A3 Insurance, what on earth is going on??

rnm37

rnm37

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Hi all,

Just been looking at renewing insurance for my 2013 1.6TDI SE (105PS) for next year. I've just turned 24, 4 years NCD (only been driving since I was 20), with a full time professional job and I'm a homeowner. The only significant mods to the car are swapping the stock 16" alloys for 18" aftermarket rotor replicas.

Last year my insurance was ~£630 with Aviva which I felt was steep but acceptable. This year it's gone up to around 800 (and a checking round comparison sites suggests I won't get it cheaper elsewhere). I've been playing about with the usual (mileage, where it's parked at night etc,) and no significant changes.

Am I justified in feeling p*ssed off about this? It's not exactly a massively powerful car (quite the opposite). Anyone else been quoted something stupid for next year?

Cheers.
 
rnm37 said:
Hi all,

Just been looking at renewing insurance for my 2013 1.6TDI SE (105PS) for next year. I've just turned 24, 4 years NCD (only been driving since I was 20), with a full time professional job and I'm a homeowner. The only significant mods to the car are swapping the stock 16" alloys for 18" aftermarket rotor replicas.

Last year my insurance was ~£630 with Aviva which I felt was steep but acceptable. This year it's gone up to around 800 (and a checking round comparison sites suggests I won't get it cheaper elsewhere). I've been playing about with the usual (mileage, where it's parked at night etc,) and no significant changes.

Am I justified in feeling p*ssed off about this? It's not exactly a massively powerful car (quite the opposite). Anyone else been quoted something stupid for next year?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I haven't looked yet, but mine is due next month, so might start having a gander... shocking!
 
Yeah mines gone up abit from around £470 to £560 a year... smh
 
Got my renewal from Aviva, and wasn't impressed with the increase either. Solution ? I went through Topcashback website, ran a new Aviva quote from scratch and it was cheaper ! On top of that I saved another £50-ish with the cashback, and ended up paying less than last year. Result ! :yahoo:
 
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Insurance tax has increased this year & the number of S3 / Golf R's being nicked at the moment is going to have an effect too I suppose in raising the profile of all versions of the MQB platform as being more of a risk than they were previously. My premium went up £50 iirc?.
 
Never go for Renewal price. They hike it up in year 2. There was a very interesting chap that did a thread on here somewhere regarding insurance and the in & outs. This was a big one. Apparently they grab you in the 1st year with the cheaper price and then bank on you forgetting to not auto-renew or just go with the price quoted in 2nd year as the customer just "thinks" thats what a competitive deal is! There is NO customer loyalty bonus with insurance companies. They will screw you if you stay with them but give new customers a great deal. Go on to all the price comparison websites, then go direct with the cheapest. I have the same car as you and im with LV, no excess, fully comp for around £480. I could have got it down to around £350 regions but I dislike having excess on my policy so I prefer to pay a little more for peace of mind. I only had 1yr no claims when I took this out in April this year so Im hoping it will go down by more in April 2018. My mum is also with LV and saved a good £400. she was ready to auto renew with Direct Line but I managed to get her a reduction.

Also, have you tried through your bank? Im with LV but I went through Nationwide for an extra 10% off.
 
Last edited:
rnm37 said:
Hi all,

Just been looking at renewing insurance for my 2013 1.6TDI SE (105PS) for next year. I've just turned 24, 4 years NCD (only been driving since I was 20), with a full time professional job and I'm a homeowner. The only significant mods to the car are swapping the stock 16" alloys for 18" aftermarket rotor replicas.

Last year my insurance was ~£630 with Aviva which I felt was steep but acceptable. This year it's gone up to around 800 (and a checking round comparison sites suggests I won't get it cheaper elsewhere). I've been playing about with the usual (mileage, where it's parked at night etc,) and no significant changes.

Am I justified in feeling p*ssed off about this? It's not exactly a massively powerful car (quite the opposite). Anyone else been quoted something stupid for next year?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend 'One Call Insurance' they are classed as a broker but I have been with them since I was about your age and I'm 29 now. They have always been very good for me - price match every year if anyone cheaper when I'm due for renewal etc. Worth giving them a call maybe?
 
It’s worth initially using incorrect details in the comparison websites, e.g. the house next door / different name / not using registration, to find the cheapest insurer. (Obvs don’t take out the policy on wrong info!)

Then go on quidco / topcashback to find that insurer, enter the correct details, and there will be no record connecting you to the comparison website and in theory that insurer won’t have to now build in commission due, and you get the cashback. Worked for me a few times.

Tax has gone up but only 2%, so don’t let them use that excuse freely.

There’s also a push in the industry on ‘discount rate’ following the Ogden Report, which essentially has significantly increased claim payments to injured third parties. The actuaries reacted to this, and increased premiums on liability and motor accounts, even for well running policies. However, it’s all still a bit up in the air, so that might change in the near future - but in the meantime insurers will use it to their advantage.

Coupled with high profile S3 losses, all you can do is shop around.
 
Decided to have a look on moneysupermarket.com to see what the current price might be for me. Don't need my new policy until April 1st but all this talk of prices going up got me wondering. So, for me, if I add on 1 extra years no claims bonus, and state that I need insurance to start now, then my yearly premium has gone down to £426.62 from £480 last year. As I mentioned in my 1st post in this thread, I only had 1years no claims this year in April so adding a 2nd year brings it down by £53.38. This is inputting exactly the same details as when I took out the policy with LV, in fact I even used money supermarket to find the cheapest when I took out the policy. Cheapest quote is with "insure drive" whoever they are! Zero excess (comp & voluntary) with all options added apart from breakdown cover as I have Audi Assist.
 
Have you tried us for insurance yet? If you wanted to drop me a PM I'd be happy to arrange a quotation for you.

Unfortunately insurance prices have risen across the industry this year. This can be attributed to a number of factors, such as increases in insurance premium tax, and the more recent changes to the Ogden rate, which is used to calculate future losses in personal Injury accident cases.

Kind Regards,

Dan
 
Funnily enough, I've just renewed my S3 insurance this morning. Got my renewal letter the other week, and it's gone up from £554 to £640 (for 2 cars).

Gave them a ring this morning and told them I'd phoned around (I hadn't) and got the insurance for the same price as last year. 5 minutes on the phone, changed nothing to the policy, and it came back at £552.

Moral of story. Phone up and say you've had cheaper. They'll ask who with (so they can check) but just say you don't know, as phoned a broker, and they'll soon get it back down.

May not work in all cases, and for all people, but it's worked for me the last 10 years or so.
 
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im 24 almost 25 with 6 years no claims, due to collect my S3 in the next 2 weeks, cheapest I could get insurance is £1400 with esure through compare the market, everyone else wants around £4000. I only pay £800 on my 2014 Astra VXR at the minute

Its Madness
 
25 in July driving since I was 17. Was a professional driver by 'career' for 7 years and I'm £495 a year for my 2017 S3 in a 'rough' ish area. 6 years NCB
 
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who have you gone with to get that kind of price @S15THM ? I even looked at fitting a tracker to mine when I collect it, but it brings it down by about £100 - so not worth it
 
DaytonaS3 said:
It’s worth initially using incorrect details in the comparison websites, e.g. the house next door / different name / not using registration, to find the cheapest insurer. (Obvs don’t take out the policy on wrong info!)

Then go on quidco / topcashback to find that insurer, enter the correct details, and there will be no record connecting you to the comparison website and in theory that insurer won’t have to now build in commission due, and you get the cashback. Worked for me a few times.
Click to expand...

Does not always work as comparison websites sometimes read IP addresses, but using your smartphone in two different locations will do the trick as will using a VPN client
 
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Daveotto said:
Does not always work as comparison websites sometimes read IP addresses, but using your smartphone in two different locations will do the trick as will using a VPN client
Click to expand...

Noticed recently that every check iv done for car insurance has been logged on my credit record too. Pretty surprised by this. Don't know how much this would apply to the prices given but iv also found that deleting cookies, vpn, different browser or using the girlfriends computer etc brings it down a few £'s...
 
DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:
Have you tried us for insurance yet? If you wanted to drop me a PM I'd be happy to arrange a quotation for you.

Unfortunately insurance prices have risen across the industry this year. This can be attributed to a number of factors, such as increases in insurance premium tax, and the more recent changes to the Ogden rate, which is used to calculate future losses in personal Injury accident cases.

Kind Regards,

Dan
Click to expand...
I tried you guys for insurance twice last year and didn’t hear back, both times told I would be called back, very disappointed in your lack of services.
 
My A3 Black Edition 1.5 S Tronic cost £1600. I’m 29, 10 years no claims. It cost £400 more than my A4 (B9) 2.0 (150) diesel. I couldn’t get it any cheaper. I just don’t get it.
 
27 with 10 years no claim. £490 fully comped. S3 3dr.
 
It may have a lot to do with different areas but I still think it’s excessive. And I don’t think those who have many years experience and no claims should be so highly effected by the area they live. It seems that I’m paying out a lot more than most people in this thread, especially when you compare it to the S3 premiums you are paying.
 
SJR88 said:
It may have a lot to do with different areas but I still think it’s excessive. And I don’t think those who have many years experience and no claims should be so highly effected by the area they live. It seems that I’m paying out a lot more than most people in this thread, especially when you compare it to the S3 premiums you are paying.
Click to expand...
I'd be unhappy paying £1600 too....

All of my cars so far have been on multi car policies with my mum and dad also on my policy... helps out so much! Every time I have looked at just having my own it is so so much more! Interesting to see what my renewal quote is next year though as I changed to the S3 half way through this year.
Funnily enough I got a quote from Admiral and within 2 days it had gone down significantly when I went to actually make the change, from like £250 to £1xx :S
 
Ormesome said:
Never go for Renewal price. They hike it up in year 2. There was a very interesting chap that did a thread on here somewhere regarding insurance and the in & outs. This was a big one. Apparently they grab you in the 1st year with the cheaper price and then bank on you forgetting to not auto-renew or just go with the price quoted in 2nd year as the customer just "thinks" thats what a competitive deal is! There is NO customer loyalty bonus with insurance companies. They will screw you if you stay with them but give new customers a great deal. Go on to all the price comparison websites, then go direct with the cheapest. I have the same car as you and im with LV, no excess, fully comp for around £480. I could have got it down to around £350 regions but I dislike having excess on my policy so I prefer to pay a little more for peace of mind. I only had 1yr no claims when I took this out in April this year so Im hoping it will go down by more in April 2018. My mum is also with LV and saved a good £400. she was ready to auto renew with Direct Line but I managed to get her a reduction.

Also, have you tried through your bank? Im with LV but I went through Nationwide for an extra 10% off.
Click to expand...

Interesting post - mine is due for renewal (not the Audi we have another car) I ran the quotes through the comparison sites and get some interesting high quotes from well known companies in the 600+ region.

Admiral who I am with have emailed me my renewal for 498 and also highlighted that it’s over 50 cheaper than last year.

So my renewal quote is one of the best and I don’t have to faff around cancelling policies, sending in NCB certificates etc
 
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audi upgrades
oli356 said:
I'd be unhappy paying £1600 too....

All of my cars so far have been on multi car policies with my mum and dad also on my policy... helps out so much! Every time I have looked at just having my own it is so so much more! Interesting to see what my renewal quote is next year though as I changed to the S3 half way through this year.
Funnily enough I got a quote from Admiral and within 2 days it had gone down significantly when I went to actually make the change, from like £250 to £1xx :S
Click to expand...

My insurance is actually with Admiral on a multi car policy with my dad and brother added to it. This was the only way I could it at that price. I don’t know where they get the prices from. I emailed the CEO and they weren’t willing to offer anything better.
 
Yep. Where you live has a massive influence. One of my friends is a first time driver and wants a car. But where he lives it is £2500 cheapest per year. 15miles down the road in a nicer area it is £1400 for the year. Crazy.
 
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it's not that crazy really. These companies need a way to calculate risk, it's not unreasonable to factor in where you live as part of this calculation.
 
Well I know I'm old (70) and live in a 'rural' area of Cambridgeshire but I only paid £386 last year for fully comp and with continental cover. for my new 2.0TDI-184 s-tronic quattro. Maximum protected NCD.

As far as Keyless is concerned it seem to be the easier way to get in and start a car without actually having the key. I certainly would never want it on my car.
 
My A3 1.6TDI cost me £397.38 this year. I've been driving for 18 years and I have never had accident or any claims. Sadly I've lost most of my history due to being in a company car scheme for the last 8 years and insurance companies definately don't honour it in the same way as private insurance! Anyhow I really thought insurance would have got cheaper by now but apparently not. My 205 Gti at aged 19 years old only cost me £800!
 
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£425 last year and now upto £588. Thats with Admiral. They originally quoted me a renewal price of over a grand!
 
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My 2015 S3 sportback was £500 this year, my new S3 l got in October and way more expensive was £385.....and with zero no claims,the sportback had 6 years:footy:
 
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Thanks everyone for the responses to this... Always interesting seeing how different personal circumstances seem to affect insurance premiums, searching for the cheapest option doesn't seem an exact science. I also plan to buy an S3 in the nearish future (being a grown up and getting a mortgage had to come first unfortunately :( ) so good getting some ball park figures for someone my page insuring that kind of car.

I actually just renewed with Aviva again yesterday. Original renewal quote was £800, ended up paying £480 for the exact same policy :D Only difference was a reduction in mileage. Curiously, my address change didn't affect my premium - moving from my parents house in a "posh" area to a more "normal" area made no difference.
 
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We swapped a Polo 1.8 Gti for our A3 and there was no increase in Premium. I'd payed £200 to insure the Polo.............

But my lad is 20 with 6 points on his licence and two minor but his fault bumps in the last 2 years, obviously now paying the price for past mistakes on his Fiesta Red Edition 140PS, he's just payed £2760, the best quote he could get, the rest were £3-4 grand......

Obviously he's had a bit of a lecture from dad.....!
 
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My insurance is due shortly and it has been put up in the year. Just checked online though and others offer it for the same as last year so I'll just call existing company to see if they will match it. If not just move the policy over to the lower priced company. No need for loyalty with insurers imho.

TX.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 
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S15THM said:
25 in July driving since I was 17. Was a professional driver by 'career' for 7 years and I'm £495 a year for my 2017 S3 in a 'rough' ish area. 6 years NCB
Click to expand...
Very simalar to you, 27, 8 years as a professional driver with 8 years no claims. £425 a year with Churchill.
 
Cheapest for me with an A3 quattro 1.8tfsi is £400 from esure. Anyone have any experience with them?
 
jassyo06 said:
They deserve higher insurance costs as they are mostly driven by Merchant Bankers.....and that's a bit......ov....Del Boy.....lingidy.....for the Lower IQ RS3 owners....lol
Click to expand...
Merchant bankers, lol!?
 
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