Finding an insurer with good customer service

[kobiner]

Hallo, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/advice on finding insurers with (on the whole) good customer service. (I had a look through the insurance thread but it didn't seem to have anything in particular on this.)

While I've figured out finding varying prices and what services/extras you receive for those, what seems to vary wildly is the opinion of what service they offer when something goes 'wrong'. I had a difficult experience once with a poor car insurer, so I thought I'd see if I could find a nice balance between cost and quality for the bike!

I'm renewing my insurance at present for a YBR 125 on a CBT license (1 year following a previously expired CBT). The current insurer, H&R, has quotes for £370 and £300 via KGM and Zenith. Reviews for the latter are somewhat scathing, but the two quotes seemed a bit high, so thought I'd turn to online comparison tools.

They work out that I could get insurance for as low as £150ish (Devitt, Hastings) - and then there's a whole bunch in the £170 - £200 range. (I.e. Bennetts, MCE, Swinton, Carole Nash.)

So to narrow them down I've been doing the painful thing of checking review sites - and naturally they all have something bad to say about every single one of them. My current insurer (H&R) has been fine to date, but I've not had to do much with them bar a change of address, and the fee for it was made clear up front. (I should note they've otherwise been pretty friendly and available, which is always good - just these quotes seem a bit high from them.)

So, how on earth to choose? Just go for one of the cheaper ones and hope? Or actually read every single review on every site and weigh it up accordingly... /o\ I'm trying to avoid that, mostly because I seem to be going round in circles but I'm not sure what else to do.

If anyone has any advice or thoughts it would be most handy and much appreciated. Thank you.


TL;DR: how do you choose an insurer when you want a good price without compromising too much on customer service in case of a claim, etc.? Review sites seem equally disliking of all of them!

[MC]

Generally people only kick up a fuss when they have a bad experience, it's rare for people to say they had a good experience with an insurance company (maybe cos they're all a bunch of...). Some do seem to have more negative press than others, eBike & Carol Nash you see a lot of bad stuff written about. I think the cheaper online brokers tend to be crap, they're cheap for a reason.

Not sure how helpful this is, if your happy with your current insurer try & get them to match the quotes you got. If they won't see what the policies offer, riding other bikes, breakdown cover etc.
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Polarbear]

All good till you want some money off them.
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Victory Cross Country American tractor.

[JP7]

As above really, reviews are subjective because people are far more likely to take to the review sites to complain than they are to praise.

Insurance companies vary a lot, some people like the customer service given by a company until the point they try and make a claim, when it all goes wrong.

I got on well with Hastings Direct until the point they decided they wanted to charge a king's ransom for a change of bike. But they were really helpful on the phone when I rang to cancel.

Bikesure came out with a really cheap quote... then demanded five separate forms filled in and returned. Then another one that they forgot to ask for... closely followed by a requirement to buy a new lock to satisfy their security stipulations... closely followed by daily emails and letters asking why I hadn't returned the form they'd forgotten to send.

Essentially, go for the best value (most benefits for least spend), and keep your expectations low.

If you're looking for better service then you'd be best off using a broker, who (hopefully!) will do all the legwork for you and give you a slightly more personal service.

[kobiner]

Thanks for the replies! Yus, I have noted the prevalence of bad experiences tending to motivate someone to actually post on a review site. I guess if anything it's the volume/ratio of these vs the better ones, but still. In general you do tend to get what you pay for.

I think I was possibly confusing brokers and insurers for a moment - H&R would be a broker if the packages they're offering are from KGM and Zenith. Which means dealing with the broker, not the possibly less-than-ideal customer services of the insurer. Hm, H&R have always been straightforward, told me of the fees, and been prompt emailing documents and whatnot as needed. Think I'll give them a ring and I think go over my details as there might be some factors that will affect the quote a bit (I think my estimated mileage is far higher than the typical travelled, and the market value of the bike has dropped from what I can tell.) Shall see what they can do.

Well, this has averted me from trying to read *all* the reviews and work out something that way, anyhow. Thanks! Now just to make calls and do paperwork and get the bike back from the MOT/garage place, and then riding can resume.

[Rogerborg]

Why put in so much time and effort up front in order to potentially save time and effort later?

Comparison site, pick the cheapest, click, done, ride.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[P.addy]

H&R are ok.

Proper wangs when it comes to mods/restrictions though.

[c_dug]

Meh, H&R have no problem with my exhausts or my bar end mirrors, no charge either.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[P.addy]

[Nexus Icon]

Swinton usually do right by me but they do charge £26 for mid-policy adjustments, which is horrendous.

They certainly don't charge for non-performance custom and aftermarket parts. They weren't concerned about restriction paperwork (when that was relevant to me) and they didn't add anything to my bike policy after both I and my wife (named rider) had car accidents in the same year.

As long as I don't need to make any changes they're pretty sweet. Also, the call centre is in the UK.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[Harrier Hound]

I'm in the "go cheap and forget about it" camp, cross fingers, hope never to use unless things go nuclear. Ultimately, you can't see them, you can't touch them, their job is to make money - how / why would you trust them / expect them to be nice to you?

[skiptalker]

bennetts being ok for me cheap quote for my honda cb1000

[skiptalker]

bennetts being ok for me cheap quote for my honda cb1000

[iooi]

[-Matt-]

No such thing i'd say.

You are PROBABLY better off going with a larger more well known company in some cases as they have the additional staff to give faster responses.

But regards customer service it depends entirely on
-who you speak to
-what you want
-how much you want
-how much they think they can avoid giving

Roulette essentially. The quieter and simpler of a customer you are, the 'better the service' you will get - doesn't mean you will get the best deals or best response when making a claim though.

I've been with bikesure mainly the last few years and have few gripes so far. But then i haven't had to make a claim. I always contact all insurers via email, that way you have - and they know you have - records of all their correspondence. It also means you can have it clearly in writing, not just some phone-operator rapidly firing jargon and words before you can even process, or they can actually be sure what they're saying in many cases is accurate.

They're all out to make money at the end of the day, thats all you should keep in mind