Anyone used swiftcover?

Davoir

I used Swiftcover for my car insurance last year. I made the mistake of not forwarding my NCD certificate to them as requested to validate the policy, (I agree this was my own fault) but only discovered this error when they emailed me to ask if I wanted to renew my policy.
My issue with Swiftcover is this; they claim to only do correspondence over the internet, they claimed to have emailed me a reminder for the NCD certificate and followed that with two letters to my home. I can categorically say that I never received any of the notices they claimed to send, (does anyone want to willingly be out of pocket by £350 quid?) They took the extra without notification which they can do because it was a direct debit (maybe I should have noticed then, but didn’t). When it became clear what had taken place I asked them to forward me copies of the letters they claimed to have sent which they did. Yet there were no outpost numbers on either one that would prove the letters were registered in an appropriate QA system and sent on the dates claimed, which any reputable business would automatically do. I have all the emails sent during the setting up of the policy but inexplicably no reminding email.
So I suggest to anyone considering taking Swiftcover insurance beware. Forget to send your NCD certificate at your peril. They won’t remind you. They will take the difference directly from your account that rounds your policy up to one that would have no NCD.

Wafoo

same for me,had a prang 2nd Feb,it's now the 4th march and the car hasn't even been looked at!!
Phone them every few days for the latest excuse apparently it's the accident repairers fault,phone them,no it's swiftcover,my own fault for going with the cheapest,and as for the customer service,on hold for half hour,talk to a semi-literate drone,etc.etc

milkybars

They were fine during my policy but when I changed to a different insurance provider, and moved house a few days later, Swiftcover were a nightmare.

My new insurance company wouldn't accept a printed copy of the NCD email sent by Swiftcover. When I requested a paper version from Swiftcover they refused. New company offered to contact Swiftcover to get them to confirm my NCD over the telephone, Swiftcover refused again. I contacted Swiftcover myself and demanded a paper copy be sent to me. By this point my new provider had issued me a deadline by which if I hadn't provided proof of NCD I'd have to pay extra and lose my NCD. Swiftcover said they could only send to my old address and questioned me over why I hadn't notified them of my move (because I'd moved days after my policy ended!). In the end I had to pay Royal Mail to divert my mail from my old address. I recieved the NCD from Swiftcover and only just made the deadline. Was quite a stressful time.

impossibleprincess

mdb99jh wrote: »

I am considering switching my insurance from direct line to swiftcover after discovering that they can reduce my insurance by about £500!! :eek:
Has anyone had any experience with swiftcover, good or bad? The price is good, but how is the service?

Hi in response to your question about Swift cover my advice is to stay well clear. They are cheap but when you come to claim you have a right job getting money out of them. My sister was with them had an accident she is still wating four weeks on for a payout. I took an insurance policy out with them but cancelled before it was due to start due to trouble my sister was having. They have charged me £25.00 to cancel they state it's stated in terms and conditions you have 14 days to cancel any policy with no charge. I don't intead in letting them get away with this I will fight them. Swift advertise that time is money they should take there own advice.

rustybun

Having dealt with many insurance companies over the years, I can assure you that my experience with Swiftcover, leads me to believe this is the worst insurance company by many a mile. They do not respond to your letters, they do not send you renewal notices and they just help themselves to your renewal premium, even if you do not renew your policy.
So my advice would be stear a very, very wide birth of this hopeless company.

Cliveski2009

I confess I didn't read the whole thread but I have some useful input . .
I suffered an accident and discovered you have to get your car repaired at one of their approved bodyshops. The problem with this is their repair shops do the job down to a cost so the quality would not be all that good. What's more a car which would normally be written off may be repaired. It's better to be able to choose your own bodyshop.

dougk_2

Unfortunately yes and i shan't be renewing with them, poor service after they have you signed up. No replies to emails for days, don't offer advice, phone lines busy and don't answer direct questions.

harryhound

Cliveski2009 wrote: »

It's better to be able to choose your own bodyshop.

Which of the major insurance companies still allow this option? It seems to me that the days are over, when the first thing the man in the yard asked you was "Is this an insurance job".

I'm doubtful that having "fully comp" on a car worth less than (say) 1500 makes any sense as any sort of damage usually results in a write-off cheque, that does not represent the value of the car to its owner.

Llyllyll

harryhound wrote: »

Which of the major insurance companies still allow this option? It seems to me that the days are over, when the first thing the man in the yard asked you was "Is this an insurance job".

We are currently going through a claim via Prudential. Very good service and they allowed us to take it to our chosen repairers/bodyshop.

Quentin

harryhound wrote: »

Which of the major insurance companies still allow this option? It seems to me that the days are over, when the first thing the man in the yard asked you was "Is this an insurance job".

I'm doubtful that having "fully comp" on a car worth less than (say) 1500 makes any sense as any sort of damage usually results in a write-off cheque, that does not represent the value of the car to its owner.

Virtually all insurers do prefer you to use their approved repairer, but that is all they can do (prefer you to go there).

You can still take your car anywhere and use the "old fashioned" procedures (get quote, pass on to insurer, await inspection, get authorisation etc). Doing this usually negates any courtesy car cover, so you need to sort that out yourself if you choose to use a different garage (though could claim it off the third party if they are to blame)

These days check on what it saves before going third party - sometimes you find it cheaper to have fc, even though the vehicle is worth less than the cost of a bumper!

And even if you went third party, and handled claims against third parties yourelf you wouldn't get them to pay for uneconomical repairs on your car, and would have the same problem regarding write offs.

(When they ask "is it an insurance job" it is usually to do with the way the estimate is prepared - insurance companies expect a discount, so garages build this in to the price. If you are paying yourself, no discount is involved and the price being charged will reflect that.)