Rant: Insurance rip off (1 Viewer)

Jan 4, 2012
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A few years now
70 year old pensioner who lives alone was paying £580 per year for house insurance who I know.

She asked me on her behalf to find out if this is correct, I checked and entered all her details into a online compare website.

With the SAME company, £135 for better cover per year.:Eeek:

I contacted them and they sounded quite obstinate that what I had found out and they would not budge from the original £580 :Angry:

How can these companies be allowed to rip off older people who cannot go on line to find these things out, are there no laws against it:Angry:

I told the insurance contact exactly where he could stick his renewal form :thumb:
 

DBK

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Jan 9, 2013
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There is no credit given for loyalty. Stay with the same company and premiums slowly creep up as often as not.

Exploiting the elderly is also rampant.
 

Daveg

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Sep 2, 2012
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Too right beekeeper

I got full buildings, contents etc for £185 via a price comparison site. My renewal quote was a tad under £700. They were banking on my inertia.

Feral capitalism - got to love it

Dave

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GJH

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Aug 20, 2007
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I ring our Buildings & Contents insurer (Tesco) every year when we get the renewal quote and invariably get it reduced to around the same as the previous year.

I use Confused.com for car insurance which usually results in a similar or lower price from my existing insurer (AA).

With the van, Highway LV through Frank Pickles have been on the ball with no hassle since we went with them before Asda wrote off our previous van.
 

Chris

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May 5, 2010
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Guess who forgot to renew their house insurance last year:whistle::Doh:

My wife's fault, of course.

I have set it up on automatic renewal now just in case but I will be shopping around.
 
Dec 23, 2007
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started when I was 11 with my parents-forgot to stop!been real one since 1980!
Insurance renewal is cheaper online than speaking to a real person. I found that out recently,I attempted to renew my wife's car insurance,but there were problems with the website,so I phoned them and the premium was an extra £75 when asked,I was told that the way it is. I doubt if the person I dealt with is paid any of this and it is trousered by the company for their bosses 'productivity' bonuses,nothing for the poor sods that do all the work.

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OP
OP
J
Jan 4, 2012
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A few years now
I bet if the insurance companies know if older people have not got a email address ,then they know they can rip them off.:Angry:

Anyone who knows a older person who is not online ought to ask them if they are paying over the odds.
 

chrisboyo

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Aug 5, 2009
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I have been with RAC ins for our Hyundi i10 for 3 years no prob
The renewal came in last week, just 1 week prior to it running out, £269 !!
Got better cover for £135 with more than
I am sure that they leave it untill the last minute so that you have very little time to get it sorted elsewhere, then 'For your convinance' auto renew it at the robbin gits price
I rang RAC to ask if there was some mistake, then told them where to shove when thet told me that there,s was the best price i would get enywhere ''for our most excellent service'', they got very humpy indeed, telling me how wonderfuly they 'had looked after me' for the last 3 years

Robbin Barstewards the lot of them
 

UK Pete

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Jan 16, 2014
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Each year i have to change company's as they say things have gone up since last year bla bla bla you know all the usual bulll s--t, so i go on the meercat site and get a better deal, i have found out insurers would rather welcome new custom with a good quote than keep old customers happy, i just don't understand it, this years best quote was from more than, £187
pete

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Nov 11, 2013
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DONT EVER set up an automatic renewal facility with an insurance company. That's what they hope you will do so they can rip you off. My 85 year old mother in law did that and her premiums with Direct Line went up from £250 a year (£10,000 worth of contents, tiny 2 bed semi and no claims) to £850 in 4 years before she noticed what was happening and asked me if that increase was normal. When I contacted Direct Line to see if they had made a mistake (I am a Chartered Insurance Practitioner with 40 years insurance experience) they treated me like a numpty and effectively told me to get knotted. I therefore got an on line quote from them for the same cover for £267, cancelled the policy, took out the new one and got a £500+ refund!!!

How can any insurer justify whopping up the premiums for an elderly lady each year by a huge amount whilst offering the same cover to new customers for a fraction of the cost? Direct Line said that they had to offer "low" premiums on line to get new business, but if they treat their loyal customers so badly and rip them off so royally then as far as I am concerned its best to buy a new policy each year and be an honoured NEW customer yourself!
 

TheBig1

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Nov 27, 2011
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the worst things you can do with insurance
1 lie to them. as your insurance is then invalid
2 set up a direct debit. they will hike the prices
3 buy through an agency. they will add their fees to the cost
4 never compare. always check you cant get better cover for less elsewhere
5 insure with an unknown insurer. plenty of these about. genuine ones just buy cover from one of the bigger companies. fake ones take the money and you still have no insurance. this is on the increase
 

callumwa

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Jan 16, 2011
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[HI]DONT EVER set up an automatic renewal facility with an insurance company. [/HI]That's what they hope you will do so they can rip you off. My 85 year old mother in law did that and her premiums with Direct Line went up from £250 a year (£10,000 worth of contents, tiny 2 bed semi and no claims) to £850 in 4 years before she noticed what was happening and asked me if that increase was normal. When I contacted Direct Line to see if they had made a mistake (I am a Chartered Insurance Practitioner with 40 years insurance experience) they treated me like a numpty and effectively told me to get knotted. I therefore got an on line quote from them for the same cover for £267, cancelled the policy, took out the new one and got a £500+ refund!!!

How can any insurer justify whopping up the premiums for an elderly lady each year by a huge amount whilst offering the same cover to new customers for a fraction of the cost? Direct Line said that they had to offer "low" premiums on line to get new business, but if they treat their loyal customers so badly and rip them off so royally then as far as I am concerned its best to buy a new policy each year and be an honoured NEW customer yourself!



Disagree 100%

There is absolutely nothing wrong in setting up an automatic renewal, you just need to check when your renewal is due, what the renewal premium is, and compare that to what else is on offer, then you decide whether to cancel the existing policy or take out a new one with another company.
To keep track I have a small spreadsheet which shows when all our policies are due, bikes, cars, motorhome, house, phone, broadband energy, etc etc....

The one very important advantage advantage with Auto renewal is should you ever forget that your insurance is expiring you will not find yourself left without cover.
"Sods Law" says you will have a bump or accident or theft , get stopped by the Police, or be detected on ANPR the first day after the Policy lapsed, only to discover that you actually had no cover as you did NOT have an auto renewal on your policy.
Ignorance will not be an acceptable excuse or defense.

Now that would be a far more expensive option.......!

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Apr 13, 2012
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Thanks Joner for posting - Just had renewal quote from SAGA £599.90:Eeek:

Churchill will cover for £116 !!!!!:Smile:

Thanks again ! :thumb::thumb:
 

jollyrodger

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Oct 1, 2012
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Disagree 100%

There is absolutely nothing wrong in setting up an automatic renewal, you just need to check when your renewal is due, what the renewal premium is, and compare that to what else is on offer, then you decide whether to cancel the existing policy or take out a new one with another company.
To keep track I have a small spreadsheet which shows when all our policies are due, bikes, cars, motorhome, house, phone, broadband energy, etc etc....

The one very important advantage advantage with Auto renewal is should you ever forget that your insurance is expiring you will not find yourself left without cover.
"Sods Law" says you will have a bump or accident or theft , get stopped by the Police, or be detected on ANPR the first day after the Policy lapsed, only to discover that you actually had no cover as you did NOT have an auto renewal on your policy.
Ignorance will not be an acceptable excuse or defense.

Now that would be a far more expensive option.......!

Hi Callum
For what its worth ,you may have a "spread sheet" the whole point of the o/p was that the Ins companies ripping off old folk who`s only idea of a spread sheet is when they make the bed .And the escalating prices they charge to them against new business & low price which is not acceptable to many and for which I personally am in total agreement :Angry:
 

callumwa

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Jan 16, 2011
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Hi Callum
For what its worth ,you may have a "spread sheet" the whole point of the o/p was that the Ins companies ripping off old folk who`s only idea of a spread sheet is when they make the bed .And the escalating prices they charge to them against new business & low price which is not acceptable to many and for which I personally am in total agreement :Angry:

Hi JR,

I too agree with what your saying and the point of the O/P.
My point was in direct reply to the advice to avoid auto renewal.

Imho that is not good advice, especially if old folks are not computer savvy or need help with these things. They could just as easily forget to take out a new policy, especially if they miss the renewal date, or as with many companies it now it only arrives at the last minute to try to stop you from shopping around.

Ok, the premium could/will go up, but better that than finding yourself without any cover at all in the event you need to call on your policy. It could cost thousands, or even ruin someone


We should all help out any family, friends or neighbours with issues like this, as there is no such thing as loyalty with these companies nowadays and the only way to go sadly is to shop around.

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Nov 11, 2013
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Disagree 100%

There is absolutely nothing wrong in setting up an automatic renewal, you just need to check when your renewal is due, what the renewal premium is, and compare that to what else is on offer, then you decide whether to cancel the existing policy or take out a new one with another company.
To keep track I have a small spreadsheet which shows when all our policies are due, bikes, cars, motorhome, house, phone, broadband energy, etc etc....

The one very important advantage advantage with Auto renewal is should you ever forget that your insurance is expiring you will not find yourself left without cover.
"Sods Law" says you will have a bump or accident or theft , get stopped by the Police, or be detected on ANPR the first day after the Policy lapsed, only to discover that you actually had no cover as you did NOT have an auto renewal on your policy.
Ignorance will not be an acceptable excuse or defense.

Now that would be a far more expensive option.......!

So, the one year you forget to check that the renewal premium is reasonable and it goes through at double last year's price is the year you make a claim? What about the other years? Its an expensive fail safe to adopt. Perhaps its because I worked in insurance for so long, but I am fastidious about renewals and so aware of (some) insurance companies tricks that I lost faith in the industry about 10 years ago. I could tell you things about the way some insurers deal with claims that would make your blood boil, and the auto renewal scam (which is, I believe being looked at by Watchdog as we speak) is just the latest in a long line of disreputable tricks of the trade. There are a number of ethical, trustworthy company's out there, but you have to work closely with them to find out who they are.
 
OP
OP
J
Jan 4, 2012
2,240
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somerset
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Fiat Ducato
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A few years now
Disagree 100%

There is absolutely nothing wrong in setting up an automatic renewal, you just need to check when your renewal is due, what the renewal premium is, and compare that to what else is on offer, then you decide whether to cancel the existing policy or take out a new one with another company.
To keep track I have a small spreadsheet which shows when all our policies are due, bikes, cars, motorhome, house, phone, broadband energy, etc etc....

The one very important advantage advantage with Auto renewal is should you ever forget that your insurance is expiring you will not find yourself left without cover.
"Sods Law" says you will have a bump or accident or theft , get stopped by the Police, or be detected on ANPR the first day after the Policy lapsed, only to discover that you actually had no cover as you did NOT have an auto renewal on your policy.
Ignorance will not be an acceptable excuse or defense.

Now that would be a far more expensive option.......!

The old dear I know does not know what reminders / spreadsheets / auto renewals / ect , she just knows more and more of her pension is disappearing.
She is housebound , disabled , does not know what a computer looks like and is being automatically being ripped off legally .

I hope the authority's set up a equivalent of a PPI rebate to refund them.
 

callumwa

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Jan 16, 2011
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[HI]So, the one year you forget to check that the renewal premium is reasonable and it goes through at double last year's price is the year you make a claim? What about the other years? Its an expensive fail safe to adopt[/HI]. Perhaps its because I worked in insurance for so long, but I am fastidious about renewals and so aware of (some) insurance companies tricks that I lost faith in the industry about 10 years ago. I could tell you things about the way some insurers deal with claims that would make your blood boil, and the auto renewal scam (which is, I believe being looked at by Watchdog as we speak) is just the latest in a long line of disreputable tricks of the trade. There are a number of ethical, trustworthy company's out there, but you have to work closely with them to find out who they are.


So, the one year you forget to renew, is the year you make a claim as you write off your car killing someone in the process? Its a very expensive mistake to make.

You could be away working overseas, (as I do), you could be on a long holiday (as many Funsters do), you may just have moved house and forgot to update address, you may just be forgetful or have missed the renewal. So may reasons why you could end up uninsured.

We can agree to disagree on the renewal method, however I'm sure we agree that we should all check our renewals and compare prices whenever possible. We should also help those who don't, or those who don't know how to, or have not got the means to undertake comparisons.

Surprisingly, 3 of my recent vehicle renewals in the last 12 months have all came down, particularly the motorhome, from £290 to £225 with no change in T&C's whatsoever, a decrease of over 22%.....:thumb:

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