Horse Insurance - Renewals Scam

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FMM

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www.absolutelymad.co.uk
I received the premium for Toby's pony today. The premium came in at £450. I thought this was a little excessive, so went on line, reduced the value of the pony, and got a result of £347 which seemed more reasonable.

I called the company, spoke to the agent and asked her to change the cover with the reduced value. The new premium was £407.68.

I asked her why it was cheaper on line. The reply REALLY irritated me:

"because you get a discount for buying on line"

So I asked her to explain why repeat business was penalised. - She didn't know.

So I then said that I would purchase the insurance on line which would ensure I got the cheaper price. The gleeful reply was:

"But if you do that then it will be considered new insurance and therefore you won't be covered for anything other than accidents for 14 days".

OK, my next response was that this was OK as my insurance was not due until 19th April, and therefore if I bought the new insurance today, my 14 days would be covered - although the company would obviously receive an extra 14 days premium from me. Even more gleefully (if that was possible) I was told:

"You can't do that as you can't have two lots of insurance at the same time for the same animal".

So, basically I could pay over £50 extra on the premium (because I am a good customer and obviously deserve to pay more than any Tom, Dick and Harry that happens to find their on line quotes) or I can go on line and get the discount, but not be completely covered for 14 days. Bearing in mind I have NEVER claimed on any horse insurance so must be seen as a good customer.

So I found some new insurance which was cheaper than BOTH the prices above. So "goodbye" Stoneways Insurance Services
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and "Hello" Shearwater
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I can't believe this! I have just received my renewal today - also due on 19 April. It has gone up by over 10% which I think is taking a liberty. It is now £550.53 which at £45.75 for one horse is excessive. I have almost thrown my 'puter through the window as trying to google other insurance companies is doing my head in. Anu suggestions as to where to try (currently with Petplan - and have never claimed!) I am still in a rage at them thinking putting up premiums by 10% is OK - aaarrrhhhhggggghhh
 
I found Pet Plan to be much more expensive than NFU for same level of cover.
I just do it by phone to our local office.
 
This happens with utilities and other bills. If you phone company and say you are leaving they sometimes do a deal.Used to insure my car with Saga. No claims.Went on line and found cheaper by more than £100. Went with this. When renewal came up went on confused .com and guess what?.Saga came up cheapest. About half of my original saga insurance. So they lost couple of years premiums.
 
I can understand if they are more expensive than another one. What I will not accept is that they find it perfectly OK to load the premium by £50 and yet are happy to discount it on line (whilst not be able to offer it to their renewal customers). This is not the same as finding a different insurance company that was cheaper (although that is what I did in the end!) as I was happy to stay with Stoneways until I realised they were taking the p.
 
I changed nearly all my insurance companies this year car & horses. Petplan did the same to me put one of my policys up by 10%. I have another horse with them so im waiting on the renewal for that.

I eventually went with AM Trust for my main comp horse. Wish these insurance companies would sort themselves out, it is unfair that new customers get the good deals. They just entice you in then the next year sting you.
 
This sounds identical to when I was looking for car insurance. If I stayed with the same company and changed details over the 'phone they would charge me over £200 more than if I did it on line. When I queried this and mentioned customer loyalty I just got laughed at. Needless to say I found cheaper insurance elsewhere!

I have just received my horse renewal through the post today so will go and do some ringing round I think!
 
I understand that it is best to shop around, but when the company has been caught out they should match their on line price to their renewal quote - how can they possibly justify charging an existing customer £50 extra.

The car insurance companies don't do that, so I really don't expect it from horse insurance companies.
 
The good deals for new customers is simply to tempt them in, they hope at renewal customers will just renew rather than look around again.

and yes, car insurance companies do do this.
 
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I understand that it is best to shop around, but when the company has been caught out they should match their on line price to their renewal quote - how can they possibly justify charging an existing customer £50 extra.


[/ QUOTE ]

I agree - if they don't match it, then it doesn't say much for them trying to keep the same clients.

I'm toying with putting my insurance premiums into a bank account this year as it the cost is getting beyond a joke.
 
Tis what they call - Business

Charge what you think you can get away with.... if the company in question carries on like this... how many customers would you expect to query the charges...

The majority of insurance customers, never claim, so they are "happy" with the insurance provider serice... at the end of each period, they simply renew the policy at whatever cost... simply because people don't have the time or can't be bothered to seek out cheaper better deals. The insurance provider counts on this being the case and uses the situation to discount new buyer policies, therefore the circle continues.

Let's face it, the only time we really question the policy value and quality is in the unfortunate circumstance of having to make a claim, then truth comes out!!
 
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