I began driving four years ago. When I first got my car insurance it was €1,200. That fee was paid monthly. I had a provisional license at that stage and I was informed that the no more claims bonus would be cheaper if I got a full driving license.
About two years ago I did my test and passed it. I was with a well known insurance company at the time and they immediately dropped my premium cover from €950 to €600. I was delighted with this! In May of 2014, my new cover was just a little over €500 and that was due to having a 1 litre car, full license, and included some extras on my cover such as breakdown assistance, windows and key replacement. In recent times, the price of car insurance has increased substantially. I know one man with a full license who drives a Volkswagen and his rate his went up by €250. Another friend of mine who has a permit and at least 10 years no claim bonus, went up a staggering 800% from €450 to €1400.
So my question is why build up a no claim policy if it doesn’t make any difference.? My own car insurance was up again in May of this year. I got my quote in the post a month before, I was quite lucky really they wanted €657 and when I phoned them to ask why was I paying extra on this year policy, they explained that the system here in Ireland has gone overboard giving out claims to people. While I was on the phone they knocked off another €27 bringing it to €640. So technically speaking my insurance only went up roughly between €55.00 – €65.00.
When I went to pay for my policy the lady explained why car insurance was on the rise. She told me that new judges have been appointment to the bar. They have no experience when it comes to motor insurance pay outs. Because of this, they are awarding people with minor injuries with larger amounts of compensation.
I personally think that specific amounts should only be awarded to certain claims. Say someone who gets whip lash and no other damages to their body are entitled to €10.000 or under. People who suffer serious injuries should be given the higher end of claims.
Last year I discovered that if you have a car that is over 10 years old, your insurance will go up or you may not be able to insure the car at all. Whatever the reason why we have to pay extra for a service that we already pay for is not benefiting anyone.
This fund in my opinion should be done away with. It’s like saying to someone out there who wants to drive a car with no insurance, “Ah don’t worry about any cover, sure if you crash you’re covered.” By keeping this fund open, it will just keep getting drained. We, the car owners who have insurances, will have to keep paying for it. Also if a driver has no cover and they crash in to someone and cause damage to the other car, they can’t claim to have their car fixed so this fund doesn’t work for everyone…
So do you think it’s fair?
