Well Done Swiftcover

thriftydave

As is usual I do the rounds of quote checking as my car insurance comes up for renewal.

As a WHICH? member I don't waste time contacting thousands of companies or using comparison sites as I work with the Best Buys in the Which? annual car insurance report. This has always served me well and when I have checked one or two other companies as a control sample, the WHICH? Best buys always end up being the best value.

I'm currently with Swiftcover and their renewal was competitive; they also continue to be a WHICH? best buy.

However, from something I saw here on MSE I did a quote with Aviva, which although £6 more expensive did offer a lower excess and would get me a £60 cashback via Quidco.

However, having read the thread about Aviva'a apalling Customer Services, I decided to see if I could do a deal with Swiftcover.

Rang them this morning and in short they matched the lower excess, tweaked one or two other areas of the cover and agreed to include but refund the cost of the legal expenses cover (£24.99).

So, although I now won't get a cash back, I have saved £26 over the Aviva quote; and you get to speak to staff in an English call centre.

One satisfied customer.

For anyone who is in the process of renewing, it's worth giving Swiftcover a try, and you can get £26 cashback via Quidco as a new customer.

thriftydave

stef73

Ive been with swiftcover for 2 years and now know why they are the cheapest . If you have a no fault accident ie someone hits you they dont care . Your just told by them to claim on your policy and claim it back off the other party , even if the other party wont tell there insurance about the crash.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Two of the former Swiftcover directors went to work for MoneySupermarket. Surprisingly, Swiftcover come up cheapest in more quotes on MoneySupermarket than any of the other price comparison sites in my experience. Why do you think that is?

I wouldn't touch Swiftcover, even if it saved me £100; I think I'd rather saw my own leg off with the side of a spoon.

You'll notice that their adverts are all about how quickly you can get a quote; not about their customer service.

raskazz

For Which? to select Swiftcover as a 'Best Buy' is ridiculous.

Their service is by all accounts poor and their policy cover is laughably bad.

I've been meaning to read it for a while. A few choice picks for me are:

• The dodgy wording whereby total loss settlements will be reduced if you happened buy the car for a price lower than the market value
• The exclusion of any loss or damage caused by mechanical failure - the normal approach would be to cover any damage resulting from the failure (but not the part that actually failed). as long as the policyholder had taken all reasonable steps to maintain the car in an efficient and roadworthy condition
• All theft cover is excluded (not just personal belongings) if a window is left open, even if the keys are not left in the car and the doors are locked
• They also attempt to exclude theft cover where the keys are 'unsecured' but does not define 'unsecured'. If they are in your house when you are at home with a door unlocked are they 'secured'?
• A rather confusing clause in the liability section appears to restrict driving other cars cover to Road Traffic Act cover rather than Third Party Only cover.
• If you make a glass claim you will not earn NCD for that policy year, even if you make no other claims
• They limit payments for glass replaced by non-approved repairers to a miserly £100

The highlight for me is that use on the 'Nuremberg Ring' is excluded. One can only presume that they mean the Nordschleife/Nurburgring (which is only about 200 miles away from Nuremburg)! To me this would appear to indicate that no underwriters have actually read the wording to check it for errors!

dacouch

Raskazz they also apply the voluntary excess to Fire and Theft claims which catches quite a few people out especially when as we know a lot of these websites / comparison sites quote with big voluntary excesses to make their price look low.

I have a general rule that for me is currently correct (In my mind) which is avoid any French Insurers. So this includes MMA, AXA, Groupama see if you can find anyone to say anything good about the three of them

Quentin

When you take out a swiftcover policy you agree to let them use "recycled" parts to repair your car!

(They are cheap for anyone just wanting third party cover, though - if you actually take comprehensive cover with £1000 excess instead of opting for third party cover!)

dacouch

Raskazz is just upset as they have taken one his heros and let him sell out for the Swiftcover buck...lol

raskazz

dacouch wrote: »

Raskazz is just upset as they have taken one his heros and let him sell out for the Swiftcover buck...lol

Haha

BTW I've found more info on the Nuremberg Ring. According to wikipedia it is something welded into some iron railings which brings luck to those who touch it. Don't know whether it would help Swiftcover though. Here's a photo:

Quentin

Why you playing billiards with your other hand whilst you got photographed rubbing the ring?

dacouch

Raskazz you make a good point about the Nuremberg Ring exclusion in the Swift Policy, knowing the quality of the Swiftcover claims staff could you imagine arguing with them about their exclusion, it would be a nightmare. Although saying that as most of them are "Offshore" they might google Nuremberg Ring and find the answer you have posted and pay the claim!

raskazz

It was a slow day today so I decided play around with Swiftcover's customer service team.

Any suggestions on the next reply? I might got for the "So will I be covered on the Nurburgring then?" angle.

I'm also wondering what "termonoligy" is.

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Original Message

---

From: Swiftcover - Help [mailto:[EMAIL="help@swiftcover.com"]help@swiftcover.com[/EMAIL]]
Sent: 22 January 2010 11:07
To: ***
Subject: RE: FW: Customer Form - Other/General enquiry Query - N/A
(#8749-160554426-7326)

Dear Mr ***,

Thank you for your email.

Further to your email to ourselves, we would like to confirm that the
Nurburg Ring is the correct termonoligy and phrasing for what Dinah
referred to as the Nuremberg Ring.

We apologise for the spelling and confusion, and confirm that you are
correct in your terminology and understanding of the location of the
Nurburg Ring.




Kind Regards

Hayley Jones

Swift Help Team
Swiftcover.com


Important Information

For security purposes please do not send sensitive information such as
bank, debit or credit card details via email. Swiftcover Insurance
Services Ltd will not be held responsible for information transmitted in
this way.

The information contained in this e-mail transmission is confidential
and Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd reserves any and all possible
rights to privilege thereof. It is intended only for the use of the
addressee designated above. Any reader of this message, who is not the
addressee, is hereby expressly forbidden to copy, disseminate,
distribute or in any other way use any of the information contained in
this e-mail message. Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd excludes any
warranty as to the quality or accuracy of any information contained in
this message and any liability of any kind for the information contained
in it, or for its transmission, reception, storage or use in any way
whatsoever.

Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority.

---

Original Message

---

From: ***
Sent: 22-Jan-2010 10:07:24
Subject: FW: Customer Form - Other/General enquiry Query - N/A
(#8749-160554426-7326)


Hi Dinah,

I'm a bit confused.

As I say, I know of the famous Nurburgring (Nordschleife) track, near
Nurburg in Germany.

The problem is that I can find no information on the 'Nuremberg Ring'
race track. The only 'Nuremberg Ring' which I have managed to find is a
good luck charm welded into some iron railings in Nuremberg, and
Nuremberg is 200 miles away from Nurburg.

Could I ask you to confirm the address and location of the 'Nuremberg
Ring'?

I don't want to accidentally end up without any cover if I accept a
quote.

Many thanks,

***

---

Original Message

---

From: Swiftcover - Help [mailto:[EMAIL="help@swiftcover.com"]help@swiftcover.com[/EMAIL]]
Sent: 22 January 2010 09:41
To: ***
Subject: RE: Customer Form - Other/General enquiry Query - N/A
(#8749-160554426-7326)

Dear Mr ***

Thank you for your e-mail.

The Nuremberg Ring is a Race Track. If you ended up on this race track
you would not be covered.


Kind Regards

Dinah Thomas

Swift Help Team
Swiftcover.com


Important Information

For security purposes please do not send sensitive information such as
bank, debit or credit card details via email. Swiftcover Insurance
Services Ltd will not be held responsible for information transmitted in
this way.

The information contained in this e-mail transmission is confidential
and Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd reserves any and all possible
rights to privilege thereof. It is intended only for the use of the
addressee designated above. Any reader of this message, who is not the
addressee, is hereby expressly forbidden to copy, disseminate,
distribute or in any other way use any of the information contained in
this e-mail message. Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd excludes any
warranty as to the quality or accuracy of any information contained in
this message and any liability of any kind for the information contained
in it, or for its transmission, reception, storage or use in any way
whatsoever.

Swiftcover Insurance Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority.

---

Original Message

---

From: ***
Sent: 21-Jan-2010 20:25:22
Subject: Customer Form - Other/General enquiry Query - N/A

Subject: Other/General enquiry

Customer's Question: I was just browsing your policy terms and
conditions prior to obtaining a quotation and noticed something which
rather concerned me. I see that General Exception 11 excludes "any
liability, loss, damage, cost or expense if you use your car at any
event during which your car may be driven:

.. on a motor racing track, airfield, Nuremberg Ring"

The problem is that I'm not sure what the 'Nuremburg Ring' is. I know
what the Nurburgring (Nordschleife) is but that is over 200 miles from
Nuremburg.

I really don't want to end up without cover should I take a wrong turn
in Nuremburg and end up on the ring road or something.

Could you please clarify this for me?

Thank you.