rant insurance

[nad300]

Hi guys

 

another insurance rant

 

i have a motor trade policy, with excess of £500

in june this year my recovery truck was stolen

 

to cut long story short today after 15 wks eventually insurance co get back to me saying that because stolen vehicle was a recovery truck they will charge me excess twice which = £1000 robbing bastards, thats the first time i have heardof that

was using truck to recover personal vehicles only

 

so was wondering if someone who has a motor trade policy can confirm if this is the case re paying excess twice

for recovery vehicles.

[mawby]

What does it say in your policies small print?

[nad300]

What does it say in your policies small print?

 

no mention of paying excess twice, basically

insurance companys excuse is that because its a recovery vehicle more risk = you pay double excess:confused:

[mawby]

I'd ask them to provide evidence of where it states such a fact in the policy agreement.

[stevie_b]

Yeah, that sounds fishy. They've got to state it on the policy, or it won't be enforceable.

[Havard]

How can you pay the excess twice.??

 

I don't see the logic. It's a vehicle that is insured under a policy, it that policy doesn't state the "twice" issue then I would tell them where to go.

 

So if I had a car transporter and it was stolen, how many excesses would I need to pay?...

 

H.

[stevie_b]

In this order, here's what I would do:

1) Check your insurance policy for the amount of excess stated. If it plainly says £1000, then it's game over for you and that's what you have to pay.

2) If it says £500, phone your insurer with the policy document in front of you. Ask them to specify which paragraph number says that you have to pay a double excess when you lose a recovery truck.

 

They might go off on a tangent about vehicles for business use, so be prepared for that.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[marbleapple]

Did the OP declare the fact that his vehicles were not cars, i.e. lorries? I expect not.

 

Look not just at the Insurance Policy but also at the Insurance proposal form you completed.

 

The point here is that if you were Insuring any car, but you drove trucks, the underwriter would be within their right to increase the premium to takew account of the risk. By you not declaring that one of the vehicles is a lorry you are misrepresenting the situation.

 

If you did not disclose then there will be a non disclosure exclusion which means the Insurer has a right to not pay at all. I expect the double excess point is actually a concession by them.

[Snooze]

There wasn't another vehicle ON the recovery truck, was there?

[martini]

Sometimes there's voluntary excess and compulsory excess, which aren't always clearly defined. A friend of mine also found this out the hard way.

[AlliRR]

+1 martini, I have £100 compulsory and £200 voluntary.

[nad300]

Hi guys

 

i'll explain in more detail

 

i have motor trade cover which means i can drive any

vehicles under 7.5 ton max value £15k

 

so i only buy/drive cars no trucks etc

i bought a ford transit mk3 recovery truck 3.5 ton due to the convenience

of collecting my personnal cars from auction/salvage etc

 

didnt use truck for recovering other peoples cars/breakdown service etc

 

now my policy allows me to use a recovery truck for personnal use had this confimed by my brokers

 

excess for fire/theft on insurance cert is clearly showing as £500

which according to my policy should cover all vehicles

whether it be a normal car/recovery truck

 

have checked all other related docs/small print, nowhere does it mention i have to pay extra £500 excess on top if vehicles happens to be a recovery truck gone missing etc

 

truck was stolen in june this year, underwriters have valued it at £1500 which im happy with so if they deduct £500

im happy with a grand but there only offering £500

 

which i wont accept at this stage

 

broker/underwriters are saying/excuse is business use

& that broker mentioned in a phone conversation when i purchased truck

that if a recovery truck is stolen will charge extra £500 excess which is bullshit, no such conversation took place

 

now i have asked for written evidence/proof which states i have to pay extra excess from brokers

 

who said they will send confirming this on a headed letter

question is will this letter they send be enforcable ?

 

what should i do next guys ? as im not happy with £500 unless last resort

 

thanks in advance for all help/advice:D

[Awisto]

Did the OP declare the fact that his vehicles were not cars, i.e. lorries? I expect not.

 

Look not just at the Insurance Policy but also at the Insurance proposal form you completed.

 

The point here is that if you were Insuring any car, but you drove trucks, the underwriter would be within their right to increase the premium to takew account of the risk. By you not declaring that one of the vehicles is a lorry you are misrepresenting the situation.

 

If you did not disclose then there will be a non disclosure exclusion which means the Insurer has a right to not pay at all. I expect the double excess point is actually a concession by them.

 

It's a motortrade policy, they normal blanket cover anything up to 3.5t including recovery vehicles as long as it cannot carry more than two vehicles.

 

OP - if it's not in your policy, I can't see how they can enforce it.

[marbleapple]

broker/underwriters are saying/excuse is business use

& that broker mentioned in a phone conversation when i purchased truck

that if a recovery truck is stolen will charge extra £500 excess which is bullshit, no such conversation took place

 

If your broker has misadvised you that is their fault and they are liable for the error not the insurer. That said, if you signed it without reading it, then you are at fault.

 

The Insurer is not the same person as the broker remembre pal so don't let the broker fob you off if they have advised you wrong.

 

It's a motortrade policy, they normal blanket cover......

 

You can't presume anything. Each policy of Insurance is different. That said, the point (and my previous post) is irrelevant based on the OP's additional explaination.

[stevie_b]

broker/underwriters are saying/excuse is business use

& that broker mentioned in a phone conversation when i purchased truck

that if a recovery truck is stolen will charge extra £500 excess which is bull$#@!, no such conversation took place

 

now i have asked for written evidence/proof which states i have to pay extra excess from brokers

 

who said they will send confirming this on a headed letter

question is will this letter they send be enforcable ?

 

As I suspected: they've played the "business use" card. This could be a grey area: only if all the cars you buy are for your own personal/family use would it definitely be non-business use I would think.

 

That besides, they can't refer to a telephone conversation to hike the excess. It would need to be in writing, and I would tell them that.

[nad300]

underwrites are saying that the brokers

informed them that they clearly stated in a phone conversation with me

that if a recovery truck goes missing then im liable to pay then extra £500

so £1000 in total leaving me with £500

 

as mentioned no such conversation took place & this has only come to my attension now when they have to pay out

 

so should i accept what their saying or should i take this further

in which case who else can i contact regarding this matter

perhaps financial obudsman service can help ?

 

insurance really do piss me off

[stevie_b]

I wouldn't just accept it. Tell them that, to the best of your knowledge, no such phone conversation took place. If your documents say your excess is £500, then they'll have to come up with something more concrete than a vaguely-remembered phone conversation to override it.