Price comparison sites - I'm confused as to whether I been 'declined' car insurance

laurenr813

Advice please - car insurance renewal time - 18 months ago my car was stolen and I got a full settlement from the insurer (AXA) First claim ever in 15 years. But when it came to a month before renewal time they sent me a letter said they 'would not be able to cover' me for the coming year. On price comparison sites they ask 'have you ever been declined car insurance'? I'm not sure if I have to say 'yes'? I never actually asked AXA to renew it so officially they never declined me - that's my optimistic view anyway!

weejonnie

My thought here is that this is an official declineature and will have to be declared - but see below.

You should ask AXA why they can't cover you. If it is because of a general underwriting policy i.e. if you've had a theft claim in the past then they don't want to know, then you won't have to declare the declineature - but make sure you keep the letter from AXA with their explanation.

If you feel that AXA aren't treating you right you can still complain through their complaints procedure. I don't like to say so but maybe AXA think your claim was suspicious (In the current climate I bet insurers are seeing a rise in vehicle thefts as people get rid of cars due to increased motoring costs). (Obviously I can't comment on your own case not knowing full circumstances) If you feel this is the case then I should pursue the complaint most vigorously - insurance companies do not normally refuse to insure someone because of their first theft claim.

mikey72

laurenr813 wrote: »

Advice please - car insurance renewal time - 18 months ago my car was stolen and I got a full settlement from the insurer (AXA) First claim ever in 15 years. But when it came to a month before renewal time they sent me a letter said they 'would not be able to cover' me for the coming year. On price comparison sites they ask 'have you ever been declined car insurance'? I'm not sure if I have to say 'yes'? I never actually asked AXA to renew it so officially they never declined me - that's my optimistic view anyway!

You have not been declined, they have just decided not to renew your policy.

As you say, you didn't ask them, and they didn't decline.

weejonnie

The question "Have you ever been declined insurance" is a misnomer - the full question is "Have you ever had insurance declined, renewal refused or special terms imposed by an insurer" This is pretty standard on all proposal forms/ statement of facts.

mikey72

weejonnie wrote: »

The question "Have you ever been declined insurance" is a misnomer - the full question is "Have you ever had insurance declined, renewal refused or special terms imposed by an insurer" This is pretty standard on all proposal forms/ statement of facts.

Never seen that.
Do you have a link to anyone that uses that phrase?

System

Does "special terms" mean special terms for you, or general special terms for anyone in your position?

eg they won't insure you because of your accident record. Is that because of YOUR accident record, or because they don't like anyone with a bad accident record?

If you fill in a quote request on a comparison site and XYZ company declines to quote, is that refusal? How is that different from walking into the XYZ office, picking up a quote form and filling it in, and being refused?

weejonnie

If company XYZ has a philosophy that they will not insure someone who has had two accidents and you request a quote on a comparative quotation website that has XYZ as one of their insurers then XYZ have declined your insurance - obviously as this is generic then it needn't be declared. (A similar thing happens if you apply as an 18 year old - all companies who only insure 19+ year olds have declined your application)

This is the question asked on Comparethemarket

"Any driver insurance declined, cancelled, voided or special terms imposed"

(Renewal is a new contract - remember)

adamc260

I've only ever seen the wording 'Ever been refused insurance, had insurance cancelled or had any special conditions imposed'. That's all we ever asked in the Insurers I've worked for.

*Scarlett

If you are getting quotes on line and certain companies decline to give a price, I would not say this would be a decline - it might be due to your postcode, age, type of car, etc. When I have had quotes on the comparison sites there are always companies at the bottom of the list that decline to quote, but I would not consider this as having insurance delined.

However AXA have refused to accept your renewal for whatever reason.

Find out from AXA why they won't renew the policy.

It might be that they no longer wish to insure your postcode, type of car, occupation, etc.

If so, I don't think this is really a decline - they just don't underwrite that type of risk anymore.

If it's to do with your claims history, then you would need to declare it. But if the theft was 18 months ago, they obviously agreed to cover you for the 12 months after this so surely this would have applied to last year's policy.

When you have all the info you should speak to the new insurer. The last thing you want is to pay a lot of money and have the policy voided / cancelled (that really does have to be declared!)