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Insurance companies are (bites tounge).
Like a few of us I decided to have a gander at options should I leave the scheme. I’ve always loved the insignia and would happily swap to it, although going back to ice would probably hurt. But I love that car.
Family member is a mechanic so no worries there, found a nice 2.0 tdci elite nav with 70000 miles for 6k. I can’t remember the year but think it was 8yo.
I put all the details in for an insurance check including the 13 years no claims I would expect mobility to cover. Was honest about restricted (auto) licence. And the cheapest quote was £400.97 a month FS. Or £4588 a year. I was not expecting that.
So I’m of to America in January for a trip of a lifetime which I’ve saved hard for. Fly to Miami for 4 days, train down to the keys for 2 days then hire a muscle car to drive up to Tampa for 4 days. Total price about £1500.
Cheapest quote for travel insurance £840 fs. But aye the press and political parties say we are feckin leeches and should be treated like non disabled people.
I can’t afford that travel insurance and unfortunately the trip is paid for, so I have to go with no insurance. No point in lying as if something does happen the insurance company will find out and refuse to pay.
Ps family member traveling with me is two years younger and fit and healthy. His quote was £61
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I feel for you @des That’s just crazy. Having an auto only licence shouldn’t affect the premium, and it’s a very modest car so, unless you live in an exceptionally high risk area and park on the street (and / or are particularly elderly) I am at a loss as to why your premium is so high.
I don’t have a restricted licence, am not disabled, live in a low risk area and park in a garage, but I looked at quotes for a significantly more expensive BMW X5 with a high performance engine and, even with just 3 years no claims bonus most quotes were around £650 fully comp, which would obviously drop as my no claims built back up.
Presumably you’ve tried the insurance price comparison websites? I’d start again just incase you’ve inadvertently answered a question incorrectly. The other option, if the high weighting is down to you for some reason, is to add a family member who is say 30-60 years of age with a clean licence and good no claims history and in good health as a named driver, even if they will never drive the car. This will change the risk profile on the policy. This approach works brilliantly for young drivers. Adding a parent as a named driver, even if they will never ever drive the car, massively reduces the insurance premium whilst still allowing the youngster to build up no claims history in their own name.
Remember to highlight that your no claims was built up through mobility. When I was trying to get a quote for my son not all insurance companies (on a comparison site) would accept the no claims from mobility, when you went into the quote, fortunately Hastings Direct did!!
I hope you enjoy the trip, it sounds great and it is a nice place to visit but I have to say…. You’re a Fool 🤦♂️
Imagine going to a country where its own citizens are made bankrupt with medical bills even when they have insurance and you want to risk going without it… I hope I don’t see another Go Fund Me page to bring someone home 🤬
Does seem weird, just got quotes on the Meerkat site with £100 voluntary excess & 10k miles a year for:
’23 plate Suzuki Across, 23k value, 323hp, £410 with AA (or £466 with Hastings Direct).
’24 plate Model Y Long Range RWD, £25k value, 384hp, £612 with Hastings Direct.
’23 plate Skoda Superb Sportline Estate 2.0tdi £23k value 200hp, £389 with Hastings Direct.
’24 plate Toyota Bz4X Motion RWD, £23 Value, 200hp, £415 with Hastings Direct.
All with 9 yrs no claims, but even with 3 years NCD, the BZ4x goes up to £475 on Hastings Direct (lowest quote £404 with Axa). Something seems very off for you to get quotes so sky high.
As for travel insurance, would never step foot out of the UK without it. I’ve never claimed but you are braver than me going to USA without insurance, small simple treatments can be astronomic without it, let alone major issues or repatriation costs.
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.
Hi Des,
I concur with above advice as previously a frequent visitor to the USA for both vacations and as a professional pilot. Health insurance is absolutely vital. Have had colleagues injured in a RTA when they were shunted from behind while stationary in a queue. Covered by BA as on duty, the bills were $ 10s of thousands for a couple of limb fractures and other injuries. Mosquito born diseases in Florida are thankfully rare but do exist. It is simply too risky. Your plans sound great fun. My travel days are over with increasing in-capacitance, annoying for my wife as I still get free tickets,
I phoned Direct line when I left the scheme in August. Very helpful and provided letter confirming no claims. New Kodiaq £400 pa with Alliance, better than expected. Good luck and have a great trip.
When I planned a trip to new York in 2010 my quote for health insurance was around £5,000, as at the time I was under treatment for renal cancer. When I enquired about excluding any claims with regard to my cancer diagnosis and treatment, it went down to a £150.00, now I know this might not be suitable as it depends on health conditions, but is it worth trying,
When I planned a trip to new York in 2010 my quote for health insurance was around £5,000, as at the time I was under treatment for renal cancer. When I enquired about excluding any claims with regard to my cancer diagnosis and treatment, it went down to a £150.00, now I know this might not be suitable as it depends on health conditions, but is it worth trying,
This is a good call. Excluding diagnosed conditions, or conditions that are under investigation, whilst still risky, is immensely more sensible than travelling to the US with no insurance whatsoever.
Excluding diagnosed conditions, or conditions that are under investigation, whilst still risky, is immensely more sensible than travelling to the US with no insurance whatsoever.
I often try a vaguely similar tack with my travel insurers on the basis that that my amputated left leg is no longer there, thus doesn’t need insuring and therefore should bring about some form of discount off the policy (my ‘bionic’ e-prosthetic being covered on a separate ‘all risks’ worldwide policy which includes the stump).
However they say they don’t give a discount for missing parts, even though they don’t need insuring!
Overall though, the OP would be taking a big risk, particularly in the USA, if skimping on travel insurance. If the diagnosed condition is one that can flare up at any time, the cost of treatment in the USA would probably dwarf any insurance cost.
Regards to the car insurance. I’ve own drive way and for a city I’m in a not really high risk area. I also live in a big cul-de-sac of about 120 houses and I’m right at the back. Driving for 31 years with no claims or even bumps. I’m 50 years of age lol. I only recently found out my license was restricted to auto as when I got it back after driving assessment it still had all categories, but then in small print on the back says auto only or something like that. I’ve no plans to come of the scheme but just thought I’ve have a gander to see incase I did. Maybe I did put in a wrong bit of info.
And TBF it was just a comparison site to get a rough idea, but was not expecting that price.
Travel insurance I definitely was not expecting as my conditions are not under investigation and are being managed. My insurance several years ago to Beijing was only around £180 for two weeks. All my European trips including 10 days in Tenerife during the summer average between £80 to £120 so I was not expecting that price as all policies have had the same information provided. And that’s what make me think I’m just being ripped off. Actually I don’t think I mentioned the second aneurysm and only mentioned the coiled one on this quote. That will probably put another zero on it lol.
I think that you must have inadvertently put in some incorrect info @des From what you have said I’d expect insurance on the Insignia to be no more than around £500.
When searching for insurance, put your browser in to incognito mode too as the cookies will be saved from your last visit so it would not change much. It also can be the same with travel insurance.
Going to the USA without travel insurance is a very risky game that I would not take personally. One slip and a broken leg later, and you’re looking at 5 figures. Not long ago, I read a woman who had no travel insurance and had a medical incident that required her to get a mediflight home, that cost 6 figures.
Best of luck though in your search!
Travel insurance to a country that likes to bankrupt its own citizens is always going to be expensive ☹️
On the subject of travel insurance, last year we had an epic holiday to 15 different Caribbean islands (all different countries) plus Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Belize, Bermuda and multiple destinations across 2 US states. The trip was over 2 months long. We heard all sorts of horror stories of people having to pay thousands for insurance and in the end, based on a recommendation, I got really good travel insurance through Nationwide for around £500.
We weren’t Nationwide customers at the time, and to get the cover you had to have an account that had a £15 monthly fee (now £18) but, before committing, I called their insurers to ask about my wife’s medical condition and disability and my (less serious) conditions. They confirmed that they would cover these pre existing conditions for an additional £200. With that knowledge I then opened the account. It’s covered a few other holidays since but we are unlikely to need the cover from now on so I can simply cancel the account. Might be worth a look.
On the subject of travel insurance . . . Nationwide . . . account that had a £15 monthly fee (now £18) but, before committing, I called their insurers to ask about my wife’s medical condition and disability and my (less serious) conditions. They confirmed that they would cover these pre existing conditions for an additional £200.
Yup another vote for the Nationwide Flexplus account. I added my ‘conditions’ for a small additional fee no bother. I had to make a claim whilst in France and they were brilliant, really supportive.
Skoda Enyaq Race Blue
When I planned a trip to new York in 2010 my quote for health insurance was around £5,000, as at the time I was under treatment for renal cancer. When I enquired about excluding any claims with regard to my cancer diagnosis and treatment, it went down to a £150.00, now I know this might not be suitable as it depends on health conditions, but is it worth trying,
Ditto. My renal cancer stopped me from seeing family in the states. I don’t travel much these days as I get too tired and am restricted on what I can do. When I could, I had to gamble on getting back home without needing medical treatment.
@des Have you had any luck re running car insurance quotes?
I’ve literally just run a quote on a price comparison website on a 2021 BMW X5 M50i, value just over £50k. This is a 4.4 litre V8 car producing well over 500 bhp and is in about the highest insurance group you can get. The lowest 6 quotes were all between £550 and £650 fully comp, including legal protection. They were with known companies as well, including Admiral Platinum cover. You can therefore see that £4.5k premium for an Insignia diesel worth just £6k cannot possibly be right!
@des re the travel insurance – did you price an annual multi trip or single trip as the annual multi trip can be cheaper.
My wife and I have health issues and we got a multi trip cover for the pair of us including cruise cover for under £600. That was with Saga.
Quote from compare the market was £750 annually. Last quote was with MSE I think. I did say no to all the extras, break down cover, no claims protection etc on this quote. And I did say that DVLA know about medical conditions but have not restricted licence. In hindsight maybe I should have just to compare the two. But surely an automatic wouldn’t justify that price hike.
Quote from compare the market was £750 annually. Last quote was with MSE I think. I did say no to all the extras, break down cover, no claims protection etc on this quote. And I did say that DVLA know about medical conditions but have not restricted licence. In hindsight maybe I should have just to compare the two. But surely an automatic wouldn’t justify that price hike.
Well that’s a bit of a drop from £4.5k! An auto only licence won’t make any difference. With car insurance, you only have to declare medical conditions that DVLA consider to be reportable. Still seems way to much to me versus the sort of quotes I get with less no claims discount, on a car worth nearly ten times as much, and many insurance groups higher, which makes me think some info may still be inaccurate, but at least it’s getting towards a more sensible number now.
Does actually seem reasonably correct to me depending on where he lives. I don’t know where he lives, you seem to do since you disregard that factor entirely – but for someone who doesn’t know where he lives, this price difference wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise.
To take your particular example, the M50i on average is around £1000 in New Quay (TR8), and £4900 in London (E10). Same car, same circumstances. Just by being in the “wrong” area.
Just location and age together can more than tenfold the premiums (a roughly 30% increase in insurance for 30-40 year olds to 50+).
For funsies, i ran the insurance gauntlet with a close approximation (2018 Insignia Elite Nav, 2l diesel, £6k) and a mix of his and my information (don’t know his age, so took mine, my approximate address etc), with a mix of “good” and “bad” choices for the multiple choice stuff.
Came out to £603 (£250 voluntary excess) cheapest. I live rural in bumfork nowhere, so £750 is rather realistic.
As for the “automatic only” marker, ran the exact same details twice (with the license changed to “auto only”), exact same quotes.
email of course a temp one.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.I recently left the scheme and went to my own vehicle, as sadly lost both parents last year and therefore had finances i was not hoping or planning for. I found an Insurance Broker, was the easiest way to go re Insurance. After multiple phone calls and reaching the end to be told sorry will not cover you. I am on the 3yr medical driving licence for Parkinsons, which was the biggest stumbling block re vehicle insurance. However a broker found me Insurance not cheap but did give a discount for over 5yrs claim free on Motability . So for a new VW California camper with 20k per year milage allowance i am at 2k for fully comp protected no claims.
Cars On Motability
2009 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
2012 Vauxhall Antara
2013 Skoda Superb Estate
2016 Seat Alhambra
2020 Seat Tarraco
2021 Ford Kuga
2024 Nissan X-Trail left in Sep 25Don’t go to the states without insurance, it really is a false economy, you will not be treated in a hospital without it, and if they do treat you, you will find yourself with a huge bill that they will chase.
We go to our villa in Florida twice a year and I pay a small (£150) premium on my bank travel insurance,
If you have a bank account, check their travel insurance, if you gaveca specific disability, check that disability forums and groups to see if there us a specific company they use
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