Insurance.. How honest are you?

[richtea78]

And therefore I would be prepared to see them in court if need be. Unfair contracts which I am sure could not be defended in an European court as other countries don't use this approach.

It would be an interesting case but I suspect you would lose. I thought unfair contracts only applied where you had no alternative. The fact that the market doesnt offer you an alternative that meets your requirements would not make them unfair.

Besides, given how insurance companies work, they would just make everyones policy more expensive. See what happened regarding the sex discrimination rules

 

[mark1982]

well i work fo an insurance company so if anyone is unsure of anything just ask me and ill tryhelp as best i can ;-)

Nova2k7 - everyone has skipped over this kind offer, and whilst every company is different, from your experience what's the best approach ? I am tempted just to give them a ring - none of my mods are performance enhancing, yet, but having read this I am tending towards the ''safe rather than sorry" approach.

I think uk rules, laws, insurance etc suck cos theres so many benefits, tax dodgers and fraudulant compo claims out there that the decent ppl out there like us get fucked over twice. insurance is a business and they want to make a profit. Bing id defo ring ur insurance company and discuss what mods you have or lets say ur considering to put on. for the sake of maybe £50 everything is declared and youl have that "iv been honest, been fucked, but im a good person for it" feeling and youl be able to sleep and let insurance do the job their paid to do if ever the s**t hit the fan.

 

[bigdog]

Out of interest, why is it only the UK insurance industry that is this anal? There is not a single other country that I am aware off where insurance is this complicated. You insure a car for £50k and that is what is insured, no matter what you do to it and no matter who drives it.

It is great when I go home to NL that I can borrow any car from any family member or friend and can drive it without problems. But not here, I just wonder why.

The most basic answer is that the British citizens have allowed the companies to get away with it. You paid the insurance company for coverage. If they Deny ANY payment (as if you didn't have insurance) due to a mod. That should be illegal. The very most they should be allowed to do. Is to replace a modified item with a stock item.

 

[pvr]

It is great when I go home to NL that I can borrow any car from any family member or friend and can drive it without problems. But not here, I just wonder why.

simple, uk insurance is a rip off

And have you looked at the prices for Dutch insurance? The UK isnt that expensive. The cover in Holland is more flexible but you might end up paying for it depending on your circumstances!

Yes, I used to have Dutch insurance as well. Cheaper than in the UK as the bonus malus system works well, so as an 18 year old I paid 120% of the car's premium and when older, I only paid 20% of the premium after 80% discount.

Third party insurance for an 18 year old in NL for a 15 year old car is about £300, whilst it can be like £3k in the UK.

 

[richtea78]

There are also examples of plenty of people paying more for insurance in NL rather than Britain

 

[lacroupade]

Personally I'd also like to see them in court.

If a modification cannot be proven to increase the risk of an accident or the value of a claim, then why should we report it just so they can line their pockets?

For most run of the mill claims I don't believe it would be an issue unless an assessor arrived to find a blower sticking out of a hole in your bonnet, but when its a serious accident things will be different.....

A few years ago some arsehole (and I use the word advisedly) threw himself in front of my wifes car on the motorway in the middle of the night....the police went out of their way at the inquest to absolve my wife of any blame whatsoever - above and beyond the call IMHO so all credit to them - but I was present when the insurance assessors and police accident investigators went over the car and what they did had to be seen to be believed - they virtually dismantled it. There is no doubt in my mind that had they found even the tiniest flaw or modification that could, in extremis, affect steering, braking, speed etc.., the outcome might not have been as it was.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

A few years ago some arsehole (and I use the word advisedly) threw himself in front of my wifes car on the motorway in the middle of the night....

I understand why you say this. Frequently I treat people who are smashed to pieces at their own volition or consequent upon their intoxicated misjudgement, and I feel for the forgotten train / bus /car driver who has to try to cope with the inevitible sense of responsibility they feel for something that was entirely beyond their control, and for which they should shoulder no blame.

 

[lacroupade]

A few years ago some arsehole (and I use the word advisedly) threw himself in front of my wifes car on the motorway in the middle of the night....

I understand why you say this. Frequently I treat people who are smashed to pieces at their own volition or consequent upon their intoxicated misjudgement, and I feel for the forgotten train / bus /car driver who has to try to cope with the inevitible sense of responsibility they feel for something that was entirely beyond their control, and for which they should shoulder no blame.

Tell me - and sincere commiserations for having to do such things. Apart from the sheer trauma to the innocent party, the police were clear in this case that had she been driving just 10mph above or below the speed limit (she was doing dead on 70 - no pun intended!), he would have gone through the windscreen and probably seriously injured or killed her too. Hence my absolute lack of sympathy. I mean imagine you're doing 70mph on a dark, rainy night, child asleep on the back seat and this happens to you.....I'm with Clarkson; the police, fire brigade, ambulance and hospitals have MUCH better things to be doing with their time.

But to go back to the original point, this could happen to ANYONE, so if you have a serious modification of any sort, you should flag it IMHO, for your own benefit.

 

[Bing]

Holy cr@p -

Glad she, and your child, are ok. She did well to keep the car on the road and not veer off into a ditch or the central reservation...

 

[lacroupade]

Thank you - no idea how she did it to be honest. Its four years ago now but for her its like yesterday.....even when I'm driving her, and doing so carefully, she spends most of her time looking at the floor.

Doesn't mater how good or careful we are, heres always another idiot out there somewhere waiting....

 

[pvr]

Unfortunately, that never leaves you. My sister had an accident as a passenger in her mother in law's car 30 years ago, she has never been the same and is a terrible passenger now (she wears the carpets out ... ).