Advantages: Peace of mind, security.
Disadvantages: A bit of extra expense.

...Motor Insurance! We are bombarded with adverts and offers about it from all sides - T.V., newspapers, magazines, e-mail and snail mail! Do we need it? Of course! Apart from it being a legal requirement, often our cars are the biggest investments in our lives after a house. We need to protect the money we pour into them against that unfortunate day when we have an accident or even worse for some, when you come out of the shops laden with shopping to discover that your trusty steed is not where you parked it, it`s been nicked! In the worst case scenario, your vehicle is a write-off or is unrecoverable and the insurance company decide, eventually to pay you with a big fat cheque. Oops, they say, we know that you bought the car new only a couple of months ago and that it cost £18,000 but you only get the current market value... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beat any quote, good service
Disadvantages: None so far

...I hate motor insurance, I hate the wedge of my income that I have to spend every year on protecting my car from some of the idiots who think they own the road or have fluked their way through our country's pathetic driving exam. Anyway enough ranting, onto the facts. I've just left Axa, who I didn't have a problem with at all. For the 2nd year running, Axa gave me the "best" price on my insurance with sufficient cover etc. However tucked away in a draw was a letter which I'd had during the year from Barclaycard promising to beat any quote, no quibbles. I've a P reg VW Polo and 2 years no claims, living in a decent area & am 25,male.(useful to know if you have / are similar). So I spoke to Barclaycard, who weren't after too many questions. I got through straightaway and after about 3 minutes, I had a quote, only £10 cheaper... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: 5% discount for online quotes, easy to apply, competitive premiums, helpful staff
Disadvantages: need to get letter for NCD proof, (not available in R.O.I or Northern Ireland)

...Obtaining a competitive yet adequate car insurance can be a very time consuming and expensive business. I spent considerable amount of time looking for new car insurance after my car was written off earlier this year. I had enjoyed 5 years of trouble free motor insurance from CGNU who settled my claim in full, however since the merger with Norwich Union I found that in order to take out a new Policy I would be under new Terms and conditions as proposed by Norwich Union which were not as attractive as the one’s I had previously been enjoying. On this basis I decided to shop around extensively for motor insurance. After a thorough search of the market area according to my needs Tesco’s car Insurance finally came out top both in terms of competitive car insurance premiums, comprehensive cover and generally very helpful... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheapest by far for me and there is an easy to use website
Disadvantages: Website speed is slow on a 56k modem

...Yep, Considering purchasing a car in April this year, I asked around the office at work for advice on car insurance - Tesco was suggested!!?? Thank goodness Tesco do motor insurance. The car in mind was a left hand drive automatic SMART Car - Not the easiest to explain to an insurance call centre staff member. Anyhoo, I went on-line and visited Tesco. Now, the website for quotations is extremely poor if you're using a 56k modem, constantly crashing and extremely slow , but at work on a T1 line, I had no problems at all. You simply fill in your basic details such as name, address, no-claims years etc.. and choose your car from the list. If you have the registration number of your car it makes it easier as you don't have to know all the details about your car such as engine size and year manufactured, but the reg isn't necessary... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap, reliable and good customer service
Disadvantages: None as yet!

...I have had CIS insurance now for 1 year and to be frank they are great, when searching for a motor quote on teh internet last year I tried CIS for a cheap quote. Their Internet site is extremely easy to use and is down to teh point it takes about 10 mins to fill out an online form and then returns a quote, which if you agree to you can request that and Agent calls you for more details. My quotes with every one else where very very high, these offered me 25% introduction discount and a very commpetative rate which I couldn't find anywhere else. They also offer a great APR if you want to spread the cost over 12 months Since then I have had no problems with my insurance at all, if I have ever wanted anything I can easily call the customer service dept and tehy sort anything out, if it is out of office hours I can also call my... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Very competetive, payment terms available. Excellent customer service.
Disadvantages: No real problems

...If you are young or old, try asking for a motor insurance quotation from the CIS. My vehicle is a Range Rover with an engine conversion. Most companies would not even quote, the CIS insured it at normal rates, and these rates are very competetive. Also, if you do happen to have an accident, I understand that they are very efficient in settling, and this comes not from personal experience, but from a friend in the motor trade who repairs cars, and who often has trouble with other 'all singing, all dancing' companies, who when push comes to shove, literally, don't fulfil their obligations to the customer. Also I know, particularly if you are young the temptation is to look for a cheap alternative, but in the long term, it is best to start a policy in your own name, and start to build your no claims. Don't forget, DRIVE CAREFULLY.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: None, I suppose they may pay out if you need to claim.
Disadvantages: Too many to list, read on, can't pay by cheque for many companies, won't quote untill I'm 17, TOO EXPENSIVE, too many mistakes, stressfull and after 100 calls, I AM ANNOYED

...I am currently 16 years old, so immediately you are probably saying, why does this person need car insurance? Well next week I will be 17 and I'm trying to get my car insured before my birthday, so that I have insurance cover so that I can drive on my birthday. I also need the insurance policy to tax the car. My car is a Fiat Cinquecento, M Reg, with no extra security and has not been modified, it has the tiniest engine you could imagine. An 899cc engine, so you would imagine that it should be fairly cheap to insure compared to a 1.1 litre car which are normally common for the first car. It should be a group 2 car for insurance purposes, but I have heard that this can change from insurance company to insurance company, as they classify cars differently. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have rung nearly one hundred... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheapest Insurance Excellent Service
Disadvantages: Sometimes hard to get through

...The last insurance company i would have thought would have offered me a decent quote would be tesco. Not because they have done anything in the past to put me off, i just thought Supermarkets would stick best to what they know! How wrong was i! I stupidly bought my car (a 1.8 Peugeot 306 SRi) before obtaining any insurance quotes, i took the car dealers word for it that it would be cheap to insure. I hads to leave the car with the dealers for a week so this gave me a chance to sort out insurance. I must have tried 20 or so insurers which qouted me on average about £1800 for third party insurance and, they said that the 1.8 engine and the SR badge had played a major part in the high costs My friend had just got insurance from Tesco and was telling me how cheap it was, but his car was a 1.1 Litre Citroen Saxo which i didnt... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Covered my car when no other insurer would
Disadvantages: Relatively expensive as such a limited market

...When I returned to the UK from a 2 year work contract in France I brought home with me a Renault Clio 1.2 RT (left hand drive) which I'd bought and insured in France. I had not anticipated how difficult it would be to insure and register the car in the UK. First I approached the DVLA-they couldn't register the car without proof of UK insurance-the French policy I had would not do! So I started ringing round all the usual suspects for quotes-only to find that none of them would insure my car until it was registered in the UK. Hours of giving the same details over and over again only to be told at the last knockings they couldn't insure my car. Hang on-can't register it without insurance-can't insure it until it's registered ??? Aaarrrgghh!! I found my way to the British Insurance Brokers Association, who recommended me to a broker called... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: You have to have it, keeps crazies off the road
Disadvantages: Price

...Is All-Insurance a company? Well, this op is about car insurance in general, ok? Buying a car. OK, lets check costs. First, the car itself. Upwards of £100, not bad. Second, petrol. Depends on how much you drive. Third, road tax. Not too bad, once a year and its done. Hmm, that doesnt sound too bad. Yes, but that is without insurance. For first time owners, insurance is a total nightmare. It is a massive burden, not only on your wallet, but on the car you buy. Big car = Big costs. Little car = slightly smaller costs. my sister pays £800 per year for a 1.1 litre Saxo. In a few years, she will have paid more in insurance than the cost of the car itself. Road tax is almost irrelevant compared to this. And then there's the rising costs of petrol on top. The thing that really makes insurance bite is that if some idiot drives into you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful