Avoid hastings direct

Lvstruk

I had a phone call today from Hastings Direct. I chose them through one of the comparison sites. I got my insurance on the 27th June. I work for a bookmaker and I found that when I put it down for my occupation the cost was higher. So I changed it to retail, as working in a high street bookmaker is classed as working in a retail shop as I'm not the actual bookmaker. So during the phonecall they wanted to 'double-check' some of my information. When they asked me where I worked and I told them the company. I was then told that Hastings Direct does not insure people who work for a bookmaker due to 'associated risk'. This is not on their policy or as far as I could tell in their terms and conditions. I did not lie as a high street bookmaker is retail. They are governed by the same laws as other retail establishments such as opening and closing times. they then tell me that they will be cancelling my policy although thankfully no cancellation fee, however, the policy would stand for 7 days for me to sort out new insurance. however, I would not receive my refund until the policy was officially cancelled and the only way to receive my refund was by cheque. I explained to him on the phone that how was I supposed to pay for new insurance without my refund. and most importantly, I paid £160 and my refund was for £105. as the deduction was to cover the amount of time they had me insured for. it just seems a little odd that the deduction is also the same amount as a cancellation fee.
I am currently waiting on a response. but I have also sent an email to BBC Watchdog. I cannot believe that a car insurance company will not insure me because I work at a bookmakers.
If the response is pathetic, which to be honest I am half expecting just by reading the other posts I'm taking them to the financial ombudsman or something of the sorts as no where in their terms and conditions or polices does it state they do not insure people who work for a bookmakers, I am flabberghasted.
What would you do?

jaybeetoo

IMHO, you are wasting your time complaining. You've already admitted you changed your occupation while getting a quote in order to reduce your premium. No wonder they were suspicious. Unfortunately, you work in an industry which carries a high risk so insurance companies either won't cover you or will load your premium.

LABMAN

Lvstruk wrote: »

I had a phone call today from Hastings Direct. I chose them through one of the comparison sites. I got my insurance on the 27th June. I work for a bookmaker and I found that when I put it down for my occupation the cost was higher. So I changed it to retail, as working in a high street bookmaker is classed as working in a retail shop as I'm not the actual bookmaker. So during the phonecall they wanted to 'double-check' some of my information. When they asked me where I worked and I told them the company. I was then told that Hastings Direct does not insure people who work for a bookmaker due to 'associated risk'. This is not on their policy or as far as I could tell in their terms and conditions. I did not lie as a high street bookmaker is retail. They are governed by the same laws as other retail establishments such as opening and closing times. they then tell me that they will be cancelling my policy although thankfully no cancellation fee, however, the policy would stand for 7 days for me to sort out new insurance. however, I would not receive my refund until the policy was officially cancelled and the only way to receive my refund was by cheque. I explained to him on the phone that how was I supposed to pay for new insurance without my refund. and most importantly, I paid £160 and my refund was for £105. as the deduction was to cover the amount of time they had me insured for. it just seems a little odd that the deduction is also the same amount as a cancellation fee.
I am currently waiting on a response. but I have also sent an email to BBC Watchdog. I cannot believe that a car insurance company will not insure me because I work at a bookmakers.
If the response is pathetic, which to be honest I am half expecting just by reading the other posts I'm taking them to the financial ombudsman or something of the sorts as no where in their terms and conditions or polices does it state they do not insure people who work for a bookmakers, I am flabberghasted.
What would you do?

You tried to manipulate your insurance quote and were caught out. You have nothing to complain about. Hastings will have the evidence.

EdGasket

LABMAN wrote: »

You tried to manipulate your insurance quote and were caught out. You have nothing to complain about. Hastings will have the evidence.

And yet many articles on saving on car insurance recommend you do just that. i.e. try a slightly different job description that still fits what you do! e.g. if someone is a sewerage engineer and works for the council, why can't they choose 'local authority employee' if that works out cheaper then 'waste engineer'?

antrobus

EdGasket wrote: »

And yet many articles on saving on car insurance recommend you do just that. ...

Like this one.:)

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance-job-picker/

dacouch

EdGasket wrote: »

And yet many articles on saving on car insurance recommend you do just that. i.e. try a slightly different job description that still fits what you do! e.g. if someone is a sewerage engineer and works for the council, why can't they choose 'local authority employee' if that works out cheaper then 'waste engineer'?

There are certain occupations that most Insurers have traditionally avoided offering cover to. These typically include Professional Athletes, TV/Film personalities, Publicans, Casino and Bookmaker staff.

The last two were traditionally seen as a moral hazard, due to them often carrying large amounts of money and also irate punters vandalising the staff cars.

Whilst the first two points are not so relevant now days , the risk from a vandalised car is still there.

If Hasting (Or any other Insurer) do not wish to offer cover to employees of bookmakers, they're entirely entitle to do so. In the same way Lvstruk's employers are entitled to pick and chose who they do business with.

martinsurrey

Lvstruk wrote: »

I did not lie as a high street bookmaker is retail. They are governed by the same laws as other retail establishments such as opening and closing times.

Retail:

ˈriːteɪl/
noun
1.
the sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale.
"the retail trade"

verb
rɪˈteɪl/
1.
sell (goods) to the public by retail.
"the difficulties in retailing the new products"

so tell me, what goods do you sell?

you lied, you got caught, move on.

Aretnap

Lvstruk wrote: »

...as no where in their terms and conditions or polices does it state they do not insure people who work for a bookmakers...

They don't have to state that in their terms and conditions. You tell them what your occupation is, it's incumbent on you to tell them the truth, they offer you cover (or don't) based on what you've told them. They don't have to tell you about all the people they don't cover - assuming you've told the truth it doesn't affect you in any way.

Similarly if you told them that you want to insure a Ford Focus, there's no reason why their terms and conditions would have to say "and by the way, we don't insure Ferraris".

Your problem now is not so much the cancellation fee as the fact that you now have a cancelled policy on your record. Unless you can get the cancellation overturned you'll have to declare this on future applications for insurance, which is likely to make it difficult to get insurance at reasonable prices, especially online. See if a local broker can help. Failing to declare it could of course lead to even bigger problems down the line.

For a chance of getting the cancellation overturned, forget about what the policy documents say, and concentrate on why "retail employee" is a reasonable description of your occupation. Personally I'm not convinced that it is (what does a bookie sell, exactly?), and the fact that they have a record of you trying various different occupations to get the price down won't help, but it might be at least an arguable point, and you certainly have nothing to lose by making a formal complaint.

mattk_180

As people have said, you changed your occupation, they're entitled to withdraw the policy.


As for the job picker, hands down one of the worst tools on the internet. Dread to think how many people will have claims declined because they manufactured their own job title using this thing.

takman

mattk_180 wrote: »

As people have said, you changed your occupation, they're entitled to withdraw the policy.


As for the job picker, hands down one of the worst tools on the internet. Dread to think how many people will have claims declined because they manufactured their own job title using this thing.

I think the job picker is good when used correctly because it definitely helped me to choose a job title that was the cheapest but still was accurate. If people choose to abuse it then that is their own fault!.

indesisiv

As others have said, its hardly a case of "Avoid hastings direct" and more a case of "tell the truth about what occupation you do"