Insurance rip off

bilbo_bobbins

I am with Hastings for my car insurance. My policy renewed in June but my car was becoming unreliable and I knew I needed a new one. Last week I bought a car and phoned my insurance company to change details. I went from a 14 year old c max to a 9 year old Renault scenic. I was on the phone for half an hour with what sounded like a trainee. I was told that my policy was going to increase by £20 a month. With a lower engine, newer car! I accepted this as I thought that it must be right, but as the process of getting a car was quick(I got a bargain) I didn't think to look at quotes as I had just renewed, and I have had no reason to cancel insurance in the past.
A friend advised me check on a comparison site and was horrified to find insurance cheaper than my c max!!!
I phoned up the complaints line(at 55p a minute) and explained that there must be some mistake, but they said that is what the broker/underwriters have come back with, deal with it. £200 difference in a couple of days.
Should I complain to an ombudsmen?
I don't want to pay 91 quid to cancel. I feel cheated with no effort to help on their part.

phill99

What would the ombudsman do? It's a free market and you were at liberty to go to any insurer or comparison site and get other quotes, but you opted to stay with your existing insurer.


There is a lesson here somewhere.

bilbo_bobbins

I know there is an expensive, harsh lesson to be made but surely a difference in price within a couple of days is unusual and you could argue that something is wrong?

Doozergirl

There's a motoring board. This post is in completely the wrong place. This is for quotes for work on your house. Nobody even comes here

phill99

bilbo_bobbins wrote: »

I know there is an expensive, harsh lesson to be made but surely a difference in price within a couple of days is unusual and you could argue that something is wrong?

Why should it be wrong?


There are a whole range of reasons why your new car is more expensive to insure. 1) It's a newer car so your insurers will have a higher payout if you write it off. 2) Repairs on Renaults are known to be higher than fords as panels and other parts are more expensive. 3) A general uplift in insurance premiums.


Have you escalated a complaint through their own system? You have to go through this before you have recourse to the ombudsman.

phill99

bilbo_bobbins wrote: »

I know there is an expensive, harsh lesson to be made but surely a difference in price within a couple of days is unusual and you could argue that something is wrong?

I agree I was hoping one of the admins would move it.

bilbo_bobbins

I have complained because a quote I got a few days later was cheaper than my other car from the same provider!My insurers said it would be £200 more on the phone.
Premiums are down and why would it change by 200 quid.
I have asked for proof of the underwriter/broker but they told me they can't see what is wrong!

bilbo_bobbins

I am right to be peed off. But my life last week was so manic I wasn't thinking savvy enough. I have now paid the price, literally

MovingForwards

Its what happens with insurance. The quote is made up based on your personal risk ie how long you have had your licence, NCB/ accidents/claims/convictions/area you live together with the cost of repairs if your car is involved in an accident/how easy it is to break into and steal. Then do the same with a named driver. Oh dont forget insurance companies charge based on job/age/miles per year etc too.

Lastly, they also are not happy if you have just purchased the car and are therefore unfamiliar with it, increased risk of accident.

If you feel that ripped off, work out the cost of the new quote for the year, take off your old premium for the year and add the admin/cancelation fee (i assume they charged you that just for changing your car too), and deduct the potential 1 extra year NCB you would have acquired (if no accident etc). Finally if you have a difference in figures and the new quote still works out cheaper then decide if you want to cancel/reinsure or just suck it up and move on.

You could even carry on shopping around and get a cheaper quote with a different company.

bilbo_bobbins

I will save £100 if I cancel but just annoyed that I could have saved£200 to begin with.

Clive_Woody

Doozergirl wrote: »

There's a motoring board. This post is in completely the wrong place. This is for quotes for work on your house. Nobody even comes here

There's also an insurance board but I can't see him getting any different feedback there either.

You get a quote, you accept the quote...and then a while later check a comparison site. I am not sure what he wants the ombudsman to do. It's similar to the tales of woe from people that buy a cheap second hand car then get a mechanic friend to check it out afterwards and then discover it has issues.