My car insurance is due for renewal and being a bit short of cash at the moment I duly logged onto http://confused.com/ to get some quotes.
Quite frankly I was amazed in the difference between what my current insurer (MoreThan, also known as Sun Alliance) had quoted and the figures that came up on screen.
MoreThan had quoted me £525 and that was higher than the highest quote Confused.com came up with !
The lowest quote was for £287 from Budget and as you can imagine I'm investigating that route right now.
This experience led me to think about comparison shopping and the effect the Internet has had on people's shopping habits.
Right now if I worked for an old fashioned broker I'd be frantically trying to get into some other business, I can see the time when insurance brokers as we've all grown up with them will cease to exist, why bother paying the middle man for doing what you can achieve at home in a matter of minutes.
Have you seen Woolworths have jumped on the bandwagon at last and are really pushing their internet shop, as long as they’ve worked out the inevitable fulfilment problems, and believe me it’s a vexed issue, then it should be a roaring success, look forward to Woolies shares rising in January when their Christmas results are announced.
On a completely different subject, last week I went into hospital for the day to have a Cardio Angiogram, it was fascinating watching my own heart beat and see my veins in action, we were looking for evidence of plaque accretion, thickening of the vein walls, and I’m very pleased to report there was none to be found, not bad for a fat bloke.
I attended the Cornwall Hospital in Earls Court and can tell you it’s a different world, from signing in next to a woman who was handing over her gold card to pay a £980 bill for something she’d had done to being escorted to my room by a porter, to ordering my a la carte dinner and watching my free movie channels on my motorised bed it was as much of a joy as going into hospital could ever be.
My consultant came up to see me and got me to sign my release form, he explained how it would go what he was looking for and what the next steps might be before leaving me to get changed.
My wife M came with me to the hospital and whilst I was off having my Angiogram she was plied with trays of coffee and biscuits.
When I came back, a bit groggy from the sedative, I was attended by a staff nurse who took my measurements every 15 mins and showed genuine concern for my well being and happiness.
My a la carte dinner was served to me by an immaculate waiter and copious amounts of tea and coffee were served whilst I recovered.
My consultant made a re-appearance and explained to us both what his findings meant and what would happen next, M was amazed I was clear and he had to tell her twice.
After explaining everything he instructed the nursing staff on what to do before releasing me and wished me well before leaving.
Eventually I was discharged and made my sore way home.
Every time I use this BUPA coverage I remember the last time I went into a NHS hospital and working for a company that provides BUPA cover doesn’t seem so bad.
Next week I’m off for my next operation and I’ll let you know how that goes in due course, god willing.
Take care,
John
www.ffriar.com
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