Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - Volvo owners club insurance scheme via chris knott insurance

ChrisKnottIns · Jul 11th, 2011, 12:33

Hi,

Firstly an apology. To try to move on from what has become known as the 'Tim issue' we sought to draw a line under what went on before and make a fresh start with the forum, especially bearing in mind that the offending comments reflected an individual's personal opinion and not the views of the company. To avoid re-igniting the old argument we had to be more clinical in our responses and chose to reply to constructive, non-antagonistic, courteous posts only, rather than posts that referred back to old issues. We also chose not to be present on the forum as any one individual but as a corporate entity. That clearly hasn't worked as a strategy given the recent comments. In hindsight, the issue was so far developed that whatever we posted would have been scrutinised, pulled apart and deemed insufficient. But we had to start somewhere. So, we apologise that we haven't done things in the way many of you would have liked. Brian, we'll PM you personally shortly.

Secondly, we will be available on the forum from time to time but will not be as active as Tim was - it became a full-time job just to keep up with posts for each of the forums. We will also not get into protracted public arguments but of course we will answer queries and complaints that are made in an appropriate way.

Thirdly, in the interests of clarity, a note about discounts. Most insurers and brokers will quote a fixed, inflexible rate given by their computer screen. At Chris Knott Insurance we look at you differently and apply our own rate. When we consider you and your car we’re looking at everything, not just the indicators that the computer uses to compile its rate. That means each quote is bespoke and assessed on its own merits. Sometimes this underwriting will go in your favour and the saving will be greater. Sometimes though we’ll decide that the risk is too high and the rate we are up against is just too cheap for us to chase.

However, we’re not about bargain basement. If you’re only ever interested in finding the cheapest possible cover to get you through the legal requirement to have motor insurance maybe (only maybe) we’re not going to be your best option. But if you’re looking for a good quality service that you can rely on, that protects your pride and joy at reasonable rates please give the club scheme a try. The Volvo Owners Club brand is not one of cheapness – it is concerned with quality and value for money. The club insurance scheme follows suit.

Fourthly, the commission generated by the insurance scheme helps the club to keep membership costs down and to provide an excellent quality magazine plus additional services. So, all members benefit indirectly whether they take out the insurance or not. That's pretty equitable isn't it? And those who have taken out the cover have done so because they've got value for money.

Finally, regardless of where this goes, no insurer will be good enough to cover 100% of the membership. We know too from a number of the other forums that some of those who promise commission don't pay or are relaxed about the accuracy of numbers sold. Some only pay for the initial introduction. Chris Knott Insurance pays without fail every quarter, we track all business coming from the club and pay commission on every policy sold - even when we cross-sell additional policies to members further down the line (without involving the club). We also pay the commission every year that a member renews with us, for the entire life of the policy.

As is common with many forums, the negative feedback is the only feedback you'll see on here - you'll rarely hear from the happy clients. We recently asked a cross-section of clients (around 1,000) how they rated us (out of 6)on service, helpfulness, advice/expertise, accessibility, integrity and value for money. Here are the results:

Service - 79% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 60% rated us 5 or 6)
Accessibility - 67% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 55% rated us 5 or above)
Helpfulness - 88% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 61% rated us 5 or 6)
Integrity - 78% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 65% rated us 5 or 6)
Advice/Expertise - 78% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 57% rated us 5 or 6)
Value for money - 81% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 50% rated us 5 or 6)

As you'd expect, it's not 100% perfection but the results are very positive.

We genuinely seek to help the membership, not exploit it. We hope this answers most of the gripes but if we've missed something we're happy to comment further.

This time it has been Nick posting, in future it may be either Paul or Andy, depending on which area of the business the post relates to.

Jul 11th, 2011, 12:33	#106
ChrisKnottIns Trader Last Online: Jan 2nd, 2024 13:29 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hastings	Hi, Firstly an apology. To try to move on from what has become known as the 'Tim issue' we sought to draw a line under what went on before and make a fresh start with the forum, especially bearing in mind that the offending comments reflected an individual's personal opinion and not the views of the company. To avoid re-igniting the old argument we had to be more clinical in our responses and chose to reply to constructive, non-antagonistic, courteous posts only, rather than posts that referred back to old issues. We also chose not to be present on the forum as any one individual but as a corporate entity. That clearly hasn't worked as a strategy given the recent comments. In hindsight, the issue was so far developed that whatever we posted would have been scrutinised, pulled apart and deemed insufficient. But we had to start somewhere. So, we apologise that we haven't done things in the way many of you would have liked. Brian, we'll PM you personally shortly. Secondly, we will be available on the forum from time to time but will not be as active as Tim was - it became a full-time job just to keep up with posts for each of the forums. We will also not get into protracted public arguments but of course we will answer queries and complaints that are made in an appropriate way. Thirdly, in the interests of clarity, a note about discounts. Most insurers and brokers will quote a fixed, inflexible rate given by their computer screen. At Chris Knott Insurance we look at you differently and apply our own rate. When we consider you and your car we’re looking at everything, not just the indicators that the computer uses to compile its rate. That means each quote is bespoke and assessed on its own merits. Sometimes this underwriting will go in your favour and the saving will be greater. Sometimes though we’ll decide that the risk is too high and the rate we are up against is just too cheap for us to chase. However, we’re not about bargain basement. If you’re only ever interested in finding the cheapest possible cover to get you through the legal requirement to have motor insurance maybe (only maybe) we’re not going to be your best option. But if you’re looking for a good quality service that you can rely on, that protects your pride and joy at reasonable rates please give the club scheme a try. The Volvo Owners Club brand is not one of cheapness – it is concerned with quality and value for money. The club insurance scheme follows suit. Fourthly, the commission generated by the insurance scheme helps the club to keep membership costs down and to provide an excellent quality magazine plus additional services. So, all members benefit indirectly whether they take out the insurance or not. That's pretty equitable isn't it? And those who have taken out the cover have done so because they've got value for money. Finally, regardless of where this goes, no insurer will be good enough to cover 100% of the membership. We know too from a number of the other forums that some of those who promise commission don't pay or are relaxed about the accuracy of numbers sold. Some only pay for the initial introduction. Chris Knott Insurance pays without fail every quarter, we track all business coming from the club and pay commission on every policy sold - even when we cross-sell additional policies to members further down the line (without involving the club). We also pay the commission every year that a member renews with us, for the entire life of the policy. As is common with many forums, the negative feedback is the only feedback you'll see on here - you'll rarely hear from the happy clients. We recently asked a cross-section of clients (around 1,000) how they rated us (out of 6)on service, helpfulness, advice/expertise, accessibility, integrity and value for money. Here are the results: Service - 79% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 60% rated us 5 or 6) Accessibility - 67% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 55% rated us 5 or above) Helpfulness - 88% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 61% rated us 5 or 6) Integrity - 78% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 65% rated us 5 or 6) Advice/Expertise - 78% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 57% rated us 5 or 6) Value for money - 81% rated us 4 or more out of 6 (of which 50% rated us 5 or 6) As you'd expect, it's not 100% perfection but the results are very positive. We genuinely seek to help the membership, not exploit it. We hope this answers most of the gripes but if we've missed something we're happy to comment further. This time it has been Nick posting, in future it may be either Paul or Andy, depending on which area of the business the post relates to.