Swift Cover Nightmare...

FU_Swift_Cover

Hi All.

I've Come on here to seek some expert advice, I'd appreciate if anyone can help.

A few days b4 Xmas my car was hit by someone who sild into the side of it whilst it was parked up outside a friends house. The driver left a note with his contact details etc. I spoke to the boss of the driver, who confirmed his colleague had hit my car with his work van. He also provided me with the details for their company claims dept.

I rang Swift Cover to setup a claim and everything was going through fine until I got a call from the policy validation team.
To give you a brief background, after finishing college (about 2 yrs ago) I decided that I wanted to go travelling. So I started saving by firstly selling electronic items on Ebay that I was getting from a cheap supplier, repairing/upgrading computers and playing poker which I had become pretty gd at by this time. Eventually poker has become my biggest source of income.

So when I rang up to make the claim Swift cover asked my occupation. I didn't know what to say but told them at the moment my biggest source of income was coming from poker.
So I get a call from the policy validation team saying that they are voiding my policy (which in effect cancels the claim aswell) because they dont insure gamblers!!!

Firstly I had no idea that Swift cover didnt insure (as they quote in their T+Cs no Full or part time gamblers) . I wouldnt have used them in the first place had I known this. This is my 2nd year with Swift cover an I even had a claim go thorough fine last year and nothing has changed since last year with regards to my occupation status.

Swift Cover's customer service has also been appalling so far. The guy who I spoke to orginally just bluntly told me there were cancelling my policy and claim and was generally very unhelpful. He also lied about some evidence they said they had about me gambling when he misquoted an article that was written a few years ago by Pokerstars. It actually quite funny as I had the article up when I asked him to again read out what he first said and again added words that weren't there !!!:T
I have since spoken to the manager of the policy team and she has gathered some evidence from me to give to the underwritters (AXA). They have also asked me to provide them with yearly earning which apart from being slightly unfeasible is also rude IMO.

So at the moment I stuck with my mercedes I cant drive and possibly a huge bill for the damage. It really feels like there just using some small print from their T+C to screw me over. 3rd party obv admitted fault for the claim so it probably doesnt cost SC anyway and I dont care if they cancel my policy after. Obv I would never of intentionally gone with them had I known about it there T+Cs.

Can anyone help me with any information etc.:money:

Thanks 4 your time

Tom

FU_Swift_Cover

Sorry my bad, double post - deleted plz mods

dacouch

As you have discovered Insurers have never liked professional gamblers, it has been an occupation they have disliked for a very long time and stems from the image of a professional horse gambler from yesteryear who was deemed a moral hazard. In some ways times have changed and a professional gambler is often different from a professional horse gambler.

Swiftcover are entitled to deny your claim if you have not declared your occupation and it is something they would not have covered had they known the true occupation.

This will be classed as "Inadvertent" non disclosure (See link)

If the non disclosure was genuinely "Innocent" under the Ombudsman's definition (See link) then you have a chance of the claim being paid.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-ins-nondisclosure.htm

The good news is that as the claim was the other drivers fault, you can make a claim directly off the other drivers Insurers.

The bad news is that as you have had a policy declared void by an Insurer you will need to declare this to future Insurers including Home and Life Insurance. This can make it difficult (Expensive) to get cover.

Some more good news, is that if you decide to accept Swiftcover voiding your policy and the ramifications, is that as they have declared the policy null and void it did not exist in the first place. This means they will need to refund you the premiums paid unless they say you acted fraudulently which I doubt it is.

Please read the Ombudsman link carefully and think about your next move carefully.

In fairness to Swiftcover, most Insurers would have acted the same, as professional gambler is a no no with the majority of Insurers.

Ronny_from_Dorset

Yes they always come up cheap in insurance searches. However when you have a claim, you then find out why. ine was a non fault claim. firstly they put up my premium and when it was confirmed as a non fault, they charged me £35 to update ny policy to say so! During the claim, the customer service was appalling with everybody at their call centre blaming every other department. my car was taken to their registered repair centre and it sat there for two weeks because swift cover still had the details of my old car (I transferred my personalised number plate to my new car 6 months previously). This was despite the fact I had an insurance certificate with the new car details. NEVER EVER call their 0871 number, it will cost you a fortune due to waiting times.

I am moving as soon as I can get another policy sorted. they are going to charge me £52 to cancel the policy. it's almost worth it to get away from the breathtaking incompetence. DO NOT USE SWIFTCOVER

toontron

I am currently trying to get a claim settled through Swift Cover and would never ever deal with this bunch of useless idiots again.