In our new ‘Meet the member’ series we’ll be talking to some of the fabulous people who insure their car with us about their experience with By Miles, why pay-by-mile works for them, and what affordable insurance enables them to do.
In the case of Darryn, that includes volunteering at her local foodbank. In fact, she’s just closed a crowdfunder for her project to allow her foodbank clients to set up their own cottage industries using her farm-grown mushrooms.
She’s clearly someone with an innovative streak who values fairness, so we’re especially proud that she feels so at home with By Miles. This is her story:
Spiralling costs.
Darryn was happy enough with her previous insurer. At least until she was up for renewal. Like a lot of people, she found her price had been given a huge hike.
“I was involved in a very minor bumper bashing. No repair work had to be done and there was no kind of claim from either side, but when I came to renew, they doubled my price. It went from £400 to £800, even though I’d never made a claim. It was as if I’d caused a major accident, or done something really, really bad.
“While I was searching for a cheaper option, you guys came up and the price was just incredibly reasonable.”
A fairer way forward.
As someone doing below average mileage, Darryn realised pay-by-mile could be a good fit. And that’s just how it’s turned out.
“I work within 10 miles of home, and some days I don’t drive at all. I do make long trips occasionally, but overall I don’t do that many miles.
“Going with By Miles has just been the best thing ever. I feel like I’m getting value and being treated fairly. It’s a great way to insure my car because most of the time it’s just sat outside the house.”
Like a lot of people, Darryn didn’t really have a strong idea of how many miles she was really driving – just that it was probably on the low side. It turned out she was one of the huge number of people who significantly overestimate their mileage:
“My monthly bills are very low. On top of that I estimated I’d drive 7,000 miles for the year when I got the policy, but in the end I did less than 2,300!
“The main thing I’m happy about is the unbelievable fairness. Everything’s against us as consumers. Many insurers put prices up, regardless of whether you’ve made a claim or not. They have all the power and act with impunity.”
A change of insurance, not lifestyle.
Saving so much on her insurance has had a noticeable impact on her finances, but not her lifestyle.
“I can’t really say it’s changed the way I drive. If I need to make a trip, then I need to make a trip – so I don’t really think about it. I see what I’m spending each month, and I know it’s not much, so it’s not really an issue. I’m more concerned about petrol.”
From cheap to cheaper.
The car insurance industry hasn’t always had a reputation for rewarding loyalty – which is just one of the many things about it we’d like to see changed. So we were delighted to offer Darryn an even lower price when she renewed with us.
“My first year at By Miles ended up costing £260 in total. So even if my previous insurer had never bumped up their price, I still would’ve been better off switching. As it was, I saved myself £540.
“When it came time to renew I was obviously keen to stay with By Miles, but knowing that companies tend to put their prices up at renewal I was just hoping there wouldn’t be a big jump in the cost. It turned out the price actually went down! My per mile rate went from 3.5p per mile to 2.9p per mile.
“So as long as I do the same mileage as last year, I’ll be saving even more money.”
Darryn’s just one of tens of thousands of people we’ve helped enjoy a smarter, fairer form of insurance. Why not join them?
