Car insurance UP 61%, free £205 trick, £27 designer specs, 'I've made £3,000 using MSE', £38 Travelodge, cheapest iPhone 13

"In September, I warned here that we were seeing horrific rises in car insurance. New data out then showed average renewal prices 41% higher, and we cautioned you to act urgently as worse was predicted. Now... it seems 'worse' is here, seemingly even more quickly than expected. So I make no bones about repeating the warning, but this time EVEN LOUDER!

The new stats are from different sources from last month, analysts at Consumer Intelligence, who assess 17m quotes a year. The stats show premiums are up a whopping 61% on last year, while comparison site Confused says the average price is now a massive £924 a year.

And indeed both are reflected by the wrath people report their renewals to me with on social media. And sadly, Consumer Intelligence says things are likely (no guarantee though) to keep getting worse until the middle of 2024.

Insurers say rises are partly due to general inflation, rising car repair costs - with garages charging more for parts and labour - and paying out more for written-off cars, due to the value of used cars getting ever higher. Whether this justifies it or not is frankly moot; the rises are happening, the most pressing issue is how to try to counter them, so let me say it again...

Everyone, take a few minutes to check if you're overpaying. If you are, even if you're not near renewal, you may be able to lock in a price to forestall future increases for a year.

Do listen to my recent car insurance cost-cutting podcast, in conjunction with the key tools and tips below from me and the team..."

Fill in just one questionnaire via our Compare+ tool. It gives you your results from one comparison, shows the cheapest time to buy, whether to add extra drivers, check other comparisons and more.

As Rosie emailed us a few days ago: "I have just used your Compare+ Car Insurance tool and got my normal renewal quote down from £1,100 to £488, just £17 more than I paid last year. Fantastic, and please keep up the good work!"
More than one car at home? Comparison sites don't check multicar cover so you'll need to check manually whether it saves you money. Martin's rule of thumb is "if you're on a multicar policy, check separate policies to see if you can save; if you're on separate, check multicar".

Probably the best-known multicar provider is Admiral*, but Aviva, LV*, Diamond and Elephant* also offer these policies. Don't worry if your renewals are at different dates, they'll work around that.

Axa* and Privilege offer discounts for multiple cars, but not multicar policies. Plus Direct Line* and Churchill offer a discount if you have other insurances with them, not just another car policy.
Should you combine car and home cover? Again, it's trial and error. So get prices for car and home cover separately, then check the multicover type policies below.

- Multicover: Admiral* and LV* offer this. You can grab it even if your current policies start at different dates, as you start with one then add the other when it's time.
- Discounts for multiple separate policies: Direct Line*, Aviva & Churchill offer existing-customer discounts if you get a new policy with them.

PS: Home insurance costs are rising rapidly too, so similar logic applies there. If you're looking for separate policies, our Cheap home insurance guide will take you through it.

Insurance is like comedy... timing is everything
Though right now prices are far from funny!

Getting quotes three weeks before renewal may halve costs. We analysed 70m quotes to find the optimum time before you want your cover to start to get quotes from new firms. As the graph below shows, it averages at 23 days, though any time between 20 and 26 days doesn't make much difference.

A graph showing how the cost of the average car insurance quote rises the closer you get to your renewal date. It shows that a policy costs an average of £1,198 a year on renewal day. But 23 days earlier (when the cheapest quotes are usually given) the average is just £694 a year, a huge £504 difference. Graph links to full info on this MoneySaving tip in our Cheap car insurance guide.

(The pattern is similar but flatter for home insurance, where 21 days before is optimal though the savings aren't as big.)

This happens quite simply because insurance is priced on risk, and providers' 'actuarial charts' likely show those who renew at the last minute are often a higher risk.

As Krishna emailed us: "I was a non-believer till last week. My quote went down from £1,500 one month before insurance expiry to an unbelievable £650 21 days before. Thanks so much."

Not at renewal? Still CHECK NOW. While generally we talk about getting a quote in the sweet spot three weeks before renewal, there's no harm checking to see if you're currently overpaying even if you're months away from renewal.

As Holly emailed us: "I'm so glad to get your emails. I wouldn't have thought to cancel my car insurance mid-year and start a new one which is £300/yr less."

If you are switching mid-year, provided you haven't claimed on your current policy, you can usually just cancel it and get a pro-rata refund if you paid upfront, minus a usually £50 admin fee (do factor that in). The main negative is you won't earn this year's no-claims bonus.

With prices possibly escalating further, some may even consider whether they can get a quote mid-year even roughly the same as now. Then, to prevent possibly heavy price hikes, you could grab it now so you're locked in for longer.

You may think all this checking is a bit unnecessary - because, since January 2022, car and home insurers have been banned from charging renewing customers more than they charge new customers.

The rule changed to end the annual 'price-walk' of pushing up prices at each renewal, so that by year five you paid a massive loyalty premium. Yet while that's gone, auto-renewing is still likely to cost more...

- Some firms have simply boosted prices for all.
- The 'same price for both' rule is channel specific. For example, if you got insurance direct, your renewal must cost the same as it would if you were a new direct customer. Yet they can charge you more (or less) than they would a new customer via a comparison site (& can price each comparison differently).
- Pricing varies hugely by firm & by customer type they want to recruit.
- Many firms own more than one brand. They may aim to win new business via new brands, leaving existing brands at higher prices.

Of course, of the millions of readers of this email, some will find their renewal is cheapest. If so, fab. The key is to never assume your renewal is the winner without checking.

If you can find a cheaper quote elsewhere, but like your current insurer, then ask it to match your cheapest quote. There's full help in Car & home insurance haggling tips. Here are a few to start:

- Do it close to renewal so the threat of losing your custom is stronger.
- Get an actual quote as a benchmark to ask it to beat/match.
- Use charm, chutzpah, cheek & a smile (never aggression).
- Don't get rushed in to accepting the first offer.

As Carol emailed: "Great news! I have just saved £45 on my car insurance (renewal £242, new quote £197) after reading your tips on how to haggle. Thank you so much."

As with any insurance, check the policy details, and read exactly what's covered before signing up. Do also ensure the insurer is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

That means if you feel you've been treated unfairly, or that your claim has been unfairly rejected (or the payout is too small), you have a right to take 'em to the free Financial Ombudsman.

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

'We've made £2,300 and got 24 free bottles of wine from switching banks, and are due £100s more from stoozing!'
We loved Sally's email so much we wanted to share it. It pays to play the system...

To: successes@moneysavingexpert.com
Sent: 25 October 2023,12:46pm
Subject: Sally Switch and Sally Stooze

Dear Martin and the MSE team, this is just a quick email to say thanks. [A pleasure, we love it. I've added links & notes below to help others follow your lead - Martin.]

My husband and I have made £2,325 and 24 bottles of wine (which made great gifts) in the last two years from bank switching and we're currently stoozing £11,000 on 0% credit cards.

We've switched with most of the big name banks now. [Currently try HSBC FREE £205 trick | Nationwide FREE £200 | First Direct FREE £175 & TOP service | Lloyds FREE £175.]

Hopefully we'll be able to switch more soon, once we're on the right side of the 'you can't have had switching cash from us since this date' rule. [See how to make £1,000s repeatedly switching bank.] The 'use the debit card five times' requirement some banks ask for is affectionately known as banana taps in our house [a cheap way to hit 'must spend' rules to trigger payouts is to buy a supermarket banana].

As for the stoozing, I was unsure, but after reading your example of Sally Stooze roughly a year ago, I knew I had to! [Stoozing is a formula for the debt-free to manipulate 0% cards for profit. You deliberately build up 0% debt, leaving equivalent cash to build in your bank account, which you can then save to earn 5%+ interest. Do be careful though and read the warnings - it's only for the financially savvy.]

We're due to pay the 0% credit cards off in full in a year's time. I've a calendar reminder set up. I reckon with the switching money and cashback we'll have made about £3,000 in total.

I also regularly keep an eye on your top savings rates and currently have a 6.2% fix and 5.2% easy access. I also jump at free cashback on new credit cards, the latest being Halifax Clarity (banana taps strike again) and we took these cards away as they're one of the top cards to use overseas - bonus!

We have Club Lloyds current accounts that I "ping" £2,000 to and from on the first working day of the month to waive the £3 account fee and get 6 cinema tickets each a year. Oppenheimer was fantastic (Cillian Murphy should get an Oscar nomination), The Equalizer 3 I was expecting to be a little more exciting (but who doesn't love Denzel Washington), and A Haunting in Venice was very dark!

I often tell people about your site [ta muchly], and suggest they give switching and/or stoozing a go. It's so easy if you're careful and organised. I made a comprehensive spreadsheet for the switching to keep track of what I needed to do and when to make sure we got the cash.

Keep doing what you and your team are doing so well. [And the same to you with knobs on - Martin.]

Sally

Trick to grab a FREE £205 bank bribe WITHOUT even switching. The new HSBC £205 switch trick bonus we told you about last week got mostly great feedback, including from Gary, who emailed: "Thank you for your tips on an easy £205 from HSBC. I've just opened it - easiest money I've ever made." So if you missed it, do try it.

£27 designer prescription specs (normally £89). MSE Blagged. Via SpeckyFourEyes code - includes Hackett, Jasper Conran, Lipsy and Radley. Specs appeal

Ends Fri. Grab one of 5,300 totally FREE £50 investments. This is frankly a ridiculous deal. If you put £50 (or more) into robo-investment firm Wealthify (it picks the investment for you, so it's easy), then after a year it will give you £50 cashback. So put fifty quid in, get the investment, and then you get your money back, so whatever the investment is worth in a year is a win. Even if your investment completely flops, at worst you break-even. See robo-investing.

New series. The Martin Lewis Money Show Live - tonight (Tue) 8pm ITV. Over to Martin: "We're back, on now most Tuesdays until March, with series 13 (where's the time gone?). And as we're back, that means winter's on its way, so the first show is everything you need to know to prep yourself, energy bills, boiler cover, breakdown and more. It's live so even I'm not sure what's in it yet, as your questions dictate where we go. Please watch or at least set the Betamax."

M&S Advent calendar out now, 20% off No7, plus £125 of Ciaté nail polish for £19. MSE Blagged. MSE Rhiannon rounds up the best value beauty Advent calendars, including discounts from Debenhams and No7. See all beauty Advent calendar deals.

Millions to get 'benefits' £300 cost of living payment from today. Find who gets what when.

From Wed. 600,000 Travelodge rooms £38 or less - can you find 'em? The hotel chain has released more £38 rooms for stays over the Christmas period (excluding London), but it can be trial and error to find one. Travelodge

NatWest Group's 5.2% top easy-access savings pipped... but only if you don't need much access. For the last few weeks, a BIG name has surprisingly topped the easy-access savings table: NatWest Group's Ulster Bank* at 5.2% AER (min £5,000) with unlimited withdrawals. Yet now you can get a tad more via Paragon's 5.25% AER (min £1,000), but withdraw more than twice in a year and the rate drops to just 1.5%. Full info & options in Top savings.

PS: Marcus savings customer? You can boost your rate by 0.49% with a click.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- £27 designer prescription specs Ends Thu 30 Nov
- iPhone 13 £25/mth on Three Ends Mon 6 Nov
- 3 months' free access to 7,000+ mags Ends Fri 15 Dec

DID YOU MISS?

- Amazon £5 off £20 or £4 off £12 & more
- Should you join diesel claims vs Audi, BMW & more?
- How to reclaim lost cash for FREE
- Netflix is hiking costs - is it playing a psychological trick?
- Earn £30 Amazon voucher doing quick online surveys

Martin: 'On minimum wage? You may be one of 300,000+ still UNDERPAID. Ensure you get what you're due'

Even M&S, WHSmith and employment agencies get it wrong. Pls help SPREAD WORD

Last week, I was proud to have again been asked to front the Living Wage Foundation charity's video announcement of its new REAL living wage (see below). Yet sadly around 1.6 million employees won't get this amount as they're on the state's lesser, lower minimum wage. And worse, the annual figures from the Low Pay Commission reveal in 2022, yet again, over 330,000 people on minimum wage were still underpaid, and many still will be missing out on £100s. So I want to take you through what to check...

The UK minimum wage rates by law (since 1 April 2023)
Age 23+: £10.42/hr	Age 21-22: £10.18/hr
Age 18-21: £7.49/hr	Apprentices & under-18s: £5.28/hr
The rates apply even if you're not paid hourly. Eg, aged 25, working 35hrs a week, your annual salary must be a min £18,964.

SEVEN ways you may be underpaid when on minimum wage. Full info in our Minimum wage: Are you being paid enough? guide, but here's a brief list of the main ones (click the link to the guide if you think they may impact you)...

UNIFORM, TOOLS & SAFETY CLOTHING. If you must buy them, the cost shouldn't take you below the equivalent minimum wage. This is the most common failing.
YOU SHOULD BE PAID FOR ALL WORKING TIME. Including overtime, security checks, handover meetings, opening up, being on call & more. So if you get less than min wage once these are factored in, you're owed.
CAN'T 'TOP UP' WITH TIPS OR OVERTIME. These must be on top of minimum wage.
COMMISSION ONLY? Employers must top up with a salary to meet the minimum wage if you don't earn it.
ACCOMMODATION COSTS. Pay can only be reduced by a maximum £63.70 a week below minimum wage if your employer provides accommodation. This includes charges such as rent, gas, electricity, furniture and laundry.
NOT 'REAL' APPRENTICESHIPS. 18+ & your apprenticeship has no structured training? You may be underpaid.
ENSURE YOU GET THE MIN WAGE RISES. It should increase every April & when you turn 18, 21 and 23.

If you are or were being underpaid, you've a legal right to be paid more and to back pay. It can be very simple to do and you can remain anonymous when complaining. See full how to claim underpaid minimum wage.

As Naf posted in the MSE Forum: "The fact an employer saying 'you need black polo, trousers & shoes' has to be covered, really needs publicising more than it is. Loads of small businesses paying bang on min wage just expect staff to get their own clothing like this. Until I read this guide I had no idea, and I'm pretty good on basic employment rights."

Even M&S was named & shamed, so don't think 'I work for a big firm so it must be correct'. In June over 200 companies - including M&S, WHSmith, Lloyds Pharmacy and Argos - were named and shamed by the Govt for minimum wage failings.

What is the REAL living wage? Each year a panel of professionals for the Living Wage Foundation calculate the minimum that workers aged 18+ should be paid for a basic standard of living. The new amount is up 10.1% to £12/hr (£13.15/hr in London) - far higher than the state minimum wage. 14,000+ businesses have volunteered to sign up to the scheme, so all their employees aged 18+ must earn at least this, and as the latest increase rolls out over the next six months it should see 460,000 people paid more. See my vid on why employers should sign up.

You may be thinking, 'Doesn't the state have a national living wage?' Yes, sadly. In 2015, then Chancellor George Osborne nicked the name and rebranded the over-25s' (now over-23s') minimum wage the 'national living wage', but he didn't nick the amount, nor ensure it's calculated based on living standards, so on MSE we won't use that name - we still call it what it is, the minimum wage.

Scam ads law finally comes into effect. Scam ads are a scourge that can destroy people's financial lives and self-esteem. Martin has the dubious honour of being the UK's most scammed face. For years, he and MSE have campaigned to get stronger laws to force social media firms to clamp down on these criminal ads they're PAID to publish. Originally the Government wasn't going to put this into its Online Safety Bill, but we fought hard, got it in, and finally last week that bill (which has many other elements, some controversial) was made law. Full info in new scam ads law.

Cheapest ever iPhone 13 £25/mth. MSE Blagged. Newbies to Three can get a 128GB iPhone 13 (its model from two years ago) on a 24mth contract with 100GB data for £25/mth, with no upfront cost, via Affordable Mobiles. So you pay £600 over the 2yrs, about the same price as buying a new iPhone 13 outright. Note that Affordable Mobiles is responsible for the handset, Three for the contract. Want a different handset? See Cheap Mobile Finder.

Three months' free access to 7,000+ digital magazines, including Gardeners' World, Vogue. MSE Blagged. For Readly newbies. Mag-nificent

Black Friday predictions - what we reckon Amazon, Apple, John Lewis & more will do. While Black Friday's over three weeks away (24 Nov), many sales begin earlier, with some likely to launch this week. See what offers we think are likely, and when, in Black Friday predictions & tips.

FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets (normally up to £13.50). For Harrogate (3 to 5 Nov) and Somerset (18 to 19 Nov). Free tickets

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 29mths 0%, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR interest)
No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 14mths 0% (24.9% rep APR)

£125 + £80 to open (no switch required): HSBC
£200 to switch + 8% regular saver: Nationwide

Top easy access: Paragon Bank 5.25%, min £1,000
Top one-year fix: FirstSave 6%, min £1,000

Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AA (check eligibility / apply*), 7.2% rep APR (members), 7.3% rep APR (non-members)
Cheapest £7,500 to £15,000: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 5.9% rep APR (must have a Clubcard)

Cheapest standard broadband (up to 55Mb): Shell '£18.55/mth' (though its customer service rating ain't great)
Fast fibre (55Mb+) and 'OK' service: Vodafone '£21.75/mth'
Superfast fibre (100Mb+) and 'good' service: Plusnet £26.99/mth

On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.45/mth' for 5GB
10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£3.57/mth' for 12GB
31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£7.09/mth' for 70GB

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Can you spare three hours to help get food to vulnerable people this winter? From Thursday 30 November to Saturday 2 December, you can support charity FareShare by volunteering your time in Tesco stores across the UK to encourage shoppers to donate long-life food. The charity will then give donations to those in need via foodbanks. If you can't spare the time, but want to (and can afford to), you can also donate food in store. Volunteer with FareShare.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

How often have you had to dip into your savings? As the cost of living crisis continues to heap pressure on to the finances of many people across the UK, we'd like to know whether you've had to dip into any savings you have. And if so, how often, and why have you needed to dip into your savings pot? Vote in this week's poll.

Most kids got their first debit card at age 11. Last week we asked you when you think children should get a prepaid debit card or bank account and just over 2,300 people responded. The most common age for children to get a card was 11, with more than 15% of MoneySaving parents reporting this, which correlates with those who haven't got their kids a card yet - a fifth (20%) said that they'd consider it when their child hits 11. See full results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Superdrug launches 'VIP Rewards' for loyalty card members

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I get a Disabled Person's Railcard when my condition doesn't really affect me? I qualify for a Disabled Person's Railcard to get 1/3 off rail fares as I have epilepsy. Yet I've not had a fit for over a decade and it doesn't affect my life, apart from having to renew my driving licence every three years. I feel somehow I don't deserve the railcard because my ability to travel isn't affected, and I can afford full-price fares. Should I apply? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I get a Disabled Person's Railcard when my condition doesn't affect me? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- MSE Forum highlights: Christenings, cookbooks & cover-ups
- Campaigns blog: Big win as new online safety laws are passed

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 1 NOV ONWARDS)

Wed 1 Nov - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm
Tue 7 Nov - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.30am
Tue 7 Nov - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm

A FREE CAR, ONE MILLION NECTAR POINTS - WHAT'S THE LUCKIEST THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU FINANCIALLY?

That's all for this week, but before we go... to fight back against Halloween horrors we thought we'd share some of the luckiest financial things that have happened to our MoneySavers, who got in touch on our social accounts. One bride-to-be received a £1,500 tax rebate just as she needed to pay off her big day, while a keen fisherman managed to reel in a profit of over £700 on a vintage reel he caught at a charity shop. One person won a Smart car days after passing their test, while another bagged a £10,000 Premium Bond win. Our favourite, though, has to be the lucky shopper who won ONE MILLION Nectar points! (OK, they're worth around £5,000 but one million sounds far more impressive.) Let us know the luckiest financial thing to happen to you in our Facebook and Twitter conversations.

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team

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Who is Martin Lewis?
Martin Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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