Auto renewal who has been caught out

keith1950

Hi, Inactive,you are probably one of the more enlightened out there, I completely agree with you but given the market conditions too many people stick their heads in the sand, deny everything , admit to nothing and then complain when things go wrong. They do need to be more aware of the status quo. ( even if they consider the status quo to be wrong ).
I have never let a policy auto renew but thats my whole point about being aware.

Jane2005

Inactive wrote: »

More " Nanny State " if somebody doesn't take out a new years insurance, that is their problem, as far as I am concerned my contract is for 12 months, no more, no less.

One quick call to your insurer to opt out of auto renewal, done, what's the problem ?

Inactive

Jane2005 wrote: »

One quick call to your insurer to opt out of auto renewal, done, what's the problem ?

Why should I have to?

My contract is for one year, not two or more.

I would have no objection to an " opt in " procedure.

darich

Inactive wrote: »

More " Nanny State " if somebody doesn't take out a new years insurance, that is their problem, as far as I am concerned my contract is for 12 months, no more, no less.

Actually it's nobody's problem until they smash into your car or house with no insurance...then it's their problem for causing damage and yours because they can't pay.
What if they cause an accident that leaves a member of your family requiring 24hour care and they have no insurance to pay out??

The contract is for 12months...quite clearly it is.
But the insurer tells you that if you do nothing then it is taken as agreement for another year. Another payment is taken and another contract started. You have the choice to move to another company without any problems. It's not difficult.

It's all well and good saying that I'm fine and only want 12months so auto renew should be outlawed, but judging by some of the posters on here I'm amazed that people think that way.
Posters on this thread have admitted not reading ts and cs, not disclosing material facts and not knowing when their insurance expires......that means there's a pretty large chance that these same people NEED nannying by auto renew.

I can't believe that some of the posters here, those who don't read ts and cs, those who don't know when their insurance is due, are being critical of insurance companies for keeping them legal on the road and saving them from points, bans, jail, or being sued in the event of an accident.

I know we complain of becoming more like a nanny state, but it looks like it's needed.

Inactive

darich wrote: »

The contract is for 12months...quite clearly it is.
But the insurer tells you that if you do nothing then it is taken as agreement for another year. Another payment is taken and another contract started. You have the choice to move to another company without any problems. It's not difficult.

Of course you are missing something, the insurer will almost always auto renew at a non competitive rate, in the hope that the insured will not notice, only when they are challenged will they reduce their rate to a more realistic one.

You are giving them a licence to print money IMO.

Jane2005

Inactive wrote: »

Why should I have to?

My contract is for one year, not two or more.

I would have no objection to an " opt in " procedure.

You do agree to opt in when you agree to the T&Cs, if you are not happy, speak to an insurance advisor when setting up the policy and let them know straight away.

theJudge

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, I too do not like auto renewal but I make sure when buying any insurance that I know the terms and conditions and keep a note of renewal dates etc. I start looking for better quotes up to 2 months before due and in some instances have found that the earlier you get a quote the better it will be. If anyone has not received a renewal notice within 1 week of the renewal date they should be ringing to find out why. Most of the complaints we hear are because of apathy and a lack of attention to detail that seems to pervade our society with a ' can't be bother' attitude and then kicking off when things go wrong then branding the insurer as 'slime ball' . In this case why did the customer not question the non-reciept of a renewal notice!!!
Everyone seems to use the Royal mail as an easy scapegoat to try to cover their own shortcomings.

Most price comparison websites don't allow you to obtain quotes until 1 month before renewal. Automatic renewal should be outlawed. Insulting consumers is typical of insurance slime balls. This forum is full of people being ripped off by small print in their policies, being told lies by claims staff, inordinate delays, attempts to strong arm consumers in to accepting less than what their claim is worth. The regulators in this country aren't toothless, they're corrupt, ensuring that the insurance scam continues in a desperate attempt to prop up a failing economy.

theJudge

Jane2005 wrote: »

You do agree to opt in when you agree to the T&Cs, if you are not happy, speak to an insurance advisor when setting up the policy and let them know straight away.

A lot of people buy insurance policies from heavily advertised price comparison sites without any advice available to them. If you think that consumers should be employing brokers and lawyers before taking out a policy then I'm sure that you'll agree that price comparison websites should be closed down until they provide sufficient advice to allow consumers to make an informed decision.

What is evident about not only insurance but buying any other product nowadays in this morally bankrupt country is that you should now read every line of every page of terms and conditions and policies before accepting a product or service. Obviously, if you're retired you'll have that amount of time to do this, but pretty much anybody who works doesn't have the time to do this every time they buy insurance, a holiday, a bathroom, a car, a tv, a mobile phone, change banks, change energy suppliers, apply for a mortgage etc. etc.

theJudge

darich wrote: »

Actually it's nobody's problem until they smash into your car or house with no insurance...then it's their problem for causing damage and yours because they can't pay.
What if they cause an accident that leaves a member of your family requiring 24hour care and they have no insurance to pay out??

The contract is for 12months...quite clearly it is.
But the insurer tells you that if you do nothing then it is taken as agreement for another year. Another payment is taken and another contract started. You have the choice to move to another company without any problems. It's not difficult.

It's all well and good saying that I'm fine and only want 12months so auto renew should be outlawed, but judging by some of the posters on here I'm amazed that people think that way.
Posters on this thread have admitted not reading ts and cs, not disclosing material facts and not knowing when their insurance expires......that means there's a pretty large chance that these same people NEED nannying by auto renew.

I can't believe that some of the posters here, those who don't read ts and cs, those who don't know when their insurance is due, are being critical of insurance companies for keeping them legal on the road and saving them from points, bans, jail, or being sued in the event of an accident.

I know we complain of becoming more like a nanny state, but it looks like it's needed.

If only insurers helped policyholders when it came to claims, then you'd have a point. Insurers have a well documented history of taking premiums and avoiding claims, and there is still no law which allows a policyholder to sue an insurer for damages, 31 years after the law commission said that there should be. So, if you want to clean up your industry's image then assist with the law commissions current process which is due to bring in a draft bill in 2013 to give consumers legal rights.

starrystarry

mikey72 wrote: »

Ok.
I accept you love auto-renewal, it's the bees knees etc.
So out of all the advocates who have posted on here,
how many have used it?

Me, never.

So I'll wait your answers.

I've used it. My car & house insurance have been with esure for several years. Every year I get my auto renewal letter, every year I shop around, every year esure have been competitive so every year I have allowed it to auto renew. I know when they're both due, so I know when to expect my renewal notice.

I got my auto renewal letter from AA breakdown last month, wasn't happy with the price so I got a better deal elsewhere, rang AA to tell them not to renew, cancelled my DD, no problem.

I works for me because I read my post.