Re-covered
Posted: Fri 29 September, 2017 Filed under: Advertising, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Insurance, Loyalty Schemes, Thoughts 4 Comments »Somehow, it’s already nearly a year since I got the latest car. Which, of course, means it’s also time for my insurance renewal to come through.
As usual, the current company have massively taken the piss, nearly doubling my premium this time round. For some reason, rather than having a number of different under-writers, they’ve recently decided to stick with just the one – and that one happens to be nothing short of extortionate.
Still, that’s fine, they can fuck off.
As a result, I’ve already sorted out a new policy with a different company. It’s got all the cover and options I wanted, and is cheaper than what I’ve paid this year, let alone the ridiculous renewal price.
I truly don’t understand the business model of the insurance industry, this attitude of “keep on charging more ’til people leave”. Surely if someone’s been with a company for [x] years, and established a record of being safe, not claiming etc., then it should be easier/cheaper/better to keep them, rather than letting them sod off somewhere else?
I suppose it might be the law of diminshing returns, an expectation the customers will claim eventually. Using that it kind-of makes sense, if all the customers are paying up, and if we can get rid of them before they cost us, then we’ve made money out of it, and it’s cost “some other company”.
But it all seems pretty flawed to me, and pretty bloody dumb. Hey ho. Their loss, not mine.
The only thing I was looking forward to when I turned 50 was the reduced premiums… it was a lie. Bastards.
Ours both went up 27% this year with existing company, and, when I looked around 37% anywhere else… no claims, no points, no nothing different, both us and our cars a year older.
I made a big fuss (really BIG as car premiums have gone up 11% overall, and, as a low risk, I felt ours should be less than that) and eventually (very very eventually) got to speak to someone in Underwriting and discovered the reason.
Last year, an Idiot Woman (obv in a BMW that she was unable to drive skilfully) reversed out of our drive into the path of an oncoming car and then denied she’d done it, despite our CCTV evidence to the contrary. She lied and claimed she’d stalled her car and the other car hit her as it was speeding. It didn’t and it wasn’t.
Consequently our house (in the middle of nowhere) is now listed as a accident blackspot (even though the only accident that has ever happened here was Idiot Woman’s and nothing at all to do with us or the way we drive), and so our car and house premiums have all gone up.
Nothing we can do about it, and kind underwriter said it won’t ever go down again either.
Someone else’s accident is costing us £300 a year extra. I am more than angry.
But yes, I totally agree with you about the crazy way insurance companies operate.
That is…. spectacular. And quite massively shit.