Car insurance, buy cheap buy twice!

[cooperlola]

As said above, I have had very positive experiences with my insurers when claiming, thus I would not hesitate to recommend them.  You never know about these companies until you really need them, thus price shouldn't always be the first thing you look at, imho. 

But then, you'll always bump into somebody who has a negative story to tell so it's all a bit of a lottery.

[Chancer]

Insurers across Europe once they have  issued a certificate of insurance including cover notes will always repect their obligations in respect of third party claims  even if the policy holder has lied, turns out to be a pet tortoise or if the vehicle is stolen by gypsies I have personal experience of the last one.

Now I share all your doubts about whether they will always respect their obligations to the policyholder, the muppet that in good faith pays the money to them, it is for that reason that I only have tiers risque insurance, I will never be in the situation of finding out how good or bad they are.

[Will]

Chancer - I agree that you have little choice if a previous insurer goes belly-up.

I suppose I was smarting slightly from just having changed insurers, and having received a snotty letter from the new insurer saying that it had charged my credit card with a not insubstantial extra premium due to non-disclosure of facts.

When I phoned them, it seemed that a phantom claim had found its way on to my record as provided to them by the previous insurer. This 'claim', reported by a third party nearly two years ago with no reference to me at the time, and which the previous insurer had for some time refused to remove from my records, was an error on their part, down to 'mistaken identity' as they put it. I did eventually persuade the old insurer to remove the claim from the record, and it was the way they had dealt with it, and their apparent inability to correct their own error, that led me to change insurers. So it should have been no surprise that it had not actually been done. Fortunately I still had copies of the correspondence, so was able to send the new company a copy of the letter in which the old insurer said it was an error, and the claim did not really exist, and the extra premium was duly refunded.

It just goes to show that even things that aren't your fault can cause problems when looking for new policies, and give you loads of hassle when getting matters regularised. And, of course, that insurers do communicate with each other.

[allanb]

[quote user="Russethouse"]Even if they don't theres always 'uninsured loss' in the UK is it the MIB ? Is there something similar in France ?[/quote]

Yes.  There's an equivalent of the MIB in every country in the green card scheme: they're listed on the back of the green card itself.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Russethouse"]

Even if they don't theres always 'uninsured loss' in the UK is it the MIB ? Is there something similar in France ?[/quote]RH it's slightly misleading to say that the MIB pay for uninsured losses.

The MIB are the the insurer of last resort who only step up and pay claims when no other insurer is in evidence or can be held responsible, principally this will be in cases of uninsured drivers where no insurance had been taken out at all or hit and run where the other party cannot be traced. In those circumstance they will pay third party claims but that will not include consequential losses you may suffer, losses such as policy excess, reduced NCB, time off work if injured, etc. etc. Those are what are what are known as uninsured losses and in a normal traffic accident you might be able to separately recover them from the other party, often via an add on legal benefits insurance taken out in parallel with the insurance proper.

Every EU state has it's own equivalent of the MIB.

[Russethouse]

 My god daughter was quite badly injured in a hit and run accident, she was a pedestrian. It was the MIB who paid for her compensation and other expenses. Although the police were able to trace the car and its owner, they said that they had lent the car to someone and had forgotten who - quite unbelievable - but there you are.

[Chancer]

And no doubt were either not insured or refused to report the incident to their insurers.

I can see now why you are sensitive to the subject RH.

Re the gypsy incident, they stole a pick up whilst the owner, a landscape gardener was sleeping and then ripped the ticket machine out of a rural unmanned commuter railway station, they were being chased by the police when they jumped a red light and T_boned my friend, a taxi driver.

The passenger in the stolen vehicle was killed, that same night the grieving relatives stormed the hospital and tried to kill my friend, strange logic but there you go. He then had Police protection as he was a witness for the prosecution.

He couldnt walk for over a year and could not drive or work for another year, he claimed for criminal injuries compensation and was shocked to find that he had to claim against the completely innocent, and now immobile landscape gardener, he in turn having only TPO insurance did not want to register the claim and lose his bonus, he already had to find the money to replace the vehicle.

My friend was put in the uneasy situation of having to threaten to sue the vehicle owner in order to make him register the claim in order to keep the roof over his and his families heads.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Chancer"]My friend was put in the uneasy situation of having to threaten to sue the vehicle owner in order to make him register the claim in order to keep the roof over his and his families heads.[/quote]I think that is pretty standard procedure isn't it where an injured passenger/3rd party has to sue the driver in order for his insurance company to pay up, even if that passenger/3rd party happened to be his own wife/child/friend/colleague etc. etc.

RH, not questioning your story at all but it sounds odd that to me that the MIB would be paying out in such circumstances because if the offending vehicle was insured, regardless of who was driving it, then there was a connected insurer and it is they who would have been called upon to meet a claim, the MIB only step in if there is not. That is my understanding of how the system works anyway. I don't think they pay compensation either, AFAIK that would be the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

[Russethouse]

The whole thing was very odd - I could never understand why the car owner was not made to take more responsibility, but  I'm pretty sure the family dealt with the MIB.

My god daughter sustained a broken neck and was lucky not be paralysed. She is fine now.

[tinabee]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Sorry to hear that Tina, did I recommend them to you perhaps?

Still better to be one of those that know, the bulk of the Aoutiens will only find out when they get back for la rentrée, possibly after an uninsured journey.

[/quote]

I don't think you recommended them Chancer, but I too was impressed by the ease of use of their website and their responsiveness - shame they went bust really. I will be checking out the proposal by the company that has bought their "book" - part of the MAAF group, so hopefully OK this time.

[Chancer]

Tina

The quote was high (by comparison) probably as a result of the vultures having paid for the book and knowing that most people wont have a choice. Have you considered that we wont have an attestation of bonus malus and no sinestres declaré?

I was paying €107, the next year it went up to €126 which I thought was a bit steep when other insurers were reducin their premiums, the quote I have from the recommendation of Dave is €130 and the vultures wanted €180

I have been looking on French forums, many people are in the kaka, at the beginning of June INEAS stopped paying the repair garages, unbelievably they managed to convince many owners to pay the garagistes direct, many others now have their cars held by the garagistes who wont release them untill they are paid.

Makes me glad that I only had tiers cover.

All of the mainstream insurers want virtually the same price for tiers cover as multi-risques.

[lyongirl]

I'm another Ineas statistic - took out policy in June, paid up front for whole year, not expecting to see any of my prime returned [:(].  Just a question over the recommendation of Assuravenue.... before I went to Ineas I was told by them that they would not insure me as my licence was UK issued not French.  Seemed strange as I thought EU issued licences were accepted equally, but not according to Assuravenue.  Their quote was very good and now I need new insurer.... just interested whether worth pursuing.  Did you get accepted with a UK licence?

[Chancer]

I have only gone as far as getting an on line devi, the question was not asked, perhaps I should accept the devi in the normal on_line way rather than phoning.

Were you speaking English or French to them?

I bet it was just another person that could not get their head around the fact that France is not the only civilised society and that people take their tests and get licenses in other countries too.

I look forward to the exchange of views if they do try that one on with me, to be honest from what I have heard of their admin I can see that this may well be be a long drawn out battle against incomptence and confusion, not having an attestation from Ineas being one of the factors.

I will take up the offer tonight and let you knowhow I get on.

[tinabee]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Tina

The quote was high (by comparison) probably as a result of the vultures having paid for the book and knowing that most people wont have a choice. Have you considered that we wont have an attestation of bonus malus and no sinestres declaré?

I was paying €107, the next year it went up to €126 which I thought was a bit steep when other insurers were reducin their premiums, the quote I have from the recommendation of Dave is €130 and the vultures wanted €180

I have been looking on French forums, many people are in the kaka, at the beginning of June INEAS stopped paying the repair garages, unbelievably they managed to convince many owners to pay the garagistes direct, many others now have their cars held by the garagistes who wont release them untill they are paid.

Makes me glad that I only had tiers cover.

All of the mainstream insurers want virtually the same price for tiers cover as multi-risques.

[/quote]

Just renewed with Aloa who accepted the full bonus/malus and no sinistres from Ineas. For toutes risques their quote was only a bit more than we paid at Ineas - and seeing as our previous insurer wanted double what we paid Ineas, I guess we have come off relatively unscathed.

 

 

[Chancer]

Good result and no hassle with Aloa as they have already downloaded all the information from the INEAS database, just a question of clicking oui j'accepte if the price is OK.

For me they are €50 more than assuranus which is a lot on a small premium.

[lyongirl]

On-line devis was no problem but to activate it I had to call their Customer Services who went through it verbally (all in French, no probs).  Hit the problem when we got to where the licence was issued i.e not France.  May try again as I could have just been unlucky with the person I was dealing with.......Aloa quote came in at over double so no joy there [8-)] .  Might be getting the bicycle out! 

[Chancer]

You and me both re the bicycle!

I thought that the Aloa quote was only a tad more, or was that just to bait the hook before they double it?

[Chancer]

Update.

Well it seems that I have managed to get myself insured for at least 60 days from the unscheduled end of my current cover, and I have printed out a certificate/attestation of assurance.

Several fibs/fudges were needed to get thus far, the usual adding one year to when my license was first granted, I had to tick that I had an attestation of bonus malus dated less than 3 months which of course I dont yet have and may indeed not get, I had to fudge the date that my current insurance was taken out to correspond with its unscheduled end, I had to tick that I have not had an insurance cancelled, well until I get the recorded delivery I have not, all they have done is to advise me that they will, and then of course there is the highly dodgy British driving license [;-)]

All of these should come out in the wash when I send them the copies of my documents so we will see, it was important to me to know that I have cover beyond the end of the month as I am leaving toute de suite for Indian country (Dordogneshire) to do some unpaid travail dissimulé and may not return before my current insurance vaporises.

I dont miss the old country or regret leaving but just once in a while it would be nice to deal with someone that could take a pragmatic view of a situation slightly out of the ordinary and actually make a decision.

It will be interesting to see how they deal with my 34 year old UK issued EU license.

Editted,.

Ineas really are/were an exceptional unfrench insurance company even now they have gone pop the customer service is great and the website up to date.

I have just requested a releve d'informations for the new insurer, it was in my in-box instantly it has my bonus malus, no sinistres declared and shows that the resiliation of contract will be at the end of the month for restructuration 

[AnOther]

[quote user="Chancer"]Editted,.

Ineas really are/were an exceptional unfrench insurance company even now they have gone pop the customer service is great and the website up to date.[/quote]

Perhaps therein lies the problem. The industry is so self centred and disingenuous that anybody actually providing the service that paying customers deserve simply cannot survive [blink]

[Chancer]

My use of unfrench was not meant to be restricted to the insurance industry, the French way of doing business IMHO goes across the whole spectrum.

Yes I know that we as a country still design manufacture some very good products, how, is a complete mystery to me, but once it comes to the commercial/retail transaction it all goes French.

Please tell me of any exceptions.

[Sunday Driver]

Can't come up with exceptions - just the normal French way of doing business that I've experienced.

My own insurer (MAAF) must be a very unfrench company.  At every renewal, they write to remind me that I am a valued customer, that I have a 'bonus for life' and that they haven't increased their premiums for the last five years.  They also handled my big road accident impeccably, writing off the car and paying out the claim as well as negotiating a big compensation payment for both me and Mrs Sunday from the other insurer - all done off their own bat without me having to chase them up.

When I found a replacement car, the insurance payout was due within a few days but I needed to get to Nantes Airport to pick up my daughter.  When I asked the dealer if he would hire me a car for the weekend to save me having to transfer funds from the UK, he said why not just take the new car away now and pop a cheque in when the insurance payment comes through.  Not bad for a car salesman - and he was French as well.... 

When I wanted to buy a sit-on mower, I popped into the local motoculture dealer in our nearby town.  As well as offering me a nice discount, he brought the mower round to my house and proceeded to mow my field to check it was up to the job.  Very unfrench....?

I recently had a problem with the DVD drive in my Dell laptop and wasn't getting much help from Dell support.  Whilst doing a tour of the retail park in Niort last week, I spotted a small computer business with 'Distributeur DELL' on the sign so I popped in.  Result was, they invited me to call back the following day with the laptop and the technician did the full diagnostic, pronounced the drive as dead, phoned Dell support and negotiated a replacement drive FOC and no bill for the diagnostic work.  He also arranged for the new drive to be delivered direct to my home (it arrived at 9.30 next morning, so good response there by Dell) and I fitted it in two minutes.  Clearly another 'unfrench' business....

Yesterday morning, the car (Peugeot 307 automatic) wouldn't start.  I tried all the usual options without success, so I jumped on the motorbike and wizzed along to the little Peugeot dealer in town for advice.  When I explained the problem, the mechanic just said 'Give me half an hour and I'll be up at your house'.  He arrived with his 'dépannage' truck but found the problem was simply due to a duff battery (he'd brought a new replacement just in case).  He was most apologetic that I wouldn't receive the bill for another two weeks because the secretary was on holiday.....

Just to balance out some of the anti-French business generalisations.......[;-)]

 

 

[Chancer]

Yes but you live in Sunday Driverland where things are always spiffing [Www]

And long may it be so for you, you always do your best to help people in this life, I reckon you must also have also done so in a previous one. [:)]

[mint]

Chance, do you think that SD is really Toad of Toad Hall?[:D]

[bubbles]

Make a note: Deux Sevres - good place to live!

[pachapapa]

[quote user="bubbles"]Make a note: Deux Sevres - good place to live![/quote]

Even better than trifouillis-les-oies.[:)]