Insurance

Final negotiations have been completed on the Car Insurance front, resulting in a final premium of £475.00 including Protected No Claims Bonus, Legal Cover and Free Breakdown cover. That's a whopping £121 saving on my original renewal premium. See - it pays to shop around!

Well, the leak in the bathroom appears to have been identified, and has now stopped. Unfortunately, I'm still unable to recommend B&Q to anyone thinking of having a bathroom, or indeed, a kitchen by them.

On the insurance front, I've managed to negotiate a premium of some £510 with a local broker, even though I've had to swallow an increased excess (from £50 to £300!) which I'm not terrifically happy about. I did see that the Co-operative Bank has a new Privilege Premier Account which offers annual travel insurance and Green Flag breakdown along with a host of other benefits for £12 a month.

In the ten years that I've been driving, I've been through a couple of insurers: Drake, Highway at Lloyd's, Colonnade, Admiral, Elephant, and for the last three years, Co-operative (CIS).

Saturday saw the arrival of my renewal invitation. I knew that the premium would increase a little since my last renewal of c£260 (comprehensive), as I moved from a group 3 rated car to a group 13 car. Naturally, I assumed that the premium would move into low to mid £400 mark... but when I opened the renewal notice...SHOCK!

£596 per year was the figure. I'm forking out a mint as it is on petrol, without the insurance company trying to bankrupt me too.