Gripe of the Month: Insurance Certificates

[Spinal]

I just realised how annoying insurance companies are...

It's that month of the year, and my finances take a SERIOUS battering... 4 cars & 3 motorbikes in England and a further 4 cars overseas means that I've got alot of paperwork to sort out...

I've received "Insurance Certificates" for the coming year from last years insurance companies... problem is, I have no intention of getting insured with them as their renewal quotes are 3 times what I can get from another insurer...

So I cancel the renewal...

Then, I'm told "it's a fellony not to return the insurance certificate" - well, why did you send it to me in the first place? I certainly never requested to be insured from company-xyz for another year...

Then, I get insured with swiftcover, who do everything online. They tell me that "I need to print out my own insurance certificate". Fantastic, even if I lose it, I can reprint it myself... but wait, if I can print it, then the actual printed piece of paper is worth nothing... so why do I need to return that stupid piece of paper to the other companies?

GAAAHHHH....

There, rant over. It's out of my system until Monday, when I'll have to goto the post office to send out a batch of certificates I never asked for back,... and pay for it!

M.

 

[crockers]

I just realised how annoying insurance companies are...

It's that month of the year, and my finances take a SERIOUS battering... 4 cars & 3 motorbikes in England and a further 4 cars overseas means that I've got alot of paperwork to sort out...

I've received "Insurance Certificates" for the coming year from last years insurance companies... problem is, I have no intention of getting insured with them as their renewal quotes are 3 times what I can get from another insurer...

So I cancel the renewal...

Then, I'm told "it's a fellony not to return the insurance certificate" - well, why did you send it to me in the first place? I certainly never requested to be insured from company-xyz for another year...

Then, I get insured with swiftcover, who do everything online. They tell me that "I need to print out my own insurance certificate". Fantastic, even if I lose it, I can reprint it myself... but wait, if I can print it, then the actual printed piece of paper is worth nothing... so why do I need to return that stupid piece of paper to the other companies?

GAAAHHHH....

There, rant over. It's out of my system until Monday, when I'll have to goto the post office to send out a batch of certificates I never asked for back,... and pay for it!

M.

Why bother putting a stamp on them??

 

[Spinal]

Why bother putting a stamp on them??

While I like the idea, they have scared me enough that I plan to send the things signed for... last year when this happened Nowich Union billed me for a new years worth of insurance even though I cancelled! Took me almost 6 months to get refunded...

M.

 

[Howard]

Are they American Insurers ?

A felony ? or is it a call centre kid who wants to be a gangsta ?

 

[Rory]

Apparently some Post Office counter staff won't accept the Swift Ins Certs that you print yourself as valid.

 

[recycled]

i always call mine up 1 month before due to get the new quotes and then cancel if i do not like it.
Saves me the hassle of a certificate.
One did try it though, gladiator i think, i told them i do not have it, they said they will send bailiffs , court e.tc if i do not send the certiicate back and it will affect my credit rating e.t.c. i told them see you in court and i do not buy things on credit. they never wrote back.

 

[st4]

i always call mine up 1 month before due to get the new quotes and then cancel if i do not like it.
Saves me the hassle of a certificate.
One did try it though, gladiator i think, i told them i do not have it, they said they will send bailiffs , court e.tc if i do not send the certiicate back and it will affect my credit rating e.t.c. i told them see you in court and i do not buy things on credit. they never wrote back.

usually an insurer sends out the documents for renewal about 1 month (certainly more than 3 weeks) so you have plenty of time to get a better quote, which is what I did.

They ask for the insurance certificate back as its a legal document. However with swift cover I can print many off, but the police have this database and can call the insurer to check if the policy is valid anyway.

 

[crockers]

Lets face it - a modern good quality printer can reproduce the certificate good enough so what's the point? Do they have watermarks in the paper --?? I've never seen one...

 

[nick mercedes]

I just realised how annoying insurance companies are...

It's that month of the year, and my finances take a SERIOUS battering... 4 cars & 3 motorbikes in England and a further 4 cars overseas means that I've got alot of paperwork to sort out...

I've received "Insurance Certificates" for the coming year from last years insurance companies... problem is, I have no intention of getting insured with them as their renewal quotes are 3 times what I can get from another insurer...

If you've got a fleet of cars why not get a traders policy?

 

[Spinal]

If you've got a fleet of cars why not get a traders policy?

Fleet? Who has a fleet?

I never did think of that though... I'm a lowly SysAdmin/Graduate student - the cars are all "personal"....

Do you have more info on what a fleet policy is? (gonna google it on my next break, I have a coursework due soon and I'm allowing myself a break between every 2 pages typed up...)

M.

 

[Rory]

I think insurance companies are pretty clued up on this now and you do have to be a pukka trader to have a fleet policy. It was discussed on PistonHeads a while ago and some traders seem to pay astonishingy low premiums - lower than if they were simply insuring their own personal cars.

You could try a multi-car policy from someone like Admiral, or perhaps a specialist broker as their are bikes involved too.

 

[Stratman]

Don't send them back. If/when they contact you again just mention the words "Unsolicited goods". Let them know when you will be in so that they can collect them themselves.

 

[Rory]

Don't send them back. If/when they contact you again just mention the words "Unsolicited goods". Let them know when you will be in so that they can collect them themselves.

It is actually an offence not to return a Cert of Insurance on request within 7days.

Having said that, Admiral messed up my daughter's insurance recently and we ended up with 4 certs - they never asked for any of the wrong ones back.

 

[nick mercedes]

Fleet? Who has a fleet?

I never did think of that though... I'm a lowly SysAdmin/Graduate student - the cars are all "personal"....

Do you have more info on what a fleet policy is? (gonna google it on my next break, I have a coursework due soon and I'm allowing myself a break between every 2 pages typed up...)

M.

Motor trade road risks policy should do the job, trading from home.

 

[Fandango]

Fleet? Who has a fleet?

I never did think of that though... I'm a lowly SysAdmin/Graduate student - the cars are all "personal"....

Do you have more info on what a fleet policy is? (gonna google it on my next break, I have a coursework due soon and I'm allowing myself a break between every 2 pages typed up...)

M.

You need to be a bona fide motor trader for a trade policy. Usually by providing headed paper with the company details, detailed checks are made when you try to claim though.

 

[nick mercedes]

You need to be a bona fide motor trader for a trade policy. Usually by providing headed paper with the company details, detailed checks are made when you try to claim though.

They don't make any checks that I'm aware of, all they want is the premium.

There are plenty of people who just sell a few cars a year from home, but who need a traders policy.

And you don't need any headed paper you can just do it over the phone.

The only downside to trader policies is the is often a quite high excess, but in most other respects they're just the same as any other policy, plus you can put other people on them (obviously if they have a bump it's your ncb that takes the hit too).