# 9 (2013) Company Loyalty

One of the problems with the way we shop today is company loyalty. Less of us shop because we feel we should remain true towards a brand. These days we are far more likely to gravitate towards a bargain even if that saving is actually a lesser product.

My example is car insurance.

Last year I started driving again after 3 years. Un-beknown to me I'd lost my 12 years of no claims because you can only save them for up to 2 years. Despite this, a clean licence and a brand new 1 litre car my insurance seemed astronomical at £600.

I shopped around and managed to get it down to under £300 with Admiral who let me have four years of my no claims because I still had the proof. But they put me on an accelerator policy which meant I got 11 months rather than 12. Even so, they had got me back on track for much less than the competition.

My premium is now due. It's gone down, but only by about £50. I shouldn't complain in the wake of warnings that insurance premiums would be going up because insurers can't discriminate between male and female drivers.

(source)

But I still shopped around using a well known savings website and found another insurer offering me a £100 saving on my new quotation bringing my insurance down to £151 - the cheapest I've ever had.

I should, and am, grateful to Admiral for getting me a good deal when everyone else wanted to rip me off. But now that I'm back on the insurance ladder I am drawn to cheaper offers even if it is with one of the leading competitors.

Do I feel bad about that? No. Should I? Probably. By taking out this new policy I am forcing other companies to drop their premiums in order to stay competitive. In the process, some may eventually go under. It's the spiral of 'cheap' we've all been forcing companies into accepting