'Turns out the underwriter is not willing to insure me as I have had 3 cancelled policies in the last 12 months....

[Pluribus]

So I recently agreed to renew my transit custom van insurance with the insurance company it has been insured with for the last 12 months. All went well, happy with my quote, so paid in full. Fast forward to 2 days before my new policy is about to start and I receive a phone call.

Turns out the underwriter is not willing to insure me as I have had 3 cancelled policies in the last 12 months.

I explain that I have bought and sold a few bikes in that time, and the cancellations (change of details) were at my request.

They are not interested in the detail, just the fact that 3 policies have been cancelled. I am not happy with this so request a FOI for all records held by the insurance company and underwriter that so I can see what has contributed to this decision.

I ask for this in writing. My insurance representative tells me this is unreasonable, I explain that I am a customer and am interested that he finds my request unreasonable as I am also recording the conversation and my solicitor will also no doubt be interested as to why my request is unreasonable. At this point he changes his mind and tells me he was wrong and my request is not unreasonable. I ask him to make up his mind, and he agrees it’s not unreasonable.

He asks why I want everything in writing and why a phone call will not do. I explain that it is to make it easier to send items to my solicitor as I don’t intend to let this drop.

Fast forward one day and I get another call to say that the underwriters will not give anything in writing, I explain this unacceptable and they need to write to them and ask.

I am told that the underwriter is not refusing to cover me because they think insurance companies have cancelled my cover, it’s just the number. I challenge this.

I am asked if I want to make this a formal complaint or if the phone call explanation is acceptable. I explain I want to continue with a formal complaint as I feel that the process being used is unfair and unreasonably punitive and is using data held against me that is inaccurate.

This does not go down well. I explain my solicitor is very good, and that I am very happy to dedicate time and money against getting to the bottom of this. I reiterate their obligations under the UKGDPR legislation and point out that I am a customer for a further day and that my FOI request should be actioned with 28 days.

Let’s see where we go. Am I being unreasonable here. I am 57, never made a claim, and was already with the insurance company for the previous 12 months with my van insurance.

P

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Title edited, to better explain the problem.

Richard

 

[Oldrat]

Certainly not unreasonable. If they hold data on you, or with which you can be identified, you are entitled to ask to see it, and to ask to see it in a reasonable format, in writing is the norm, so not unreasonable.

You may not actually get to the ‘document’ in which the underwriter says No, they may well say that it was verbally mentioned, but if there is an email or note, it must be produced.

I’m pretty sure also that insurance applications/ data gets recorded on your credit score.

Well done for being so persistent, keep it up and let us know how you go.

 

[ATT]

I have taken insurance companies to task several times and have always had favourable results, so much so that I had compensation paid to me 12 months after I had left the UK.

Stick it to them.

 

[Wicker]

The UK FOI Act does not generally apply to private companies (some exceptions if they are performing public sector duties).
The Data Protection Act 2018 does allow individuals to request information that a private company may hold about them. This is done via a Subject Access Request. An SAR has a similar response time (1 month) to making a request to a public body under the FOI Act.

 

[er-minio]

Am I being unreasonable here

No you are not.

They are not interested in the detail, just the fact that 3 policies have been cancelled. I am not happy with this so request a FOI for all records held by the insurance company and underwriter that so I can see what has contributed to this decision.

This should be by law, if it isn't already.

 

[Steptoe]

Why would you be so desperate to waste your time and give your money to someone who obviously doesn’t want your business.

 

[King Rat]

Why would you be so desperate to waste your time and give your money to someone who obviously doesn’t want your business.

Now, shopping for insurance the truthful answer to ' have you ever had insurance refused?' is YES - that will impact the premium greatly, if they will quote.

@Pluribus you are lucky you know how to handle such a situation. I wouldn't have known to take that stance and what to ask for and probably just rolled over - that said, I doubt I will ever be in the situation of changing vehicles that often! Mine have to last me decades.

 

[camel_landy]

The UK FOI Act does not generally apply to private companies (some exceptions if they are performing public sector duties).
The Data Protection Act 2018 does allow individuals to request information that a private company may hold about them. This is done via a Subject Access Request. An SAR has a similar response time (1 month) to making a request to a public body under the FOI Act.

^^^ This...

M

 

[r1200rt]

FOI only applies to public bodies. I think you meand a Subject Access Request?

 

[Engineer]

A couple of years ago BMW insurance said that their underwriters didn't want to quote for my auto renewal due to changes in the undewriters criteria. They explicitly stated that they were not refusing to insure me and this would not have any effect on me obtaining a policy from another insurer. It didn't and I found insurance at a better price from elesewhere.

I suspect it was an age thing, but cannot prove that. Insurance companies can discriminate on age.

 

[MILLE_RIDER]

Now, shopping for insurance the truthful answer to ' have you ever had insurance refused?' is YES - that will impact the premium greatly, if they will quote.

I thought the question asked is 'have you ever had an insurance policy cancelled?' as in by the insurer. Insurance companies can refuse (start a policy) to insure whoever they want and there are many reasons why they might make that decision

 

[Pluribus]

Why would you be so desperate to waste your time and give your money to someone who obviously doesn’t want your business.

At the moment I am only wasting their time and their money. There are indeed much better ways I could be spending my time, however, we are all guilty of wasting time and money at some point. I choose this as one of my ways to do so.
I have secured insurance with another firm, but am still keen to understand why changing my bikes, paying for insurance and the cancellation fee should be held against me.

 

[Steptoe]

At the moment I am only wasting their time and their money. There are indeed much better ways I could be spending my time, however, we are all guilty of wasting time and money at some point. I choose this as one of my ways to do so.
I have secured insurance with another firm, but am still keen to understand why changing my bikes, paying for insurance and the cancellation fee should be held against me.

I didn’t know we have 10 year olds on the forum..

You do realise that the money the insurance companies spend is recouped by higher charges to their customers.

 

[Pluribus]

I didn’t know we have 10 year olds on the forum..

You do realise that the money the insurance companies spend is recouped by higher charges to their customers.

I don’t really care what you think. The fact you have responded with a personal insult tells me all I need to know about you.

 

[Steptoe]

I don’t really care what you think. The fact you have responded with a personal insult tells me all I need to know about you.

And your pointless petty childish battle with an insurance company tells me all I need to know

 

[Oldrat]

I would have thought that checking that a business does not hold incorrect data about you is hardly childish

 

[Pluribus]

I would have thought that checking that a business does not hold incorrect data about you is hardly childish

That is exactly my point.
It’s best not to argue the point with a bloke with over 70,000 posts. Life is too short.

 

[Wapping]

Surely, over the past 12 months, you hold all the records. You know which vehicles you insured, you know the three that you sold and then requested three cancellations for. What other information are you asking for? What are you going to do with it, if and when you do receive it?

Is the underwriter (the insurance company) of the custom Transit van’s insurance the same as the underwriter of the three bikes?

Is the broker the same for the customer Transit van’s insurance, as for the bikes?

Who actually said that they would not renew the custom Transit van’s insurance, after you had been offered renewal and paid the annual renewal premium in full? Was it:

(A) The broker

(B) The underwriter (the insurance company)

Though rare, the underwriter (the insurance company) can opt not to renew. In your case, there was offer (made by the broker, we assume) of renewal. You accepted the offer and paid the premium. The fly in the ointment is that all of this was done in advance of the renewal date, which (of course) is not uncommon. In other words, the contract (your annual motor policy for the customer Transit van) had not incepted; before that date, there is no contract.

Unless there is more to the story, it looks as if you might have approached this the wrong way, perhaps? Instead of launching some attack on the data someone holds on you, a better way might have been to complain in writing, that:

1. You had been offered renewal.

2. You had accepted the offer.

3. You had paid the full annual premium.

4. Then, with no warning, two days before inception you had been told that items one, two and three had been scrapped. This caused you distress and no little inconvenience.

5. You would like to receive a full, written, explanation why item four occurred.

That written complaint would take maybe five minutes of your time to create and dispatch. Once done, the clock is ticking at their end. You waste very little of your own time and they have to answer within a reasonably short period. That, if that was your intention, uses up their time when their staff could have been employed more usefully.

Making a formal written complaint of this type does, if it is not resolved to your satisfaction, open the door to approaching the Ombudsman for resolution. Very few brokers and underwriters want or need to pick a fight with the Ombudsman; who is generally on the side of the man on the Clapham omnibus ie. you.

 

[Steptoe]

I would have thought that checking that a business does not hold incorrect data about you is hardly childish

If you took the time to read and absorb the contents of the post - The data isn’t incorrect.
I wasted my precious time reading it when I could’ve been posting my usual bollox on the forum

 

[Oldrat]

@Steptoe

“I am not happy with this so request a FOI for all records held by the insurance company and underwriter that so I can see what has contributed to this decision.”

And by a more than reasonable inference to make sure that the information that they hold is accurate.

Duece!


Still, I much prefer to enjoy your pics with the stars than us waffling on about SARs.