...
There's clearly a pattern in these reviews which goes, "great until you make a claim" but then find me an insurance comapany to which that doesn't apply?
I found Diamond via the confused.com website. I have quite a low opinion of the insurance industry which is probably not merited ... Read review
Compare Car Insurance Quotes at Quotezone? Our quote technology compares quotes from leading car insurance companies and brokers in real time, so you only have to Fill in One Form to Compare lots of reputable Insurers!
Advantages: Cheap, you can choose not to pay for some services, they will actully insure my car. Disadvantages: You can't use them if you're a bloke.
.../>
I found Diamond via the confused.com website. I have quite a low opinion of the insurance industry which is probably not merited but for the most part I believe you are paying to comply with the law and not much else.
At this point I should say that Diamond only provide insurance for women drivers (sorry boys). The rationale for this is that statistically women drivers have less accidents than men and so if they aim at ... ...people I spoke to at Diamond were excellent, whether I was being given priority because I was a referral from their parent company's website (confused.com) I don't know. However they took me through the process step by step, we checked the details they had for me were correct and then, joy oh joy, their policies turned out to be modular so they gave me options, options which entailed them VOLUNTEERING information to me about things most insurers ... more
Hmmm... I dunno.
There's clearly a pattern in these reviews which goes, "great until you make a claim" but then find me an insurance comapany to which that doesn't apply?
I found Diamond via the confused.com website. I have quite a low opinion of the insurance industry which is probably not merited but for the most part I believe you are paying to comply with the law and not much else.
At this point I should say that Diamond only provide insurance for women drivers (sorry boys). The rationale for this is that statistically women drivers have less accidents than men and so if they aim at just women there'll be less claims and they can keep their premiums low.
WHY DID I CHOOSE DIAMOND?
Firstly, because they were cheap. Secondly, well because even the best insurers don't offer a great service.
I used to be insured with Hill House Hammond. They were great because they were one of the few companies who are prepared to ensure my car for business use and even after I had an accident my premium didn't go up the next year.
Hill House Hammond were also prepared to pay the full claim for damage, minus my excess, and allow me to have the damage repaired at my local dealer, rather than their preferred specialist. This is fairly essential as my car's fiberglass so I'd prefer to use the manufacturer's recommended repairer as opposed to my insurer's.
However, what even the best insurance companies may not tell you is that if you don't use their specified repairer in your area, you waive the courtesy car. Not great if you're using it for work and driving 1,000 miles a week.
Hill House Hammond were also quite expensive so this year I decided that, since I have left the safety of being employed and I'm working for myself, even though I liked Hill House Hammond and the people you speak to on the phone there are insurance brokers rather than call centre drones, I was going to have to find something cheaper.
I did, £300 cheaper (that's my work mobile phone rental paid for a year then) in the shape of Diamond.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I took out my insurance mid September, 2003.
The call centre people I spoke to at Diamond were excellent, whether I was being given priority because I was a referral from their parent company's website (confused.com) I don't know. However they took me through the process step by step, we checked the details they had for me were correct and then, joy oh joy, their policies turned out to be modular so they gave me options, options which entailed them VOLUNTEERING information to me about things most insurers seem to bury in the small print.
If I had to make a claim, did I want a courtesy car? They asked. If I make a claim can I use my local dealership rather than their accredited repairer to make good the damange? Yes. Ok, so if I use my own garage instead of their preferred repair centre will I be eligible for a courtesy car? No. Will I be able to hire my own? No. Fine, no courtesy car and they took £20 off the cost of the premium.
Did I want legal services, no, my husband's a solicitor, fine, no legal, that's another few quid off and so it went on. The chap I spoke to told me about a number of other services they offer, explained which ones I was eligible for and gave me the option to pay for them, where they were included in the original quoted premium price, he put an x in the prerequisite box and I got a little more off the cost.
I was extremely impressed, instead of paying a higher premium covering an number of extras which can never be applied to me and my car the Diamond policy gave me the option to pay less and be insured without. They explained in a very straightforward way how this might affect me and when I explained why there was no point in it for me they didn't try to pressure me. This saved me about another £30 on my original premium.
They then explained that they have been having difficulties delivering good customer service and would I please evalute them, which I did by phone and by post.
CONCLUSION...
OK Diamond is very much no-frills but I like that. I'd much rather have something basic than have the basic premium cost cover a load of add on extras for which I will never be eligible.
I am supremely cynical about insurance. I do it because not to is illegal. I suspect most insurance companies are going to do something annoying if you have to make a claim. I think a lot of the difficulties with Diamond mentioned in other opinions here are probably symptomatic of the insurance industry generally, especially the larger cheaper companies. The insurance industry doesn't have a great reputation, right across the board and I'd rather self insure, were the option open to me.
That said, so far I have been very impressed with Diamond and I have always been impressed by Admiral, their owners, with whome I've been insured on a number of occasions with previous cars.
RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend Diamond, I have no reason not to, they've been great for me so far but I've never had to make a claim.
I would therefore say this, make sure you ask lots of questions, they will volunteer information but ask them for more. Go into it with your eyes open, it's insurance but remember, any insurance company, not just Diamond, is in it to make money, not to provide a public service. There's less money in it these days than there was so if a company's cheap, it's because they're very hard nosed.
Advantages: Excellent prices (obviously this won't apply to everyone), Willing to insure male partners as named drivers, Easy to get quote online, Call Centre helpful during office hours Disadvantages: Call Centre switches to a foreign call centre out of hours and is useless then!
Diamond specialise in car insurance for women. Background Information and Some Interesting Statistics...
In many instances, with all insurance companies, women can often receive cheaper insurance quotes than men... the reason for this? Well, according to information Diamond have collected women tend to be involved in the same number of accidents as men, but those accidents don't tend to be quite as serious. Because of this, when a man makes a claim ... ...that are considered "safer".
Diamond make a suggestion that they feel this trend is likely to change (and is probably changing now), but they confirm that "until the statistical evidence shows that there has been a swing insurance companies will still rate women differently from men". Good news for women then!
(Obviously all insurance companies have this information, it's just that Diamond chooses to use this information to help market itself towards ...
angeelu 19.04.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Diamond
Advantages: Generally Cheaper Disadvantages: If you have to make a claim you're on your own
...make it any easier!
Diamond - The company
Diamond is owned by Admiral Insurance which own a host of other insurance companies including Elephant. I was always amazed how I could get radically different quotes from different companies all owned by the same company, however I suppose I never delved into the small print of each so there may well be a valid reason for this but anyway I'm wondering off the point here! The company operates on the premise ... ...basis by insuring woman only Diamond can offer women lower insurance premiums. They do allow males to be insured but only as named drivers
The policy
Having seen various television advertisements, speaking to a friend insured by them and receiving an outrageous renewal quote from my existing insurer (Admiral?!) I decided to check them out. I must admit my experiences from getting the quote through to being insured were perfectly fine. Diamond is ...
maz2909 04.11.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Diamond
Advantages: Willing to match quotes and very approachable Disadvantages: None
...really prefer to stay with Diamond and wondered if you could help me and possibly match Swift's quote ?" Again, sickly sweet voice used.
Anyway, to cut a long story short - Andrew did his utmost to help me and matched Swifts' quote.
So it does go to show that you don't have to take the first price they offer, barter with them.
Am really pleased I'm still with Diamond as I have been a customer for several years now. They're so easy to deal with ...
emma_prettyinpink 11.02.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Diamond
Advantages: Beat the insurance giants with just one call! Disadvantages: None
...risk category. This is where Diamond excel in providing insurance at a much lower cost than anyone else. When I started driving my own car at 19, I did the mandatory phoning through every insurance company in the Yellow Pages. Time after time I was being quoted in excess of £1000 which is totally unacceptable. I spent that much on the car itself! I soon realised that it was going to be more expensive for me anyway as this was my first year driving, ... ...I would have gone through Diamond again. I will do so when my insurance is up for renewal later this year.
Diamond do have a monthly payment schedule as well, but the interest is high, like with the majority of companies.
So, advice for anyone out there wanting much cheaper car insurance, (and actually getting cheaper insurance), I highly recommend Diamond. It's a bit more well known know than a few years ago, but the company are doing very well, ...
Nicola21 17.04.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Diamond
Advantages: Girl only cover Disadvantages: Girl only cover
...disagree with the statement that Diamond attracted me with. This was that Women are more careful drivers than men. He claims that they are more dangerous when he is cursing and moaning about being stuck behind someone that is driving slower than he is.
Well the facts don't lie do they? If they did, companies like Diamond would not be able to function or offer their great cover.
However, saying this, Damond do state that generally Men have as many ... ...savings on to us.
Diamond are an Insurer simply for Women. They claim it was created by women for women.
Their website is worth a look.
www.diamond.co.uk
You can find out about all of their other services here.
This review is about the Motor Insurance so I will continue with that.
The services they provide are very thorough and give you great protection.
One of their policies gives you:-
* 24hour Accident Helpline * Convenient monthly instalment ...
romybuzzer 19.03.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Diamond
