Car insurance - worrried, please help

REM1307

My car insurance is up for renewal and I've been calling around to get quotes. Armed with these I called my current provider and got them to price match the cheapest quote like a good moneysaver would.

However, I've just realised I didn't tell them the truth. I said the cheapest quote had the same excesses as their quote, but I've just realised it doesn't - it had higher excesses so therefore it would be cheaper anyway. I also didn't tell them that the company with the cheaper quote was offering me a linked discount thus making it cheaper still.

Therefore I've paid less for my car insurance than I should have done.

I'm now worried that I've just invalidated my car insurance as all the documentation and the person on the phone said I have to answer the questions honestly and I didn't.

Maybe I'm worrying over nothing, but I'm new to this car insurance stuff (just into 2nd year of driving).

Do I need to phone them up and say I've realised I should be paying more? and more importantly, have I invalidated my policy?

Help!

asea

Call them up & tell them but you may have your insurance withdrawn as you have violated the principles of Utmost Good Faith.

If you call your insurers & tell them they may or may not cancel your insurance but it is better if you tell them now & it doesn't transpire later. If you explain that you were confused or made a mistake then they will look at it favourably if you have approached them to tell them the truth.

Steve1981

My understanding is that you have to be honest regarding the rating questions, saying you have had a price cheaper than you have is surely not legally binding? the part about the xs not being like-for-like may be dishonest/genuine mistake.

I dont see how one insurer would be able to pass on details of a quote they carried out (if it came to that stage) due to the Data Protection Act?

Someone will a bit more knowledge will no for definate though

robpw2

no dont, if they have matched the price of a qoute you got then thats fine as long as your covered and they are happy to give your price then thats up to them.

as long as the insurace with the company that you have chosen meets your needs then the price is up to them to give you

Steve1981

robpw2 wrote: »

no dont, if they have matched the price of a qoute you got then thats fine as long as your covered and they are happy to give your price then thats up to them.

as long as the insurace with the company that you have chosen meets your needs then the price is up to them to give you

when I am asked my best price I always knock a bit off - its like a bartering tool - if they are prepared to meet half way Im still saving.

robpw2

i agree with steve

asea

Yes but that is fraud in the eyes of the insurer & also the law! If you are not honest about the other quotes you have then you violate utmost good faith. Any violation of this (basically not telling the truth) means that you are obtaining services by deceipt. Insurers call it moral hazard, basically - distrustful people! The premium is calculated by looking at the risk as defined to them by the insured - if the insured lie about anything that calculation cannot be relied upon, nor can anything else that the insured has to say!

Quentin

asea wrote: »

if the insured lie about anything that calculation cannot be relied upon, nor can anything else that the insured has to say!

So what would your holier than thou interpretation be on the many insurance companies who say something like "that renewal quote is the best we can do", then when you say no thanks come out with something like "well, because you have (insert some nonsense like "always paid your premiums on time", or "been with us so long") maybe we can go down a further £20 to keep your business"?

asea

I do not have a holier than though attitude, I just answered the original question from an insurance perspective - wasn't that the whole point of this thread? Since when is advocating telling the truth deemed as holier than thou (other than by people trying to justify their dishonest ways?). Just remember it is people making dishonest claims & not paying the proper calculated risk for the premium that push other honest insured's premium prices up!

I would imagine that insurers lowering their quote for whatever reason is no different from any retention policy for any company. I know of people who have had similar offers from their mobile phone providers & I know that I have personally had a similar offer from my bank when I tried to downgrade my premium account so I don't really think that you have made your point, only the point that insurers, like many other companies in other industries will make a better offer when customers say that they will not be utitilising their services.

Still I imagine that you & others on here advocating lying & fraud to make personal gains won't care about that, because you have already justified lying & cheating to yourselves & nothing that me or anyone else can tell you will change that!

Quentin

asea wrote: »

I have personally had a similar offer from my bank when I tried to downgrade my premium account so I don't really think that you have made your point, only the point that insurers, like many other companies in other industries will make a better offer when customers say that they will not be utitilising their services.

Still I imagine that you & others on here advocating lying & fraud to make personal gains won't care about that, because you have already justified lying & cheating to yourselves & nothing that me or anyone else can tell you will change that!

The point I tried to make was that the insurance company who tells you "that price is the best we can do", then lowers it after getting it declined you would seem to say had lied (when first saying it was the "best they could do").

Your allegation that I have advocated lying and fraud (and cheating) is just not acceptable in this forum.

Please remove it, otherwise your post will be reported to the abuse team.

shelly

Quentin wrote: »

The point I tried to make was that the insurance company who tells you "that price is the best we can do", then lowers it after getting it declined you would seem to say had lied (when first saying it was the "best they could do").

Your allegation that I have advocated lying and fraud (and cheating) is just not acceptable in this forum.

Please remove it, otherwise your post will be reported to the abuse team.

I agree with you wholeheartedly.
If a co can lie by saying they have given their best possible price but then lower it when you go back to them with a better quote whats wrong with us (as consumers trying to get the best deal) shaving a few £££ off a quote?

The facts that matter on the policy haven't changed. Iv'e just told them that my cheapest quote is a little bit cheaper than it really is, its still cheaper than them and if they can match it they haven't really given me their best price to start with.