My Ford Fiesta Sport van's insurance is up for renewal, so I thought I'd better tell the insurers that I've had a couple of security modifications made to it: I've had the top half of the existing half bulkhead fitted to make it a full bulkhead and had the rear window tinted so that nosey people can't see what's in the loadbay.

Result? My current insurer (Admiral Van) won't insure me, nor will four of the other cheapest insurers (they don't 'do' tinted windows, y'see.) but Aviva will, at - wait for it - double the price.

...er... I had the mods done to make the van LESS attractive to thieves and I get penalised for it??? WTH???

AAAAARGH!!!

But if I DIDN'T tell them and I had an accident, because of the modifications, I'd probably not be insured...

You can't win, can you?

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Insurance is a major ripoff. I understand your trouble. A friend of mine got his insurance canceled because he told them he had a water fire extinguisher in his van. Apparently a bottle of water isn't covered

It reminds me when a couple years ago I wanted to fit winter tyres for my Yaris SR so I asked insurance company if it would affect my premium.

Their response was that it will hike the price from 300 to almost 1500!

And their reason for it? Apparently they classed Yaris SR as a "sports vehicle" (really?!) so should I fit winter tyres its a sign I am going to race it on ice!

Oh good grief... Seriously??

Ye gods...

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It reminds me when a couple years ago I wanted to fit winter tyres for my Yaris SR so I asked insurance company if it would affect my premium.

Their response was that it will hike the price from 300 to almost 1500!

And their reason for it? Apparently they classed Yaris SR as a "sports vehicle" (really?!) so should I fit winter tyres its a sign I am going to race it on ice!

Lol that's just silly, I'd like to see them trying to keep a straight face when telling you that. We need insurance companies to work more like energy companies in that you can switch to another company at a moment's notice if you're not happy. And they could count no claims bonus in days instead of years, but at the moment it seems like a trick so that you stay with them a whole year or you'll lose a year of NCD.

Gave Adrian Flux a call, they've come back with a quote from Trinity Lane Insurance.

Anyone have an experience with them? Good or bad?

Ta!

Af are good for mods only engine and power mods increase premiums. But yeah, sadly some insurers are idiots. Purring parking sensors (stops me hitting things ) and drl (helps people see me so they don't crash) I had to pay Admiral 80 quid. Wtff?

I've gone with Adrian Flux in the end. Slightly concerned that the company they insured me with is registered in Malta, but we'll see how it goes...

I've gone with AF for the 3rd year running and although I haven't had to make a claim they seem friendly enough and my premium has fallen twice now, exhaust and intake mod declared happy with price (f post code) as they beat my previous 2 years quotes and matched this years competitors quote's and so far haven't heard anything negative about them.

Admiral are a bunch of ****'s. Probably like every other company out there, if you're involved in something they fob you off to their other company that 'deals' with that sort of thing....

..wait what??? I'm paying YOU for insurance, YOU deal with the f*****g incident, NOT someone else... if I want SOMEONE ELSE to deal with it, then I'd pay THEM however many hundred !Removed! quid a year!

Roshambo, insurance companies go first...

When I had someone hit the Fiesta I sorted it with the insurance firm fine, but then I got a crappy letter from Zurich demanding I phone them to report it also, called them and they started to say they could refuse to pay out due to the time length ( good luck it had already been repaired ) and I actually had no idea they were even involved in my policy let alone I had to phone 2 firms.

Dial Direct that was, avoid.

Need a page of firms to cane and help people avoid really.

It reminds me when a couple years ago I wanted to fit winter tyres for my Yaris SR so I asked insurance company if it would affect my premium.

Their response was that it will hike the price from 300 to almost 1500!

And their reason for it? Apparently they classed Yaris SR as a "sports vehicle" (really?!) so should I fit winter tyres its a sign I am going to race it on ice!

Un mucking real man!!!

Admiral are a bunch of ****'s. Probably like every other company out there, if you're involved in something they fob you off to their other company that 'deals' with that sort of thing....

..wait what??? I'm paying YOU for insurance, YOU deal with the f*****g incident, NOT someone else... if I want SOMEONE ELSE wants to deal with it, then I'd pay THEM however many hundred !Removed! quid a year!

Roshambo, insurance companies go first...

I must admit when someone hit me I was only dealing with Admiral. I know Adrian flux have that model but that was a third party who deal specifically with non fault. I reported it to Adrian flux, then they passed me on to their third party and the whole thing was quite seamless. Though a month later I got a call from the underwriters (market study) asking me about my accident and what had happened and going through it all again!) I was disappointed there was no real information sharing as when it came to renewal, Adrian flux where still under the belief I had been at fault, though they (third party) had long since declared liability.

Made for a disappointing experience, but I just hope to not need it again!

you guys can have a look at QuoteMeHappy, it's a third party working for Aviva. The price is good but never had to deal with them so far.I called them a few weeks ago and asked them for a quote if I move from steel wheels to alloy and they said they can't insure it haha.I'm going to put alloys anyway and demand a quote. If not....I'm going to look in other places to insure my car.

Since becoming unemployed, my insurance has more than doubled up from £145 to £345, if I was retired it would have dropped to £135, but as I arnt claiming a pension I have to say I'm unemployed, roll on November when I can claim a pension

Since becoming unemployed, my insurance has more than doubled up from £145 to £345, if I was retired it would have dropped to £135, but as I arnt claiming a pension I have to say I'm unemployed, roll on November when I can claim a pension

They ought to be made by law to explain to you why they feel it necessary to more than double the premium at a time when your finances have just taken a big hit ie being made redundant and having to live on a severely reduced income, typical nomarks !!!!

As far as I'm concerned there should be a government approved checklist. Age, location of car, etc should generate the same underlying cost. Points etc should have a set fee, and mileage should add a fixed amount. That way Al insurance should cost the same,then it should be down to the company to regulate their own extras costs like key cover etc and their administration charges to compete. For too long has the average motorist been abused by companies who claim that adding a sticker to the vehicle doubles the risk your going to crash, or adding safety features such as drl increases the risk of an accident.

Since becoming unemployed, my insurance has more than doubled up from £145 to £345, if I was retired it would have dropped to £135, but as I arnt claiming a pension I have to say I'm unemployed, roll on November when I can claim a pension

This is something that never made sense to me, but I think it's because the insurance companies just look at it as employed vs unemployed, when really they should look at it as "usually employed" or "usually unemployed". It just gets too complicated like that I think, but they're charging you more when you're actually less likely to have an accident because you won't be driving as much.