Car insurance 🚗 help

Hollywood17

My partner had to renew their car insurance a couple of weeks ago.  Shopped around as you do and settled with the company, 1st Central.  All seemed fine, however, a week after the insurance start date received messages from the company saying they needed proof of no claims discount and also a phone call.

Assumed all would be fine, so rang up and provided proof of no claims.  The call centre then asked for confirmation of the job title.  They mentioned that my partner had previously used a different job title on an old insurance policy.  

Now to be fair, when gathering the quotes my partner tried a few different job titles that were close to their job (to get the insurance as cheap as possible!).  My partner is an administration team leader.  As this didn't exist on the selections the other two jobs attempted were data administrator and administration manager.

Now my partner couldn't remember what he actually put on the insurance (went with whichever would have produced a cheaper quote).  So the call advisor wanted a confirmation of the actual job and was it closer to admin manager or data administrator.  So my partner said probably administration manager, not really considering the conciquences! 

Call advisor went away, came back and said everything is fine.  But because of the change in job title it will be an extra £168 on top of the insurance premium already purchased.  The only other option was to cancel the policy and get a refund, minus cover for the couple of weeks + cancellation fee, which was approx a £120 loss!!

There is no way when obtaining the quote that the change of job title would have been a £168 difference.  It would have been a couple of pounds at most!!

Just wanted to check if anyone has experienced anything similar or has my partner been ripped off here?!

DullGreyGuy

There are a few intermediaries out there who have taken to this approach of quoting very low prices but once the purchase is made they then go through the application with a fine tooth comb to ensure all the items you have declared as true are as you say they are.

The problem with intermediaries is that when you quote for new business they will present to you whichever of their panel of insurers is cheapest. So you quote for a Mini and they say its £800 and then a quote for an SL and they say its £750 but behind the scenes quote one has come from ABC and quote 2 from XYZ. Once you buy though you lock into both the intermediary and the insurer. Such that if you buy the mini and go with quote 1 then decide actually you really wanted the SL so switch car you could find the MTA is £2,000 as whilst XYZ were cheap for an SL ABC are really expensive.  

You can also ask them for a split of the bill between additional premium and fees and double check the fees match what the paperwork say the fees are. Generally if you complain they may drop the AP a little but that's more for when you are a couple of days out on when you bought the car etc and you guesstimate rather than where you've admitted you've intentionally chosen the description that doesn't best match your job to get a lower price.

On the plus side, having admitted quote manipulation they could have voided the policy and kept the premiums.

HillStreetBlues

Hollywood17 said:

My partner had to renew their car insurance a couple of weeks ago.  Shopped around as you do and settled with the company, 1st Central.  All seemed fine, however, a week after the insurance start date received messages from the company saying they needed proof of no claims discount and also a phone call.

Assumed all would be fine, so rang up and provided proof of no claims.  The call centre then asked for confirmation of the job title.  They mentioned that my partner had previously used a different job title on an old insurance policy.  

Now to be fair, when gathering the quotes my partner tried a few different job titles that were close to their job (to get the insurance as cheap as possible!).  My partner is an administration team leader.  As this didn't exist on the selections the other two jobs attempted were data administrator and administration manager.

Now my partner couldn't remember what he actually put on the insurance (went with whichever would have produced a cheaper quote).  So the call advisor wanted a confirmation of the actual job and was it closer to admin manager or data administrator.  So my partner said probably administration manager, not really considering the conciquences! 

Call advisor went away, came back and said everything is fine.  But because of the change in job title it will be an extra £168 on top of the insurance premium already purchased.  The only other option was to cancel the policy and get a refund, minus cover for the couple of weeks + cancellation fee, which was approx a £120 loss!!

There is no way when obtaining the quote that the change of job title would have been a £168 difference.  It would have been a couple of pounds at most!!

Just wanted to check if anyone has experienced anything similar or has my partner been ripped off here?!

Could your partner get the correct title from their work place? If it's the one that was put on quote then shouldn't be any charge.

sheramber

There could be an increase in the premium due to wrong information being given- especially as you say she chose the cheaper option.

DullGreyGuy

HillStreetBlues said:

Hollywood17 said:

My partner had to renew their car insurance a couple of weeks ago.  Shopped around as you do and settled with the company, 1st Central.  All seemed fine, however, a week after the insurance start date received messages from the company saying they needed proof of no claims discount and also a phone call.

Assumed all would be fine, so rang up and provided proof of no claims.  The call centre then asked for confirmation of the job title.  They mentioned that my partner had previously used a different job title on an old insurance policy.  

Now to be fair, when gathering the quotes my partner tried a few different job titles that were close to their job (to get the insurance as cheap as possible!).  My partner is an administration team leader.  As this didn't exist on the selections the other two jobs attempted were data administrator and administration manager.

Now my partner couldn't remember what he actually put on the insurance (went with whichever would have produced a cheaper quote).  So the call advisor wanted a confirmation of the actual job and was it closer to admin manager or data administrator.  So my partner said probably administration manager, not really considering the conciquences! 

Call advisor went away, came back and said everything is fine.  But because of the change in job title it will be an extra £168 on top of the insurance premium already purchased.  The only other option was to cancel the policy and get a refund, minus cover for the couple of weeks + cancellation fee, which was approx a £120 loss!!

There is no way when obtaining the quote that the change of job title would have been a £168 difference.  It would have been a couple of pounds at most!!

Just wanted to check if anyone has experienced anything similar or has my partner been ripped off here?!

Could your partner get the correct title from their work place? If it's the one that was put on quote then shouldn't be any charge.

The OP stated in the text you quoted that the job title wasn't in the list but a couple may be possible but rather than choosing the one closest to what they do, they chose the one that was cheapest. When questioned they admitted a different one was a better match. 

Have to remember that this site used to encourage people to be creative with how they describe their job to see which brings the lowest premium as for many people there are multiple matches... same for "industry", best mate is an IT manager for a consultancy to the insurance industry and so in theory could !!!!!! any from Consultancy/Profesional Services, Technology, Financial Services or Insurance.  Unfortunately when questioned you have to stick to your story that absolutely handyman (or whatever you chose) is the best description for someone who'll do about anything to do with IT

HillStreetBlues

DullGreyGuy said:

HillStreetBlues said:

Hollywood17 said:

My partner had to renew their car insurance a couple of weeks ago.  Shopped around as you do and settled with the company, 1st Central.  All seemed fine, however, a week after the insurance start date received messages from the company saying they needed proof of no claims discount and also a phone call.

Assumed all would be fine, so rang up and provided proof of no claims.  The call centre then asked for confirmation of the job title.  They mentioned that my partner had previously used a different job title on an old insurance policy.  

Now to be fair, when gathering the quotes my partner tried a few different job titles that were close to their job (to get the insurance as cheap as possible!).  My partner is an administration team leader.  As this didn't exist on the selections the other two jobs attempted were data administrator and administration manager.

Now my partner couldn't remember what he actually put on the insurance (went with whichever would have produced a cheaper quote).  So the call advisor wanted a confirmation of the actual job and was it closer to admin manager or data administrator.  So my partner said probably administration manager, not really considering the conciquences! 

Call advisor went away, came back and said everything is fine.  But because of the change in job title it will be an extra £168 on top of the insurance premium already purchased.  The only other option was to cancel the policy and get a refund, minus cover for the couple of weeks + cancellation fee, which was approx a £120 loss!!

There is no way when obtaining the quote that the change of job title would have been a £168 difference.  It would have been a couple of pounds at most!!

Just wanted to check if anyone has experienced anything similar or has my partner been ripped off here?!

Could your partner get the correct title from their work place? If it's the one that was put on quote then shouldn't be any charge.

The OP stated in the text you quoted that the job title wasn't in the list but a couple may be possible but rather than choosing the one closest to what they do, they chose the one that was cheapest. When questioned they admitted a different one was a better match. 

Have to remember that this site used to encourage people to be creative with how they describe their job to see which brings the lowest premium as for many people there are multiple matches... same for "industry", best mate is an IT manager for a consultancy to the insurance industry and so in theory could !!!!!! any from Consultancy/Profesional Services, Technology, Financial Services or Insurance.  Unfortunately when questioned you have to stick to your story that absolutely handyman (or whatever you chose) is the best description for someone who'll do about anything to do with IT

I agree you should to stick to your story, but OP partner did say they wasn't a complete match, so could go to company and ask what is the better match. If it's the cheaper one, then tell insurer after conferring with employer the one on the quote was the correct one (even better if they can get it in writing).

DullGreyGuy

HillStreetBlues said:

DullGreyGuy said:

HillStreetBlues said:

Hollywood17 said:

My partner had to renew their car insurance a couple of weeks ago.  Shopped around as you do and settled with the company, 1st Central.  All seemed fine, however, a week after the insurance start date received messages from the company saying they needed proof of no claims discount and also a phone call.

Assumed all would be fine, so rang up and provided proof of no claims.  The call centre then asked for confirmation of the job title.  They mentioned that my partner had previously used a different job title on an old insurance policy.  

Now to be fair, when gathering the quotes my partner tried a few different job titles that were close to their job (to get the insurance as cheap as possible!).  My partner is an administration team leader.  As this didn't exist on the selections the other two jobs attempted were data administrator and administration manager.

Now my partner couldn't remember what he actually put on the insurance (went with whichever would have produced a cheaper quote).  So the call advisor wanted a confirmation of the actual job and was it closer to admin manager or data administrator.  So my partner said probably administration manager, not really considering the conciquences! 

Call advisor went away, came back and said everything is fine.  But because of the change in job title it will be an extra £168 on top of the insurance premium already purchased.  The only other option was to cancel the policy and get a refund, minus cover for the couple of weeks + cancellation fee, which was approx a £120 loss!!

There is no way when obtaining the quote that the change of job title would have been a £168 difference.  It would have been a couple of pounds at most!!

Just wanted to check if anyone has experienced anything similar or has my partner been ripped off here?!

Could your partner get the correct title from their work place? If it's the one that was put on quote then shouldn't be any charge.

The OP stated in the text you quoted that the job title wasn't in the list but a couple may be possible but rather than choosing the one closest to what they do, they chose the one that was cheapest. When questioned they admitted a different one was a better match. 

Have to remember that this site used to encourage people to be creative with how they describe their job to see which brings the lowest premium as for many people there are multiple matches... same for "industry", best mate is an IT manager for a consultancy to the insurance industry and so in theory could !!!!!! any from Consultancy/Profesional Services, Technology, Financial Services or Insurance.  Unfortunately when questioned you have to stick to your story that absolutely handyman (or whatever you chose) is the best description for someone who'll do about anything to do with IT

I agree you should to stick to your story, but OP partner did say they wasn't a complete match, so could go to company and ask what is the better match. If it's the cheaper one, then tell insurer after conferring with employer the one on the quote was the correct one (even better if they can get it in writing).

but they said it was the more expensive one that they didn't select... its not the broker not believing them its them shooting themselves in the foot and admitting they lied to get a better price

HillStreetBlues

DullGreyGuy said:

but they said it was the more expensive one that they didn't select... its not the broker not believing them its them shooting themselves in the foot and admitting they lied to get a better price

But if company confirms the description they gave originally, then there is no lie, even if they thought it was at the time.

DullGreyGuy

HillStreetBlues said:

DullGreyGuy said:

but they said it was the more expensive one that they didn't select... its not the broker not believing them its them shooting themselves in the foot and admitting they lied to get a better price

But if company confirms the description they gave originally, then there is no lie, even if they thought it was at the time.

Whilst that worked in the Justice Zone in Red Dwarf I'm not sure an insurer would look at a letter from an employer saying the insured has delusions of grandeur when they say they're a Manager and they're really an administrator at most and taking minutes at a meeting once doesn't make them a manager. 

HillStreetBlues

DullGreyGuy said:

Whilst that worked in the Justice Zone in Red Dwarf I'm not sure an insurer would look at a letter from an employer saying the insured has delusions of grandeur when they say they're a Manager and they're really an administrator at most and taking minutes at a meeting once doesn't make them a manager. 

Then could go to the Ombudsman let them weigh it up.

DullGreyGuy

HillStreetBlues said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Whilst that worked in the Justice Zone in Red Dwarf I'm not sure an insurer would look at a letter from an employer saying the insured has delusions of grandeur when they say they're a Manager and they're really an administrator at most and taking minutes at a meeting once doesn't make them a manager. 

Then could go to the Ombudsman let them weigh it up.

Ultimately anyone can, no matter how unreasonable or unrealistic their complaint is... there is a reason why the Ombudsman declines over 90% of complaints for some classes.  Ultimately the intent was there even if they failed to achieve it

Would love to read the complaint... I believe I am a manager but realised saying I was an administrator was cheaper so attempted to commit fraud. When questioned I forgot which I said I was and so was honest and said I am a manager so the insurer cancelled my policy. Per the attached letter from my employer it actually turns out I am only an administrator and as such whilst I had intended to commit fraud it was actually accurate and it was my subsequent confession that was incorrect to please reinstate the policy.