Reassurance on Motor Insurance please

DullGreyGuy

twopenny said:

Dullgreyguy, that's amazing history. My brain went blank about half way through as it's not something I'm familiar with but sounds reassuaring too....as much as any big business can these days.

I looked into Morrisons selling data from it's cards once. I had to stop after a while as it's like a rabbit hole but as long as I'm covered and can get a reply if I need to I guess that's as far as I can go.

It's become a whole new world to me. I used to be good at this and really enjoy the challenge at one time but it wasn't as vast or tied up like tangled wool as it is these days.

Insurance is a relatively small world, especially when you view it from an insurer perspective (rather than brokers, MGAs and other intermediaries) so as soon as you are out of the call centre you get to understand the wider landscape fairly quickly... there are a few rabbit holes you can go down like reinsurance but in my 20 years been down them too and they aren't as much of a black art as some think. 

Insurance has always been a tangled ball of wool, if you look at the old P&I mutual shipping insurers, they formed the International Group in 1899 which included claims cost sharing between them and joint purchase of reinsurance. But it's one of the reasons the system has resilience because UK insurers buy US reinsurance who buy Swiss retrocessions who retrocede again to Lloyds of London and so costs of big losses are shared across many companies rather than sinking one. The diversification of risk also helps hence international transactions, the chances of all territories suffering major events at the same time are slim, similarly insurers diversify by lines of business... Life and Annuities are the perfect pairing as a high death rate means your life book is hammered but your annuity book is doing amazing. The cure for cancer is a disaster scenario for annuity providers but will give Life insurers a major boost. 

Exceptionally few UK based insurers have become insolvent, especially since the Solvency II rules came into effect... even those in a lighter regulated jurisdiction like Gibralter dont have many. The few insurers that have gotten into some difficulties have been bought out before any formal action by the regulators has been required.

sheramber

When our car was written off they paid us what my husband was happy with

Our renewal quote the next year was less than we had paid the previous year, despite having the write off claim.

When my husband died they continued the policy with me a main driver  and gave me my husbands’s NCB when I renewed in my own name at the end of the policy year. 

twopenny

Thanks sheramber I'm glad you got straightforward help when you needed it most.

Finding my way back and forward taking out the policy when doing it online was a bit of a nightmare but seems ok. I did ring and they were helpful.

Interesting though. It said £205 on the CTM site but was £208 going through. I can only see an online claim form from the Tesco site though it says 'or call us'. Hopefully something will come through when the insurance kicks in. Also the insurers are not what I read on the original - or maybe I didn't go far enough.

Got to say the AA that I cancelled with had great call centre staff also. Shame they put the price up by over £100.