Will I ever be able to get car insurance again?

napoleon1821

Good afternoon all,

My current car insurance company have provided absolutely terrible customer service over the course of my policy, such as hold times of over an hour, rude advisors and so on. I made a formal complaint, which they rejected, and therefore the matter is currently being investigated by the financial ombudsman.

I have received a letter this morning to say that they will not inviting me to renew my insurance policy when it expires in April 2012 due to our 'respective positions regarding the administration arrangements on the policy'. To clarify, they have not cancelled my insurance, they simply do not want to provide me with a quotation when my current insurance expires.

I have had no claims on the policy, I have never misled them, I have never failed to disclose any facts and I have never failed to make the necessary payments. I can therefore only assume that they no longer want my custom after my complaint.

Since my insurance is due for renewal shortly, I telephoned about a dozen different insurance insurance companies this morning. When asked the question 'Have you ever had insurance refused or cancelled?', I explained the situation with my current insurance company honestly.

Unfortunately, every insurance company that I have spoken to this morning has refused to offer me insurance based upon the situation and have advised me that they will never offer me insurance in the future. They have all admitted that my situation is 'virtually unheard of' in the insurance industry.

Surely my current insurance company cannot do this to me? Why should I be 'banned' from most insurance companies for life due making a genuine complaint?

I would really appreciate any assistance you could provide, please.

Thank you very much indeed

System

Your current insurance company haven't done anything.

They were above board by telling you that they would not offer a renewal quote. They have neither cancelled nor refused you insurance.

I suppose that they could have provided a quote of £25,000 to you which is the same as refusing to quote.

It sounds more like your attempt at expalining this, which you didn't have to do, has marked you as an awkward customer that others would rather not deal with.

napoleon1821

!!!!!! wrote: »

It sounds more like your attempt at expalining this, which you didn't have to do, has marked you as an awkward customer that others would rather not deal with.

I thought it would be better to be honest with future insurers, but you rightly suggest that it makes me look like an awkward customer, even though my current insurance company are in the wrong. Would you suggest that I simply answer 'no' to the question?

The issue now is that all of the insurance companies who I have telephoned today (all of the major insurance companies) will have my response recorded as 'yes' on their records. Surely I cannot get another quote from them again with a different answer?

Thank you very much indeed for your response

citykid5

as your present insurer hasn't cancelled or declined,they simply wont offer you a renewal quote.don't consider yourself to be in the catagory have you ever been declined/cancelled?
most people are only considerd awkward if the company is not customer focused? so good on you.
name and shame the insurance company,so you can give fellow mse'ers the heads up

snehal1

Just pretend you have not been refused for insurance. All you need is a no claims bonus from your current insurer. You do not need to give explaination why you are not going back to same insurer for next year.

Just google quotes for this year and go ahead for your insurance. You are not refused for insurance, you already had it this year...

This is what atleast I would do...

napoleon1821

Many thanks indeed for all of the responses.

So far, everybody has suggested that I answer 'no' when asked whether I have had insurance refused. I definitely don't want to lie to my future insurance company, so would it seriously be okay to answer 'no' without any explanation during future quotations? Won't my 'yes' response be recorded with all of the major insurance companies already?

I don't particularly want to name and shame my current insurance company (yet!), because I don't want any further trouble from them. Just think of the largest member-owned organisation who claim to act in a 'fair', 'honest' and 'ethical' manner...

Quentin

The question usually asked is along the lines of "Has any insurer ever cancelled, voided, declined or refused to renew your policy?"

If that is the question you get asked, then it seems the answer is "yes"!

(And if you have submitted "genuine" quote applications with a "yes", then they will be recorded)

napoleon1821

Quentin wrote: »

The question usually asked is along the lines of "Has any insurer ever cancelled, voided, declined or refused to renew your policy?"

If that is the question you get asked, then it seems the answer is "yes"!

That's exactly my point. As soon as I respond 'yes' to this question and explained my situation, every insurer has refused to offer me insurance. They have also advised that I would never be eligible for insurance in the future due to my answer

Quentin

MAybe you can get correspondence from them saying this is not a disclosable "refusal" to show other insurers. If not, then you can pursue a complaint.

napoleon1821

Quentin wrote: »

MAybe you can get correspondence from them saying this is not a disclosable "refusal" to show other insurers. If not, then you can pursue a complaint.

That's a very good suggestion, thank you. I can't see them offering such a letter considering their track record over the past year, but it's definitely worth a try!

olly300

napoleon1821 wrote: »

Many thanks indeed for all of the responses.

So far, everybody has suggested that I answer 'no' when asked whether I have had insurance refused. I definitely don't want to lie to my future insurance company, so would it seriously be okay to answer 'no' without any explanation during future quotations? Won't my 'yes' response be recorded with all of the major insurance companies already?

You haven't had insurance refused.

If your current insurer had refused to insure you they would have cancelled your insurance there and then, and asked you to send back your certificate of motor insurance.

What the insurer is doing is telling you is that they don't want any new business from you.

That is completely different.

It's like if my current car insurer decides they won't offer me a renewal because the area I live is now somewhere they don't offer to insure people in.

BTW I think CIS and Nationwide car insurance is underwritten by LV.

And due to my recent troubles with CIS I would never buy any insurance product though them. Luckily the underwriter in my case, Aviva, who had nothing to do with the misselling of the product sorted the issue out. (And yes it was misselling as an ombudsman got involved as I wasn't allowed to talk to Aviva directly.)