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Why are insurance companies/assessors so dishonest?
When it comes to insurance, I know they tend to get a bashing from people who have usually themselves made a mistake. "Oh, I forgot to declare that I put alloys on and my insurance company are refusing to pay out for them".
However, this is a slightly different. My gf was recently involved in a small accident. I did try and talk her out of going through insurance and settling privately, but through insurance she went. The vehicle was taken away and being a few years old now, was found to be a total loss write off.
Assessor phones my partner yesterday. She asked the assessor if he would be willing to handle the settlement figure with me, which he was awkward over (he basically ignored her request and continued talking).
The initial figure he offered her was absolutely disgusting. So low that I would have been genuinely insulted and yet some people would accept this figure, unknowingly thinking it was a fair offer for their car. After all, you pay for your insurance to deal with you fairly; why do we pay such expensive premiums if they don't do that? Why is it acceptable that in a time of need, they're basically trying to cash in on your loss?
Having repeatedly drummed into my gf's head what I thought her car was worth, she actually plucked up the courage to say no and he immediately upped her offer by £100, not even thinking about it.... good to see he's an honest man of his principals then. She said she wanted some time to think about it, and we phoned back last night, again he was uneasy/difficult about speaking to me, but again she asked for more and he instantly without argument offered more.
How is it, that when we pay such extortionate amounts for our insurance premiums, that they continue to operate by offering ludicrously low amounts of money for your vehicle when you need them to support you? My missus is not a millionaire, that money is vital to her getting a new car, and they're hell bent on basically short changing her.
!!!! poor if you ask me.
However, this is a slightly different. My gf was recently involved in a small accident. I did try and talk her out of going through insurance and settling privately, but through insurance she went. The vehicle was taken away and being a few years old now, was found to be a total loss write off.
Assessor phones my partner yesterday. She asked the assessor if he would be willing to handle the settlement figure with me, which he was awkward over (he basically ignored her request and continued talking).
The initial figure he offered her was absolutely disgusting. So low that I would have been genuinely insulted and yet some people would accept this figure, unknowingly thinking it was a fair offer for their car. After all, you pay for your insurance to deal with you fairly; why do we pay such expensive premiums if they don't do that? Why is it acceptable that in a time of need, they're basically trying to cash in on your loss?
Having repeatedly drummed into my gf's head what I thought her car was worth, she actually plucked up the courage to say no and he immediately upped her offer by £100, not even thinking about it.... good to see he's an honest man of his principals then. She said she wanted some time to think about it, and we phoned back last night, again he was uneasy/difficult about speaking to me, but again she asked for more and he instantly without argument offered more.
How is it, that when we pay such extortionate amounts for our insurance premiums, that they continue to operate by offering ludicrously low amounts of money for your vehicle when you need them to support you? My missus is not a millionaire, that money is vital to her getting a new car, and they're hell bent on basically short changing her.
!!!! poor if you ask me.
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When it comes to insurance, I know they tend to get a bashing from people who have usually themselves made a mistake. "Oh, I forgot to declare that I put alloys on and my insurance company are refusing to pay out for them".
However, this is a slightly different. My gf was recently involved in a small accident. I did try and talk her out of going through insurance and settling privately, but through insurance she went. The vehicle was taken away and being a few years old now, was found to be a total loss write off.
Assessor phones my partner yesterday. She asked the assessor if he would be willing to handle the settlement figure with me, which he was awkward over (he basically ignored her request and continued talking).
The initial figure he offered her was absolutely disgusting. So low that I would have been genuinely insulted and yet some people would accept this figure, unknowingly thinking it was a fair offer for their car. After all, you pay for your insurance to deal with you fairly; why do we pay such expensive premiums if they don't do that? Why is it acceptable that in a time of need, they're basically trying to cash in on your loss?
Having repeatedly drummed into my gf's head what I thought her car was worth, she actually plucked up the courage to say no and he immediately upped her offer by £100, not even thinking about it.... good to see he's an honest man of his principals then. She said she wanted some time to think about it, and we phoned back last night, again he was uneasy/difficult about speaking to me, but again she asked for more and he instantly without argument offered more.
How is it, that when we pay such extortionate amounts for our insurance premiums, that they continue to operate by offering ludicrously low amounts of money for your vehicle when you need them to support you? My missus is not a millionaire, that money is vital to her getting a new car, and they're hell bent on basically short changing her.
!!!! poor if you ask me.
No you don't. You pay for your insurance to cover you in the event of any losses. They are a BUSINESS and are therefore there to make money, anybody who thinks a large business in any industry is out for you, the consumer is frankly deluded!0 -
No you don't. You pay for your insurance to cover you in the event of any losses. They are a BUSINESS and are therefore there to make money, anybody who thinks a large business in any industry is out for you, the consumer is frankly deluded!
Yes, they're a business and they make a !!!!ing shed load out of the extortionate premiums we pay? Maybe it's worth being dishonest with them to recover some of your losses eh?
Oh wait.....0 -
What car, what age, what offer?
I wouldn't call premiums extortionate in general - we have three cars insured fully comp for about £400 total. Quid a day to indemnify us against killing or seriously injuring people and causing tens of thousands of pounds of damage - or more...? Bargain!0 -
What car, what age, what offer?
The car was a Ford Ka Luxury, 2004 model. It was in very good pre-accident condition. No rust/bubbling around the filler cap, no rust on the sills, no rust around the wiper. As far as Ford Ka's go, it was probably as good an example you'll see.
The initial offer was £600 which is !!!! poor. They told my girlfriend they use Glass's to help them, well Glass's valued it at £850. After her initial complaint, they upped that to £700. After the second call they upped it to £760 which my girlfriend decided to accept. I would have pushed for more, I think she could have got £800 if she'd really kicked the !!!! out of it.
I am aware that you can get them off eBay for £600-£700 but none of those are rust free and finding one in as good condition as this one I'd say is quite rare.
Good for you, but I'm guessing you're much older. I am still paying £300 with many years no claims and on a slow hatchback.I wouldn't call premiums extortionate in general - we have three cars insured fully comp for about £400 total. Quid a day to indemnify us against killing or seriously injuring people and causing tens of thousands of pounds of damage - or more...? Bargain!0 -
OP, "assessors" are professionals who work on behalf of policyholders (who can instruct them to deal on their behalf with insurance companies adjusters over a claim)
The people you are saying are dishonest are insurance company "adjusters".
(You can edit your misleading title by using edit/advanced)0 -
The man who phoned my girlfriend identified himself as "Reece ******, I'm the assessor from ******* Insurance".OP, "assessors" are professionals who work on behalf of policyholders (who can instruct them to deal on their behalf with insurance companies adjusters over a claim)
The people you are saying are dishonest are insurance company "adjusters".
(You can edit your misleading title by using edit/advanced)0 -
Maybe he knew no better!
But the guy you have the beef with is a "loss adjuster", not an "assessor".0 -
The car was a Ford Ka Luxury, 2004 model. It was in very good pre-accident condition. No rust/bubbling around the filler cap, no rust on the sills, no rust around the wiper. As far as Ford Ka's go, it was probably as good an example you'll see.
The initial offer was £600 which is !!!! poor.
I'd have said it was perfectly realistic.They told my girlfriend they use Glass's to help them, well Glass's valued it at £850.
You know this how? Glass's is not available to the public.After her initial complaint, they upped that to £700. After the second call they upped it to £760 which my girlfriend decided to accept. I would have pushed for more, I think she could have got £800 if she'd really kicked the !!!! out of it.
They've started at a realistic average-condition value, and they've raised it simply because it's quicker and easier and cheaper to just do so than to get in to a pile of documentation.I am aware that you can get them off eBay for £600-£700 but none of those are rust free and finding one in as good condition as this one I'd say is quite rare.
Of course they're going to assume average condition, in the absence of proof to the contrary. As it happens, they've accepted that it's better than average, so raised their payment. If you'd pushed harder, you'd have been required to prove that yours was one of the tiny handful of non-rotten 12yo Kas left.Good for you, but I'm guessing you're much older. I am still paying £300 with many years no claims and on a slow hatchback.
You miss my point... I deliberately said premiums in general. You were making sweeping generalisations about the entire industry, so those generalisations must apply to every case, otherwise they are clearly false.
If premiums for your particular demographic are higher than you might like, then you might like to consider whether that's because that particular demographic are disproportionately involved in claims. Motor insurance in general is not massively profitable - many insurers are getting out of it precisely because it's not lucrative enough.0 -
Just noticed "Ka Luxury"???
An oxymoron if ever I heard one :rotfl:0 -
Personally i think the offers made werent bad. I checked the car on Parkers and Wisebuyers and £600 seems a fair figure.
My wife's car was written off last year, and the above sites valued it at £1850 and she was offered £900. But would they offer more? they need to make a profit from somewhere, and they dont know how wrecked the front end was before the invident! and they dont test the state of the engine etc. however receipts for recent new parts and evidence of similar cars they quickly came back with a reasonable offer.
They're not liars/dishonest, just businesses.0
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