MSE News: Jobless get walloped when buying insurance
Comments
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MSE You have left people who can't work due to health problems out of this article and statistics!!!!!
I am not able to work due to health problems, but having just renewed my car insurance the "Unemployed" price can go the other way too!
Some providers have the option "Not employed due to Disability" which is how I class myself as opposed to others which do not have the option. As I can't just pick any of the jobs listed or Retired as I'm way too young I have no option but to choose Unemployed which I define as everyone has said as "someone who is actively seeking work" - which I can't.
One quote was £100 more when I changed from "Unemployed" to "Unable to work due to Disability" which surely must be some sort of discrimination too.
There must be lots of other people in the position too?
Is there anything MSE could do to campaign about the Unemployed and Disabled being unfairly treated in this way? Especially with there being so many people unemployed at the moment, therefore the insurance companies are raking it in more than ever in this catagory?
Document it and put a complaint in & report it. Discrimination on grounds of disability is unlawful and illegal under DDA and/or EA0 -
A voluntary worker could only drive under SD&P the same way as any other employed person. If you drive to work (even if it is unpaid) you are commuting.
If the car is used in connection with the work, such as collecting and delivering items, then you would need to declare this and request the policy be extended to include business use.
You will probably need to request business use if you travel between different locations during the course of your work.
As far as the premium differences between different groups of people go this is based on statistics. If the unemployed are being charged a lot more it is because insurers are paying out more to unemployed drivers. This may or may not be related to fraud, I do not have those statistics.
If an insurer believed that the risk presented by unemployed drivers was the same as the employed they would reduce the rate to get more of the business that they see as profitable.
Motor insurance has generally been running at a loss so insurers are becoming ever more selective.
Whilst a lot of attention has been paid to whether the unemployed are more likely to commit fraud I suspect this is not a major rating factor. More important is the fact that they have a very limited income and servicing and maintaing the car in a safe condition is much lower on their list or priorities. Worn out tyres and poor brakes will lead to more accidents.
I accept that other groups may face financial hardships but as a group statistics show certain occupations affect the level and nature of claims.0 -
A voluntary worker could only drive under SD&P the same way as any other employed person. If you drive to work (even if it is unpaid) you are commuting.
If the car is used in connection with the work, such as collecting and delivering items, then you would need to declare this and request the policy be extended to include business use.
You will probably need to request business use if you travel between different locations during the course of your work.
As far as the premium differences between different groups of people go this is based on statistics. If the unemployed are being charged a lot more it is because insurers are paying out more to unemployed drivers. This may or may not be related to fraud, I do not have those statistics.
If an insurer believed that the risk presented by unemployed drivers was the same as the employed they would reduce the rate to get more of the business that they see as profitable.
Motor insurance has generally been running at a loss so insurers are becoming ever more selective.
Whilst a lot of attention has been paid to whether the unemployed are more likely to commit fraud I suspect this is not a major rating factor. More important is the fact that they have a very limited income and servicing and maintaing the car in a safe condition is much lower on their list or priorities. Worn out tyres and poor brakes will lead to more accidents.
I accept that other groups may face financial hardships but as a group statistics show certain occupations affect the level and nature of claims.
Who defined volunteering as work? If you don't have the statistics, how do you know insurers are paying out more? How do you know unemployed people have a higher ratio of accidents due to bald tyres and poor brakes? Do you have a link to those statistics? A link to the losses would be good as well. I personally doubt that the day I became unemployed, my tyres and brakes went out in sympathy, in fact, I think they where probably more worn 6 months later when I stopped claiming JSA and became self employed. As I also service my own car, it was probably beter looked after during the 6 months when I had more time on my hands.0 -
and the stuff about volunteers needing commuting or business cover is nonsense too
http://www.abi.org.uk/information/consumers/general/volunteer_driving_.aspx0 -
yep, but the clue is in the prefix, "voluntary" rather than "paid"
The ABI have this on board in that in the link in #46 they make the point that SDP cover also covers voluntary driving where you get paid as long as the payment doesn't exceed HMRC mileage figures0 -
yep, but the clue is in the prefix, "voluntary" rather than "paid"
The ABI have this on board in that in the link in #46 they make the point that SDP cover also covers voluntary driving where you get paid as long as the payment doesn't exceed HMRC mileage figures
If a person drives to their place of (voluntary) work on a regular basis then surely they should still have cover for commuting? I read the ABI reference to voluntary driving as driving done in the course of the voluntary work - not driving purely to get to and from the premises.0 -
It's called "voluntary work" for a reason.
I work in the garden, I work in my mother in laws garden, I don't need commuting, and I don't need business use when I pick up a rose tree for her. We still call it work though. I'm sure you refer to it by the same. Unemployed people work as volunteers and claim unemployment benefit. Do they seriously need to declare they're unemployed, but need commuting and business use? You may refer to volunteer work, others refer to it purely as volunteering, so who has actually defined volunteering as work? The ABI don't.0 -
If a person drives to their place of (voluntary) work on a regular basis then surely they should still have cover for commuting? I read the ABI reference to voluntary driving as driving done in the course of the voluntary work - not driving purely to get to and from the premises.
and by that logic if they drive to different places of voluntary work then they need business use cover.
Surely logic tells you that if say dropping off lunch to 20 different OAP addresses is covered then driving to collect the lunches at the start of the day would also be covered.
The way I read the ABI statement is that volunteering is a good thing and something you do as part of the normal Social, Domestic & Pleasure lifestyle that SD&P insurance is designed to cover0 -
I work in the garden, I work in my mother in laws garden, I don't need commuting, and I don't need business use when I pick up a rose tree for her. We still call it work though. I'm sure you refer to it by the same. Unemployed people work as volunteers and claim unemployment benefit. Do they seriously need to declare they're unemployed, but need commuting and business use? You may refer to volunteer work, others refer to it purely as volunteering, so who has actually defined volunteering as work? The ABI don't.
Volunteers normally have to fill in an application form and attend an interview (even if it's informal). They sometimes need CRB checks. I very much doubt you would need any of that if working in your mother in laws garden.
In addition voluntary work can often go under work experience in a CV. Not sure if the garden work can though.0
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