Who Do You Insure With?

[STE041]

So at the turn of the new year (3rd January), I had a neighbour know on my door announcing “I think I’ve damaged your car”. Met with this and the initial FFS, I had a look only to find and Audi trying to park next to mine had mis judged and indeed hit the front bumper.

Wanting to settle for cash upto a grand, I got a quote from the local dealer (new bumper, paint sensor washer cover and re calibrate radar) for £2300 which seems about right with the insurance claim being put in rather than settling for cash.

I currently insure with Churchill. They are shocking in the event of a claim. I sent the quote to them same day completed the claim which is a no fault claim, and their response is to not approve the quote until after the 5th February as they have a shortage of assessors.

I’ve complained and their response is £75 compensation and no advance on approving the claim to get the car fixed. I told them to give their £75 to an assessor and get them to look in their inbox and process the claim.

Once the claim is processed I will be cancelling with them as it’s plain to see that everyone’s premiums are funding the nodding dog advert on the TV with no effort to speed up their process.

in the mean time their courtesy car plus cover is also as shocking as the only cover the car once in the repair shop. This that have moved on, with the hire car being a Merc E300 hybrid convertible. Face value a nice car at the wrong time of year for a hood down gig; That said, it’s missing the Lexus refinement and doesn’t even have upgraded sounds and apple car play which for a £45k car is a bit rubbish.

Question is, can anyone recommend a decent insurer, in terms of once a claim is made, the process is easy and quick. Not too worried about the price as current insured for business use so used to paying a grand or so a year.

[Tonyw]

Lloyds bank was surprisingly my cheapest, renewal in April 

£600 ish, 9Yrs no claims (company car before then) 

I too have business use, full comp, protected, courtesy car etc etc. Although I did restrict to 8k miles 

[beyond the blue]

I'm with Aviva and have been for quite a few years. Around 3 years there was a gang of bikers hi-jacking cars in the neighbourhood and I got picked on, I finished up in hospital after putting up a fight (stupid thing to do when you're in your late 60s and could have got stabbed) they trashed the car and Aviva wrote it off. As I had good CCTV footage Aviva were excellent in paying the claim and were a pleasure to deal with. They remain to be the cheapest I can find for the ES.

[Barry14UK]

I suppose most people go for lowest or near lowest quote and you don't find out how good in regard to processing a claim until you are involved in an incident.  A claim I had with LV with whom I had been insured with many years was satisfactorily dealt with by them about 5 years ago.  I left them after they put the renewal of my RX up excessively for no good reason.

At present I am on hold to AXA.  They paid for the repairs to my car, claim  handled by Auxillis when I was T boned back in May but despite Auxillis again requesting AXA reimburse me minor Taxi bills (much  less than car hire) they don't reply so I am now down to third in the queue.  Coincidentally, I am also insured with AXA as well as the driver who was at fault.  Not sure I will renew with AXA but  believe all insurers are under administrative pressure.

[Dealkent]

49 minutes ago, beyond the blue said:

I'm with Aviva and have been for quite a few years. Around 3 years there was a gang of bikers hi-jacking cars in the neighbourhood and I got picked on, I finished up in hospital after putting up a fight (stupid thing to do when you're in your late 60s and could have got stabbed) they trashed the car and Aviva wrote it off. As I had good CCTV footage Aviva were excellent in paying the claim and were a pleasure to deal with. They remain to be the cheapest I can find for the ES.

Omg , those scumbags attacking your car ! And you ? . Where was this ? . 
I too am with Aviva . A car went into back on me in Spain when stationary, about to reverse into space . I got the forms filled out and the driver basically admitted responsibility. Paid £500 excess and the work was done about 5 weeks later in the U.K. . 
Made many calls re getting the £500 , given lots of responses, like Brexit will make it more difficult, really??  
Anyway, just got the money back , took 2 year but really happy just to get my £500 in my bank . 

[Cs150]

23 years no claims, they only seem to recognise 9 at most insurers. IAM member and price was £420. This is with Lexus insurance directly. Could have got it for around £380 with other insurers but went with Lexus directly. Not had to claim but in taking out the policy they were slow with the paperwork!

[Barry14UK]

I eventually got through to somebody after two and a half hours holding. The man I spoke with was very curt and said that they didn't want to speak with me as the claim had gone through Auxillis.  The man said Axillis should ring them on the number I used.  So I said Auxillis had told me that they didn't use the phone, unsurprisingly with a delay of two and a half hours plus to get through to an Insurance Company.  He replied that it was a Friday and unusually busy.  I can understand why Auxillis just use emails and it was only because AXA did not reply to them that I tried to speak directly with AXA.  I relayed all this back to Auxillis with the request that they email AXA yet again to finally settle my expenses.

So this is the way I am dealt with for trying to minimise the cost to AXA by paying for a Taxi on a few occasions instead of hiring a car for a couple of weeks for hundreds of pounds; not the way to treat a customer I think, particularly as I am insured with them as well as the driver at fault.  I am mindful to make a written complaint but have more pressing things to do at present.  

 

[Scoops]

Insurance is a nightmare... I was paying 600 odd but when I changed my ES for another, the quotes I was getting for a year were around the 1000 mark with just about everyone... No change to any details apart from the car.... Currently with Flow which is LV until June...

[Malc1]

On 1/20/2023 at 1:07 AM, STE041 said:

can anyone recommend a decent insurer, in terms of once a claim is made, the process is easy and quick.

Nope not at all and I've been driving for just about forever, well 56 years ............ very very few claims in that time BUT I would place Saga towards the Top of my list of OK insurers dealing with a claim .....  and really, just ok sadly .  nothing to write home about tbh apart from they seemed to try really hard .....  eventually ........  and at the other end of the scale . probably the worst on this UK planet is

those AbominableAdrianiee guys with the runaway -Flooxie  floosy and their just HOPELESS insurers loss adjusters assessors and crap legal team ..... oh my, that was the most pathetic experience ever .......   MINUS 10 out of 10 for them

 

No experience of these in the sad event of a claim but I've had recent quotes from Home Direct ( for car ......... and now my home insurers !  ) and Age UK  ( wot a larf ) and Swinton  ( fantasy land ) and quite likely going with Chris Knott Brokers insurers who I used for stuff back in the 90's .....  nice people with a sensible attitude 

It's a huge pile of poo out there .

Good luck with it all

Malc

[Eggie]

This year I am with NFU.  Found their service so far excellent. You cannot get online quotes but I have found their agents excellent plus my new NX is covered for new replacement if written off for 2yrs rather than the normal 12 months.

[Shotleyboy]

I’m with Churchill and have three cars insured with them (cheaper for bulk) but I will look again on renewal following others here experience in the event of a claim. However, I was previously with Direct Line who were more than reasonable with my claim. I managed to fill my diesel tank with ad-blue by accident. Volvo wanted £5.5k to put it right! However the service manager suggested trying my insurer - lo and behold Direct Line came through! I had £500 excess to pay but I was smiling. The claim was settled directly with the garage in good time, so credit to DL where it is due!

[Ken R]

I'm with Aviva online paying less than £300 pa for a 2022 NX450h+ fully comp with business cover and only compulsory excesses. Very reasonable.

 

 

 

 

[beyond the blue]

40 minutes ago, Ken R said:

I'm with Aviva online paying less than £300 pa for a 2022 NX450h+ fully comp with business cover and only compulsory excesses. Very reasonable.

 

 

 

 

Less than £300 ooh! Fife must be a lot more salubrious than Manchester. 

[Dippo]

I've just received my renewal notice from Aviva (c. £800, and high compulsory excess), so I've decided it was time to look around. I've just got 1 windscreen claim in the last 5 years, but the cheapest I could find on a price comparison site was £900, and everyone seems to want a compulsory excess of at least £250.

 

I tried Lexus Insurance, and they came in at £860 - or £880 if I want to insure against the £250 excess. They might be worth considering for me, if only for the reassurance of having repairs done in a Lexus bodyshop if the worst happens.

 

It's all very expensive, and my pension doesn't have a London weighting!

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.

Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you wish. We have a number of exclusive insurance schemes that aren't available on aggregator sites.

Regards,

Dan.

[Shotleyboy]

15 hours ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you wish. We have a number of exclusive insurance schemes that aren't available on aggregator sites.

Regards,

Dan.

Ehhh! No thanks! 

[Malc1]

I tried the recommended Right Choice yesterday for a quote  .  very diligent and most helpful and questioning I've never experienced .....  as if i was joining MI5 or summat 

However, the pricing was @£700 and the agent tried immeasurably hard to get me a better deal  .....  Cest Le Vie

I've given up searching now ( I think ) and will probably go with Chris Knott Brokers of loooooong standing and excellent reputation .  and at £391 ( Hopes ) 

Malc

[Dippo]

Has anyone got any experience of Prima Insurance? They seem to be offering the cheapest quotes (by about £100), and they have a 5* DeFacto rating.

[Illogan]

On 1/20/2023 at 1:07 AM, STE041 said:

So at the turn of the new year (3rd January), I had a neighbour know on my door announcing “I think I’ve damaged your car”. Met with this and the initial FFS, I had a look only to find and Audi trying to park next to mine had mis judged and indeed hit the front bumper.

<>>

Question is, can anyone recommend a decent insurer, in terms of once a claim is made, the process is easy and quick. Not too worried about the price as current insured for business use so used to paying a grand or so a year.

 

 

As with so many others, I ALWAYS research insurance costs about 28 days before the end of the current policy, it is amazing how differently insurance providers can quote from one year to the next (without any tangible changes in my parameters save for age of my wife and me, my car's accruing mileage, and yet another year on my NCB)

I'm certain their quotes are affected by their own block quota requirements, and any changes in the crime / claim rates in a neighbourhood.

I also inevitably use a cashback operator like Quidco or TopCashBack  - - that often provides a further £30<>£50 rebate.

There are some extremely poor insurance companies out there, (over the 50 years+ I've experienced a few!) and no matter how cheap they may appear, if they don't provide a good service when you need them, it's money wasted!

A recent Which? Magazine report reported that the top six insurance providers (based on customer service/claims/communications etc) were

NFU Mutual

LV

Saga

Direct Line

AXA

(the) AA

Obviously these are results aggregated over many different ages, circumstances and areas, and everyone may have their specific criteria, but this appears to be a reasonable guide.

[rayaans]

Chris knott brokers are extremely good and will beat your lowest quote provided you can give them a screenshot 

The Merc you got is probably the most basic one. The top spec ones are around £50-55k with the premium plus packages

[Malc1]

25 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Chris knott brokers are extremely good and will beat your lowest quote provided you can give them a screenshot 

Independently of my advising them of my prior quotes received they produced the very best .....  just first time  ✌️

Malc

[Harrier Man]

On 2/4/2023 at 2:51 PM, Ken R said:

I'm with Aviva online paying less than £300 pa for a 2022 NX450h+ fully comp with business cover and only compulsory excesses. Very reasonable.

 

 

 

 

I was quoted £419 at the end of November. My notes read, "weakest cover and reviews but best price"; unfortunately, I can't remember what LED me to write this. I'm not in a high crime rate area and usually go for most of the options, except a bigger hire car in the event of an accident.

[Marko89]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:22 PM, Barry14UK said:

Auxillis

That word sends shivers down the spine. Admiral also use them, certainly for issues involving Scots law anyway. Had a really bad experience with them for what should have been an open and shut case. Taxi driver remodelled the side of our Mini Clubman during the night, plenty of witnesses and police recovered his dashcam footage. It was a hit and run by someone who lived 5 buildings along, so didn't take long to figure out who had done it as my neighbours saw him and his van had blue paint and heavy damage along the passenger side. 

I ended up in a stand off with Auxillis as they kept demanding that I went to his door to get his details, to which I refused on safety concerns.  It took over a month to start the repairs on ours because of this as they couldn't be bothered doing any investigation to figure out who his insurance company is. They had the police incident report where he admitted liability, his reg, taxi number, firm he drives for and address. Glad I didn't go to his door as he was up in court not long after for a serious assault.

In saying that, we are still with Admiral as we've not had anyone come anywhere near them for price and level of cover over the past 5 or 6 years. We're paying £530 a year which also includes our building and contents insurance. So it is probably somewhere around £400 for the vehicle aspect without digging out the paperwork. In the past as a new driver I would typically go with a random company and alternate between admiral or one of their subsidiaries as they seemed to be the cheapest. 

[Ken R]

10 hours ago, Harrier Man said:

I was quoted £419 at the end of November. My notes read, "weakest cover and reviews but best price"; unfortunately, I can't remember what led me to write this. I'm not in a high crime rate area and usually go for most of the options, except a bigger hire car in the event of an accident.

Don't agree with your notes regarding weakest cover. Cover matches most of their rivals and reviews were average.  Recently needed to make an alteration to the policy and this was done foc.

[STE041]

The saga continues…

Start of claim - 4th January 2023

4 calls throughout January to last week, same fob off “we have a back log”

1st complaint offered £75 compensation - I refused and told them said they should pay that to their approver 

2nd call resulted in a manager calling me back with a fob off

The online complaints get put in a queue also

Absolute crap service in the event of a claim no fault or otherwise

To top it all after getting approval on the quote, they send you a survey to complete - my feedback is as below:

 

How do you rate Sarah’s Service - 8

How do you rate Churchill - 0

How likelihood woul you recommend Churchill - 0

Churchill are an embarrassment to the insurance industry - it feels like I am not insured. It does not take 6 weeks to approve a no fault claim. I have been fobbed off by call operators, Managers who frankly you should sack, and even when filling in a complaint on your website, that gets put in a queue and has not even had a response. As a customer who pays in advance to receive such shocking service, it is safe to say that I will be recommending to all not to use Churchill, I will not only not be renewing, I will be cancelling before the end of this cover completes. Your social media sites should tell you what your customer base thinks of your service, but by the looks of it Churchill ignore this as well. Overall if there was a minus number on your ratings I would be using that. Sarah gets an 8 as she was the one who put me on hold and within minutes came back and told me the approval had been given for the claim. If I were Sarah, I would find another employer. It is clear that customers premiums are being spent on the nodding dog TV adverts on prime time TV.

Avoid at all costs.