"Crookedness". I also considered the terms "Scamming" and "Mugging" for this blogpost's title. I have written about insurance companies before and how they try to push up premiums to the max without, apparently, being brought to heel by the law. Because they seem to be able get away with it scot-free, they continue to do it. Here are three previous posts where I bang on about the very same subject - BANG! BANG! BANG!
From memory, here is the transcript of a phone call I made just this morning to the big, nationwide insurance company that currently provides my car insurance:-
CHIBUZO Hello you are through to Chibuzo . How can I help you today?
PUDDING I want to talk about my new car insurance premium.
CHIBUZO Why? What seems to be the problem?
PUDDING Well I am quite shocked that it has increased a full 20% on last year's premium so I was wondering if there was any way of reducing it?
CHIBUZO The best I can do is to reduce it to £378.07
PUDDING Well that sounds a much more reasonable figure. And the insurance details remain exactly the same?
CHIBUZO Yes. Just the same. Do you wish to accept the new offer?
PUDDING Okay, I'll take it.
CHIBUZO I will send you the revised insurance details by e-mail.
PUDDING Will the previous automatic renewal be cancelled?
CHIBUZO Yes. No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you today?
PUDDING No but thanks for dealing with my issue so swiftly.
CHIBUZO No problem. Enjoy the rest of your day.
PUDDING Goodbye!
One of the things that surprised me about this phone call was that Chibuzo must have been able to get all my details up on screen just through my phone number. I did not have to read out my policy number nor spell my name - nothing like that.
It was also surprising that there was no need for a small battle of wills. Chibuzo caved in and offered the reduced premium immediately. Making that four minute call saved me exactly £26. So that is £26 (American: $32.35) in my pocket and not in the vaults of the insurance company.
I have had this kind of experience many times now and it is all so very wrong. Undoubtedly, some "customers" will pay increased bills without querying them - perhaps naively believing that legitimate insurance companies would never rip them off.
And if you are wondering about the illustration at the top, it concerns an old English nursery rhyme:-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
My oldest son who lives with me and I have been wondering the same thing about our insurance company. My son was worried because his premium had risen so much each year so he contacted the agency and they said they could switch him to another company they represent that would save him money and change the coverage just a little but it would still be good. He saved half the amount he had been paying so instead of around $800 he will pay around $400! So now I am having them check my policies. Why don't these agents reach out and let us know about deals or discounts we might get!?! Frustrating!
ReplyDeleteWhy do you have an agent? Can't you just go direct online to get quotes from insurance companies? Nobody has an insurance agent here.
DeleteYour annual premium is only $378??? Even if that's for one car and just liability insurance, what a steal! If it's for more than one car and full coverage, you should thank your lucky stars you live in England and not across the pond! We pay around $1600 for our two vehicles, and that's an almost 30 year old truck with just the bare minimum liability insurance on it, and my 2014 Toyota Scion with "full" coverage. And we're both middle and older aged drivers with spotless driving histories.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I really hate living here.
Shirley has a little runaround car too and insurance is paid separately on that. Together we pay $829 US for comprehensive insurance. Looking at what Ellen said above maybe you should check out if you are paying too much.
DeleteI have the same experiences. You can go after a better deal , but all the other people end up paying more .
ReplyDeleteIt is a form of robbery that appears to be legal.
DeleteIt always pays to ask for a better deal or suggest leaving for another company. They rely on the lazy/unaware.
ReplyDeleteThat nursery rhyme has always been one of my favourites but I have no idea why.
They are cunning and do not appear to value loyalty.
DeleteAs I have learned from Carlos, it never hurts to ask for a discount. The worst thing you could hear is a 'No' and then you simply take your business elsewhere if possible
ReplyDeleteYes Bob. It is indeed as simple as that.
DeleteIt is quite common now that your details will come up just by the phone number you use. Good work on the policy. That's money in your pocket, not in the bank of a no doubt multinational.
ReplyDeleteBy writing these blogposts I hope that a few more people will challenge increases.
Delete"without querying" is exactly why they do it and get away with it.
ReplyDeleteI remember that Crooked Man poem and love the picture you found.
I found a few pictures of the crooked man but I likes that one best.
DeleteAgencies don't reach out to customers in order to get them a better deal, because they profit from high premiums of course. So, if the premium is lower, their profit is lower, too. A REALLY good agent will still have his customers' best interest at heart and get them a better deal on his own initiative; a customer who trusts you will bring in more customers, such as their own children, friends and so on.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, one of my main employers is an insurance company. In Germany, the entire financial sector is heavily regulated, and we (like all insurance companies) are constantly checked out by the overseeing authorities. There are annual checks with actual staff from them working on site, as well as a huge amount of reporting we have to do not just every year, but also in many other instances, such as when we employ a new service provider etc.
Short of asking what you had for breakfast, the authorities really want to know everything we do and are constantly breathing down our necks. It is a mystery to me how any company get away with illegal stuff, but they still do, judging from what gets through to the news occasionally.
It's a big con when they only reduce after you get in touch with them. He gave no excuse for the rise, like for instance, inflation.
ReplyDeleteNo. This time the agent made no attempt to justify the con.
DeleteHubby checks on line every year, he does the same for phones and power, it does save us so much money. I hate the way they wriggle out when it comes to paying after a claim.
ReplyDeleteWell that is another story isn't it Marlene? But I have always found them to be okay about car claims.
DeleteYou should have checked first with a comparison site like Which? Switch, or Comparethemarket or GoCompare. It can take up two or three hours, but sometimes it comes out £100 lower. That being said, the prices have gone up a lot this year because cars full of electronics are more expensive to repair, and parts cost more because of Brexit and inflation, which affects all premiums. Ours was around £120 until around 3 years ago.
ReplyDeleteYes. I did those searches before challenging my insurance company. It is always possible to get cheaper quotes but you have to be careful about the coverage.
DeleteNot much choice here. Only a few insurers cover us in IOM.
ReplyDeleteMay I recommend Ripemoff and Fleeceham?
DeleteYou have got to shop round for everything YP. We ( two of us) went to Tenerife for a week in December and stayed in an hotel with 7 nights b &b for less than six hundred Euros including the four and half hour flights.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great bargain Dave. Was there a bed or did you have to sleep on the floor?
DeleteIt was a proper hotel YP. Buffet breakfast every morning.
DeleteDid you have to do the washing up?
DeleteI remember that nursery rhyme!
ReplyDeleteThis seems to work with energy companies, Internet and phone providers, and pretty much any other long-term subscription services. Unless you threaten to leave they just keep jacking up the price, but if you ask about it they cave. It's a strange business model but they rely on people not to ask.
In my opinion, this business practice should be illegal.
DeleteMr. Moon never met a raise hike he didn't challenge. And all of them magically come down.
ReplyDeleteGood on him!
DeleteThose executives and accountants cost a lot of money, and carve it out of you one pence at at time.
ReplyDeleteWhere profit is king.
DeleteInsurance is certainly a fuzzy business. I pay about $1300 USD for my 2018 Toyota. I have had a few price increases and I've called about them like you did. I feel sorry for people who just accept these things without calling. The cable company is the same way. It is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will all follow The Orange Monster into that New York courtroom.
Deleteas soon as I saw the picture at the top, I immediately thought of "There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile". Great minds. There are definitely some crooked companies about but I have had a great experience today which restores my faith.
ReplyDeleteI dislike companies that raise rates easily and reduce them just as easily. If possible, I will switch to a company that slowly raises rates and doesn't negotiate.
ReplyDelete