[tuhin11]

This is the common phenomenon in India. Abroad the premium reduces basis the risk insured, any claims made, where the car is parked, any immobiliser, number of drivers etc and you are also required to provide an approximate miles / kms that will be done in a year. So just giving this perspective only to bring out the aspects that are followed in the other countries and where we are. Anyways, the principle of insurance is take money from you and pay others and the premiums overall is based on the claims that are made every year.
The online quotes are cheaper just to induce you into buying and renewals are always higher compared to new ones. The only option is to keep moving from one insurer to the other since there is no loyalty discounts offered.

[SafeDrive]

Things are changing the world over and hopefully would change soon in India. The developed countries have now graduated to having your insurance based on data captured real time from your car as you drive. The speed, the weather, the road conditions, rashness, distance etc are tracked and used to calculate your premium. This provides huge savings to safe drivers while penalising the unsafe ones. And that's the way it should be.

[khoj]

One of my rides is insured with Royal Sundaram and the policy is due for renewal shortly. I did compare the premium details on their web site both as a new customer as well as a repeat customer, the premium difference is not much give or take 500/-

[sumithb]

Have observed this too. Having no loyalties towards insurance companies I keep switching between ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz & Tata AIG. Every time I renew, I pit these guys to each other and then opt for the one with lowest quote.

Only problem is that I have to do this twice a year for Baleno & Wagon-R

[interest]

Originally Posted by khoj

One of my rides is insured with Royal Sundaram and the policy is due for renewal shortly. I did compare the premium details on their web site both as a new customer as well as a repeat customer, the premium difference is not much give or take 500/-

@Khoj- my problem is not with the quantum of difference in the quotes. Even if the existing customer's premium is higher by Rs. 10 as against the new customer's premium, I find it decietful so long as it is not backed by fair and specific reasons from the insurance company

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sumithb

Have observed this too. Having no loyalties towards insurance companies I keep switching between ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz & Tata AIG. Every time I renew, I pit these guys to each other and then opt for the one with lowest quote.

Only problem is that I have to do this twice a year for Baleno & Wagon-R

Just calculate the savings that you are able to generate and compare these with a "notional value" that you place on your own time and effort.

Given the specific cars that you have mentioned here, I think you will be able to figure out quite quickly as to which (your time or the insurance premium savings) is the more important and valuable.

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Just calculate the savings that you are able to generate and compare these with a "notional value" that you place on your own time and effort.

Given the specific cars that you have mentioned here, I think you will be able to figure out quite quickly as to which (your time or the insurance premium savings) is the more important and valuable.

True. For Wagon-R, for a zero depreciation insurance my experience has been that one can save around 1K by shopping around (last renewal if I remember right the savings was around 1.2K). Baleno is more pain, the insurance is expensive and one has to find the right balance between IDV and the premium. Also, over the years of ownership these savings do cumulate, so that's something else to keep in mind.

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Things are changing the world over and hopefully would change soon in India. The developed countries have now graduated to having your insurance based on data captured real time from your car as you drive. The speed, the weather, the road conditions, rashness, distance etc are tracked and used to calculate your premium. This provides huge savings to safe drivers while penalising the unsafe ones. And that's the way it should be.

Progressive Insurance is leading the way in these types of insurance. They offer a product called as Snapshot. Details here.

[interest]

So my previous insurance from Royal Sundaram expired this weekend. Have renewed it with a new company. Got a call from the Royal Sundaram call center this morning with the sales executive asking me to get the policy renewed through them. I gave him an earful about how their company is discriminating between existing and new customers. I told him that while I had no interest in speaking with him on the phone, I was doing so only because I want him to go and tell his manager that customers are not fools and they can figure out such malpractices by the company. I also told him that I have renewed my car insurance with another company and will come back to Royal Sundaram as a new customer next year (if I find their premium to be low) but will definitely renew it with another company after it expires. I also told him that I have already posted this practice online on several forums so he shouldnt be surprised if a lot of his existing customers stop renewing. Lets see if the company takes this feedback seriously.

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by interest

Even if the existing customer's premium is higher by Rs. 10 as against the new customer's premium.

It's cheaper for an insurance company to renew an existing insurance policy than to issue a new policy because they don't have to inspect the vehicle and they don't have to take the effort to find and qualify a sales lead. However, they charge higher rates for existing customers because most of them just cannot take the time to look around so they renew the existing policy. The practice is quite common in the US - whatever helps them make money becomes an industry norm.

[zenren]

The premium for my Swift is coming to ~7000 when I tried to renew it online with Bajaj Allianz (current provider) but the premium is in the range of 3500-4500 for most others with similar IDV when I checked policybazaar.com

When the guy from policybazaar called me, he mentioned that there is no inspection of the vehicle even if I switch the insurance provider as long as I do it before the current policy expires. Can someone who switched the policy provider please confirm if this is true?

[vinya_jag]

I don't know how it will affect me in the future, but past 3 years Insurance Premiums I bought as "new customer" only, through Bajaj Allainz online. In the detail section, it will ask old insurance details which I always gave some junk policy number and some other Insurance company.
I haven't claimed any insurance for past 3 years. Will they verify claim based on policy number or car registration number? If later, then there wont be any issue I guess.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by zenren

When the guy from policybazaar called me, he mentioned that there is no inspection of the vehicle even if I switch the insurance provider as long as I do it before the current policy expires. Can someone who switched the policy provider please confirm if this is true?

That part about inspection is true. I have switched providers every year due to higher cost of renewals.
If your extra effort in filling up online forms is worth the savings, then go ahead.
A rupee saved is a rupee earned.

[commonman]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

I don't know how it will affect me in the future, but past 3 years Insurance Premiums I bought as "new customer" only, through Bajaj Allainz online. In the detail section, it will ask old insurance details which I always gave some junk policy number and some other Insurance company.
I haven't claimed any insurance for past 3 years. Will they verify claim based on policy number or car registration number? If later, then there wont be any issue I guess.

If you have not claimed for last 3 years ,you are losing out on NCB each time you buy as a new customer.By this time you could have accumulated 35 % as NCB. So actually you are losing out on this bargain.Other than this, it is illegal to give wrong information to the insurer. If caught ,this will make the insurance policy void. It is very easy for an insurance company to check you up as the vehicle details will be present in the system.The chances would have been less if you are insuring from different companies. Don't take chances here ,do it the right way next time.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

That part about inspection is true. I have switched providers every year due to higher cost of renewals.
If your extra effort in filling up online forms is worth the savings, then go ahead.
A rupee saved is a rupee earned.

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm out of Hyderabad currently and would likely be back by mid-May and very close to the policy expiry date. So presenting the car before the insurance expires might not be feasible for me this time.

As for the time needed to fill up a form, I've heard about those urban legends like Bill Gates doesn't bother to pick up a $10 bill that fell down since he earns more than that in a second and so on. I'm yet to figure into that elite list.

[dass]

Originally Posted by zenren

he mentioned that there is no inspection of the vehicle even if I switch the insurance provider as long as I do it before the current policy expires. Can someone who switched the policy provider please confirm if this is true?

This is true. Inspection is only done when the previous policy has lapsed before you get a new one, else no inspection is required.