Hastings Direct cancelling insurance for 'playing' with online quotes

eddddy

People on this forum often recommend that you use fake details on the car insurance comparison sites, if you want to get multiple quotes. Here's an anecdote to reinforce that advice:

A friend obtained 4 quotes from Hastings Direct, changing a detail each time to see the impact:

e.g.
"How much extra am I paying because of my no-fault claim?"
"If I became unemployed, how would it affect my premium?"

He finally bought a policy stating all the correct information.

5 days later, HD phoned to say they were cancelling the policy. They said they had noticed that he had obtained 4 quotes with differing details, and they suspected he had been changing material facts to find the cheapest quote. (i.e. they accused him of fraud.)

After gathering his thoughts, my friend called back and threatened complaining to the FOS etc, and the policy was reinstated.


Ironically, confused.com actually recommend that you 'play' with their website:

Will Thomas, motor insurance expert at Confused.com, says that drivers should do their sums when considering making a low-value claim, whether they are at fault or not. "It is quite straightforward to work out what the impact of a claim on your future premiums could be.

"Just use a comparison site to see how much the cost of cover changes based on having no claims compared with having a no-fault claim of a particular value."

link:http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/car-insurance-is-claiming-always-a-good-idea

So it seems people following confused.com's advice are in danger of having their insurance cancelled!

weejonnie

eddddy wrote: »

People on this forum often recommend that you use fake details on the car insurance comparison sites, if you want to get multiple quotes. Here's an anecdote to reinforce that advice:

A friend obtained 4 quotes from Hastings Direct, changing a detail each time to see the impact:

e.g.
"How much extra am I paying because of my no-fault claim?"
"If I became unemployed, how would it affect my premium?"

He finally bought a policy stating all the correct information.

5 days later, HD phoned to say they were cancelling the policy. They said they had noticed that he had obtained 4 quotes with differing details, and they suspected he had been changing material facts to find the cheapest quote. (i.e. they accused him of fraud.)

After gathering his thoughts, my friend called back and threatened complaining to the FOS etc, and the policy was reinstated.


Ironically, confused.com actually recommend that you 'play' with their website:



link:http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/car-insurance-is-claiming-always-a-good-idea

So it seems people following confused.com's advice are in danger of having their insurance cancelled!

This is one of the most stupid pieces of advice (Confused's that is) that I have seen. It is a policy requirement that all incidents, regardless of fault are reported to the insurance company. Confused (appropriately given their name and apparent nature) seem to be encouraging customers to breach policy conditions.

Quentin

weejonnie wrote: »

This is one of the most stupid pieces of advice (Confused's that is) that I have seen. It is a policy requirement that all incidents, regardless of fault are reported to the insurance company. Confused (appropriately given their name and apparent nature) seem to be encouraging customers to breach policy conditions.

You never disclose to us your broker "interest" when posting to diss the online insurance market!

The advice is actually sound, but you can't really expect confused to add the words "using a dummy id", (as we see regularly advised here), as in:

"use a comparison site using a dummy id to see how much the cost of cover changes based on having no claims compared with having a no-fault claim of a particular value."

weighty1_2

Quentin wrote: »

You never disclose to us your broker "interest" when posting to diss the online insurance market!

The advice is actually sound, but you can't really expect confused to add the words "using a dummy id", (as we see regularly advised here), as in:

"use a comparison site using a dummy id to see how much the cost of cover changes based on having no claims compared with having a no-fault claim of a particular value."

No, the advice is NOT sound, UNLESS they include the "using a dummy id" part. They do half a job which could result in issues like those the OP mention. Unless they are going to go all the way and mention the dummy id part then they shouldn't mention it at all.

Quentin

Of course it's sound!

They do say "use a comparison site", rather than "contact your insurer"!

(In the circs, You cannot expect them to spell it out regarding inputting M.Mouse as your name!)

Smithers37

I'd never recommend 'playing around' or doing 'dummy quotes' - always use the correct information or this stuff happens. Insurers can see the quotes and the different information you've entered. Some will ask for proof of licence, address etc, others won't even take the risk and issue a RTA cancellation.

People don't appreciate the fact that this kind of fraud costs insurance companies lots of money each year, and the people being honest are the ones who have to pay.

You get a quote based on material facts that best describe your situation at the time of inception. Rating factors change constantly, so doing a quote to see how much a claim will cost you or how much it will be if you're unemployed is pointless.

So no, it's NOT sound advice.

Quentin

Smithers37 wrote: »

I'd never recommend 'playing around' or doing 'dummy quotes' - always use the correct information or this stuff happens. .....

If you use "dummy" id, what "stuff" happens?

We are all aware the final figure on a dummy quote may vary from the final figure when you are ready to quote and buy.

Nevertheless by doing dummy qiotes you get a decent indication of the difference (up or down) you can expect when you change anything material.

Smithers37

Quentin wrote: »

If you use "dummy" id, what "stuff" happens?

We are all aware the final figure on a dummy quote may vary from the final figure when you are ready to quote and buy.

Nevertheless by doing dummy qiotes you get a decent indication of the difference (up or down) you can expect when you change anything material.

It depends what you mean by 'dummy id' - if you mean using 'James Bond' as the name but keeping some of the details the same (same car reg, same DOB, same address etc) then they can still see this information in a cache and will question it if need be. If not, you're using completely different information which won't give you an accurate picture regardless.

Quentin

People are savvy.

Dummy id involves false name, phone number, house number, no reg or reg out of a photo, slightly different dob.

Agreed it won't be "totally" accurate, the idea is to get a general idea, and if everything is near completely correct though with untraceable to you minute differences the picture you get back will be close enough to make decisions.

johnk

Be warned that HastingDirect does seem to have some extra checks in their computer system: I tried online quotes a few time on different days as the price can vary, and from various source but with the same detail. I can still get quote but can no longer buy online as "there was a problem". I was asked to call but I didn't as that means the end of tcp/quidco. I chose the second best in the end.

lisyloo

I'd never recommend 'playing around' or doing 'dummy quotes' - always use the correct information or this stuff happens.

What about if you have a choice?
So let's say you could take 3 points or go on a speed awareness course but you want to know in advance what the cost is?
What about adding a named driver?

Some things are not optional - like your accident/conviction/occupation/age etc.
But other things - like mileage/named drivers are optional and you might want to know the price before you buy.

People don't appreciate the fact that this kind of fraud costs insurance companies lots of money each year

No it isn't fraud.
If you simply want to know the cost for adding a named driver - that's not fraud.
Neither is wanting to know the cost of NCD protection.