Car Insurance Renewal - three hours of my life I will NEVER get back

This evening at 7pm my phone rang.  For once I could actually understand the accent on the line, so I made the effort to listen.  I immediately regretted that decision.  It was Swinton Insurance Brokers telling me my car insurance renewal was due.

Here we go again - It's that time of year.

I am not particularly computer compliant but I know how to use a comparison site to find cheaper car insurance.  It takes about fifteen minutes, switch on PC, go compare a few confused meerkats and off you go.  Usually the quotes are all about the same in the lowest band ~ anywhere around £225 depending on excesses and extras. 

My insurance is fairly straight forward, no previous claims or convictions and maximum no claims bonus.  I spent fifteen years working in car insurance so I know what I am talking about. 

As the renewal date is actually 11th Jan I had not yet done my searching.  Usually I do it two days beforehand, online.  15 minutes - Simples!

Swinton asked me the same 101 or so questions they ask me every year.  Even though NOTHING had changed other than I am a year older they still had to ask.  I had almost lost the will to live by the end.  She came up with a quote of £360 which I said was not even close.  She then gave me a reference number and put me through to someone in BEWISE Insurance.

The idiot I was put through to in BEWISE was clearly freshly out of a cave or school or something as his common sense was seriously lacking.  He asked how he could help me!  I said I doubted he could, someone had called me and put me through to him.  I gave him the reference number he found my details - which had been taken minutes before on the same phone call.  Nevertheless he asked me ALL of the 101 or so questions again plus a few more for good measure.  He also asked for my mobile number.  I told him no chance was he getting that.  He told me it wasn't for him it was for the database!  Erm...quite!  I told him no way - I didn't want sales calls on my mobile.  He finally came up with a best quote of … wait for it … £450. ‘How does that sound?’ he said, hopefully.  Bear in mind I'd already told him the previous company quoted £360 which was itself £140 more than my renewal quote.

As if anticipating my reply he says ‘Hang on I may be able to offer you cashback after 90 days of’… (the suspense was suffocating)... ‘£150 – How does THAT sound’. 
My response was not repeatable but along the lines of ‘Why on earth would I pay £220 more than my renewal quote to you, to have you give me £150 back after 90 days?’.   Furthermore the excess on his policy was double that of my renewal.

You would have thought he would have given up. However, full marks for perseverance. He said ‘There may be someone who could beat that quote. Can I put you through to XYZ insurance?’ and before I could remove my head from the brick wall I was bashing it against, a voice on the line said ‘Hello, How can I help you today?’ I advised them as politely as I was able that I did not think they could and I hung up.

I will be renewing my insurance with my current company online.   It will take me about 2 minutes and I'll be good to go. Thanks to that call I rest, reassured that I am getting the best deal by remaining with my current company.

 As I write my phone is ringing again. It had better NOT be a broker!