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Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a complaint

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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 10:40 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a complaint Reply with quote
I have an insurance policy with Devitt which expires in a few weeks.
Devitt emailed me 'confirming' the policy will be autorenewed; I don't remember consenting to autorenewal, but anyway...

The point is that Devitt wants to charge me £ 410 for autorenewal. If I go to Devitt's website, enter my details, insure my bike for the same value as last year, and add the same extra mentioned in the autorenewal (legal cover)... the price is £ 330, ie £ 80 lower.

Of course it is no surprise that businesses try to take advantage of customers, exploiting their forgetfulness: more than one industry bases a lot of its business model on this.

My question is very simple: what is the law on this? Is there any ground to file a formal complaint? Who can this be escalated to? Or is it all just part of a 'free' market so I just have to suck it up?
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DrSnoosnoo
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PostPosted: 10:48 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is common knowledge that they will seemingly pick a number out of a hat at renewal and hope that you don't shop around. Ultimately, they can quote what they want.

Give them a call to show your displeasure in their automated renewal vs a new quote and that while searching you have found another insurer, at a similar price who you will be taking your business with.
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 10:48 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Do what I did .
I instructed my insurance company not to automaticly renew my policy without contacting me first.


I told them that if they did , I would cancel my policy and see them in court if I had to!
Hey presto! now they call me each year .
I also tell them that as I have NEVER EVER claimed, I expect my premium to go down.
I also remind them that there are plenty of other insurance companies out there who can also give a quote Smile
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Ste
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PostPosted: 10:51 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Londoner2015 wrote:
My question is very simple: what is the law on this? Is there any ground to file a formal complaint? Who can this be escalated to? Or is it all just part of a 'free' market so I just have to suck it up?

Go to a different insurance company.

The extra £80 for auto renewal is the price of laziness.
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 10:51 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
I have already found a better quote elsewhere. I would just like to know if there is a way to escalate my complaint and to inflict as much 'damage' to them as possible, e.g. is this against any specific regulation, etc?
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Ste
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PostPosted: 10:52 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laughing

No.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 10:52 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Londoner2015 wrote:
If I go to Devitt's website

Why would you go there rather than to any other site, including www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk ?


Londoner2015 wrote:
My question is very simple: what is the law on this? Is there any ground to file a formal complaint? Who can this be escalated to? Or is it all just part of a 'free' market so I just have to suck it up?

None, no, nobody, yes, enjoy the taste.

It's a loyalty penalty, get used to it.
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spears
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PostPosted: 10:54 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Literally nothing you can do, it's the price you pay for not doing the leg work, hence the price they charge you for doing it for you. That is a service they are charging you for. No laws broken, no kittens harmed.

Call them or pay it, then move on with your life.
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Silver_Fox
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PostPosted: 11:04 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Londoner2015 wrote:
I have already found a better quote elsewhere. I would just like to know if there is a way to escalate my complaint and to inflict as much 'damage' to them as possible, e.g. is this against any specific regulation, etc?



Get a gf Laughing
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 11:27 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Londoner2015 wrote:
I would just like to know if there is a way to escalate my complaint and to inflict as much 'damage' to them as possible, e.g. is this against any specific regulation, etc?


I'm confused, the Insurance company gave you a renewal quote and if you forgot to review/research alternatives then this would 'kick-in' so that you aren't un-insured for any period of time, although it would have been at a 'lazy guy' price because you hadn't done anything about it.
But you seem to think it's wrong for them to do this.
Why is this wrong?

I understand you're not happy with the price but that's the way insurance works? You're not obliged to use the auto-renewal but equally it's there if you are a lazy git....
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Albigularis
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PostPosted: 11:32 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:
I understand you're not happy with the price but that's the way insurance works? You're not obliged to use the auto-renewal but equally it's there if you are a lazy git....


True, but it should be opt-in rather than opt-out.

The best thing is, they're allowed to do all this stuff, and it's a regulated industry! Imagine what goes on in those industries which aren't.
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anthony_r6
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PostPosted: 11:34 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:
Londoner2015 wrote:
I would just like to know if there is a way to escalate my complaint and to inflict as much 'damage' to them as possible, e.g. is this against any specific regulation, etc?


I'm confused, the Insurance company gave you a renewal quote and if you forgot to review/research alternatives then this would 'kick-in' so that you aren't un-insured for any period of time, although it would have been at a 'lazy guy' price because you hadn't done anything about it.
But you seem to think it's wrong for them to do this.
Why is this wrong?

I understand you're not happy with the price but that's the way insurance works? You're not obliged to use the auto-renewal but equally it's there if you are a lazy git....


Insurance shouldn't work like this though- At the very least you should have the option to decide whether or not there is auto-renewal on your insurance. It's clearly an attempt to over-charge people for forgetting about their insurance.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 11:38 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
pepperami wrote:
I instructed my insurance company not to automaticly renew my policy without contacting me first.
I told them that if they did , I would cancel my policy and see them in court if I had to!
...
I also remind them that there are plenty of other insurance companies out there who can also give a quote Smile


They know there are loads of insurance companies out there and that you're not obliged to renew with them.
But now you've no automatic cover to fall back on. Now the emphasis is on you to know the renewal date of your policy and to act accordingly.
If you forget (something life important gets in the way) and you don't renew it (with them or elsewhere) and you get stopped by the Popo then they can (will?) take your bike (hopefully you wouldn't have had an accident uncovered) whereas with the auto-renew that worked as a safety net.
It's a way of making sure that anyone driving without insurance has made the active decision to risk it (rather than just 'forgotten' it as used to be easily done) and the law will (they say) come down on the appropriately.
They know very few people will actually use the 'auto-renewal' part because it's expensive but some do because they don't have the time to sort an alternative.
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Last edited by Alpineandy on 11:52 - 24 Mar 2016; edited 1 time in total
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 11:41 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Albigularis wrote:
True, but it should be opt-in rather than opt-out.

The best thing is, they're allowed to do all this stuff, and it's a regulated industry! Imagine what goes on in those industries which aren't.


Other industries aren't obligatory like road insurance, if they were then they'd do the same.
There are far too many idiots that haven't opted into organ donations, so having an 'opt in' would defeat the object which is to reduce the number of uninsured tossers on the road.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 11:43 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
AnPhonEh wrote:
Insurance shouldn't work like this though- At the very least you should have the option to decide whether or not there is auto-renewal on your insurance.
It's clearly an attempt to over-charge people for forgetting about their insurance.


So you'd rather people forgot their insurance and drove uninsured?????

Really, Auto renew is just a safety net for those people that forget because life gets in the way.
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AdamEf
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PostPosted: 11:52 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's a fairly standard scenario that most insurance, utility costs etc go up each year nowadays if you accept the auto renewals. Phone them Say you want the price you see online. Or tell them the price you have elsewhere that you'll be taking and cancelling their renewal. If they better or match it stay, if not go elsewhere. You have to check prices every year nowadays. There is no loyalty advantage in any line of business.
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 11:54 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:

at a 'lazy guy' price because you hadn't done anything about it.
But you seem to think it's wrong for them to do this.
Why is this wrong?


I didn't forget to check , i did check well in advance. I was just wondering if there is any regulation that should force insurers to be transparent or fair with their pricing, and if I can therefore file any formal complaint. Most people on this forum seem to think there isn't.
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 11:55 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
Londoner2015 wrote:
If I go to Devitt's website

Why would you go there rather than to any other site, including www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk ?

Because I wanted to see how much the very same insurer would charge a new customer. This doesn't mean I will buy my new policy there, of course!
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 11:57 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:
AnPhonEh wrote:
Insurance shouldn't work like this though- At the very least you should have the option to decide whether or not there is auto-renewal on your insurance.
It's clearly an attempt to over-charge people for forgetting about their insurance.


So you'd rather people forgot their insurance and drove uninsured?????

Really, Auto renew is just a safety net for those people that forget because life gets in the way.


There should at least be the option whether to autorenew or not. I was not given such option. Many businesses make it very easy to sign up to their services and very painful to cancel. Even Which, supposedly consumers' rights champion, lets you sign up online, but forces you to call their call centre and wait a while before you can cancel your subscription.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 11:57 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
AdamEf wrote:
It's a fairly standard scenario that most insurance, utility costs etc go up each year nowadays if you accept the auto renewals.


Exactly.
The auto-renew letter/email/whatever is just a 'first contact'.
It's for you to see and say to yourself 'OK it's due soon, I better see what alternatives I've got', and if you don't do that because you're in the middle of a pregnancy/house move/job move etc then you won't suddenly find yourself at the side of the road trying to explain to a policeman that you'd forgotten all about your bike/car insurance and please please please don't take it away and crush it.
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 12:01 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Londoner2015 wrote:
There should at least be the option whether to autorenew or not. I was not given such option. Many businesses make it very easy to sign up to their services and very painful to cancel. Even Which, supposedly consumers' rights champion, lets you sign up online, but forces you to call their call centre and wait a while before you can cancel your subscription.


Yes you were given the option not to renew. Just call them and say 'I'm renewing elsewhere', that's the option.
It's only automatic if you do nothing about it.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 12:02 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:
So you'd rather people forgot their insurance and drove uninsured?????

Other people? Sure. We've been over this - third parties will lose out and it makes individuals more responsible for their actions, not less.
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 12:03 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Alpineandy wrote:

They know very few people will actually use the 'auto-renewal' part because it's expensive but some do because they don't have the time to sort an alternative.


Other industries are at least more transparent about the short term nature of some deals. Lock in a given rate for your saving account or mortgage for x years now, and after that it's up to you to renegotiate. Insurance, instead, is supposed to price risk by discriminating statistically and scientifically among policyholders, identifying the least and the most risky. This in theory; in practice, the black box approach to pricing allows them to rip us off however they want. Very same customer profile (same inputs) should lead to same output ( same policy price) regardless of whether it's a renewal or not. of course it doesn't work this way...
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Londoner2015
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PostPosted: 12:04 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
Alpineandy wrote:
So you'd rather people forgot their insurance and drove uninsured?????

Other people? Sure. We've been over this - third parties will lose out and it makes individuals more responsible for their actions, not less.


I don't mind if policies are auto-renewed, as long as:

  • there is an option to opt out of the autorenewal
  • the price for renewals and for new customers should be the same, all else being equal
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Alpineandy
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PostPosted: 12:05 - 24 Mar 2016    Post subject: Re: Insurance autorenewal more expensive: can I file a compl Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
Alpineandy wrote:
So you'd rather people forgot their insurance and drove uninsured?????

Other people? Sure. We've been over this - third parties will lose out and it makes individuals more responsible for their actions, not less.


The benefits of road insurance are not the subject of the OPs point.
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