Decent car insurance quotes with FBD? Do they exist?

peanuthead

Hey

Just wondering if there are any people out there who have gotten decent car quotes with FBD for non-commercials?

I got a dire quote with them 2 years ago, €300 dearer than any other company and I swore I wouldn't go near them again, but the OH convinced me to give them a second chance on account of the fact that he got a great commercial quote with them, €300 cheaper than others!!

So I gave them a call, looking for insurance on a Ford Puma, 1.7, I'm 26, female, no mods, convictions, restrictions, 3 years no claims.

They wouldn't quote me. Even after an appeal to their underwriters. Too high performance :rolleyes: Are they for real?

I had no intention of going with them in the first place as I had a feeling any quote I would get would be crap anyway, but I have to say I was shocked to hear that they wouldn't refuse me on the grounds that the car was too high performance. It's not the racing model by the way.

This leaves me wondering - Is there anyone out there who has had a good experience with FBD with regard to cheap insurance. If so, what do you drive?

voxpop

They are great for me - ~500 for a 2.5L 523i. Their initial quote was 100 quid cheaper than quinn a year ago and dropped this year at renewal by about 200. Always helpful on the phone to boot.


edit : btw I just turned 30 - so that might be the clincher

dudara

I tried them last year online for my then E36 318i (1.9l) - they wouldn't quote me online for the car. At the time I was 30, female, no points etc.

I just didn't seem to fit whatever profile customer they want.

Got myself and the partner insured with Axa (via a broker) for €550

Alanstrainor

dudara wrote: »

I tried them last year online for my then E36 318i (1.9l) - they wouldn't quote me online for the car. At the time I was 30, female, no points etc.

I just didn't seem to fit whatever profile customer they want.

Got myself and the partner insured with Axa (via a broker) for €550

Those online quoting systems are absolutely rubbish most of the time.

Jip

They've always been decent for me, never went with them though as my current insurer always slightly bettered them.

You'll find that some companies will always be like that for you, I know lots of people who get great quotes from Hibernian but they have never once been competitive for me.

ToxicPaddy

I was with FBD for 3 years and all was good, shopped around each year, their quote was always competitive, never had problems, my front passenger window was smashed one evening by some scumbag and they sorted it with no problems whatsoever, told me my policy wouldn't be affected.

Come renewal time, my renewal quote was about €250 more than the nearest and that was the end of that, seemed to have no interest in trying to keep me as a customer, so I moved on.

Still to this day ringing me about offers on car and home insurance and I keep telling them the same thing, inform them of my current car/house policy rates, ask if they can match the price and cover, they cant, so I tell them I'm not interested and dont call again until they can.

No idea what happened there but they have changed with their policies, cover etc.. I know quotes have gone up due to the number of claims being put in with all companies but they really don't seem to care if they get the business or not.

Btw, I'm 35, driving a 9 year old A6, 2 points on my license I got 2 years ago and accident free driving for over 10 years.. guess I dont fit their ideal profile!!

Tox

squod

I always call in, shopping online for car insurance is largely useless. Unless you are somehow gifted enough to negotiate with a laptop. Use the phone then call in, in person. To further negotiate the price.

colm_mcm

Never got anywhere with them. In fact they sounded exactly like the people they were taking the p1ss out of in their nononsense.ie ads.

peanuthead

lol colm_mcm!!

I did phone them and to be fair the girl was lovely.

But the thing is there are people here saying they are insured on 2.5 l cars. She told me specifically that they weren't quoting me because of my engine size!!

Now surely that can't be true.

biko

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Those online quoting systems are absolutely rubbish most of the time.

I was turned down by one online system and rang them. The person answering pretty much just logged my details into the same interface and went "the system says no".
"Why, what's wrong?"
"I don't know"

dudara

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Those online quoting systems are absolutely rubbish most of the time.

Agreed. But they are the first port of call for most people and if they refuse to quote me online, then I'd have a fair idea that even if they did quote me on the phone, it would be excessive.

Internet quoting is a first filter. The second filter is to get on the blower.

My father was insured with FBD for years as a farmer. But he lost the plot with them years ago after trouble on a claim our Lancia was driven into.

peanuthead

Well in fairness to them they were polite and even called me back like they said they would.

But I just don't see them being any good for people who are not

a. farmers
b. commercial vehicle owners

That was my second time trying them for a quote, but that's it now, no 3rd time lucky for me I won't even bother with them again.

TheColl

peanuthead wrote: »

Well in fairness to them they were polite and even called me back like they said they would.

But I just don't see them being any good for people who are not

a. farmers
b. commercial vehicle owners

That was my second time trying them for a quote, but that's it now, no 3rd time lucky for me I won't even bother with them again.

I am neither and got a fantastic quote (that I ended up going with) on nononsense.ie. I'm driving a 1.6 though, perhaps that's why. Find it very strange that they wouldn't even quote you on a 1.7 though! Especially as you are female and have 3 years no claims!

JHMEG

Checking around for the brother recently. FBD were the cheapest by far.

McSpud

Been with them for 3 years now. I have full NCB. I think I could have got slightly cheaper this year but not worth the hassle. Never made a claim so don't know what they like.

peanuthead

TheColl wrote: »

I am neither and got a fantastic quote (that I ended up going with) on nononsense.ie. I'm driving a 1.6 though, perhaps that's why. Find it very strange that they wouldn't even quote you on a 1.7 though! Especially as you are female and have 3 years no claims!

JHMEG wrote: »

Checking around for the brother recently. FBD were the cheapest by far.

McSpud wrote: »

Been with them for 3 years now. I have full NCB. I think I could have got slightly cheaper this year but not worth the hassle. Never made a claim so don't know what they like.

Wow! Fair play - didn't think people like you lot existed!! lol

I'm not too put out by the fact that they didn't insure me - I just find it funny that they would consider my car 'high performance'. I'm sure if I went around myself calling it hp i'd be laughed at!

Axa are insuring me and the OH for 785. It seems extremely reasonable when you consider that some place is totally unwilling to take my business at all.