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A lesson learned about bike insurance
Ian.Peart
Posts: 3 Newbie
I've leaned a lesson, and I hope this helps others.
I changed my motorbike this week and rang my insurance broker, Swinton Bikes, to get the bike changed. They charged me a staggering £183 for the remaining 6 months. I was told this was because I was moving from a 600cc bike to a 1200cc bike, and also based on the claims history of the model I was changing to (Kawasaki to Triumph). I have always found Swinton to be good and had no reason to doubt this, so paid up.
Afterwards I looked up new quotes on price comparison sites and was stunned to find the cheapest, like for like, full year quote was £114! The most expensive was £220. I asked for a new quote on Swintons site and that was, again like for like, £230.
I rang Swinton (it seems you cannot email them) and was told that as I had placed the business already, all I could do was cancel the insurance and get a £108 refund (so it would have cost me £75 for 3 days insurance). They again looked up a new quote at around £300. They said they could not match the on-line deals available - even the one from their own site!
It seems what I should have done was cancel my original policy then taken up new insurance from a comparison site. Too late, a lesson learned!
What's the cost of the lesson?
My original insurance was £130, so with 6 months to run say conservatively I might have expected £50 refund on cancellation. I would then spend £114 on new insurance for a year. Instead I upgraded my insurance for 6 months at a cost of £183 plus the existing 6 months cover already in force value say £50.
So my cost to take new insurance £114 - £50 = £64
Actual cost £183 + £50 = £233. Extra cost to me £169!
On top of this I would have had an extra 6 months insurance, value about £50, so this whole saga has cost me over £200!!
Like I say, I just hope my lesson will help others...
Ian
I changed my motorbike this week and rang my insurance broker, Swinton Bikes, to get the bike changed. They charged me a staggering £183 for the remaining 6 months. I was told this was because I was moving from a 600cc bike to a 1200cc bike, and also based on the claims history of the model I was changing to (Kawasaki to Triumph). I have always found Swinton to be good and had no reason to doubt this, so paid up.
Afterwards I looked up new quotes on price comparison sites and was stunned to find the cheapest, like for like, full year quote was £114! The most expensive was £220. I asked for a new quote on Swintons site and that was, again like for like, £230.
I rang Swinton (it seems you cannot email them) and was told that as I had placed the business already, all I could do was cancel the insurance and get a £108 refund (so it would have cost me £75 for 3 days insurance). They again looked up a new quote at around £300. They said they could not match the on-line deals available - even the one from their own site!
It seems what I should have done was cancel my original policy then taken up new insurance from a comparison site. Too late, a lesson learned!
What's the cost of the lesson?
My original insurance was £130, so with 6 months to run say conservatively I might have expected £50 refund on cancellation. I would then spend £114 on new insurance for a year. Instead I upgraded my insurance for 6 months at a cost of £183 plus the existing 6 months cover already in force value say £50.
So my cost to take new insurance £114 - £50 = £64
Actual cost £183 + £50 = £233. Extra cost to me £169!
On top of this I would have had an extra 6 months insurance, value about £50, so this whole saga has cost me over £200!!
Like I say, I just hope my lesson will help others...
Ian
0
Comments
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Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I thought the same the weekend, Not about money though.
Tightened a bolt on someones car, As i went round and nipped the bolts up one sheared.. I thought i should have left them and hope they did not vibrate free
Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
Another tip (not insurance related) but along the same lines and even worse is to be very careful with holiday bookings.
The distance selling regulations where you have a 7 day cooling off period, does not apply to holidays, so you have to really careful when you make a booking.
I always get someone else to check as I know how crucial it is to be right before booking.
I know many people think insurance is the work of the devil - but here the cancellation fees (deposit) are much greater even than insurance cancellation fees.0 -
Insurance is regulated by the FOS who have an ethos that insurers must treat punters fairly.
On your experience I'd say they are unfairly taking advantage of the fact that you are an existing customer to bend you over on the change of bike. Either they get the money via increased premium or they get the money via a cancellation charge.
Options are, either suck it up or, if you CBA, put a formal complaint in and if they don't see sense then escalate to the FOS0 -
I don't think the FOS can actually deal with complaints about premiums unless mis-selling has taken place. Which it doesn't sound like it has.
The FSA don't get involved with how much insurance companies charge as they understand that companies all have diffrent rates and loadingsFirst Date 08/11/2008, Moved In Together 01/06/2009, Engaged 01/01/10, Wedding Day 27/04/2013, Baby Moshie due 29/06/2019 :T0 -
By cancelling you insurance halfway through you will also lose the NCB that would be accumilated for that end year !!
So take into account that at next renewal also !!0 -
Valid point about the NCB, but it doesn't matter if you already have full no claims when the original policy was taken out.0
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Insurance is regulated by the FOS who have an ethos that insurers must treat punters fairly.
On your experience I'd say they are unfairly taking advantage of the fact that you are an existing customer to bend you over on the change of bike. Either they get the money via increased premium or they get the money via a cancellation charge.
Swinton are a broker rather than an insurer so unless the OP can prove that the actual insurer online was the same as existing then this is a total non-starter.
Cancellation scales on bikes also tend to be harsher than that on private cars as bikes are used seasonally - ie spring to autumn, and average premiums are lower therefore upfront expense to insurer and broker is a greater percentage of the annual premium.0 -
Insurance is regulated by the FOS who have an ethos that insurers must treat punters fairly.
On your experience I'd say they are unfairly taking advantage of the fact that you are an existing customer to bend you over on the change of bike. Either they get the money via increased premium or they get the money via a cancellation charge.
It's the same as every Insurer... a new customer gets a better rate than a loyal existing one.0 -
yep, but is that fair?
It's a different story at renewal when you can move elsewhere without penalty if the offered renewal price is silly.0
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