Car insurance woes
Discussion
When i bought the new car i had to obtain insurance online, a rudimentary process that we're all familiar with. Of course most of us, if not all of us, use a comparison websites to obtain the necessary evil, but for the cheapest amount possible (or best value).
Like anyone else, i also went through this process, but it seems that i made a mistake when looking for a policy.
Little did i know, but it seems to be frowned upon if you try different locations for the quote; to see if there is much difference between leaving the car at your mums, or outside your house or because of some other reason. The postcode lottery if you want.
I guess that these actions are recorded on the comparing websites and passed on to the insurance company, that you end up purchasing the policy from. A bit later on, the underwriters would like to have a chat to you about why you have tried to obtain a quote at different locations. And subsequently cancel the policy.
Some are living the good life and they may have more than one house. Some may be moving around a bit, so they will probably want to see which location will give them the cheapest quote.
Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious. Whatever the cause, it seems that the insurance company do not like it when you try to obtain a cheaper quote.
So after a littE-Short UREal conversion, it seems that they (the insurance company) are not happy that i had a look around for the cheapest price. Even though the car is at the address that is on the policy.
This is just a little heads up for anyone that is looking to buy insurance from any Electronic inSUREance company that may be offering their services online.
Oh and i can't obtain a quote from their sister companies either.
Like anyone else, i also went through this process, but it seems that i made a mistake when looking for a policy.
Little did i know, but it seems to be frowned upon if you try different locations for the quote; to see if there is much difference between leaving the car at your mums, or outside your house or because of some other reason. The postcode lottery if you want.
I guess that these actions are recorded on the comparing websites and passed on to the insurance company, that you end up purchasing the policy from. A bit later on, the underwriters would like to have a chat to you about why you have tried to obtain a quote at different locations. And subsequently cancel the policy.
Some are living the good life and they may have more than one house. Some may be moving around a bit, so they will probably want to see which location will give them the cheapest quote.
Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious. Whatever the cause, it seems that the insurance company do not like it when you try to obtain a cheaper quote.
So after a littE-Short UREal conversion, it seems that they (the insurance company) are not happy that i had a look around for the cheapest price. Even though the car is at the address that is on the policy.
This is just a little heads up for anyone that is looking to buy insurance from any Electronic inSUREance company that may be offering their services online.
Oh and i can't obtain a quote from their sister companies either.
_Deano said:
Some are living the good life and they may have more than one house. Some may be moving around a bit, so they will probably want to see which location will give them the cheapest quote.
Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious.
And 99% are seeing if the saving is big enough to justifying lying to the insurers about where the car is kept. I wouldn't want to insure someone with that mentality, even if they decided to tell the truth.Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
_Deano said:
Some are living the good life and they may have more than one house. Some may be moving around a bit, so they will probably want to see which location will give them the cheapest quote.
Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious.
And 99% are seeing if the saving is big enough to justifying lying to the insurers about where the car is kept. I wouldn't want to insure someone with that mentality, even if they decided to tell the truth.Maybe some people are between houses because of family difficulties, or some are just curious.
Quote massaging is something that is looked into quite a bit, if you have a valid reason then just explain it to the Underwriter.
If they accept that reason then all is ok if not then they'll cancel as is their right.
ZOLLAR said:
Indeed, it shouldn't be about where the cheapest postcode is it's about where the car is kept full stop.
Quote massaging is something that is looked into quite a bit, if you have a valid reason then just explain it to the Underwriter.
If they accept that reason then all is ok if not then they'll cancel as is their right.
I agree with this too and they did cancel, even though i believed my reasoning was valid. I was the curious one to see how the prices differ between the places; but as mentioned, the underwriters do not seem to like this and tar you with the same brush as the fraudulent. Quote massaging is something that is looked into quite a bit, if you have a valid reason then just explain it to the Underwriter.
If they accept that reason then all is ok if not then they'll cancel as is their right.
Oh well, lesson learnt and time to move on to another company. This time however i won't be so curious and just put in the details for where the car spends most of it's time. Thankfully a full pro rata refund was given and the cancellation fee waived. So i guess i was lucky, although somewhat annoyed.
But as a thought. How about if your car spends most of the time in a public car park? Does this become the address you need to insure the car at?
I found this out with Greenlight insurance online a few years back. I had an occasional car that I used approx every three weekends and it didn't matter to me where it was kept, as the place it would lay couldn't be my property due to lack of space. So, it would be at either my Mum's, Dad's or Grandparent's house which were all fairly local and accessible.
I wanted to pay the least to insure it of course, all criteria being the same other than address, so I tried all three addresses. I found the cheapest and proceeded to try to buy the policy however, the phone operator told me that he thought that I was possibly trying to commit fraud and he wouldn't sell me a policy. This baffled me back then as he was very stern and wouldn't listen to me but now I guess he believed I was going to be storing it at a location other than that which I had declared. Still, he acted like a real a-hole.
He did this without taking into account my explanation so I've never called Greenlight since, after feeling rather insulted and less than impressed by their customer service.
I wanted to pay the least to insure it of course, all criteria being the same other than address, so I tried all three addresses. I found the cheapest and proceeded to try to buy the policy however, the phone operator told me that he thought that I was possibly trying to commit fraud and he wouldn't sell me a policy. This baffled me back then as he was very stern and wouldn't listen to me but now I guess he believed I was going to be storing it at a location other than that which I had declared. Still, he acted like a real a-hole.
He did this without taking into account my explanation so I've never called Greenlight since, after feeling rather insulted and less than impressed by their customer service.
Edited by 1Addicted on Tuesday 24th February 15:01
_Deano said:
ZOLLAR said:
Indeed, it shouldn't be about where the cheapest postcode is it's about where the car is kept full stop.
Quote massaging is something that is looked into quite a bit, if you have a valid reason then just explain it to the Underwriter.
If they accept that reason then all is ok if not then they'll cancel as is their right.
I agree with this too and they did cancel, even though i believed my reasoning was valid. I was the curious one to see how the prices differ between the places; but as mentioned, the underwriters do not seem to like this and tar you with the same brush as the fraudulent. Quote massaging is something that is looked into quite a bit, if you have a valid reason then just explain it to the Underwriter.
If they accept that reason then all is ok if not then they'll cancel as is their right.
Oh well, lesson learnt and time to move on to another company. This time however i won't be so curious and just put in the details for where the car spends most of it's time. Thankfully a full pro rata refund was given and the cancellation fee waived. So i guess i was lucky, although somewhat annoyed.
But as a thought. How about if your car spends most of the time in a public car park? Does this become the address you need to insure the car at?
If the car park is say more than a mile away then you may well have to register it at that postcode, comparison sites are only good for straight forward quotes that the majority of people run.
For any situations like you describe you're better off calling the insurer to ask them what they want you to do
Yup, it's known as moral hazard - policyholders who may be dodgy.
_Deano said:
I agree with this too and they did cancel,
And now every time you obtain a quote and the question "have you ever had cover refused or a policy cancelled?" is asked, you have to answer "yes" (according to the rules, at least).Taz1383 said:
What about when people go to uni? If you drive there, your car is away from home 90% of the time yet you register to your home address
What kind of uni course keeps students there for 90% of the time? From what I can see, they're back home on holiday for 90% of the time!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff