Car Insurance bail hooks

[TANGODANCER]

You need insurance against almost everything these days and they have you over a barrel. How many insurance companies ever go bust?

[malcd1]

You need insurance against almost everything these days and they have you over a barrel. How many insurance companies ever go bust?

Well I can remember two in the last decade - Independent Insurance and Quinn Insurance. Both very big.

[malcd1]

The problem with the Commercial Direct insurance (Home, contents, car) is that it has become very, very competitive because of the on-line Go Compare type web sites. All major insurance companies have been paying around £130 in claims for every £100 taken in premiums. This is not a business model that could continue for the long term. It only took one company to put up premiums to a realistic amount and the rest followed.

Don't get me wrong, insurance companies are their own worst enemies. They have been exposed this week for selling their customer details to the No Win - No Fee sharks, which is a disgrace. What they have said is - someone is going to sell these details for a £1000 it may as well be us to reduce our overall costs.

Insurance companies have also been criticised for escalating the company 'claims culture'. For example, an employee puts in a spurious claim for injuring himself at work when everyone knows he did it playing football at the weekend. It would cost a minimum of £10k to fight it in the courts or they could pay the employee £3k to settle. On the face of it, it makes sense to settle for a much lower value but this starts a snowball effect which doesn't help anyone and certainly not the insured.

[TANGODANCER]

Aye, malcd1, I really should stop thinking ideal worlds. "Whiplash" or the faking of it must have ripped the guts out of the insurance companies. Add fake accidents and injuries, fake burglaries etc and I suppose honesty doesn't come into anything any more.

[jonnybwfc]

What's the story with protecting your no claims discount ?

You pay a bit more, and the insurance company pretends you never claimed ?

Is that right, or am I way off the mark ?

That's the way it was explained to me (in round-about terms) by my insurance company. Pretty sure that doesn't happen in other countries.

[Annoyed Grunt]

What's the story with protecting your no claims discount ?

You pay a bit more, and the insurance company pretends you never claimed ?

Is that right, or am I way off the mark ?

That's the way it was explained to me (in round-about terms) by my insurance company. Pretty sure that doesn't happen in other countries.

You don't lose your no claims if the accident/claim is your fault. They will still load for claim though.

[CAPSLOCK]

Bolton premiums have gone up

And it's not unrelated to the Asian criminals in the town