SophieJS - My Dissertation

I've just completed by M.Sc. in Computer Science (Networks and Distributed Systems) at Trinity College Dublin. Part of the program involves a research dissertation, which is presented in poster form to industry by the students. This happened today. For posterity, if nothing else, this is the poster I presented:

This poster is also available as PDF on the TCD Computer Science site. A full copy of the dissertation has also been published as a TCD technical report for a more thorough look at the work I undertook.

Insurance Quotes

I recently got a renewal from Axa to the tune of €3000, and decided it was time to start shopping around. I should point out that Axa incorrectly removed my no claim's bonus, and it has been reinstated since, but here's the result of my search nonetheless.

I'm a 22 year old male, living on the northside of Dublin, with 3 years of a full licence without any claims. I drive a 1.4L 2006 Mazda 3, which has a value around the €7000 mark. In all cases, I chose the default excess, and added windscreen cover if it wasn't already included. I'm also adding my mother onto the insurance, and neither of us have any penalty points.

I should be clear that these insurers offer differing benefits, and as such cannot be compared like for like, unless you're looking for the cheapest comprehensive insurance with windscreen cover, as I am. Some include breakdown assist, contents cover, fire brigade charges and any number of other benefits. This is strictly a comparison (with default excess values) for my requirements.

• NoNonsense: €768
• Allianz: €842
• Axa: €880 (and the ability to drive other's cars third-party)
• 123.ie: €1091
• Quinn: €1146
• FBD: €1151
• Insure.ie: €1186
• Bestquote: €1195
• Hibernian: €1234
• Zurich: €1556
• Tesco: €1631 (€1281 for the basic package without windscreen cover, but not available as an individual add-on)

And I'm still shopping around. Huge improvement on a 3k premium though!