How to pay more for better service?

RoseBee_2

I only got my driving licence a few years ago at the age of 24 so I've pretty much had to go with the crappest companies just to get insurance I can afford... and the service has been DIRE. Like, not even worth having insurance. I can't ever get through on the phone, or when I can, people fob me off with misinformation and there are absolutely no repercussions. I get threatening letters in the post asking for documents I've already submitted because it takes them a month to work through their backlog of emails and the whole bloody companies are automated by badly built machines.

Am I not paying for reassurance and security in times of difficulty, after all? As someone who works in customer service, it drives me crazy that there is absolutely no respect for it in the car insurance industry.

Or is there? I'm getting to the point now where my premiums are lower and my cash flow is better that I could afford to pay more for a more reputable company. Does anyone recommend a way of finding one, or comparing companies by levels of customer satisfaction?

bouncydog1

Speak to a broker (not Swinton who apparently do have some issues with customer service in some areas) as they should assist.

Alternatively ask around your friends/colleagues for their experiences. Unfortunately though when you are dealing with call centres your experience will depend on the experience of the person who picks up the phone to deal with your enquiry.

ACG

I use Liverpool Victoria. They really annoyed me by wanting to charge £25 for a fax and couldnt email but you can speak to someone in england who understands what your talking about.

I wrote a letter of complaint about the £25 charge as i wasnt originally told about it, then when i did actually need it i had no choice but to pay it - they called me back re the complaint and refunded the charge.

I would use them again. I passed my test at 26 (last year) and they were by far the cheapest company, around £700 less.

Quentin

RoseBee wrote: »

Does anyone recommend a way of finding one, or comparing companies by levels of customer satisfaction?

Which? go as far as recommending companies based on customer satisfaction and their policies (and not recommending some):

http://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/reviews-ns/car-insurance/whichrecommended-providers/