RCIB - motorbike insurance. Such a thing as an ombudsman for vehicle insurance?

JustAnotherSaver

So my brother was involved in an incident about 3 years ago now which got sorted this year & the outcome was a decision of not at fault and the no claims for that policy were then given.


He got this in .pdf format which he sent off to his car insurance and they promptly updated the current policy he has and refunded him an amount. Job done, all nice and easy.


He did the same for his motorbike insurance which is through RCIB. He got no response. He went through the complaints address and explained that as he drives for a living he can't just stop and answer the phone so could they respond via letter also. This was ignored and there was no response. He sent another complaint a while later & again no response.


So he once again tried emailing them as a bit of a last attempt kind of thing & they responded this time. They said they can't accept the .pdf file.


He gets in touch again to ask why, since his car insurers accepted it just fine and updated their records swiftly.



Their response - " the document received is not able to be accepted as we require the most recent copy of the document."


Well since it IS the most recent copy as it was the last one issued - this year, that statement is nonsense.



Is there a way of going above these jokers to get this resolved?

AdrianC

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-insurance.html

It says "cars", but it applies to motorcycles, too.

agrinnall

I'm going to ask why his car insurance NCD has any relevance to his motorcycle insurance.

facade

Some companies will mirror an active car NCD onto an additional 'bike policy, but seems likely that they are charging a massive premium for the "disputed at fault" claim, which should reduce a little now it is settled as "none fault"

vikingaero

RCIB seem like the bottom feeders of the broking world:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2330305


Lots a complaints on Google too

JustAnotherSaver

agrinnall wrote: »

I'm going to ask why his car insurance NCD has any relevance to his motorcycle insurance.

Well just my opinion but i see it as this....


Takes out car insurance, obviously based on an unsettled claim (he's been told by an insurance company before that they consider him to be at fault until it's settled) & pays the premium up front.


Later on he takes out bike insurance, again based on the fact there's an existing unsettled claim.


Claim then gets settled. He's now seen to be not at fault, so you (or at least I) would expect something of a refund in addition to updated documents right? Since he's actually not at fault and has gained 1 years no claims that he didn't have at the beginning of all this.


So tells car insurance about all of this, provides .pdf files and has his policy updated and is given a bit of a refund. No problems.


Sends the same .pdf documents to RCIB & runs in to trouble. Gets ignored, tries complaining, gets ignored, finally gets through to someone to be told they reject them because they need the 'most recent copy'.



So why can it be acceptable for the car insurance company yet the bike company want the most recent documents, even though they've been given .... the most recent documents.

dacouch

It's not unusual for an Insurer to require site of the original hard copy of a document, ir reduces the chances of fraud.

It's fairly standard practice amongst most (But not all Insurers).

Some Insurers have taken a business decision to not require the hard copy but to reduce costs by accepting documents via email. That is upto them but does not set a precedent that other Insurers must follow.

You're unlikely to get very far with the Ombudsman about them not accepting and electronic copy. Although they are required by the FCA to respond to complaints within a set time period

JustAnotherSaver

dacouch wrote: »

It's not unusual for an Insurer to require site of the original hard copy of a document, ir reduces the chances of fraud.

It's fairly standard practice amongst most (But not all Insurers).

Some Insurers have taken a business decision to not require the hard copy but to reduce costs by accepting documents via email. That is upto them but does not set a precedent that other Insurers must follow.

You're unlikely to get very far with the Ombudsman about them not accepting and electronic copy. Although they are required by the FCA to respond to complaints within a set time period

So if i've understood what you're saying then it's possible that RCIB are just asking for the exact same document but instead of being emailed to them it is to be posted to them?

dacouch

Yes.

Insurers tend to like originals of documents as it's easier for them to detect fraudulent documents.

Ring RCIB and ask them

Pete_y

I have just been robbed by this company please don't use them . Spent hours on the phone 5 different agents same answer been ripped off.