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"Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

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Sydsmith
Extremely Wise Man
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Posts: 1369
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:15 pm
Location: Aberystwyth Wales

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by Sydsmith »

Some years ago I too was a Director of a domestic appliance insurance company and I can assure you that there is no secret plan to rip off the insured, on the contrary it was very difficult to root our the dishonest claims.

Computers changed the insurance industry and we were able to compile a huge data base of bang up to date facts about claims, which helped in identifying rogue claims.

We could also identify which manufacturers or products suffered the greatest pro rata breakdowns, which geographic areas suffered the highest claims and which agents had the highest claims record.

We set premiums based on what the claims cost was, we kept a rolling record of what was happening so if a rogue product or agent showed up we could take action very quickly to limit the damage, if a particular make or model started to become unreliable we could increase premiums.

Our aim always was to make a profit and the regulations meant we had to keep sufficient funds ring fenced and in hand to satisfy any claims that might be made. We calculated this from our historic records and had to be able to show that we were being prudent.

Our system as I am sure all insurer's use was to take our claims costs per the records add a margin for excess then add our profit margin, we made no provision for the income from investment of the funds we had, so with our margin and investment income we never made a loss.

We constantly suffered and had to be on the look out for dishonest claims, we also suffered from agents who were responsible for repairs ripping us off, a new set of tub bearings for a washing machine might cost between £100 and £200 depending on who did the work, so it is no surprise insurers are more and more insisting on approved repairers.

The aim as has been said was to make a fair profit, competition was really tough and folks constantly challenged our prices, we could never rest on our laurels and had to be competitive to stay in the game. We had periods when we were the cheapest then we fell behind and had to review and adjust our premiums.

So the advice is shop around, there are dishonest people in all walks of life but in the main we are mostly honest in this country, insurers are no different to the rest of us, they want to make the best they can of their bussiness.

Stan Thomas
Wise Man
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Posts: 795
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 2:14 pm
Location: Penkridge. Staffs.

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by Stan Thomas »

It's called "Rip-of-Britain".

Now we've voted to divorce ourselves from Brussels - how soon will we start hearing "Its because we came out the E.U." as an excuse to put up prices??

Mark my words.

Vortex O'Plinth
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Posts: 1065
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:15 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Chris_R wrote: ..... today it is much easier to find that cheaper alternative than it ever was before. There is absolutely no reason to stick with any insurer. There will always be another offering a more competitive product.
You're right of course Chris. Every year when an insurance renewal become due I automatically check the comparison websites (my preferred one is comparethemarket.com - buy insurance through them and you get a free Meerkat toy which you then sell on ebay for £20, thereby further discounting your premium!). These sites are very useful but it's worth bearing in mind that many of them are actually owned by individual insurance companies. Confused.com is owned by Admiral, gocompare.com by Esure and comparethemarket.com by BGL. All these owners also own specific brand insurance companies, so quite often if they don't catch you with one, they'll do so with another.

Despite their claims that 'we're here to help you' (a line commonly adopted by banks too), that's very much a means to an end. As Chris points out, they're in business to make a profit. This is increasingly achieved by automatically bumping up renewal premiums on the assumption (generally justified) the most drivers don't query them and find renewal with the same company the line of least resistance. It's surprising how often a call to your insurer querying the renewal cost will result in a reduction after the 'let me see seen what we can do for you' response has incentivized them to retain your business.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Petelang
Helpful Person
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Posts: 424
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:23 am
Location: Nottingham
Contact:

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by Petelang »

As I say, they have no morals.
When I was a young driver, under 21, paying all my own costs, not on parents insurance, I paid an absolute fortune for three or four years to build up a no claims bonus. After said four years, the insurance company suffered a fire in their Crawley offices and when my renewal came up, my hard won no claims had dissappeared. They claimed to have no record, despite me having all the historic documentation they refused to honour it. I had to start all over again.
I have had very few incidents in my lifetime but whenever I have needed to make a claim they have always made it a most painful process and in several cases, for items like lost luggage and property, not paid out.
Over the period in question I have helped in no small way to contribute to their ever increasing profits. It's small wonder so many people try to fiddle them to get a bit back.
A couple of years ago, my Daimler V8250 was rammed in the rear by a young (probably slightly inebriated) fool destroying much of his flashy BMW and spreading the rear of my car. Cocky little b****r says "that won't cost much mate". It is fortunate for him it cost less than the insurers would have had if I had not fought tooth and nail to get the job done properly. They wanted, and kept pressing me, to have a replacement vehicle, which I neither wanted nor needed, they wanted to use an "approved repairer" in Sheffield, when they had another branch in Nottingham just around the corner from me, a repairer I certainly would not approve of having seen their work, and the estimate was for five times what my specialist garage would charge to repair it, to my proper satisfaction. It took me a great deal of time and arguing to get them to see it my way.
To add insult, next renewal, premium takes a vertical lift. Why? Because I'm now a bloody statistic, liable to be collided with! It's an outrageous farce. They were so keen to throw away money on unnecessary things all because someone else was paying. It's almost as bad as the excesses of the EU.
It's another of those industries that believe in "self regulation" like the banks, and the press, and that tells you all you need to know. It's time they were firmly put under microscopic scrutiny.
It's just legalised robbery.
Peter
Peter Langridge
Cloud Nine Classic Weddings, Nottingham.

Vortex O'Plinth
Extra-Wise Man
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Posts: 1065
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:15 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Have to say that having finally forked out your hefty premium, you do sometimes get what you pay for. My poor daughter has just been involved in her third car accident in a year - none of them her fault. In each case the support from her insurers has been exemplary. In the latest case she was driven into the back of whilst stationary (by a girl on her mobile phone). After inspecting the damage the insurers declared the car (a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible) a Cat 'C' write-off. Having only recently bought the car (her previous Ford Streetka having been written off in the last accident!) my daughter was somewhat disappointed at this. The damage was actually quite minimal but obviously 'approved repairer' costs would have exceeded the value of the car.

Having written the car off, the insurers offered her £1000 more than she paid for it and gave her back the car for free. After getting it repaired by a local 'indy', she'll have the car back on the road and still be well in pocket.
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

daimlerfan
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:43 pm
Location: London

Re: "Exclusive Rates" Insurance.

Post by daimlerfan »

I've been with Footman James for the last 15 years. just got the renewal quote for this year, thought it was a bit hefty especially when I asked them to quote again at a higher agreed value. Anyway I decided to shop around to see what I could get and I was amazed that I got two quotes at well less than half of FJs quote.
I have decided to go with Peter James quote which has everything FJs quote has and at my revised agreed value, and I’ve saved £123!!

So Shop around guys you may be amazed too!

John
1969 Daimler V8 250

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