Insurance Companies - you gotta watch em

[Emjay]

Take Equity Red Star as a case in point.

Been with them via Adrian Flux on the coupe for many years no problems.

Went online to get some quotes for the M3. Got a quote via Adrian Flux direct so contact AF to finalise. Usual questions including have you had any insurance claims in the last five years. I stated the no. I am a company car driver so whatever bangs and bumps I have gets handled by them.

AF came back and said there is a claim being reported from October 2012 on their database against me. I got shunted up my rear at some traffic lights. Agreed with AF the accident was genuine. They contacted ERS who said there was no additional risk to the policy with the declaration and the price could stand. Great news and we paid on the spot.

Two days later I get a demand notice through on the Audi policy (which is about to expire in any case) asking for a further 80 English quids to uplift my current policy cover due to this "undeclared claim"

So we have a situation whereby on one policy there is no impact to risk but on an existing policy there is?

Even though the policy is about to expire and any risk has not been realised over the term?

Contacted AF to lodge a complaint. Advised that I did not intend to pay the uplift. AF said they could not do anything so I placed on their record the fact I would contest directly with ERS. AF advised that even if I cancelled the insurance policy that the charges would still stand as they are retrospectively applied.

ERS have a dedicated complaints helpdesk. Did you know that? I dont think the staff at ERS do either. I left a voicemail on their dedicated customer complaints phone line and sent two emails on their dedicated customer complaints email address without even an acknowledgment of reciept.

Today I get a message from Adrian Flux advising that the insurance policy is about to be terminated by ERS and setting implications regardng the Road Traffic Act and SORN etc.

So I explained the situation and made the get ERS on the phone and we had a 3 way conversation ...................................

and guess what?.............................

I WON THE DAY

But heaven help me if ever I have to make a claim

[Hanuman]

I was with ERS through Classicline insurance, for the 100.
No issues at all in the recent claim. ERS; they stayed out of it almost completely, but offered their services should I run into any further problems.

Classicline almost screwed the entire claim up; they are using an outside 'claims handler', whose name escapes me for now, but whose incompetence epitomises all that is wrong with this country these days.

The entire claim was settled much to my satisfaction, but used a fair amount of my time doing the job that the claims handlers should have been doing.
Renewal time came for the car, my policy premium went up 250%.


In my increasingly un-humble opinion, the entire motor insurance industry is bordering on being unfit for purpose.

Why would/should the victim in a claim be penalised for the actions of the person responsible?
Why should my no claims bonus on my policy be at risk when someone else's policy covers the claim?
It's fucked up, twisted logic.

And here's a little wrinkle that many may not be fully aware of.
If your claims handler is appointed by your broker, and not by your underwriter, and subsequently you have an issue with how the claim was handled, the protection under insurance ombudsman guidelines is not the same!

Beware of letting any third party handle the matter on your behalf.

[b3coupe]

That doesn't surprise me.

I had an issue with my insurer for my work van a few months back.
It's a T4 which I had resprayed after various rust repairs.
I rang my insurer to make a windscreen claim as it was cracked anyway, the broker then bounced between me and the underwriters as they wanted more details on costs.
Basically because I spent 2.5k on a respray they cancelled the policy on the spot stating I had increased the value of the vehicle.
It's a commercial policy which cost £265 fully comp in September (8yrs no claims), the brokers then told me they could do a fresh quote with the other underwriters they use.
£700 I was quoted, feck off was my reply.
So additional to the respray I had to pay a local guy to do the screen, which was reasonable at £220 supply and fit, then get new insurance. In the end the new policy was £270.

The thing is if I never mentioned the respray they would never have known. It's the same bloody colour!

[john johnson]

I had a query shall we say on my policy a few months back having renewed them , it was with higos and they said I had had an accident in my van in 2012 and not declared it . Bit of head scratching and denial and the penny dropped . It was when my van was parked on my drive and I was several miles away when the neighbour reversed into it and hit it with me claiming off their policy and not mine etc .... I'd not had an accident but I was down as making a claim . They do work against you at times

[Hanuman]

Originally Posted by john johnson

They do work against you at times

They have their own agenda, which is hard to reconcile against the product that you think you've bought.
The only way to win is by not playing. Maybe the pikeys have got a point?

[john johnson]

Indeed , I go for the cheapest like for like policy as no matter what happens when you claim it's going to be a bumpy ride

[Emjay]

Originally Posted by john johnson

I had a query shall we say on my policy a few months back having renewed them , it was with higos and they said I had had an accident in my van in 2012 and not declared it . Bit of head scratching and denial and the penny dropped . It was when my van was parked on my drive and I was several miles away when the neighbour reversed into it and hit it with me claiming off their policy and not mine etc .... I'd not had an accident but I was down as making a claim . They do work against you at times

thats very similar to my claim issue. Car runs into me while I'm sat at the lights so you would think a fairly open and shut case but according to their "database" I have claimed and also been found liable.

1 its not for me to claim is its not my insurance cover to claim on?
2 how on earth can I be liable for someone running into my rear bumper?

I have raised it with our fleet admin who are having difficulty getting any sense out of anyone and their own records seem pretty shit

[Hanuman]

Originally Posted by Emjay

thats very similar to my claim issue. Car runs into me while I'm sat at the lights so you would think a fairly open and shut case but according to their "database" I have claimed and also been found liable.

1 its not for me to claim is its not my insurance cover to claim on?
2 how on earth can I be liable for someone running into my rear bumper?

I have raised it with our fleet admin who are having difficulty getting any sense out of anyone and their own records seem pretty shit

There is nothing remotely fair about the system.
It's inept, inefficient and corrupt. Use your car and automatically you are open to abuse.

In my claim, the fiesta driver shunted my car into the neighbours mini, both cars were parked and locked. We made individual claims against the fiesta driver. As I understand it, If I had been in my car when the fiesta hit it, then I would be deemed as being in control of my car at the time, and my neighbour would have to claim off my insurance, and then my insurance would recover the costs off the fiesta driver/insurance while my claim is also made, and then await reinstatement of our respective no claims.

Barking mad, fiasco!

[vorsprung durch technik]

Originally Posted by The Real MSH!

There is nothing remotely fair about the system.
It's inept, inefficient and corrupt.

Having read all of the above posts i don't find any of it surprising at all.Personally i have not had to claim anything for years and years and god forbid if i ever have to but my wife has. The whole process can become so protracted in here case the insurance decided a 50 50 fault which took months for a decision, when clearly that was not the case which meant she lost her NCB resulting in insurance going up and it recorded. As MSH said and the reason why i quoted him,when it comes to claims and deciding fault i believe they couldn't care less about "you" their customer and are operating within a corrupt system.Their priorities are to find any mitigating circumstances they can use against you so they don't have to pay out or raise unfairly your premiums.They probably operate a bonus system for claims handlers against your interests.

So, as far as i am concerned, insurance is really another word they conveniently use as a front when in actual fact it's legalised Robbery!!

[john johnson]

I found it odd it was being inferred I had misled em ! Is not claimed off my insurance and wasn't in the decking thing !