The curious case of renewing with Hastings Direct

muhandis

So, my car's been insured with Hastings Direct for the past three years. Expiry on the latest policy was up in 3 weeks and I still hadn't received a renewal quote.


Upon sending their customer service an email, they replied saying that their panel of insurers weren't able to quote on my policy and so the policy will expire on the set date and I need to arrange my own insurance.


I went on confused.com, put in all my details and lo and behold Hastings is right at the top (like it has been ever since I've been with them) on a comparison. I thought it's probably a mistake and then went to the Hastings Direct website and did a quote, again got a very competitive price that I was happy with.


I went ahead and bought the policy online and got an email a few minutes later saying the policy documents are available online and recommending that I register. I've been registered online for a few years now so I just logged in and I see the new policy right there with all the relevant documentation!


So my question is, should I do anything more to investigate as to why they said they can't offer me a policy or just leave it as it is?


I'm inclined to just leave it as I have a policy, I have the documents, it's showing on my Hastings online login and also because Hastings are a pain to communicate with on the phone.

foxy-stoat

muhandis wrote: »

So my question is, should I do anything more to investigate as to why they said they can't offer me a policy or just leave it as it is?

If you have input all information correctly and have not lied then there is no need to investigate.


Just make sure you have your renewal notice from Hastings Direct in your hand with the correct number of claim free years.

muhandis

Cheers. Of course I haven't lied, that wouldn't make any sense!

As mentioned in my op, I didn't get a renewal quote from Hastings, but as the new policy is again with them I assume they won't ask for proof of NCD.

foxy-stoat wrote: »

If you have input all information correctly and have not lied then there is no need to investigate.

Just make sure you have your renewal notice from Hastings Direct in your hand with the correct number of claim free years.

Johno100

I don't think weeks prior to renewal is unusual to receive your renewal invite ( or othwise in your case OP), I think last year my insurer sent mine out about 10 days prior to the renewal date.

foxy-stoat

muhandis wrote: »

Cheers. Of course I haven't lied, that wouldn't make any sense!

As mentioned in my op, I didn't get a renewal quote from Hastings, but as the new policy is again with them I assume they won't ask for proof of NCD.

Ok, or put any wrong/different information down etc .


Make sure you read all the documents when you log online, one of them may ask you for proof of NCD which you need to send them, if you have not received a renewal notice then you may not have this.


As an aside, satisfy yourself that you have met all the Hastings Direct acceptance criteria though:


"No driver has had any criminal convictions, been refused car insurance or had any special terms imposed."

Not sure that not being offered renewal terms is a refusal - maybe some other more knowledgeable folk on here will be able to advise.

Mercdriver

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Ok, or put any wrong/different information down etc .


Make sure you read all the documents when you log online, one of them may ask you for proof of NCD which you need to send them, if you have not received a renewal notice then you may not have this.


As an aside, satisfy yourself that you have met all the Hastings Direct acceptance criteria though:


"No driver has had any criminal convictions, been refused car insurance or had any special terms imposed."

Not sure that not being offered renewal terms is a refusal - maybe some other more knowledgeable folk on here will be able to advise.

A refusal to give a quotation is not the same as a refusal to insure.

OP: is your occupation one that insurers sometimes don't like? Have you given the same occupation on your fresh insurance? If your insurers for example don't cover someone that is in the public eye because of risk of association or whatever, they would refuse to give a quotation, as they don't insure that group of people. It is different to being refused to insure as an individual for specific reasons. Could it be that Hastings used to insure your occupation and no longer does so?

muhandis

Cheers for all the information, it's all been very helpful.

Anyhow, my plan is to now wait and see if Hastings get back to me about the new policy I've taken out, check on the MIB after expiry of my current policy to ensure that the car is covered and if all is ok, to forget about it until next year!

albo_uk

if i were u i would call them to confirm as there must be a reason why they didn't send you a renewal quote

It could be your profession has since changed, car, possible claims, a lot of things
i was with them as well so its best to call them
In worse case scenario if you were to make a claim in the future they would probably not pay up
they would find this as an excuse

foxy-stoat

Mercdriver wrote: »

A refusal to give a quotation is not the same as a refusal to insure.

And if they refused renewal?

muhandis

I see where you're coming from, but I have gone on their website, obtained a legitimate quote, supplied all details asked for and paid a year's premium for a policy.

They have then issued relevant documents and added it to my pre-existing online login automatically, with this policy showing up alongside the last three years' policies.

As far as I'm concerned, they couldn't get me a renewal quote, so I arranged a new quote on their website, and proceeded to purchase it.

Assuming that they don't cancel the policy before it starts and it shows up on MIB after the expiry date of my current policy, as I see it, the only reason for them to refuse a claim is based on disputing facts supplied in my application.

albo_uk wrote: »

if i were u i would call them to confirm as there must be a reason why they didn't send you a renewal quote

It could be your profession has since changed, car, possible claims, a lot of things
i was with them as well so its best to call them
In worse case scenario if you were to make a claim in the future they would probably not pay up
they would find this as an excuse

EdGasket

Why would you buy a policy from a company that doesn't seem to know what they are doing? Asking for trouble.