should insurance be regulated?

[paulmeow]

or at leas be governed by somebody/something.

unfortunately i have found myself in the predicament of finding car insurance again. so far its went as expected. lots of swearing and angry mouse clicking and tedious box filling.

but how these qoutes are generated i have no idea, i still believe its pick a number out of a hat,

so far ive went to elephant direct and got a price of £1392.47 and duely clicked off that straight away in a huff.

went to direct line who qouted me £900 so i thought well its a slightly less kick in the balls.

i never usually do comparison sites as they just come up with crap and endsleigh insuring me on anything from a fiat punto to a ferrari for £4000

but i was shocked to find elephant qouting me £850 (£540 less than 10 minutes earlier going to them directly)

admiral qouted me £750 so i thought thats probably the best im going to get. only to check another comparison site to find them qouting me £920


surely since insurance became legally compulsary it should of been regulated or overlooked by someone?

(p.s this is not a rant at prices or young drivers, more the system of car insurance)

[Rawwr]

I agree. There should be some sort of Authority on Financial Services when it comes to selling motor insurance.

[The Moose]

Isn't it regulated by the FSA etc?!?!

They can charge what they like. Different companies like different risk profiles and quote accordingly (high quote=no thank you very much).

Also the comparison websites take a commission so some insurance companies would rather you buy off their site.

And finally, they want traffic on their site so advertise their site offers best prices (directline do a lot of this I believe).

I really don't see what the issue is...other than being frustrating?!

Cheers

The Moose

[The Moose]

Rawwr said:

I agree. There should be some sort of Authority on Financial Services when it comes to selling motor insurance.

Cheers

The Moose

[Basil Brush]

The Moose said:

Rawwr said:

I agree. There should be some sort of Authority on Financial Services when it comes to selling motor insurance.

Along with maybe some sort of British Insurers Association?

[anonymous-user]

Tighter regulation would cost the providers more money, therefore costing you and I more money in the end.

The prices and terms and conditions are there for you to see in advance, if you don't like an insurer's offering, buy elsewhere!

[98elise]

paulmeow said:

or at leas be governed by somebody/something.

unfortunately i have found myself in the predicament of finding car insurance again. so far its went as expected. lots of swearing and angry mouse clicking and tedious box filling.

but how these qoutes are generated i have no idea, i still believe its pick a number out of a hat,

so far ive went to elephant direct and got a price of £1392.47 and duely clicked off that straight away in a huff.

went to direct line who qouted me £900 so i thought well its a slightly less kick in the balls.

i never usually do comparison sites as they just come up with crap and endsleigh insuring me on anything from a fiat punto to a ferrari for £4000

but i was shocked to find elephant qouting me £850 (£540 less than 10 minutes earlier going to them directly)

admiral qouted me £750 so i thought thats probably the best im going to get. only to check another comparison site to find them qouting me £920


surely since insurance became legally compulsary it should of been regulated or overlooked by someone?

(p.s this is not a rant at prices or young drivers, more the system of car insurance)

As has been said above, operating practices are governed by the FSA, + they have an ombudsman.

Price wise they are governed by competition, if someone could insure you for less and make a profit, they would.

[TallPaul]

98elise said:

Price wise they are governed by competition, if someone could insure you for less and make a profit, they would.

That seems pretty fair to me. Whilst we all have to be insured by law, the market forces dictate the price we pay. If you, or your car, are deemed unsavoury to the insurance company, they'll want more money to cover their risk. There is talk about insurance companies not being able to discriminate between men & women, what next, not loading a premium according to the age of the driver? Then what, not charging more for someone who lives in a high crime area? Before you know it, there would be a flat premium for everybody, no incentive not to crash or leave your car secure, a middle-aged mondeo driver would be paying the same as an 18yr old bimbo driving a RWD V8 engined motor...

Edited by TallPaul on Tuesday 5th April 20:41

[Tootles the Taxi]

The businesses offering the policies and the brokers are regulated by the Financial Services Authority, but they can charge whatever they consider a commercial rate. If you have a problem with your own policy, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. That's it.