Despite the fact that I am apparently one of the riskiest types of driver to insure being both male and under the age of 25, I found out today that motor insurance companies will still try to bend over backwards to secure my custom and get one over on a rival company.
I was promptly reminded in the first week of October that my policy is due for renewal at the end of the month, by way of a new quote from my current insurance company in the post. “Not bad” I thought to myself as I reviewed their bid for my continued custom, although I still thought I could possibly do better elsewhere. After searching online for a few minutes I did just that – a cheaper quote from a rival company for a similar level of service, no brainer really. After purchasing insurance from the rival company I was asked to provide evidence of my no claims discount from my current insurer, not a major problem I thought, it’ll just take a quick phonecall to request this evidence via the post.. if only it was that easy!
After finally getting through to my current insurance company and answering the numerous security questions to prove that I was legitimate I was asked for the reason of my call. I explained that I had purchased insurance from a different company and would like evidence of my no claims discount posted to me as soon as possible. If only it was that simple… “But why did you switch your insurance company?, Which company are you going to be insured with?, how much did they quote you?” Etc etc. The representative I was speaking to was obviously good at his job and was simply performing the tasks he had been asked to do by his employer but I still found myself getting more annoyed with him as the minutes ticked past. “Did you know that we can offer you a better deal, did you know its not too late to cancel your new policy” the questions went on and if I hadn’t ever purchased insurance before I may well have been convinced to change my mind. I had to repeat my question at least four times before the representative agreed to send me the required information and it left me thinking, “why was that such a challenge?!” I was told repeatedly that I was “a valued customer” and this may have been true at that moment in time when they were after some more money but I feel no guilt after switching my custom to a rival company.
Maybe I should have had more loyalty towards my exisitng insurance company but after 5 years of paying sky-high premiums I am only interested in getting the best value insurance I can find, even if it does mean switching to a different company. The insurance industry is a vastly competitive marketplace, however it is never short of potential customers with more and more new motorists joining Britain’s roads on a daily basis and I’m sure my old insurance company wont miss me all that much. Competition is good for any industry and whilst there remains a multitude of companies vying for custom it can only be good for the end customer.
