6, 9, 13-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

7-8, 10-12, 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

17-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

NP Newport

4, 16, 18, 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

10-11, 19-20, 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

12-13, 22-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

15, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

NR Norwich

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

3-4, 6-8, 30-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

9-29, 32-35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

NW London NW

1-2, 5-6, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

3, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

4, 9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

OL Oldham

1-5, 7-9, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

6, 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

10-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

OX Oxford

1, 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2-3, 6, 10, 16, 25-27, 33, 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . B

5, 7-9, 11-15, 17-18, 20, 28-29, 39, 49 . . . . A

PA Paisley

1, 3-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

2, 5-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

9-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

12-15, 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

16-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

21-49, 60-78 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

PE Peterborough

1-3, 5, 7, 20, 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

4, 10, 13-14, 19, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

6, 8-9, 11-12, 15-18, 21, 23-24, 26-38 . . . . A

PH Perth

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3-26, 30-44, 49-50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

PL Plymouth

1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

4-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

6-7, 9, 20-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

8, 10-19, 22-35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

PO Portsmouth

1, 3-6, 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2, 7-8, 12, 15, 17, 20-21, 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . B

9-11, 13-14, 16, 18, 22, 31-41 . . . . . . . . . . A

PR Preston

1-2, 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

5-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

RG Reading

1-2, 4, 21, 30-31, 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

5-10, 12, 14, 17-20, 22, 28-29, 40-41, 45 . . B

23-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

RH Redhill

1-2, 6-9, 14, 16-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

4-5, 10, 12-13, 15, 19-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

RM Romford

1, 6, 9-10, 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2-5, 11, 17-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

7-8, 13-16, 19-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

S Sheffield

1-3, 5, 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

4, 9, 11, 13-14, 60-61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

6, 10, 12, 20, 35-36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

17, 21, 25-26, 63, 70-71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

18, 32-33, 41, 43, 62, 64-66, 72-75, 80-81 . C

40, 42, 45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

SA Swansea

1-2, 4, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

3, 5-6, 8-13, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

14, 16, 34, 40-41, 43-47, 68-69, 72 . . . . . . B

17-20, 31-33, 35-39, 42, 48, 61-67, 70-71, 73 A

SE London SE

1-2, 4-8, 10-11, 13-19, 21-28 . . . . . . . . . . . F *

3, 9, 12, 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

SG Stevenage

1, 3, 5, 10-12, 15-17, 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2, 4, 13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

6-9, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

SK Stockport

1, 4, 14-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2-3, 5-6, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

7, 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

9-12, 17, 22-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

SL Slough

0-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4-6, 8-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

SM Sutton

1, 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

2-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

SN Swindon

1-2, 6-10, 13, 25-26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3-5, 11, 14-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

SO Southampton

14-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

20, 24, 41-43, 50-53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

21-23, 30-32, 40, 45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

SP Salisbury

1-8, 10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

SR Sunderland

1-5, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

6-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

SS Southend-on-Sea

0-1, 6, 8, 13, 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2-4, 7, 9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

5, 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

14-15, 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

ST Stoke-on-Trent

1, 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

2-3, 5-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

9, 12-14, 16, 18-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

10-11, 15, 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

SW London SW

1, 3-7, 10, 12-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2, 8-9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

SY Shrewsbury

1-2, 4-12, 15-25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

3, 13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

TA Taunton

1-4, 6-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

5, 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

TD Galashiels

1-5, 7-10, 12-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

6, 11, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

TF Telford

1, 3, 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2, 5-6, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

9, 11-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

TN Tonbridge

1, 4-6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 22-23, 29-31,

34-36, 39-40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2-3, 7-8, 10, 12, 19-20, 24-28, 32-33, 38 . . A

13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

15, 17, 21, 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

TQ Torquay

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

TR Truro

1-10, 12-17, 19-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

11, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

TS Cleveland

1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

3-4, 6, 10, 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

5, 7-8, 16-19, 24, 26-29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E*

9, 14, 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

11-13, 15, 21, 23, 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

TW Twickenham

1, 9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

2-3, 6-8, 10, 13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E*

4-5, 12, 15-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

19-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

UB Southall

1-3, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

4, 6, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

5, 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

W London W

1-2, 5-6, 8-9, 12, 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

3-4, 7, 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refer

WA Warrington

1, 4-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

3, 9-12, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

WC London WC

1-2, 99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

WD Watford

1-3, 17-19, 23-25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

4-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

6-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

WF Wakefield

1-2, 4, 7-10, 12, 16-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E*

3, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

5-6, 13-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

WN Wigan

1-4, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F *

5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E *

8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

WR Worcester

1, 3, 12, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

2, 4-11, 13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

WS Walsall

1-6, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

7, 12-13, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

8-9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

WV Wolverhampton

1-2, 12-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D*

3-4, 6-8, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

5, 9-10, 15-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

YO York

1, 7-8, 10-11, 16-17, 19, 23-24, 26, 30-32,

41-43, 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B

12-15, 21-22, 25, 60-62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C

ZE Lerwick

1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

The above list is for motorcycles, The asterix after the letter requires them to be locked in a garage. Although for cars i would expect not too much different in Group's

Couldn't agree more magenta.

I had a courtesy car from a company called Drive Assist who charged the fault insurers £1600 for lending me a 1.2 Corsa for 14 days! What a complete joke - with the prices companies like that actually pay for the car it would have paid itself off in 2 months!

Ah the joy of Drive Assist I deal with them daily.

The letter saying that they could not recover costs from the other side would have only been sent to you as the other person's insurers would have not either validated the claim with the driver or the person that hit you would have been argueing liability.

From a B-rated postcode:

As I posted previously, Drive Assist provided my son with a 3 Series BMW whilst his Mondeo Estate was being repaired. OK, so the insurance company are contracted to provide you with a courtesy car of similar size to your own but my son would have been quite happy with almost ANY wheels to keep him moblle. Drive Assist's charge to the insurance company must have been astronomical for the BMW (which my son didn't like at all, incidentally). We all pay in our premiums the end.

Just to throw another idea in, you say you had a quote for a 'classic' car (I question whether an 89 Scirroco is really a classic), have you considered actually buying and insuring classic car ? I have had several, the last being a 1971 Beetle which cost about £120 to insure comprehensive - including breakdown cover ! In the past, they have imposed an annual mileage restriction but the last time I renewed the VW policy there was no restriction. I used Footman James as brokers who are well known for classic car insurance.

The Beetle was worth about £2000 so we are not talking expensive classics here.

Footman James will only insure anything over 25 years old and garaged under a classic policy. I can only park on a public road (unless I rent a garage for £80 a month). And I can only spend whatever I get for my Fiesta (about £700) on another car.

Adrian Flux and Lancaster both class the Scirocco as a classic. Lancaster's quote for the Scirocco was £566, versus £745 for the Fiesta.

My postcode on that list posted by AndrewL comes up as 'Refer' :( I spoke to a local broker and he said everyone in this area is getting hammered. The best he could get was nearly £50 more than my renewal offer.

Sky will not insure me, because they can only insure vehicles in London that are parked on a driveway or garaged.

HOWEVER - it appears there may have been a mix-up between my UK and Irish insurers, and it seems some NCB has been missed off. So I'm waiting for the confirmation, and then I might bet some decent quotes! :D

Footman James will only insure anything over 25 years old and garaged under a classic policy. I can only park on a public road (unless I rent a garage for £80 a month). And I can only spend whatever I get for my Fiesta (about £700) on another car.

Adrian Flux and Lancaster both class the Scirocco as a classic. Lancaster's quote for the Scirocco was £566, versus £745 for the Fiesta.

My postcode on that list posted by AndrewL comes up as 'Refer' :( I spoke to a local broker and he said everyone in this area is getting hammered. The best he could get was nearly £50 more than my renewal offer.

Sky will not insure me, because they can only insure vehicles in London that are parked on a driveway or garaged.

HOWEVER - it appears there may have been a mix-up between my UK and Irish insurers, and it seems some NCB has been missed off. So I'm waiting for the confirmation, and then I might bet some decent quotes! :D

Quite correct about Footman James. I wasn't aware of their 25 year rule though. All of the classics I've insured with them have been pre-1973 and therefore also exempt from road tax of course. It does seem ridiculous that you have to pay so much for a car worth only a few hundred pounds. Points mentioned earlier about safety of older cars is true of course but it seems to me that it's yet another case of the insurers making an excuse to rip us off. How do they explain pre-1973 car insurance being only £120 then ? Driving a car from the sixties with non-servo drum brakes can be frightening at first ! I have always assumed the low premiums are because they believe that owners of 'true' classics take extra care when taking their pride and joy out (which is true) and the limited mileage. However, the limited mileage rule seems to have been dropped now.

I forgot to add that apart from not having to pay road tax on a pre-73 car, they are easy to work on and don't normally depreciate either ! I saw a Mk1 Ford Escort (1968 - 74) the other day in excellent but not concourse condition (i.e. useable) with a "Historic Vehicle" (i.e free) tax disc. Quite fancy getting one ! Your point about off-road parking is a problem though.

Your point about off-road parking is a problem though.

Working on that too. There's a patch of waste land next to my house, with concrete hard standing, fenced and gated with a massive lock on it. If I can find out who owns it, I'm hoping they'll either let me park their cheaply, or free if I offer to clean it up!

i have 9 years NCB and I pay £292 a year fully comp/with business class one on my fiesta zetec 1.6 10 plate with Sheila's Wheels...might be worth checking them out?

Hi Everyone

My Insurance on my "10 Plate Fiesta 1.25 3Dr Petrol is up for renewal within the next month so I thought I'd spend my saturday shopping around to see what prices were like and if there were any deals to be had.

I already know that insurance rates have gone up so I was expecting to pay maybe £200 more than I am now, I am currently paying £2193 per year

So I began shopping around, trying my best to avoid the unbearable gocomapre moustache man..

I checked out some of the regular people, and my current provider such as LV, when I first got my car I had been driving for little over a year with 0 years no claims bonus as I was a named driver on my dads car before hand. Now I have 2 years no claims bonus as this was a special deal LV offered me last year to stay with them, a 2 for the price of 1 NCB.

So when I got a new quote from LV this year I was pretty amazed in how much it had gone up, they quoted me £2695....

And the only reason they could give me for the price rise was that the insurance rates have gone up, and that they had already included a 5% discount as we already have another LV policy in the house.

I have been getting quotes ranging from £2200-£2800, im looking to pay around what i'm paying now if that is possible. My best quote was from the Co-op but I am wondering if any of you knowledgeable able people know any good brokers or insurance companies that I can use.

I am 19, live in the highest risk postcode possible, looking for fully comp cover

Thanks in advance

Kris :)

ive just moved insurance to admiral and got on a multi car policy with my parents car.....its unbelievable how cheap they are. i really reccommend that you get a quote. i got mine to have my renewal quote from co-op...fully comp aswell. i also found that it was cheaper to say that i parked my car on the road as opposed to in a garage!!!! i found this bizarre but it put the premium down so i went with it. i also added my sister as a named driver as well as my parents...this brought the premium down too. have a play around with the online quote...i got mine to £700 on a ZETEC S TDCI.

Just got a quote on mine for £580, I'm 25 with 5 years NCB and the car is kept on a public road. I think it's a reasonable quote.

Just got a quote on mine for £580, I'm 25 with 5 years NCB and the car is kept on a public road. I think it's a reasonable quote.

It's not bad, but where do you live? What grading does it have on the list posted earlier?

It's not bad, but where do you live? What grading does it have on the list posted earlier?

One of the worst: NE40 Newcastle on E* rating :( to be fair I live in a tiny village in the countryside but my postcode is the same as those who live in the town centre so it's not an accurate scale, mine should be much lower.

That's very interesting...can I ask who you're with, I wonder if it's a firm that slipped under my radar?

I'm currently with Chris Knott who promise to beat any price but that quote for £580 was from Admiral on compare the meerkat. My insurance is due next month so I will be taking them up on that quote if Chris Knott can't compete.

i think we all have problems with insurance atm

found a few tricks that mite help though

if u can say it is stored in a garage, normally saves a good bit of money

keep ur average annual milage listed below 10,000, again good money saver

say that u have access to more than 1 car in ur household, brings it down as ur considered to be in the car less

last tip i can think of keep the policy in ur name but add on as many addictional drivers as u can, as long as they are older with good no claims should help keep it dwn

im 20 with 1.25 3 door mk7 and 3 years NCB and ive got mine 2 around £800 which is pretty good

hope this helps

i think we all have problems with insurance atm

found a few tricks that mite help though

if u can say it is stored in a garage, normally saves a good bit of money

keep ur average annual milage listed below 10,000, again good money saver

say that u have access to more than 1 car in ur household, brings it down as ur considered to be in the car less

last tip i can think of keep the policy in ur name but add on as many addictional drivers as u can, as long as they are older with good no claims should help keep it dwn

im 20 with 1.25 3 door mk7 and 3 years NCB and ive got mine 2 around £800 which is pretty good

hope this helps

All good tips as long as they are genuine. I wouldn't recommend saying anything that isn't true. Apart from the insurers refusing to pay out if, for example, your car is damaged or stolen outside your house and not in a locked garage, you could invalidate your insurance altogether if you give false information.

I actually changed my cover from 'kept in locked garage' to 'parked on a private drive' as I didn't always put the car away and would lose out if it was damaged or stolen. It made no difference to the renewal premium as far as I am aware. First thing insurance companies do is look for a way out when you make a claim. Always read the small print on an insurance policy !

Just for the record and to gloat a little , my insurance premium must be about as low as it can get but then I am a good bit older than most on here I reckon at 67. Last renewal (February) was £316 comprehensive, car is eighteen months old and I live a 'B' rated postcode, Birmingham (B98). I have two named drivers, both of which are younger than I am (wife and son). I am with Royal Sun Alliance through FordInsure. I expect the next renewal to be higher as I recently made a claim after scraping against the garage door (another reason not to put it in the garage too often - see my earlier post).

I'm currently with Chris Knott who promise to beat any price but that quote for £580 was from Admiral on compare the meerkat. My insurance is due next month so I will be taking them up on that quote if Chris Knott can't compete.

Thanks for that. Admiral were expensive for me, but I'll give Chris Knott a go.