Insurance Companies

[Skyliner33]

LV have informed me that when my renewal for my camper is due in January they will not be able to offer cover due to a change in their
criteria.

The other year Howdens told me they couldn’t insure due to my postcode. About 5 houses down my close the postcode changes. Apparently for those houses the risk is far smaller. :/

 

[Drive Wayne]

The other year Howdens told me they couldn’t insure due to my postcode. About 5 houses down my close the postcode changes. Apparently for those houses the risk is far smaller. :/

Howdens won't give you a proper AV on your van, have you tried the Flux?

 

[MrGreen]

LV have informed me that when my renewal for my camper is due in January they will not be able to offer cover due to a change in their
criteria.

I had the same with Direct Line a few years ago. They basically de-insured me. Hiked the renewal premium to a crazy price and changed some terms of the cover without telling me. Luckily I read the policies because they’re usually full of mistakes.
Then I had a nightmare trying to get proof of NCD from them. They split their vehicle insurance department in two, one department for cars and one department for vans.
Lots of insurance companies dumping complex vehicles and going for easy wins.

 

[Ricardo T]

I had the same with Direct Line a few years ago. They basically de-insured me. Hiked the renewal premium to a crazy price and changed some terms of the cover without telling me. Luckily I read the policies because they’re usually full of mistakes.
Then I had a nightmare trying to get proof of NCD from them. They split their vehicle insurance department in two, one department for cars and one department for vans.
Lots of insurance companies dumping complex vehicles and going for easy wins.

Yeah i think that is what LV are doing as its on a multi vehicle policy but no mention of the car.
Is proving NCD still a thing as i havnt been asked for years now, just assumed its all done automatically?

 

[Drive Wayne]

Yeah i think that is what LV are doing as its on a multi vehicle policy but no mention of the car.
Is proving NCD still a thing as i havnt been asked for years now, just assumed its all done automatically?

Wifeys Evoque was insured through Sainsburys insurance last year and they told us LV was taking over the insurance. LV's quote was huge! Thanks to Martin Lewis we went with Go Skippy. A nice email from them this morning saying they didn't need any proof of NCD, everything was all good, and half the price of LV.

 

[MrGreen]

Yeah i think that is what LV are doing as its on a multi vehicle policy but no mention of the car.
Is proving NCD still a thing as i havnt been asked for years now, just assumed its all done automatically?

Whenever I’ve renewed insurance I’ve always been asked for NCD proof once the policy starts.
Insurance companies moved the goalposts on this and only accept 9+ as the highest recognised amount of years NCD. I still quote my 24 years without a claim and keep records.
From what I can gather insurance companies are pricing a quote on what they think you can afford. They use your postcode to estimate your house value and your job type to estimate your salary. If you also ask for all the extras, like legal cover, then they’ll bump the price up even more.
They’re constantly moving the goalposts to enable them to charge higher premiums.
The whole thing is a massive scam. So much so that the government has set up The Motor Insurance Taskforce. I’ll post details below.

 

[MrGreen]

The UK government has established a
Motor Insurance Taskforce to investigate high motor insurance costs, and the independent regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is actively investigating overcharging in the insurance market.

Government and Regulatory Action

• Motor Insurance Taskforce: Launched in October 2024 by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, this taskforce aims to identify factors increasing costs and bring down premiums. It includes the FCA, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), industry groups like the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and consumer groups such as Citizens Advice and Which?. The taskforce will look closely at claims costs and the impact of price rises on vulnerable customer groups.
• FCA Investigations: The FCA, which regulates the insurance industry, has launched a market study into premium finance(paying for insurance in instalments), concerned that high interest rates (20-30%) mean customers may not be receiving fair value. This is separate from its role within the taskforce.
• • Loyalty Penalty: Following previous investigations by the FCA and the CMA, new rules were introduced in January 2022 banning insurers from charging existing home and car insurance customers more at renewal than a new customer would pay for an equivalent policy. Direct Line Group was subsequently required to pay £30 million in refunds after an error in implementing these rules resulted in overcharging.
  • Claims Handling: The FCA has also reviewed claims handling in the home and travel insurance markets after a "super-complaint" was launched by consumer groups over poor service and unfair practices.

How to Report Overcharging
If you believe you have been overcharged or treated unfairly, you should take the following steps:

1. Complain to your insurer: You must follow your insurer's internal complaints procedure first.
2. Contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): If you are not satisfied with the insurer's response after eight weeks, you can take your complaint to the FOS. This is a free, independent service whose final decision is binding on the insurer. You can find more information on the Financial Ombudsman Service website.
3. Report to Citizens Advice: To report a business to Trading Standards for potential illegal activity or unfair practices, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service.

 

[Skyliner33]

Howdens won't give you a proper AV on your van, have you tried the Flux?

Yes, tried AF. They are the best so far. They dont give AV either. My current insurers have matched the AF value and for £15 extra will do an agreed value. But speaking to a lot of insurers its really only needed for classic stuff, as they give market valuation of the van plus all the modifications/ / conversion parts.

 

[Voodoo_Pirate]

I found Adrian Flux the best when getting a quote a couple of months back. Really easy to deal with on the phone…. Didn’t ask many questions about the vans many modifications, just accepted it was modified and was fully converted. Some companies wanted to know exactly what had been done and the estimated value of that particular modification. Some even wanted to know my dietary requirements and whether I brush my teeth using my right or left hand.

Anyway, AF ended up being the cheapest by some distance and I then asked for anything they could do on the price and they knocked off another £90.

 

[Sasquatch]

Yes, tried AF. They are the best so far. They dont give AV either. My current insurers have matched the AF value and for £15 extra will do an agreed value. But speaking to a lot of insurers its really only needed for classic stuff, as they give market valuation of the van plus all the modifications/ / conversion parts.

I was quite happy to go to Flux without AG. The price of 6.1 Redline conversions is very buoyant right now, so its easy to evidence its market value.

 

[Ricardo T]

Whenever I’ve renewed insurance I’ve always been asked for NCD proof once the policy starts.
Insurance companies moved the goalposts on this and only accept 9+ as the highest recognised amount of years NCD. I still quote my 24 years without a claim and keep records.
From what I can gather insurance companies are pricing a quote on what they think you can afford. They use your postcode to estimate your house value and your job type to estimate your salary. If you also ask for all the extras, like legal cover, then they’ll bump the price up even more.
They’re constantly moving the goalposts to enable them to charge higher premiums.
The whole thing is a massive scam. So much so that the government has set up The Motor Insurance Taskforce. I’ll post details below.

Agreed...worst scammers by far = fat pension pots!
Maybe i should start charging my customers on this basis!!

 

[Sasquatch]

To be fair my private pension with LV pays very handsomely, so im always about torn when I hear theyre bending their insurance customers over!

 

[ChrisBell]

Is it across the board now that fully comp on a vehicle does not allow the main driver and policy holder to drive any other vehicle third party... I had never heard the like, till someone looking at my van said they couldn't drive. Then I got new insurance and see the clause in mine! No option to pay extra to cover me on any other vehicle either....

 

[Sasquatch]

Is it across the board now that fully comp on a vehicle does not allow the main driver and policy holder to drive any other vehicle third party...

Its not across the board - I can do so on my Ailing Fux policy. However, the exclusion is becoming more common.

 

[Lubrown]

From what I can gather insurance companies are pricing a quote on what they think you can afford. They use your postcode to estimate your house value and your job type to estimate your salary. If you also ask for all the extras, like legal cover, then they’ll bump the price up even more.

This is spot on. You can move less than a mile, as one of my friends did, and the premium doubles showing it is illogical to say it’s based on crime.

Mentioned it before but an industry representative once let slip on Radio 4 about assessing a clients ‘propensity to spend’ as he put it - if you select extra services as part of your quote they ramp the price right up.

Nowadays, with personal data being a huge product used all round they will be using everything cookies slurp up from your internet and emails too. Even bricks and mortar shops in the US tried this, helped by their ‘free WiFi’ and facial recognition to adjust prices on the fly tailored to individuals. There was some pushback but online shopping - people will never know unless they use a device they haven’t used before and via a different network or VPN.
AI makes it so easy for the retailers/service providers to do now.

 

[Lubrown]

Seems they found yet another way to increase profits - if your spouse dies or you separate your risk score magically increases. Not because you’re suddenly a wildly different person (and remember they keep all your history on a shared database), but because their computers now liken you to other single people.

You just couldn’t make this stuff up.

‘Bereavement penalty’: people who lost partners hit by insurance premium rises

 

[Sasquatch]

Seems they found yet another way to increase profits - if your spouse dies or you separate your risk score magically increases. Not because you’re suddenly a wildly different person (and remember they keep all your history on a shared database), but because their computers now liken you to other single people.

You just couldn’t make this stuff up.

‘Bereavement penalty’: people who lost partners hit by insurance premium rises

I saw that in the Guardian. Essentially they view being widowed as a profit opportunity.

If anyone else based their business charging model on the fictitious nonsense insurers do they'd be arrested for fraud.

 

[Lubrown]

I saw that in the Guardian. Essentially they view being widowed as a profit opportunity.

If anyone else based their business charging model on the fictitious nonsense insurers do they'd be arrested for fraud.

Most people would see it as discrimination but insurers use the “It’s not us it’s the algorithm “ line and everyone laps it up.

 

[MrGreen]

Most people would see it as discrimination but insurers use the “It’s not us it’s the algorithm “ line and everyone laps it up.

From what I can gather it’s this type of behaviour within the industry which has been reported to certain people in the government.

The de-banking scandal has raised a lot of questions about financial and insurance practices. This is why The Motor Insurance Task Force has been set up.

Ministers bring together industry experts and consumer champions to tackle spiralling costs for drivers

New taskforce is a major step forward in getting a fair deal for UK drivers by rooting out factors that increase costs for car insurance industry.

www.gov.uk

This is probably why some people have seen their premiums decrease. There’s some risk mitigation going on in case the real truth emerges.

 

[kombisnaps]

Well glory be.
LV's quote here - 865 quid - down from £1443.00 last year. Just got to see what Admiral's renewal is now....