Not all Car Insurance policies are the same

mike_the_rate_tart

foggytown wrote: »

Your attitude is unreasonable and ill-considered. If we take your expectations to a logical (albeit extreme) extension, if your 3-year-old Audi were damaged so badly it was a write-off, would you expect a brand new Audi in return?

Thanks for getting back FoggyTown,

I can see that if taken to the extreme then my standpoint would mean that I get a new car as replacement for my written-off 3 year old car.

Clearly this wouldn't (and indeed shoudn't) be the case - instead I'll get a payment representing it's current value.

Your same argument can be applied to components of that car, but what is to stop parts from my 2 year old/ 20,000 mile car being replaced with parts from a 5 year old, 100,000 mile car? Surely only if the part comes from a car of the same age/ mileage (or newer/ lower mileage) can it be deemed a fair like-for-like replacement. And I'll bet there aren't any such controls in place...

As you say, replacement mechanicals are (hopefully) unlikely to be from used sources. However, if there are garages unscrupulous enough to take payment for fitting a new body panel when in reality they've paid far less for a used panel from the local scrappies, surely the same occurs with mechanical parts?

You also don't address the issue of genuine VW parts being replaced by parts that are neither genuine nor equivalent...how can this be right?

Quentin

mike_the_rate_tart wrote: »

As for the glass claims and NCD - I'm really unclear as to what is strange about either.

From Swiftcovers ts & cs:

Following any payment for replacement of glass, at your next renewal you will no longer be eligible for any increase in your No Claims Discount

mike_the_rate_tart

Quentin wrote: »

From Swiftcovers ts & cs:

Blimey. Even more reason to be glad I'm shut of them!

When I said I'd checked things like glass cover, I meant that I'd checked that windscreen cover was included in the policy (I've seen some where it isn't) at the level provided by the comparison website (i.e. a tick in a box saying it is present).

As you already knew, I've only just started reading their policy documents now that I'm dealing with my wife's accident. I haven't looked at the sections dealing with glass as this not going to form part of the claim I'm dealing with at the moment. I reckon I'll print the whole thing out and read it tonight - should be good for a laugh to see what else they've put in there!

Perhaps we can swing this around to something constructive and useful to the wider audience here...

This exercise has been a real eye-opener for me and shows that car insurance is a mine-field with vastly differing policies...how about we come up with a list of exceptionally good and bad insurers?

This is kind of where I hoped this thread would naturally move to, and Mission seemed to pick up on this with their excellent recommendation. Can anyone else offer up any particularly good insurers? Or ones to avoid, based on the type repairs I had been expecting?

mattymoo

foggytown wrote: »

I would be surprised to find that there are big operations in China stamping out "compatible" rear decks for Audis.

Not sure about China but I do recall the use of Veng pattern panels in the late 80's, early 90's.
I found this link -
http://www.motortrader.com/industry-news/10734-panel-suppliers-in-conspiracy.html
Relates to a 1998 story about the merger of Veng with other firms in the same sector. Other pages suggest Partco took over the lot and then became part of Unipart but I cannot see any mention of a pattern panel operation on their site.

As for mechanical components, the use of refurbished "exchange" steering racks and alternators is common in the motor trade. The refurb companies aim to strip and completely rebuild the racks etc to manufacturer spec.

foggytown

mike_the_rate_tart wrote: »

Thanks missile!

I've just taken a policy out with these guys and cancelled the Axa one. They are surprisingly competitive in terms of price considering the vastly improved level of cover.

You are making it sound like AVG Insurance is providing some kind of superior product. In fact, they are making a big deal about using genuine parts because, as part of the group, there's nothing else they can do. Plus the more cars insured by them, the more the spares arm of the group is guaranteed a sales outlet. Simples!

mike_the_rate_tart

foggytown wrote: »

You are making it sound like AVG Insurance is providing some kind of superior product. In fact, they are making a big deal about using genuine parts because, as part of the group, there's nothing else they can do. Plus the more cars insured by them, the more the spares arm of the group is guaranteed a sales outlet. Simples!

My new insurance policy taken out through Audi Insurance is actually underwritten by Allianz, which as far as I know is not part of the group.

And it is a superior product. Compare and contrast:

- Swiftcover: Recycled or "similar" parts
- AVG - Genuine parts only

- Swiftcover: Any garage/ bodyshop prepared to work for £24/hr
- AVG: Audi approved garages and bodyshops only

- Swiftcover: Any mechanic
- AVG: Audi factory trained mechanics only

- Swiftcover: A 1.0 litre small courtesy car (e.g. Micra)
- AVG: Class D mid size hatchback, from VW Group range

All of that provided by a separate company to the VW Group, just as Swiftcover are a separate company. Allianz clearly value the added benefits of putting cars back on the road with genuine parts.

Finally, here's the difference in price:
- Swiftcover are now quoting £550 taking into account my wife's recent accident
- AVG cost me £790
- Overlooking the Swiftcover price on Confused.com, the other quoted prices quickly jumped up to the £700-£800 price range and then carried on into 4 figures. I'd be amazed if any of the other policies on Confused.com could match the AVG policy.

It seems that the VW Group, in partnering with Allianz earlier this year, have made a concerted effort to offer a superior insurance product at an equivalent price to most of the "high street" insurers, and they seem to be making a decent job of it.

They don't seem to have made a big effort to advertise their new insurance offerings, which is a shame because I think the price and level of cover is unbeatable.