** E & L Insurance **

codger

Just a word of warning to anyone thinking of dealing with an outfit called E&L Insurance:

Don’t.

We took out a policy with them last year. Now it’s renewal time, but instead of sending out a simple, straightforward renewal letter, E&L has mailed us 12 pages of “policy review” gibberish with two accompanying letters from two different employees, the content of the one contradicting the content of the other.

Principal aim of the E&L correspondence seems to be to hook us into an “exclusive club” which already has “thousands of members” (yeah, I know: go figure) and which is called either the Platinum Club or the Policy Plus Club.

In a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to tout the dubious benefits of this ‘club’, E&L entitles its sales pitch: Notification of Changes To Your Direct Debit Collections, clearly hoping that this will mislead recipients into thinking that the document’s content is important, even though there’s no reference in it to direct debit collections at all.

The renewal premium – whoops, the “policy review” premium -- being asked by E&L is hopelessly uncompetitive, even without factoring in the additional £25 per year it says it assumes we would really, really wish to pay so as to be members of whichever exclusive club it may or may not be operating.

(There is, however, an opt-out provision: if one emails or writes to E&L not later than “the date shown above”, then you won’t be ‘enrolled’ in the ‘exclusive’ club. As to the date shown above, that reads: “Date as postmark”. . .)

Thankfully, the charge card we used to make our original payment has now expired, otherwise E&L would’ve automatically re-charged it – another reason for everyone to stay well clear.

There may be other UK insurers more illiterate and more incompetent than E&L Insurance. But to judge from its corporate correspondence, I wouldn’t bet on it. Thank God we never had to make a claim.

dunstonh

Equine & Livestock are a well known specialist/niche insurer. If you have a niche need then they are worth considering. If you dont, then you will typically find that isnt the market they are interested in and the price will reflect that.

I wonder if it is not Equine & Livestock you have an issue with but their reps, Entertainment & Leisure Insurance Services Ltd. If you used a rep to arrange it then the policy review makes sense. You wouldnt have got that if you went direct. Also, you appear to be opted in for marketing material. If you dont want that then opt out.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi Codger

If you are concerned that E&L's literature is misleading and are that worried about the opt-out provision and lack of clarity, you can register your concerns with the FSA. You can find details of how to report the firm at the following address:

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/about_the_fsa/contact/contact_us.html

Having said that, have you spoken to E&L about your concerns?

My final point would be about your comment on ther competitiveness as an insurer. I agree with dunstonh that as the firm is a specialist insurer, anything outside of their area of expertise is likely to cost you more. If you have a policy that falls within their niche, perhaps they know something we don't and have increased their rates accordingly.

codger

Thanks dunston & oscar, much appreciated!

We only insured with E&L for the family's static caravan -- it's a niche market in which E&L specialises. And we might have re-insured with them (because they say they'll price match any other insurer's quote) had it not been for the staggeringly inept correspondence they've sent us.

An insurer which thinks a policy renewal notice is actually a policy "review" notice; a notification of Direct Debit collection changes that actually turns out to be a sales pitch for a £25 a year 'member benefits' exclusive club; 12 pages of contractual bumf with the most relevant details about premium renewal buried away on page 5 in small print and without any interline spacing at all; an opt-out clause for a membership club relating to a particular date which isn't given (nor does the 'date as postmark' apply, either, because E&L mail out via TNT, so there is no date-as-postmark on the envelope); a rendering of our existing payment details as being paid by "Access" card (it wasn't, we don't have any such card). . .

And so on.


It may (possibly) be insurance, Jim, but it's not as we know it. . .

dunstonh

Check your paperwork. You may have the renewal from Equine & Livestock with extra paperwork from Entertainment & Leisure. Ent & Leis deal with the phone and advice side and if you bought from them originally, that would explain the review.

Eq & Live are the insurance company but Ent & Leis are the intermediaries and I reckon its them which are doing the marketing. The same initials dont help and I bet that is on purpose.

codger

Hi Dunston -- nope, the letterheadings are all E&L Insurance, with the letter 'l' continuing to resemble a capital 'i' (so there's confusion, right from the get-go!) Happily, we won't be hearing from them again.

jennifernil

I am afraid they are well known for these various ploys in the caravan world, especially with regard to touring caravans. And they are apparently also quite difficult to deal with should you be unfortunate enough to need to make a claim.

codger

Thanks jennifer -- I wasn't aware of E&L's reputation. Your post makes me even more grateful that (a) I've never had to make a claim and (b) I'll never need to hear from this hapless outfit ever again.