Car insurance -personal questions asked!

Okey00001

What have these question got to do with a Car Insurance?

Relationship status

Home owner

How many children under 16 live in the house

Birth place

Why do insurance companies ask personal questions for a Car Insurance? Surely, a criminal driving record and registered home is all they need.

400ixl

No, there are lots of things that demonstrate your risk.

Can't say I have ever been asked for a place of birth for car insurance though.

Someone who rents vs owns, married vs single, etc all profile people differently.

Ayr_Rage

Relationship : Married people have responsibilities and statistically may take fewer risks.

Kids : Likely to be providing taxi of mum and dad, more driving at busy times with distracting sprogs in the vehicle.

Birthplace : ID checks

mebu60

Because there stats will tell them which relationship status is the least risk, which residential status too, any correlation in accident likelihood to number of children under 16 being ferried around, etc. 

Would've thought where you currently live has more relevance than birthplace though! Unless they are checking that you are likely to have been permanently domiciled in the UK. 

Okey00001

Surely a DVLA check and criminal record or police check would suffice for a car insurance.  Otherwise, the questions would apply to Life insurance/assurance, passport applications, mortgage lenders - but for a car seems the questions are irrelevant.

400ixl

No, exactly the opposite such limited information does not allow them to price according to individual risk.

Life insurance asks pertinent questions to that type of insurance, health related such as are you a smoker, have you pre-existing conditions etc. Same for Travel insurance and house insurance, they all have their own factors.

Passport is a passport and other than questions that prove identity does not need anything else.

Mortgage lenders look at questions that show them your financial risk.

Car insurance wants to understand  your risk to making a claim. your job, your location, how far in advance you take out a policy / renew all tell them how much of a risk or risk taker you are.

What is your issue with them developing pricing against the risk you are too them? If they don't have the information then they assume the worst and you pay more (unless you really are more of a risk anyway).

Mr.Generous

Name: Joe Bloggs

Next of kin: Wife

Relationship: Could be better

DullGreyGuy

Okey00001 said:

What have these question got to do with a Car Insurance?

Relationship status

Home owner

How many children under 16 live in the house

Birth place

Why do insurance companies ask personal questions for a Car Insurance? Surely, a criminal driving record and registered home is all they need.

No, the first 3 show a strong correlation to your stage in life and also your risk level... married with 3 kids and owning your home you are much less likely to be showing off to try and impress a conquest 

They dont ask for birth place but for how long you have lived in the uk with an option being "since birth". Inevitably this is about how used to the rules of the road in the UK you are. If you grew up overseas and been here a couple of years when you're tired or not fully concentrating etc you may slip into old habits. My ex, after a long day and a long drive went to drive round the roundabout the wrong way despite having lived in the UK for over a decade. 

Ultimately mass market consumer insurance isn't priced on logic but on statistical analysis. If the maths shows there is a correlation between a factor and claims experience/elasticity/propensity then the pricing analysts will want to price for it. There is a counter force which is the commercial guys who know for each additional question asked that is extra cost in the call centre or more likely that someone will drop off online and so you have pricing committees that consider all the points and make the decisions on any pricing changes.