Sky Insurance: sharp practice?

[Pig]

send them a letter saying your getting a bugatti veyron. They will not insure you on this so you get your full premium back as its not your fault they wont cover you HTH

[Pete]

send them a letter saying your getting a bugatti veyron. They will not insure you on this so you get your full premium back as its not your fault they wont cover you HTH

 

FULL premium? How does that work Jon?

[tooquicktostop]

I had a similar problem with Sky when I sold the TT after just a few months ownership I had paid 3 out of the 4 installments which was £550 of £700 or so, I brought the Camaro and asked to swop the cars over, only to be told they dont do American, so I came away with nothing as a refund and had to insure the car elsewhere, 150 BHP Camaro or a 300+ BHP TT I know which I would consider more risky

[Scooter]

FULL premium? How does that work Jon?

 

full premium but pro rata'd i think he means............

[SUPRASUZUKI]

I had a similar problem with Sky when I sold the TT after just a few months ownership I had paid 3 out of the 4 installments which was £550 of £700 or so, I brought the Camaro and asked to swop the cars over, only to be told they dont do American, so I came away with nothing as a refund and had to insure the car elsewhere, 150 BHP Camaro or a 300+ BHP TT I know which I would consider more risky

 

Yep, the Supra's far safer:d

[charlton]

I've got an M3 now, so I rang Sky to switch the insurance over to the M3 for the remaining 2½ months of my policy. However I was told by the young lady at Sky that the company I was currently insured with (on a 500bhp highly modified Supra) wouldn't touch me for insurance on a bog standard M3. How does that work then?

with us. You just lose that if you go elsewhere"

 

This happened to me with Adrian Flux, I had just over one month left on my insurance on a modified mk2 16v Golf GTI and they wouldn't insure me on the Supra. I lost a whole years no claims which would of been my first on my own insurance and could of saved me a bit - I wish I hadn't told them I had sold the car and kept the policy running to get the year no claims

 

sky sound like a load of crap to me....

 

Sky have been great for me, just renewed for my third year, slightly more expensive than my cheapest but the agreed value wins it for me

[SteveR]

Jake - exactly the same happened when I bought the Supe off you, my (then) current underwriter basically said 'we can't insure THAT!' and so I have to take out a new policy and was thus entitled to a refund (discount off the new policy). If I'd have cancelled I'd have got ~£20 instead of £130. Hobson's choice, but the same broker was cheapest even after I shopped round, so I was only 'down' ~7 months NCD, and as I've got >5 years they said it made jot all difference anyway.

 

It still annoyed me.

 

edit & off topic

P.S. Don't forget to post me those bits please matey!

[Sean1933]

full premium but pro rata'd i think he means............

If they cant offer cover on the new vehicle then they have to give a pro-rata refund.

[juanchan]

Weeell...I don't think for one second I'd approach Sky with a standard car - you can get far superior deals by shopping around. I'm sure you'll save much more in the long run.

 

 

Sky wanted nearly £500 for a TPF&T policy on my 10 year old 1.4 Corsa when less than a month previously I paid them just over £650 for my TT

[Kopite]

I hate insurance when it comes to selling cars. I renewed the Supra in August and mentioned that I'd be selling it at some point, because I pay by Direct Debit, i'd have to pay the insurers the remainder of the premium if i sold early. At the time it was like £500 to pay them to sell the car!

[TopgunTT]

Personally i think we should be looking at changing the club insurer unless they bring back agreed values, with this type of car that is something we all want. There are other insurance companys that do this so maybe its time for a change?

[slow_matt]

In the policy it normally states something about cancelations, e.g:

Cancel after 3 months you get 50%

after 6 months 25%

after 9 months 10%

 

It's normally imposed by the policy rather than by the broker.

 

True

 

If they cant offer cover on the new vehicle then they have to give a pro-rata refund.

 

Not true

 

Brokers have to play by the insurance company's rules set out which is included in the small print generally with documents.

 

Check this when you set up a policy and if you aren't happy try to exercise your 14 canx period or ASK when setting up a policy.

 

Contracts are generally set up for a 12 month period based on the details supplied using the cheapest or most appropriate market at the time.

 

Also as long as brokers stick by what is in the small print I very much doubt the ombudsman would be of any help. Technically there is no legal obligation to offer a refund at all if the insurer has fulfilled the contract as that is the LAW, but the fact that insurers give any refunds at all is a benefit for the consumer!

 

Cheers

 

Matt

 

ps I don't work for sky

[Muffleman]

I wont use Sky again for similar reasons.

[mr keef]

yep i had 2 cars with them,and have moved both to a different insurer,they started off good and are now crap and have been for a while.

[Soop Dogg]

I find this situation different from most of the 'poor refund' threads on here because it's not the policyholder who's cancelling the policy. In this case he only wanted to make a mid-term adjustment to the vehilce covered on the policy, but the insurer (NOT the broker) won't cover the new vehicle. So the insurer is offering a pro-rata refund as they are not in a position to continue cover.

 

However, the Broker (Sky) are now saying that they won't pass this refund on to the insured unless the customer uses them to get a new policy.

 

It looks very much as though there WILL be a refund from the insurer, but Sky are going to keep it for themselves.

 

I'd speak to someone senior at Sky to clarify this, but I'd have thought this is bad practice to say the least.

[Sean1933]

True

 

 

 

Not true

 

Brokers have to play by the insurance company's rules set out which is included in the small print generally with documents.

 

Check this when you set up a policy and if you aren't happy try to exercise your 14 canx period or ASK when setting up a policy.

 

Contracts are generally set up for a 12 month period based on the details supplied using the cheapest or most appropriate market at the time.

 

Also as long as brokers stick by what is in the small print I very much doubt the ombudsman would be of any help. Technically there is no legal obligation to offer a refund at all if the insurer has fulfilled the contract as that is the LAW, but the fact that insurers give any refunds at all is a benefit for the consumer!

 

Cheers

 

Matt

 

ps I don't work for sky

 

I was referring to the insurer, im pretty sure they do have to offer a pro-rata refund as they are the ones that cant complete the contract put in place...because they cant cover the new vehicle.

 

If the broker dont pass the discount onto the insured then this seems a bit out of order. I would like to know the FOS's view on this. Anyone fancy calling them?

[marc_p]

Is this sharp practice common when changing cover between cars mid-policy? Surely they don't all try to shaft their customers like this, do they?

 

Not all, I was with Norwich Union and my insurance on the civic was £800 fc for the year, then when I got the Supra they wouldn't insure me on it(fair enough, quite a big upgrade) so I cancelled with 4 months on the policy left and they gave me £280 back.

[Safely Insured]

Hi, we are concerned about this post, I have sent Jake a PM for his details, without these we cannot investigate.

 

However I was told by the young lady at Sky that the company I was currently insured with (on a 500bhp highly modified Supra) wouldn't touch me for insurance on a bog standard M3. How does that work then?

 

I dont want to go in too much detail as I only have this post to go on.

 

In answer to your question.. we are a Japanese/modifed car insurer... we do not specialise in BMW M3s... M3s have a horrendous claims/loss ratio; much worse than Supras. We tend not to touch that type of vehicle as they are such high risk cars... Just because your Supra has 500BHP doesn't make it higher risk than the M3.

 

I dont want to comment any further for the time being as I do not have the details. My colleague Richard Kemp is very keen to speak to Jake to get this resolved. It is also worth baring in mind that we are an insurance broker and any cancellation/changes to policy charges are dictated by the actual insurer not by us.

 

Hopefully either myself or Jake will be able to update this thread very soon.

 

Regards

 

Ollie

Sky Insurance

[Safely Insured]

 

Sky wanted nearly £500 for a TPF&T policy on my 10 year old 1.4 Corsa when less than a month previously I paid them just over £650 for my TT

 

Again, in response to this; we are modified/jap car specialists, we can insure your Corsa but we may not be as competitive as a standard insurer... having said that we are always worth a phone call... if the Corsa is a second car and you have the main car insured with us we can be VERY competitive.

[tDR]

Good reason to pay insurance monthly???

[Pixelfill]

Not that i have had any dealings with sky yet, but i was just wondering how long they are the club insurers for, is it a yearly vote? Maybe the Mods will know?

 

Personally i think we should be looking at changing the club insurer unless they bring back agreed values, with this type of car that is something we all want. There are other insurance companys that do this so maybe its time for a change?

 

On what basis? I presume that you have contacted Sky since your previous comment. Or have you still had no dealings with them?

 

The selection of a club insurer was always going to be a tricky process, there are so many factors which influence an individuals quote, and although the process was before my time as a member (let alone moderator) I know that Lee looked at all the options thoroughly. Sky provided the best overall package.

 

There is no reason to believe that *IF* we were to go through the process again that Sky wouldn't come out top again. I hope you weren't suggesting that they wouldn't have the opportunity to compete?

 

In Jakes situation, I can understand that a specialist insurer might not be able to cover another marque, and that power is not the only consideration when generating a quote. However the issue of the refund is an important one, which I'm sure Ollie and colleagues are currently investigating further.

 

Mike

[slow_matt]

Good reason to pay insurance monthly???

 

How would that make any difference?

 

With most brokers using credit companies such as Premium Credit LTD (Just about the largest) the policy is paid in full up front by the broker to the insurance company and then the credit company pay the broker. Cancelling the payment will end with bad credit rating and debt collectors!

 

Again, just to confirm, apart from what is stated in the policy details refund wise, if an insurer honours the contract agreed by both parties at the start of the policy there is no legal obligation for a refund what-so-ever!

 

Insurance policies are just a legal contracts straight and simple. Generally consumers do take it for granted that pro rata refunds exist and in an ideal world they would. With the market being so very soft at the moment many companies do offer fantastic rates but large penalties for changes or cancellation.

 

I do sympathise with the low refund but these details should be available or provided as an FSA regualtion.

 

It is not unusual for a broker to retain their commision if a policy is cancelled, as they have again fulfilled their obligation to administer the policy. In some circumstances such as replacing the cover they may be willing to use this against a new policy.

 

ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT!

[juanchan]

Again, in response to this; we are modified/jap car specialists, we can insure your Corsa but we may not be as competitive as a standard insurer... having said that we are always worth a phone call... if the Corsa is a second car and you have the main car insured with us we can be VERY competitive.

 

I think it was Danny I dealt with for both cars. He was very helpful in matching my Adrian Flux quote for the Supra, but couldn't come close for the Corsa unfortunately

 

I think your quote was £470 TPF&T but I ended up paying £310 fully comp elsewhere

 

At the end of the day, the Supra insurance is the important one in my eyes and Sky are club insurers for the reasons you've stated - you're a modified/jap car specialist.

[Safely Insured]

At the end of the day, the Supra insurance is the important one in my eyes and Sky are club insurers for the reasons you've stated - you're a modified/jap car specialist.

 

 

Thats the crux of the situation yes

 

Ollie

[TopgunTT]

On what basis? I presume that you have contacted Sky since your previous comment. Or have you still had no dealings with them?

 

The selection of a club insurer was always going to be a tricky process, there are so many factors which influence an individuals quote, and although the process was before my time as a member (let alone moderator) I know that Lee looked at all the options thoroughly. Sky provided the best overall package.

 

There is no reason to believe that *IF* we were to go through the process again that Sky wouldn't come out top again. I hope you weren't suggesting that they wouldn't have the opportunity to compete?

 

In Jakes situation, I can understand that a specialist insurer might not be able to cover another marque, and that power is not the only consideration when generating a quote. However the issue of the refund is an important one, which I'm sure Ollie and colleagues are currently investigating further.

 

Mike

 

 

The point im trying to put across is that surely the the club insurer should be able to give us benefits that some other companys dont. Agreed values seems to be a big topic and sky dont do this for new customers anymore, and yes of course any new vote and and they should have the chance to compete, and i there say they would come out on top again because they would have alot of people vote for them who are existing customers who already have agreed values.