Insurance - a heartfelt warning! - Page 4

kenny · Apr 13th, 2015, 20:31

I'm sorry but I feel There is something not quite right with this post by a new member that only joined today 13/4/15 but claims to have been a long time lurker making his first post. This incident happened 2 months ago and he has been right through the claims procedure with his insurer and an appeal with the ombudsman. All seams a bit to quick for me plus some of the claimed action by the insurance company sound to far fetched. This sounds like an over the top thread by someone with a grudge.

That said it a good topic. Anyone who doesn't declared everything these days is taking a big chance, gone are the days when you can just say oh it's just a basic Capri when it is in fact a Ghia.
I have just insured a brand new Mini Cooper D, I have had to declare every optional extra even though they were all factory fitted, they are classed as modifications. The car has a Chilli pack which gives it a massive amount of extra kit but these are classed as standard to the chilli spec. A basic mini comes with 15" steel wheels as standard, the Chilli pack Comes with 16" alloy wheels. These are classed as standard to that model however we opted for 17". This is a modification as are the bonnet stripes, LED headlights, tinted rear windows, auto dimming rear mirror and a load more things. I had to get the price of every extra took me about 2 hours but with out doing this I would have lied when drawing up the contract between my insurer and I. Calling this fraud is a bit strong, this is one of the suspect claims in the post but it certainly would be breach of contract and enough to decline a claim.
If I was at fault my insurer would by law need to settle any third party claim but could then recover this from me due to my breach of contract. If I crashed the car and there were no third party claims they could simply return my premium and decline to pay out.

Blue 8 · Apr 13th, 2015, 20:39

I too don't really understand this thread it's not for me to call out the op but it does sound a bit far fetched.

kieran40 · Apr 13th, 2015, 20:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by volvo145

His statement.
A family friend who has always worked in insurance has helped me to appeal this via Admiral and the ombudsman, but to no avail

Is there more to this than stated?

Be quite forcefull mate don't give in until youre satisfied or a compromise has at least been reached, the aa my insurance company aswel towed my car the wrong way and tore my bumper off I kicked up merry hell after weeks of being thrown to this pillar that pillar, I got in touch with the chief executive in the end after half hour chat on the phone he said take it in to a body shop and get it done, also I got my aa recovery for £10 everything thrown in as a way of a apology. Boy was I spitting feathers because they charged me nearly £200 that night for mis fuelling also for tearing my bumper out. It wasn't a aa patrol someone they ship it out too.

We don't complain enough in Britain lol, I also did it on a train journey years back now they stuffed the train journey up left is stranded and a woman I was chatting too said complain which I duly did I got free rail tickets to anywhere in Britain and a free lunch in the buffet car lol. Ever since then I have taken her advice and if I'm not satisfied I complain like mad

pays off. We are bought up not to make a fuss but big huge company's don't miss things

FIREBOLT · Apr 13th, 2015, 21:00

Hope everyone has declared their Mintex discs & pads or any other patent part like an exhaust from Kwik-fit, as they are not OEM!

cheshired5 · Apr 13th, 2015, 21:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREBOLT

Hope everyone has declared their Mintex discs & pads or any other patent part like an exhaust from Kwik-fit, as they are not OEM!

I'm REALLY panicking now!

My S60 had Belgian compressed air in the tyres at the factory and I've stupidly been running on English compressed air.
I'm going to turn myself in.

FIREBOLT · Apr 13th, 2015, 21:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheshired5

I'm REALLY panicking now!

My S60 had Belgian compressed air in the tyres at the factory and I've stupidly been running on English compressed air.
I'm going to turn myself in.

I'm also worried about my undeclared Magic tree!

tt82 · Apr 13th, 2015, 21:52

How many of you guys are using Tyres other than what where fitted at the time of manufacture or sale. I know those models of tyre will be discontinued now, but still......

kieran40 · Apr 13th, 2015, 22:06

Not me Simon lol I'm on low profiles and after market alloys I also have a magic tree and a England air freshner lol, you would have thought a alloy wheel is a alloy wheel unless you went mad and put 22 inch rims on or something but anything up to 17 I can't see the issue.

Where do roof racks etc come in because my car was never sold with any but I have acquired a genuine set of volvo x40 ones since. They bolt on lol

DXMachina · Apr 13th, 2015, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikewatch

Did you get that in writing? I wouldn't rely on what someone in a call centre told me when the website completely contradicts it. If your insurance paperwork notes that you have an aftermarket stereo then fair enough.

Skyship I presume

skyship007 · Apr 14th, 2015, 13:02

The odd thing about this report is not just the stereo, it's the fraud claim. I kind of think that the OP might have upset Admiral by challenging the rejected claim with the oversight chaps. There was no basis for doing that, as they were well within their rights due to the tyre size not being listed in the owners manual.

Some insurance companies are very agressive in countering complaints against them. When challenged or insulted over the phone (It's recorded), they sometimes fire back by digging into the claim in a real picky manner.

Cheap insurance companies are cheap for a reason and one of them is because they reject a lot of claims. They also seem to pick on owners of sport models or cars that appear sporty in mods terms and some companies will even report RTA violations like bald tyres to the Police. They also check to see if items like a stereo are stolen from the part number and bar code.

It's worth remembering that what an insurance company say over the phone does not really matter much, it's what they write down in a letter or company registered e mail that counts.

The definitions list in the fine print of an Admiral policy seems to be fairly mean in terms of defining what is or is not a mod. Unfortunately very few owners that indulge in modding ever read it.
Most Germans including myself do try and avoid cheap insurance companies and use their own bank. Alas they only produce a sensible quote if they know you and you live locally, so I did you AXA for a while. I've never heard of anyone having a claim rejected for silly reasons by a German bank, although most Germans tend to avoid fitting anything non standard, or even doing basic servicing and are real good at collecting receipts.

Every owner should keep a file of receipts for parts or garage bills, so if you buy parts from Fleabay, just print out the "Suitable for x" from their web site.

PS: The mods will know if this is a sock puppet from the IP.

Apr 13th, 2015, 20:31	#31
kenny Master Member Last Online: Dec 16th, 2020 20:33 Join Date: May 2009 Location: kirknewton	I'm sorry but I feel There is something not quite right with this post by a new member that only joined today 13/4/15 but claims to have been a long time lurker making his first post. This incident happened 2 months ago and he has been right through the claims procedure with his insurer and an appeal with the ombudsman. All seams a bit to quick for me plus some of the claimed action by the insurance company sound to far fetched. This sounds like an over the top thread by someone with a grudge. That said it a good topic. Anyone who doesn't declared everything these days is taking a big chance, gone are the days when you can just say oh it's just a basic Capri when it is in fact a Ghia. I have just insured a brand new Mini Cooper D, I have had to declare every optional extra even though they were all factory fitted, they are classed as modifications. The car has a Chilli pack which gives it a massive amount of extra kit but these are classed as standard to the chilli spec. A basic mini comes with 15" steel wheels as standard, the Chilli pack Comes with 16" alloy wheels. These are classed as standard to that model however we opted for 17". This is a modification as are the bonnet stripes, LED headlights, tinted rear windows, auto dimming rear mirror and a load more things. I had to get the price of every extra took me about 2 hours but with out doing this I would have lied when drawing up the contract between my insurer and I. Calling this fraud is a bit strong, this is one of the suspect claims in the post but it certainly would be breach of contract and enough to decline a claim. If I was at fault my insurer would by law need to settle any third party claim but could then recover this from me due to my breach of contract. If I crashed the car and there were no third party claims they could simply return my premium and decline to pay out. Last edited by kenny; Apr 13th, 2015 at 20:38.

Apr 13th, 2015, 20:39	#32
Blue 8 Premier Member Last Online: Aug 13th, 2015 17:06 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Medway Towns	I too don't really understand this thread it's not for me to call out the op but it does sound a bit far fetched. __________________ Stay away from negative people they have a problem for every solution. Ruby-red pearl 854 GLT 2.5 20v 62k.....Andy

Apr 13th, 2015, 21:00	#34
FIREBOLT Master Member Last Online: Oct 3rd, 2022 09:05 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: The Island	Hope everyone has declared their Mintex discs & pads or any other patent part like an exhaust from Kwik-fit, as they are not OEM! Last edited by FIREBOLT; Apr 13th, 2015 at 21:03.

Apr 13th, 2015, 21:52	#37
tt82 Forum Support Team Last Online: Jun 17th, 2024 09:04 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Here.... obviously!	How many of you guys are using Tyres other than what where fitted at the time of manufacture or sale. I know those models of tyre will be discontinued now, but still...... __________________ The more people I meet, the more I like my dog! 2009 V70 D5 R-Design - Jeade'en

Apr 13th, 2015, 22:06	#38
kieran40 I've Been Banned Last Online: Mar 4th, 2023 12:36 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: paignton	Not me Simon lol I'm on low profiles and after market alloys I also have a magic tree and a England air freshner lol, you would have thought a alloy wheel is a alloy wheel unless you went mad and put 22 inch rims on or something but anything up to 17 I can't see the issue. Where do roof racks etc come in because my car was never sold with any but I have acquired a genuine set of volvo x40 ones since. They bolt on lol Last edited by kieran40; Apr 13th, 2015 at 22:09.

Apr 14th, 2015, 13:02	#40
skyship007 Premier Member Last Online: May 2nd, 2018 08:14 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: DownSouth	The odd thing about this report is not just the stereo, it's the fraud claim. I kind of think that the OP might have upset Admiral by challenging the rejected claim with the oversight chaps. There was no basis for doing that, as they were well within their rights due to the tyre size not being listed in the owners manual. Some insurance companies are very agressive in countering complaints against them. When challenged or insulted over the phone (It's recorded), they sometimes fire back by digging into the claim in a real picky manner. Cheap insurance companies are cheap for a reason and one of them is because they reject a lot of claims. They also seem to pick on owners of sport models or cars that appear sporty in mods terms and some companies will even report RTA violations like bald tyres to the Police. They also check to see if items like a stereo are stolen from the part number and bar code. It's worth remembering that what an insurance company say over the phone does not really matter much, it's what they write down in a letter or company registered e mail that counts. The definitions list in the fine print of an Admiral policy seems to be fairly mean in terms of defining what is or is not a mod. Unfortunately very few owners that indulge in modding ever read it. Most Germans including myself do try and avoid cheap insurance companies and use their own bank. Alas they only produce a sensible quote if they know you and you live locally, so I did you AXA for a while. I've never heard of anyone having a claim rejected for silly reasons by a German bank, although most Germans tend to avoid fitting anything non standard, or even doing basic servicing and are real good at collecting receipts. Every owner should keep a file of receipts for parts or garage bills, so if you buy parts from Fleabay, just print out the "Suitable for x" from their web site. PS: The mods will know if this is a sock puppet from the IP. __________________ 2003 V40 1.9TD Mods: Scratches, bent bumpers, raised REAR mats & internal mud guards. SHELL ULTRA 5/40 & LIQUI MOLY CERATEC. Everyone should DYOR (Do Your Own Research) Last edited by skyship007; Apr 14th, 2015 at 15:33.

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