So Speed Awareness Courses Count Now?

[GokTweed]

Just got multi-car renewal quote from a nautical based insurance firm. Vastly overpriced as usual, so looked around and found cheaper quotes. Rang current company asking if they could match it and we would stay with them but had to update details because speed awareness courses apparently count now?!

My brother and I have each been on one in the last 3 years and on both occasions we were promised that they didn't affect insurance prices and that companies shouldn't be able to judge you based on them. Well apparently that is horsepiss! It's cost us £115 and £160 on our cars respectively! If I were a bit older I may as-well have saved £40 by taking the fine and then breaking even on the insurance hike anyway!

Not to mention the cost of having a day off to attend the fecker!

wkers!

/rant

[Centurion07]

SOME insurance companies ask if you've been on a course and others don't. Seems only right for them to ask given that these courses are far more common nowadays, so depending on when you attended, being told ins. co's don't count them may well have been accurate.

That said, I don't see that a single speed awareness course would have pushed your premiums up by that much. IIRC generally your first offence doesn't really affect things much, assuming it's an SP30, regardless of whether you take the points or go on the course.

Try getting some quotes online with & without the course & see the difference.

[scorcher]

Worth doing to keep the points off your licence IMO. Never know when those three points might come in handy!

[Centurion07]

That^ was the sole reason I did one.

[Impasse]

"Any accidents, claims or convictions?" If yes then usually an increased premium.

"Attended any Government sanctioned driver awareness courses intended to improve your driving?" We'll increase your premium too as you're a greater risk now you have received extra education.

Gotta love insurance company logic.

[TooMany2cvs]

Centurion07 said:

SOME insurance companies ask if you've been on a course and others don't.

AIUI, there's a grand total of one who do. Three guesses which, shipmates.

[allergictocheese]

Is it not logical and reasonable that insurers are able to be aware of your recent driving history?

The less detail insurers are able to use to judge your individual risk, the more high risk drivers will be subsidised by lower risk ones.

If those who've attended SACs have to pay higher premiums so those who haven't don't, I see that as the system working properly and fairly.

[Defcon5]

They can't check wether you have been on one or not. Be a shame if you forgot about going on one, nobody would ever know!

[allergictocheese]

Defcon5 said:

They can't check wether you have been on one or not. Be a shame if you forgot about going on one, nobody would ever know!

If they had suspicion and it came down to it, they could get that information and/or you would find yourself lying to a court. That leaves you with insurance fraud at one end and perjury at the other!

[Stoofa]

allergictocheese said:

If they had suspicion and it came down to it, they could get that information and/or you would find yourself lying to a court. That leaves you with insurance fraud at one end and perjury at the other!

So, how would they get that information?

[allergictocheese]

Use your imagination. Everything from private investigation, police investigation to court orders. It is not information that is trapped in a secret vault that will never come out.

If you choose to lie on your insurance documents you are committing fraud and should accept that this may bite you one day.

[BertBert]

The ones with big ears and a trunk ask too. And they share info with their shipmates.

I've no problem with it, up to them to choose what criteria they rate on.

Bert

[rewc]

If an insurance company considered you a worse risk as you had attended a course than somebody who had never been detected speeding would they give you a rebate if you attended the course voluntarily? Dorset police say "The DAS course is also open to participants who haven’t received a fixed penalty notice but are keen to improve their driver education."

What are the comparable risks between never been detected speeding, been detected and attended a course, attended a course voluntarily

[aw51 121565]

Impasse said:

"Any accidents, claims or convictions?" If yes then usually an increased premium.

"Attended any Government sanctioned driver awareness courses intended to improve your driving?" We'll increase your premium too as you're a greater risk now you have received extra education.

Gotta love insurance company logic.

Anyone invited to attend a SAC was initially caught speeding, they just escaped a legal sanction by paying for the course and attending it on a production line . Having said this, I do not agree that insurance companies should increase the premium for attending one .

The courses are not based in statute, the now-political ACPO is somewhere behind them (and profiting from them) in the murky depths...

[carreauchompeur]

allergictocheese said:

Use your imagination. Everything from private investigation, police investigation to court orders. It is not information that is trapped in a secret vault that will never come out.

If you choose to lie on your insurance documents you are committing fraud and should accept that this may bite you one day.

Quite, you can bet your bottom dollar that if you were involved in a death/very serious RTC that plenty of digging would ensue.

[Terminator X]

If asked make no comment and move on to the next cheapest quote / comparison.

TX.

[Terminator X]

allergictocheese said:

Defcon5 said:

They can't check wether you have been on one or not. Be a shame if you forgot about going on one, nobody would ever know!

If they had suspicion and it came down to it, they could get that information and/or you would find yourself lying to a court. That leaves you with insurance fraud at one end and perjury at the other!

Perjury?! Calm down it's an insurance website not Court.

TX.

[Cooperman]

aw51 121565 said:

Anyone invited to attend a SAC was initially ALLEGEDLY caught speeding, they just POSSIBLY escaped a legal sanction by paying for the course and attending it on a production line . Having said this, I do not agree that insurance companies should increase the premium for attending one .

The courses are not based in statute, the now-political ACPO is somewhere behind them (and profiting from them) in the murky depths...

Edited to add the words Allegedly & Possibly, which then make the statement correct.

[BertBert]

aw51 121565 said:

Anyone invited to attend a SAC was initially caught speeding, they just escaped a legal sanction by paying for the course and attending it on a production line . Having said this, I do not agree that insurance companies should increase the premium for attending one .

The courses are not based in statute, the now-political ACPO is somewhere behind them (and profiting from them) in the murky depths...

To the extent that premiums are increased its not for attending a course it's for speeding.
Bert

[allergictocheese]

Terminator X said:

Perjury?! Calm down it's an insurance website not Court.

TX.

I'm nicely calm, thank you (note lack of capitals and/or exclamation marks).

If you lie to your insurer and subsequently find yourself involved in an accident, it is possible any ensuing dispute will hit court. If the stakes are high your insurer may want to reduce its exposure and look for any 'white lies' you've told them. If you maintain any lie in statements to the court, you're perjuring yourself.

The point being, if you're prepared to lie to gain insurance or cheaper insurance, you might get found out and it will have serious consequences in the future.