Beware when doing "dummy" quotes

OnanTheBarbarian

Just a word of warning if you ever consider doing dummy quotes to see what changes to your personal information will have on your premiums, be careful.

Not only are your details stored and if you make loads of changes on quotes it will possibly flag you up for a fraud enquiry in the event you make a claim, but if you put in a false name and contact details so that it does not associate with you (even using your next door neighbour's address for example), the software the insurers use also reads your IP address.

http://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurance-age/news/2348715/ssp-launches-application-fraud-identification-tool

hop3y

Every quote, on any aggregator site is stored.

People just need to tell the truth so that the insurers can properly calculate the risk. No point taking out insurance if your going to manipulate data to get a cheaper quote and not get paid out anyway!

nobbysn*ts

None of those words appear in the link you refer to?

Spiderham

That's not the first piece of software that does that. Insurance company I work for has something similar which can track IPs and devices that the quotation was made from and match people doing multiple quotations. Point is to try to find the people who are playing around and change what they declare in order to get a cheap quotation by incorrectly answering questions.

nobbysn*ts

Spiderham wrote: »

That's not the first piece of software that does that. Insurance company I work for has something similar which can track IPs and devices that the quotation was made from and match people doing multiple quotations. Point is to try to find the people who are playing around and change what they declare in order to get a cheap quotation by incorrectly answering questions.

I always go through a comparison site, then, normally go direct. Although I have found topcashback seem to have got a handle on the on the problem with running multiple quotes, it doesn't seem to alter the prices from them. But, to be fair, I won't use a company that massages the price when I actually come to buy the policy, I figure if they can't keep the price they originally quoted, they probably won't pay out without a fight, so I move on to the next on the list. The "fraud" excuse doesn't really scan, it's far more likely the insurer returned a cheap price to pull you in, then relies on the inertia of the customer when they actually try to buy the policy, and hike the prices then.

System

It would would hope depend on what exactly you are changing when doing the dummy quotes.
Changing job descriptions might look fraudulant, but trying different car models would be entirely reasonable.
Likewise testing the effect of adding different named drivers would be reasonable.

busiscoming2

I've been 'playing around' with the information to compare quotes.

My DS is learning to drive and so I have been trying to find out costs in the scenario of him as a learner and as a driver, with various additional people on the policies. I have also looked into the cost of him having a moped instead so lots of different quotes done.

When we decide what to do all the information given will be honest, surely they must realise why people look at different variations?

nobbysn*ts

busiscoming2 wrote: »

..................When we decide what to do all the information given will be honest, surely they must realise why people look at different variations?

I imagine it's a kind of reverse "what would Jesus do?" They set their rules by what they believe people do. So, if you're good, you expect people to be good. If you're a thieving, fundamentally dishonest, cheating lowlife, that expects to take advantage over everyone else whenever possible, that's what you expect from others.

eddddy

People "play" with insurance quoting engines for many reasons, including:

1) To help them make legitimate and honest decisions.

(e.g. I'm 20 yrs and 9 mths old. Roughly how much would I save by waiting until I'm 21 yrs old, before buying/insuring a car? I'll change my DoB by 3 mths to investigate.)

2) Out of curiosity

(e.g. I wonder how much extra I would pay if my 18 yr old son really was the main driver? This might make an interesting anecdote to discuss over dinner.)

3) To dishonestly reduce premiums

I know many people who do 1 and 2 above. If insurance companies really don't want people to do 1 or 2 above, they should either:

- change their online quoting engines so they don't allow people to "play" with them, or

- give appropriate warnings within the online system, e.g. "You are changing your Date of Birth. This can be an indication of potential insurance fraud. This may result in a refusal to quote and/or additional fraud checking and/or being blacklisted by some insurers. Do you wish to continue?"

Quentin

When you do quotes you agree the info you give is the truth

Thus playing with your dob is breaching that agreement!

nobbysn*ts

Quentin wrote: »

When you do quotes you agree the info you give is the truth

Thus playing with your dob is breaching that agreement!

Not really, quotezone for example "It is your responsibly to ensure that all information used by an insurer in arranging an insurance policy for you is correct. You warrant to us that all information you submit to us is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge" - I'm not arranging a policy. I'm getting quotes for various options which will then enable me a arrange a policy. At that stage I have no intention of carrying through. But when I do arrange it, based on the different quotes I've received, I will indeed then check the information used for that policy is accurate and complete. As your example, if I choose to wait a few days, and let my age change by a year, based on previous quotes, the information used for that policy will be correct.