Insurance - is it all just a ****ing joke?!

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

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Joined
6 Oct 2004
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19,626
Location
Birmingham
I am absolutely livid at the moment.

I phoned up my insurance company to inform them of a change in circumstances - my relationship status changing from "single" to "co-habiting".

Due to this they are now refusing to cover me (as of Sunday when she moves in).

I have less than 3 weeks remaining on the policy anyway, so I have already paid for my renewal with another company (starting on the 20th), meaning I've got a 19 day gap of no insurance... great!

I've just phoned up to try and get the start date of my new policy changed, only to be informed that as my old insurance company have "cancelled" my policy, I now have to say "yes" to the "have you ever had insurance cancelled or declined" option whenever I get a quote...

Does this sound right?

Currently on hold while they decide if they can actually still cover me, or if I have to go stock up on KY jelly and remortgage my house before I go and get some more quotes

I'm honestly wondering why bother, it's no wonder there are so many uninsured drivers around when it's such a <expletive deleted> hassle to try and actually do the right thing!

How can I go about raising a complaint against this company because quite frankly I think they're taking the urine!

So everyone knows who to avoid, the insurance co. is DialDirect, underwritten by Covea.
 
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Doesn't sound right to me at all mate

Just tell them that due to all the ******* about your partner to be is not not moving in for over 3 weeks to keep them happy.

Must say it sounds ridiculous, as for complain, kick up a fuss on the phone mention the ombudsman and ask to speak to a manager.
 
Haggisman said:
I am absolutely livid at the moment.

I phoned up my insurance company to inform them of a change in circumstances - my relationship status changing from "single" to "co-habiting".

Due to this they are now refusing to cover me (as of Sunday when she moves in).

I have less than 3 weeks remaining on the policy anyway, so I have already paid for my renewal with another company (starting on the 20th), meaning I've got a 19 day gap of no insurance... great!
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When you call back to make a complaint (see below) tell them that they've tried to source alternative cover but you haven't been able to and, as it's a statutory requirement to hold third party motor insurance you feel that they should honour the remaining cover due to the minor change in circumstances and the period remaining.

Haggisman said:
I've just phoned up to try and get the start date of my new policy changed, only to be informed that as my old insurance company have "cancelled" my policy, I now have to say "yes" to the "have you ever had insurance cancelled or declined" option whenever I get a quote...

Does this sound right?
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Sounds a bit odd to me. "Cancelled or declined" usually refers to insurance cancelled or refused for fraud/misrepresentation etc. It's very, very harsh to refuse a quote because a previous insurer decided that a change to your circumstances meant you no longer fitted their target market.

Haggisman said:
How can I go about raising a complaint against this company because quite frankly I think they're taking the urine!
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You'll need to make a formal complaint against the insurer through their complaints procedure first. This will probably start with call centre admin staff, get passed to a manager and if they won't sort it off to the complaints team. I'd try to resolve it with admin staff or a manager as it'll keep timescales down - complaints departments get much longer to resolve issues if it goes to them. Once they issue their final decision you can then refer it to the Ombudsman if you're still not happy (it should all be explained in their response letter if it goes that far)
 
They seem to be saying they would not have offered you cover if the circumstances were known at policy start. This seems bizarre - surely an insurer doesn't refuse to cover people who live with a partner :confused:
 
Disaster "slightly" averted, and may even have a silver lining

Called back old insurance company to query whether they've cancelled or I've cancelled, and they confirmed that I've cancelled it.

Basically the particular underwriter would not cover the changes, meaning the only option was for me to cancel the policy - (they did offer to put me straight on a new policy at ~£2.5k, which I politely declined) therefore it was my decision to cancel, and therefore I don't have to say "yes" to that question.

Also managed to find a new policy to start on Sunday which is actually £100 cheaper than the one starting on 20th, so might have saved me a few ££ (and knocked a year off my life in aggro :p).

Still think it's a joke that a minor change like that can have such an impact - she's not even a named driver!
 
And this is why I habitually lie and tell insurance companies what they want to hear. Glad it all turned out OK in the end!

Kind Regards

Alec
 
jono_astra said:
Personally i would get an ombudsman involved to find out why. Cannot see what the change in relationship status is a reason to "invalidate" your insurance. Yes they could charge you more or less depending on stats but i cannot see how they think that they could control you in such away in factoring in a relationship basis. If you havent added your partner to the policy then dont know why it would matter.

But seek professional advice in the matter, and next time go with a more well known company.
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FWIW don't mention the Ombudsman when you first call/write to make a complaint. You can't send a complaint to the Ombudsman until you've been through the insurers complaints process first - if you do they'll just write back rejecting your complaint and tell you to go to the insurers. And most of the admin staff will likely stop listening and ship you off for an extended visit to the complaints team as soon as they hear you say "I'm going to the Ombudsman!"

Haggisman said:
Disaster "slightly" averted, and may even have a silver lining

Called back old insurance company to query whether they've cancelled or I've cancelled, and they confirmed that I've cancelled it.

Basically the particular underwriter would not cover the changes, meaning the only option was for me to cancel the policy - (they did offer to put me straight on a new policy at ~£2.5k, which I politely declined) therefore it was my decision to cancel, and therefore I don't have to say "yes" to that question.

Also managed to find a new policy to start on Sunday which is actually £100 cheaper than the one starting on 20th, so might have saved me a few ££ (and knocked a year off my life in aggro :p).

Still think it's a joke that a minor change like that can have such an impact - she's not even a named driver!
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I'd probably send a letter/email over to them letting them know you're hacked off then. It's pretty ludicrous that they won't off cover because of relationship status! Glad you got it sorted!
 
Yeah, I think a strongly worded email might be finding it's way to their complaints team. Probably won't achieve much now I've got it sorted, but at least will make me feel better!

Edit: To be fair to them, the call centre agents I spoke to were top notch and tried as best they could to help (various combinations of named drivers etc. to try and get the underwriter to accept it)
 
I've had rubbish like this before from one of the small insurers - basically what it came down to was that the underwriter no longer wanted to insure cars in my area (which in itself is odd) and so whilst they would honour the original policy, refused to cover any change, however minor.
 
It is unlikely there was a duty to report that change until renewal.

You should check your policy documentation.
 
My insurance company put me down as married when I'm not (their mistake). When I called up to let them know they didn't even care. They said it makes no difference to them :P
 
What a strange thing to stop your cover, the insurance companies I've used in the past haven't had any issue with any relationship status or living arrangements I have.
 
Always remember in future to ring up your insurance company and ask what would happen if "hypothetically" something happened or changed, not that it has changed or is changing.
 
Did you enquire as to what grounds a partner moving in would result in them refusing to cover you?

Sounds like a story for Twitter.
 
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