Insurance rip off?

[Over The Hill]

There seems to be a new trend for insurers to try to worry us more so we get extra cover.

Dawn French and an annoying fat dog try to flog us "uninsured driver cover", surely that is us paying to cover the insurance companies risk? We must already be covered if an insured driver (or an unknown driver) damages our car.

Now there is an ad where we can get "Vandalism Cover" with direct line. Surely we all have that already too? (Assuming fully comp).

Then there is one that offers us the cash so we can buy an upgrade - has it not always been like that?

It also seems a bit odd that Money Supermarket has people in pimped up cars that they probably would not be able to get cover for.

 

[I like Skol]

Don't worry OTH. In a few years you will be bombarded with cheap ads telling you how you can reclaim all your miss-sold car insurance products and use the money to build an extension, go on holiday or get a boob job, and when that all goes wrong you will be able to use a claim firm to recover that money too. There's a select few that can see the flaw in the panacea they are trying to sell (the flaw is that they make stacks of cash at our expense).

 

[Archie_tect]

I wish there was an insurance company out there that just sold insurance.... wonder if Ronseal could be persuaded to sell it in tins.

 

[Paul99]

There seems to be a new trend for insurers to try to worry us more so we get extra cover.

Dawn French and an annoying fat dog try to flog us "uninsured driver cover", surely that is us paying to cover the insurance companies risk? We must already be covered if an insured driver (or an unknown driver) damages our car.

Now there is an ad where we can get "Vandalism Cover" with direct line. Surely we all have that already too? (Assuming fully comp).

Then there is one that offers us the cash so we can buy an upgrade - has it not always been like that?

It also seems a bit odd that Money Supermarket has people in pimped up cars that they probably would not be able to get cover for.

Churchill's uninsured driver cover is in effect giving you protected no claims bonus for free and also waiving any excess.

Direct Line's vandalism cover is also protecting your no claims bonus cover but you still have to pay the excess.

So yes you are already covered for these things but you will lose your no claims bonus unless you have paid the extra premium to protect it.

 

[MrWill]

Ah insurance does my head in.

Car and home, and travel insurance yeah good idea. Although in the last 10 years Ive paid 6-7k in car insurance for what? No accident whatsoever.

The ones for companies like boiler insurance from British Gas. Really annoy me. Recently found out my mother had been paying something like £25 a month for it for the last 10+ years, so £3000 or so they have had off of her. Only once did something go wrong with it. Would of cost £2-300 to fix.

I'd rather just be in charge of my own finances and risk. And have a savings account.

 

[Paul99]

Ah insurance does my head in.

Car and home, and travel insurance yeah good idea. Although in the last 10 years Ive paid 6-7k in car insurance for what? No accident whatsoever.


I'd rather just be in charge of my own finances and risk. An have a savings account.

The problem being you are not being insured for damage to you or your property, but to sombody else or their property. You could put your car insurance premium into a savings account for 50 years, but if you severely injure somebody in an accident and they require rest of life care you won't have enough money to pay for it. That is why car insurance is compulsory, and it is only third party that is compulsory.

 

[MrWill]

Yeah fair one. I meant all the other silly ones like the boiler one I was on about.

 

[User6179]

Just had my house insurance renewal in and it is 10% cheaper online than what they are quoting me , wonder how many folk just renew without checking ?

 

[swee'pea99]

It's the industry of the scumbag...

 

[byegad]

Insurance works like this.
Insurer sells you a policy for £A. It sells B people one of these policies. So they take £A x B for motor insurance. Their one and only aim is to ensure that the amount they pay out is < £A x B.

To do this they:-
Make you use their repair centre.
Make you pay for 'betterment' if they replace an old part, which was perfectly serviceable for many more years until it got bent in the crash.
With their 'competition' operate a knock for knock policy, ensuring both parties in an accident pay more next year.
They then look at your 'history' and ensure your knock for knock is charged for by all of their competitors if you don't like their renewal price.
Charge above the odds for renewal versus new policy for the exact same car and cover.

I could go on but given the law says I must have car insurance, and that's a good thing, they take the wee wee out of the system, and my and your pockets. Operating a Cartel should be against the law, in theory it is! However, the banks, insurers, energy companies and many more industries seem to get away with it for decades with nobody going to prison, or even get interviewed with a view to prosecution.
While theirs absolutely no reason why firms shouldn't make a profit, otherwise why offer the service in the first place, they do seem to play a heads you lose tails we win policy with me on the losing side.

 

[Beebo]

I could go on but given the law says I must have car insurance, and that's a good thing, they take the wee wee out of the system, and my and your pockets. Operating a Cartel should be against the law, in theory it is! However, the banks, insurers, energy companies and many more industries seem to get away with it for decades with nobody going to prison, or even get interviewed with a view to prosecution.
While theirs absolutely no reason why firms shouldn't make a profit, otherwise why offer the service in the first place, they do seem to play a heads you lose tails we win policy with me on the losing side.

That isnt true, the UK domestic car insurance market is extremely competitive, and profits are low.
Sure, Insurance companies do make money, but not in the domestic car market.
@srw could expand on this further if he has the time and energy.

 

[Paul99]

To do this they:-
Make you use their repair centre.
Make you pay for 'betterment' if they replace an old part, which was perfectly serviceable for many more years until it got bent in the crash.
With their 'competition' operate a knock for knock policy, ensuring both parties in an accident pay more next year.
They then look at your 'history' and ensure your knock for knock is charged for by all of their competitors if you don't like their renewal price.
Charge above the odds for renewal versus new policy for the exact same car and cover.

Make you use their repair centre. Some do, some don't. You pay your money, you make your choice.
Make you pay for 'betterment' if they replace an old part, which was perfectly serviceable for many more years until it got bent in the crash. No they don't. You pay for betterment if you add value to the property. If you replace an old part with the exact same new part you don't pay for betterment.
With their 'competition' operate a knock for knock policy, ensuring both parties in an accident pay more next year. Lot's of companies don't partake in 'knock for knock' agreements, but in the long run they work well for the customer as claims are agreed and paid faster and the extra administration and petty litigation, which will be paid for by an increase in premium, is avoided.
They then look at your 'history' and ensure your knock for knock is charged for by all of their competitors if you don't like their renewal price. See above, some do, some don't.
Charge above the odds for renewal versus new policy for the exact same car and cover. My insurance premium went down last year and this. Same car, cover and insurer. How did that happen?

 

[Over The Hill]

Churchill's uninsured driver cover is in effect giving you protected no claims bonus for free and also waiving any excess.

Direct Line's vandalism cover is also protecting your no claims bonus cover but you still have to pay the excess.

So yes you are already covered for these things but you will lose your no claims bonus unless you have paid the extra premium to protect it.

So it is just discount and excess cover wrapped up in a sly way to make you want to insure something that is not a great risk.

A bit like when you buy a kettle from Argos for £30 and they ask if you want three years insurance on it for £40.

Picking up on MrWill post #5 - British Gas seem by far the worst and seem to aim their marketing at frightening elderly people. Also I hear lots of feedback that they write off and shut down boilers with easy repairs on them to make you buy a new one. They paint a picture of local tradesmen ripping off people but then rip people off more themselves.

 

[Over The Hill]

Charge above the odds for renewal versus new policy for the exact same car and cover. My insurance premium went down last year and this. Same car, cover and insurer. How did that happen?

You got older!

When I hit 50 my cover cost went down from about £300 to £200.

 

[Crankarm]

Make you use their repair centre. Some do, some don't. You pay your money, you make your choice.
Make you pay for 'betterment' if they replace an old part, which was perfectly serviceable for many more years until it got bent in the crash. No they don't. You pay for betterment if you add value to the property. If you replace an old part with the exact same new part you don't pay for betterment.
With their 'competition' operate a knock for knock policy, ensuring both parties in an accident pay more next year. Lot's of companies don't partake in 'knock for knock' agreements, but in the long run they work well for the customer as claims are agreed and paid faster and the extra administration and petty litigation, which will be paid for by an increase in premium, is avoided.
They then look at your 'history' and ensure your knock for knock is charged for by all of their competitors if you don't like their renewal price. See above, some do, some don't.
Charge above the odds for renewal versus new policy for the exact same car and cover. My insurance premium went down last year and this. Same car, cover and insurer. How did that happen?

Are you fronting for the insurance industry?