MSE News: Jobless get walloped when buying insurance

mikey72

kento wrote: »

................Remember a reduction of insurance loading for the unemployed will have to be met by a premium increase for the employed so as to maintain income. You might even question what momentum will an investigation have when pursuing this issue because the outcome would be a rise premiums for everyone else.

That seems fairer.

kento_2

mikey72 wrote: »

That seems fairer.

Well its not fair if the allegedly open "competitive" market is distorted by wrongly assessing the real risk factors, which is the essence of my post.

A trust in open free market competitiveness producing a fair outcome is naive.

Spiderham

kento wrote: »

I have long suspected that the underwriters do not properly analyse these factors, but instead just follow the market set by the collective market because they become worried that they will acquire to much business in the perceived (rather than proven) high risk.

What makes you say this out of interest? Also what sort of person do you think the insurers employ to do the job of analysing the level of risk attached?

Getting pricing right is a major deal for insurers so they are going to want to make sure they are doing it well.

mikey72

Spiderham wrote: »

What makes you say this out of interest? Also what sort of person do you think the insurers employ to do the job of analysing the level of risk attached?

Getting pricing right is a major deal for insurers so they are going to want to make sure they are doing it well.

Lack of any evidence otherwise. It's as good a way as any.

Spiderham

OK, as a matter of "full disclosure" part of my job is precisely to analyse the performance information in order to charge accordingly for an insurance company. As I've said before offering a reduced price where other people are overpricing would gain you a lot of business and profit.

It also makes me laugh when people who complain about the insurers not properly analysing the risk factors back this up with examples with a sample size in single figures (not statistically significant) or using some sort of perceived wisdom as "it makes sense" (not really rigorous).

TattyMac

Hi
Yes I have been denied car insurance because I am unemployed. Is this discrimination? Anyone interested in taking this through the legal system?

RedSlayer

Hello - planet Raskazz?

"The thing is though, the "most likely" data above is not inconsistent with the statement "unemployed people are more likely to commit insurance fraud than employed people"."

The thing is though - it is beyond reasonable doubt that people with money have much less chance of getting caught committing fraud as those without money, and when they do - there is no actual conviction or record of the massive theft!

Look at government MP's - they steal hundreds of thousands - get caught and the theft is not recorded as criminal. A dole person get's caught claiming £150 above their entitlement and are then a criminal for life.

Did you 'apply a level of critical thinking' to that obvious and proven scenario?

Helloooooo - planet Raskazz - are you receiving?

RedSlayer

MSE_Dan wrote: »

It's a tough one - I understand risk profiling, but can't help wishing it was more sophisticated than by one single action, the price someone owes goes up by £100s.

The price someone pays should be decided in a much more holistic fashion than that, in my view.

You may understand risk-profiling, but do you understand that insurance quotes are not based on risk-profiling, they are based on statistics drawn from risk-profiling?

I'm sure that you (along with the rest of the world) fully understand that statistics can be skewed to show whatever you want 'em to show.

Red ;-)

CJL777

My problem is you are either working or unemployed, what about the many of us that are classed as having a disability or long term sickness that means your unable to work. I need my car to be able to get out and about but as I am not higher DLA the insurance companies often don't have a category for me so I am listed as unemployed which increases my insurance cost.

forgotmyname

2012 revisited? Paying for insurance sucks. Some insurers have a category ro unemployed (health reasons). But it may still be dearer than some jobs. But in the same breath why should i pay more for a driving job that a warehouse job, Why does the warehouse job cost £17.50 more than working in the office upstairs?