Car insurance cancelled due to modifications which comparison site never asked about

Naf

Granted I may have been naïve here, but the result is massively disproportionate to that, and seems really unfair.

I bought my current car about 5 years ago, and have been with the same insurance company (Admiral) ever since. It has some modifications, which I have always answered about when questioned.

This year a different company (Hastings Direct) came out cheaper on the Money Saving Expert tool, and after checking around a bit, that's the one I went with. A week or so later I get an email from them wanting to check some details; they've noticed quotes run with different modifications, so want to check what I've got. I happily list off what there is, and send them the pictures they ask for; and they come back and tell me they can't insure me as some of them weren't on the quote I took.

I've been back onto the website and checked, and there is simply no option to select the other modifications in the list; while on Hastings' own site those options do appear (hence the discrepancy they picked up - I have just selected what I was asked about on each site). I understand it's my responsibility to give complete and accurate information; but I can only answer what I'm asked. It feels like I'm being expected to dream up more information that they might want over and above what they ask about; the site doesn't have an "other" option, it doesn't ask if I have others they haven't listed, or say that I have to do anything else in that circumstance.

I went back to them with this, and they aren't being very helpful at all (right now they're trying to fob me off with a "final response" which doesn't even match my complaint properly). I believe they're marking this against me as a cancellation (I noticed they waited until after the policy had started before actually cancelling - maybe I should have got in there first...); but I don't even really know the right questions to ask to know what's actually happening.

Of course I think that basically being marked as a fraudster for the rest of my life with no due process is horrific, and want to avoid this altogether. Surely there is at least some onus on Hastings and their agent (the comparison site, who they pay, not me) to ensure that all of the relevant questions they want answers to get asked? I also wasn't asked about my risk of heart attack, any medication I'm taking, if I make or receive calls while driving, or a bunch of other things which I can foresee could materially affect my risk profile - but I don't seem to be expected to come up with these and call them proactively to tell them; the fact they don't ask is sufficient to expect they don't want to know.

Obviously this is a learning experience; but is there anything I can do?

prowla

Perhaps a phone call to cover the discrepancies would've settled the potential issue before it arose.

Then again, hindsight is a great thing!

Naf

prowla said:

Perhaps a phone call to cover the discrepancies would've settled the potential issue before it arose.

Then again, hindsight is a great thing!

I wasn't aware of the discrepancies. I just selected from the lists that each site asked me to.

Phoenix72

The onus is on you to check and double check all entries when you are transferred over to the insurers own site. Sounds like you didn't do this when you were transferred over to Hastings site from the comparison site?

That is on you I'm afraid.

If it's an option, cancel it before they do.

Naf

Phoenix72 said:

The onus is on you to check and double check all entries when you are transferred over to the insurers own site. Sounds like you didn't do this when you were transferred over to Hastings site from the comparison site?

That is on you I'm afraid.

If it's an option, cancel it before they do.

What I was asked about was correct. I wasn't asked about any others; that's the problem here. Am I supposed to somehow just know that they want extra information that I was never asked about?

Phoenix72

Naf said:

Phoenix72 said:

The onus is on you to check and double check all entries when you are transferred over to the insurers own site. Sounds like you didn't do this when you were transferred over to Hastings site from the comparison site?

That is on you I'm afraid.

If it's an option, cancel it before they do.

What I was asked about was correct. I wasn't asked about any others; that's the problem here. Am I supposed to somehow just know that they want extra information that I was never asked about?

Well, you are saying Hastings own site does show your modification type but the comparison site didn't? If so you didn't check what you declared.

Bigwheels1111

Here was your first mistake Hastings Direct.
Enough said.
Used once never again, Had a Vecta 2.0l diesel, changed car to the exact same car, but in blue , tripled the policy.

DullGreyGuy

The MoneySavingExpert/MoneySupermarket site does allow the declaration of modifications but only from drop down menus so is limited... what mods does the vehicle have that you didnt include?

In the old days aggregators used to tell you to go through the quote again when you get to the seller's website. Doesn't look like MSE does that so it's certainly worth a complaint to them too. 

Under the CIDRA laws a consumer only has to answer the questions asked, it's not up to them to offer up additional information that the seller hasn't asked about. However, this may not be black and white because of the use of the aggregator and because they did ask about modifications and CIDRA isn't detailed enough to consider circumstances where the insurer only gives a number of set responses and what the consumer should do if none are appropriate (eg choose the best one available or something else)

cw8825

Before purchasing. Were you not presented with a list of facts that the policy was based on?
which you tick to say are all correct and you agree to

How many different modifications were you adding to the previous quotes?

From what I can see your only argument with Hastings is if they would have insured m you if they knew about the modifications. 

If they would then the cancellation is harsh and can give you reason to complain. 

I

Naf

Phoenix72 said:

Naf said:

Phoenix72 said:

The onus is on you to check and double check all entries when you are transferred over to the insurers own site. Sounds like you didn't do this when you were transferred over to Hastings site from the comparison site?

That is on you I'm afraid.

If it's an option, cancel it before they do.

What I was asked about was correct. I wasn't asked about any others; that's the problem here. Am I supposed to somehow just know that they want extra information that I was never asked about?

Well, you are saying Hastings own site does show your modification type but the comparison site didn't? If so you didn't check what you declared.

Hastings questions tool has different modifications listed as it turns out; but the MSE handoff didn't put me back through that tool. So when presented with something which said "car has these modifications..." I answered yes because it has all of those listed. Nowhere did it ask me to add more which hadn't been asked about previously. No guidance anywhere to suggest I needed to add more than what I had been asked about. I was also not asked what I did for my 5th birthday party - I'm fairly sure not being asked is sufficient for me to think they don't need to know.

Naf

DullGreyGuy said:

The MoneySavingExpert/MoneySupermarket site does allow the declaration of modifications but only from drop down menus so is limited... what mods does the vehicle have that you didnt include?

In the old days aggregators used to tell you to go through the quote again when you get to the seller's website. Doesn't look like MSE does that so it's certainly worth a complaint to them too. 

Under the CIDRA laws a consumer only has to answer the questions asked, it's not up to them to offer up additional information that the seller hasn't asked about. However, this may not be black and white because of the use of the aggregator and because they did ask about modifications and CIDRA isn't detailed enough to consider circumstances where the insurer only gives a number of set responses and what the consumer should do if none are appropriate (eg choose the best one available or something else)

Their specific objection is the nudge bar/a-frame/bull bars whatever you want to call it. They simply don't offer cover for those. Which I understand and I'm fine with - I just think I should have been asked, or at least told to follow it up somewhere.
The CIDRA reference is a useful one I can throw back at them though, thanks!

I certainly intend to go to MSE and Money Supermarket too - just they aren't the ones who will be labelling me, so trying to avoid the mark in the first place is my priority. Unless maybe they could put weight on Hastings?