Credit crunch really screwed me for the 1st time today

This all sounds very strange. If your circumstances haven’t changed, the only way I can see your insurance going up by so much is if they made a mistake last year (so you’ve gained not lost).

Car insurance is a very competitive business - there are lots of players and it is easy for a driver to move - and most insurance companies often money on it.

The premium will have very little to do with the credit crunch and all premiums are based on past data (all gets pooled nowadays so companies can see what is happening in the market).

Prices are rising a little due to the recession - increased payouts for uninsured drivers (blame the government for this one for they are responsible for compensating victims of crime, but they make insurers (i.e. policyholders) pay to keep taxes down and avoid hassle) - but your rise is due to other factors.

Also, it’s worth noting that the biggest cause of rising prices is large personal injury claims which are rising at a much higher rate than inflation, as they have been for years.

You can do a little to help, such as parking on a drive rather than the street, and a simple one is to put wife/partner on the insurance - in most cases this will reduce insurance (honest, it saves me £30 a year).

So, shop around for a better quote - go direct into Direct Line, Churchill, Hastings (cheapest for me).

Ian
ps. I work on the technical side of [life] insurance, but am very familiar with costing motor insurance.

‘most insurance companies often money on it’ = ‘most insurance companies often **lose ** money on i’