Outrageous Quotes

I'm afraid that mundane, real world, things have been occupying my attention for the past few days, leaving me unprepared to post here today.  The main thing preoccupying me has been the fact that my car insurance is up for renewal soon and my current insurer has given me the most outrageous quote.  It represents a massive hike that, quite frankly, I can't afford.  Quite how they think they can justify this increase, I don't know.  I'm well aware that the minor accident I had two years ago would affect my premium, but that was two years ago and I'd expect my renewal quotes to start coming down or, at the very least, stay the same, as I've made no other claims since then.  But the world of car insurance rarely makes any sense, with different providers rating different things as a risk.  I always find occupation to be a thorny issue with many potential insurers, as my precise job details aren't usually covered by any of their categories.  I usually end up having to simply put 'civil servant' (which is true, I am a civil servant employed directly by a government department) and then try to explain my precise specialism.  This some times results in the potential insurer virtually accusing me of attempting to defraud them, because they think that my specialised role makes me a higher risk.  I've tired of asking them what statistical evidence is based upon, as I can never get an answer.

Which shouldn't be surprising, as most insurers simply base their occupational risk assessments on assumptions, perceived wisdom, prejudice and anecdotal evidence.  Musicians are classified as 'high risk', for instance, because of their lifestyles - all that late night gigging, I assume - despite the fact that most musicians don't play in rock bands and don't indulge in excessive consumption of drinks and drugs.  Journalists are also, for obscure reasons, 'high risk' - apparently it is all to do with the fact that they might sometimes interview celebrities and end up giving them a lift, which is, of course, super risky.  The fact that most journalists don't work on national newspapers or broadcasters doesn't seem to come into it - sure, some reporters might end up following stories with some degree of risk involved, but that tends to be the exception, not the rule.  Moreover, I don't think that war correspondents drive their own cars in conflict zones.  Pub landlords are another 'high risk' group which makes very little sense.  The 'risk' element is that they work with alcohol and therefore get drunk and drive their car home in an inebriated state.  Except that most landlords live on the premises and therefore are much less likely to drink and drive, surely?   Anyway, as you've probably guessed, I'm in the midst of going through price comparison sites, trying to get ball-park quotes.  Interestingly, even my so far pretty cursory investigations have resulted in quotes more than £300 lower than my current insurer - even taking into account my supposedly 'high risk' occupation in the civil service.  Hopefully, I'll have it all done and dusted before the weekend is over.