Co Operative "smartbox" young driver insurance

[johnnybravo]

As above, anyone here tried this? Or know anyone that has?

Insurance has now got to the stage where I seriously cannot afford to insure my son's car... (£1200 last year, renewal has come through at £2027 and the nearest I can get with ANYONE else is over £3k)

However, with a smartbox, it comes down to £860....







(He's 17 btw, and driving a Clio 1.4 after passing his test 3 weeks ago)

 

[Gally]

I would insure with CIS if you paid me. A god awful company!!!!!!!

I work beside them ever day as an assessor and the way they treat customers is nothing short of shocking. The whole company needs a radical overhaul but it won't happen.

Avoid.

 

[Cookie]

What's the smartbox? GPS tracking?

 

[johnnybravo]

What's the smartbox? GPS tracking?

yup.

 

[JimWu]

http://news.carrentals.co.uk/co-op-...ces-insurance-for-young-drivers-34243820.html

Id be fucked just pulling out of my drive.

 

[Feirny]

Agree with what Gally said, CIS were awful for me, had to chase them to send my docs out to me!

 

[johnnybravo]

I would insure with CIS if you paid me. A god awful company!!!!!!!

I work beside them ever day as an assessor and the way they treat customers is nothing short of shocking. The whole company needs a radical overhaul but it won't happen.

Avoid.

Really? Good customer service and insurance companies aren't two phrases that I would associate anyway; but their quote came in at 30% of the nearest rival. And with an excess that is more than the car is worth, I really don't plan on making any claims ( I know no one PLANS on claiming, but if the car is worth £800, and your excess is £700, wouldn't you drive more carefully?)

 

[Gally]

Mate I paid 3150 more a year to insure with my insurance company to avoid Esure and CIS, they both always come up cheap so people just pick the first one that's cheapest without even reading the terms. I bet you didn't know that they will fit non genuine parts to your car or they'd rather spend 12 hours putting filler on your car than replace a damaged panel.

They have no interest in the customer, none at all. I'm sure people have had bad experiences at all insurance companies but at this moment in time there is no worse insurance company that Cis.

Shocking level of service offered to the customer. Recently I had a customer wait 3 weeks to hear if his car was a total loss. Everytime he phoned they said they were waiting to hear back from the engineers. 3 weeks without a car or any clue what's happening!

I'll pay the extra per year for decent service and know if the worst should happen i'll be looked after. I'm probably best placed to make this decision, I work beside 10 major insurance companies daily.

 

[EngineerD]

He will hate you for putting the GPS box in his car - however the price difference is huge. Get him a lower insurance group car? I had to make do with a 1.2 when I was 17/18 and it saved a hell of a lot

 

[johnnybravo]

Mate I paid 3150 more a year to insure with my insurance company to avoid Esure and CIS, they both always come up cheap so people just pick the first one that's cheapest without even reading the terms. I bet you didn't know that they will fit non genuine parts to your car or they'd rather spend 12 hours putting filler on your car than replace a damaged panel.

They have no interest in the customer, none at all. I'm sure people have had bad experiences at all insurance companies but at this moment in time there is no worse insurance company that Cis.

Shocking level of service offered to the customer. Recently I had a customer wait 3 weeks to hear if his car was a total loss. Everytime he phoned they said they were waiting to hear back from the engineers. 3 weeks without a car or any clue what's happening!

I'll pay the extra per year for decent service and know if the worst should happen i'll be looked after. I'm probably best placed to make this decision, I work beside 10 major insurance companies daily.

You pay AN EXTRA £3150 a year for decent service? You must get paid too much...

 

[johnnybravo]

He will hate you for putting the GPS box in his car - however the price difference is huge. Get him a lower insurance group car? I had to make do with a 1.2 when I was 17/18 and it saved a hell of a lot

Made a difference of about £80 a year going from a 1.1 Peugeot 206 to a Clio 1.4s (the pug was cheaper). I've argued with so many insurance companies on the phone this week it's unbelievable. It's no wonder there are so many uninsured young drivers out there.

He's a sensible lad anyway.

 

[Gally]

£150.

 

[johnnybravo]

£150.

Totally different ball game then mate. I agree, I'd pay that much extra for peace of mind, but not £1400 which is what it was in my case

 

[johnnybravo]

Made a difference of about £80 a year going from a 1.1 Peugeot 206 to a Clio 1.4s (the pug was cheaper). I've argued with so many insurance companies on the phone this week it's unbelievable. It's no wonder there are so many uninsured young drivers out there.

He's a sensible lad anyway.

and he wants to buy himself a 172 in a few years time, so by "forcing" him to drive carefully now, he's more likely to build up a decent NCD and avoid points over the next few years

 

[Homer-Simpson]

From that article it sounds like that if he drives quick etc you will be forced to pay additional costs on top of the original payment? What happens if he does or what happens when they think he is and you don't agree? It could work out more expensive in the long run! Might be worth reading their small print before you even think about moving to them. Also do you have to pay to have the box fitted?

 

[jack_kemp]

I've spent a lot of time looking at this insurance 'blackbox' thing.
It seems to me that they lure you in with a cheap quote, but they basically have the freedom to charge you extra on top for just about anything they feel necessary. You could quite comfortably end up paying more.

Have you put yourself on the insurance as a second driver? Putting my dad on still saved me £150 and I'm 21.