Holiday Insurance Foul Up

mufi

Opinions welcome, please; I'll keep it as brief as possible.


A couple of weeks ago, I rang our usual holiday insurer for a hypothetical quote prior to booking a holiday. I made it clear that I needed this before booking, as my other half has a new medical condition which may have made cover prohibitive.


I was given a quote and a quote number.


Based on this, I booked the holiday this morning then immediately rang the insurer to take out the cover. They have fouled up and under-quoted (premium originally quoted at £146, now they say it's £322) - they have listened to a tape of the conversation and admit they are at fault.


I have pointed out that I booked the holiday based on what they agree they told me. Any idea where I stand legally? (I know where I stand morally...).

InsideInsurance

The ombudsman doesnt take well to insurers not standing by their word but as the contract wasnt formed, ie you didnt buy, then the position is weaker than if you'd paid up and they came back to you later and said they want additional money.

Depending on timescales, either make a complaint and threaten the ombudsman on them and see what they say or shop around for more competitive prices

mufi

Many thanks, InsideInsurance - no wish to get the kid who did the original quote in any more trouble, and they have now offered me a reasonable discount in recognition of their error.

David_InsDef

Did they send you any details and if so, did it state anything about the quote being guaranteed for a period of time?

mufi

Nothing in writing, but they've pulled the tape recording and admitted that it was their operator's error.


No mention of the quote being time limited, and they haven't argued on that basis, in fact they've admitted that the error was simply the teleop just quoting the extra premium for the pre-existings, and forgetting to add the small matter of the basic premium before loading.

David_InsDef

As II said, a formal complaint could help, particularly if they think you're motivated to go all the way to the Ombudsman with it. Then again, if their offer of a discount has done enough to make you consider sticking with them, you might want to put it down to one of those things and press on with having a great holiday

Best regards

David

mufi

David_InsDef wrote: »

Then again, if their offer of a discount has done enough to make you consider sticking with them, you might want to put it down to one of those things and press on with having a great holiday

Best regards

David

Not really - it wasn't the original error that annoyed me, stuff happens, it was the lack of customer service thereafter; lots of apologies, but "nothing they could do" about honouring their original price on a one-off basis. It was only after considerable pressure that they referred it to a manager, who agreed a small compromise. However, as I said, really don't want to drag some poor underpaid under-trained wage-slave down the Ombudsman route, and intend to press on with having a great holiday after a horrible year.


I shan't be using them in future.


Many thanks for your help, and happy Christmas.