Insuring my first car, as a student
I didn't buy via your site. However, back in my student days, I wasn't earning enough money to be able to pay for my car insurance outright, and I had yet to hold down a job long enough to get a good credit score. In later years, I was able to pay for everything up front on a credit card, then pay back in monthly installments. However, at that moment in time, the ability to pay monthly allowed me to stay legal and purchase car insurance.
I think the person on the other end of the line in the insurance call center was aware that I was a young student as the interest rate I was offered on a £1000 policy was around 27%. This meant that I overpaid by around £300 over the course of the year. Looking back now, that seems excessive, but it was the only option available to me at the time. However, the £100 a month payments were manageable on the salary that I was on for my part time job, so the overall experience was a positive one to me.
This month by month payment was in the days before online comparisons sites and company websites made it easy to see all of your options ahead of time. My only dealing with the insurance company was over the phone, so I think there was a certain amount of sales pressure put on me to sign up to the monthly payment plan that doesn't exist now that everything is available on the internet. However, all of my options were explained clearly to me, and I was able to make notes during the call to make sure that I understood exactly what I was signing up for. The fact that they set up the Direct Debit for me also made it easy for me as it was one less thing to worry about.
Overall, it was a positive experience for me. While the total cost would seem prohibitive to me now, at the time the monthly payment made getting car insurance affordable for me.
What are other motorist' experiences of monthly car insurance?
Insuring my Vauxhall Polo Insuring several cars