ATTENTION

[SteveC]

I thought i would inform you of some shocking information that i found out while renewing my insurance.

When i purchased my Trophy last september Direct Line were my current insurers, so i phoned them and payed the additional £250. I payed this got the paper work through all was fine.

Last week contacted Direct Line again got my renewal and was relitivley happy with the price £720. Payed the deposit and sorted the direct debit, gave them my reg number, and waited for my docs to arrive.

12.25pm 2/5/06 a full 25 mins after my previouse Insurance ran out, i get a phone call from direct line saying the the insurance they have sold to me dose not cover the Trophy, and only covers the Clio 182 Sport. Therefore the policy was void. They could insure me but it would work out at £795.

So i phone GreenLight and speak to Barrie who has sorted me out with full cover for £757 fully comp which covers the TROPHY.

Word of advice dont automatically assume that your car is covered just because you have given them you Reg Number. I found out that if I had had to make a claim in the first 6 months, they would of had to pay out, but it could of taken anything up to 2/3 years to get full payment. Always check with the company, and make sure that on your documents you have written in balck and white that you own a Trophy.

Hope this helps

Steve

 

[FunkyMunky]

Steve,

I have had similar troubles with Admiral when i recently changed to the Trophy, 3 months into my new policy with them.

Firstly they insured the car as a 182 Cup, then after many arguments they insured it as a 182 Sport, and finally after finally getting through to an English call centre and escalating it to a Team Leader who had a bit more common sense, they finally managed to insure it as a Trophy.

This was even though from day one i told them it was a Trophy and also gave them the registration number......

Gareth

 

[hyb]

I've done my insurance on line with my past 3 cars, always seems to be a better quote and you can select the exact car your insuring. I had the option of Renault sport 182 and renault sport 182 trophy.

Trophy is an insurance group higher so they should have really spotted this, bloody monkeys!

 

[Portland]

The Trophy is a higher group, but if you specified you had a Trophy, not just a 182 this is indeed their error. There are procedures for misquotes like this, and they don't seem to have been followed here. I'd get in touch with Direct line and see if you can get them to stand by their original quote, threatening going to the ABI is the way forward. If you didn't specify Trophy rather than 182, you won't get anywhere, as if they said "Clio 182?" They would contest you should have corrected the error then.

I'd also request the procedure for getting copies of phone call recordings for your calls, especially the call they made to advise you the policy was void. This should also have been done in writing. Could be worth it to save the quids.

BTW, I'm with DL, and they managed to specify the Trophy on my docs.

As an aside, when I worked at NUD (although this was some time ago) if a policy was taken up with this sort of minor misquote, the original price was honoured for the policy year, and the error was reflected in the bonus of the punter that made the foolish misquote. If the error was more serious, the policy was voided after written notice, but discount given on the correct price as a gesture of goodwill.

The most spectacular example was where one of my team did a change of vehicle for someone and didn't go through the full script and confirm all details, as it was last thing on a Friday. He couldn't find the car through the number plate search, so used a manual section of HUON (our emulator of the time) to get a likely sounding Metro for the year. Quote was given, queried as it was very cheap and eagerly taken up. The policyholder complained when docs came through and the wrong model was specified. When I reviewed the call, the policyholder's version of events was indeed true. The policyholder had indeed specified "Yes, the one with the big engine" the agent had assumed this to be the 1.3l, which was quite nippy. The policyholder actually had one of these:

http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?mgrev6r4f.htm

Needless to say, we coudn't insure this for £104 per annum fully comp!

If you do supply the correct information, but an error is made by the insurer, they have to stand by the policy in the event of a claim provided you make them aware of any error within a reasonable time. (ie you should review your policy documents when you get them and advice you have a rally car rather than a 1.3!) If you do not make them aware of the error, things get more complicated. In the case of Trophy vs 182, this is dodgy ground, but there is enough doubt to have a go.

Enough rambling anyway. My advice to anyone is be VERY specific when quoting for your insurance and report any error you notice, no matter how tempting it is to save a few quid.

 

[ducks butt]

Use a broker. Then no comebacks. lol

I'm with Admiral, from last sept and on my policy is states Trophy and they knew about them.

 

[oliie]

I had the same issue with Direct Line.

I gave them my registration number and they gave me a quote for a 182. I then told them it was actually a Trophy and the premium went up by £75.

Unfortunately the burden is on us to ensure the details held by the insurance company are accurate.

I will be renewing my policy with Greenlight this year.

Cheers
O.