BENNETT'S INSURANCE - WTF??!!

[Richie B]

Just had my annual renewal through for the GS....

..... £328!!! If I want to pay monthly it's £374 (34.1% APR).

I've got 4 years NCB, never claimed ever on insurance, am 44 years old, had a full licence since 2002 and it's parked on private land. I would have all 13 years NCB if I hadn't had an uninsured break in the middle.

Just Compared the Meerkat and I the 15 options that range between £78-£230.

WTF are they smoking???

 

[Lutin]

Ring them up and tell them that you're not paying that amount. See what they come down to as a first step.

Then ring around some other brokers and then go back to Bennett's and tell them what you've been offered.

However, as Whealie will tell you, you have to be careful to compare like with like - not all policies are the same or cover what you think they should.

 

[Richie B]

Ring them up and tell them that you're not paying that amount....

Tried that, they suggested I try re-applying to them online . Rather not mess about to be honest, fed up with them. 5 months ago, when I moved house, they charged me 2 x £30 just to change the address for my two bikes.



So, if anyone has got good experience with a different insurer i'll be happy to listen

 

[Whealie]

So, if anyone has got good experience with a different insurer i'll be happy to listen

That's the hard part. They're all pretty rubbish.

Bikesure, which used to be alright has plummeted recently. They simply got in touch with me to say they could not offer any comparable policy at renewal at all. Not a ridiculously expensive quote, but no quote. Bear in mind I had 10 years no claims on a zero excess multi bike policy.

They then came up with a terrible policy from an insurer with a questionable record on claims and wanted a small fortune with an excess to make your eyes water (£750 per bike). And they left me one day before my policy ended.

I got a better deal from Carole Nash but still not as good a policy as I had originally.

Come the revolution, comrades, motorbike insurance brokers will be first against the wall to be shot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fatowl]

Chris, if you have trouble with the lying thieving scumbags, what chance do the rest of us have !?!?!

 

[Whealie]

Chris, if you have trouble with the lying thieving scumbags, what chance do the rest of us have !?!?!

The race to the bottom (in which nobody wins) has picked up a pace.

Consumers want cheap. The only way to get cheap is to remove cover, increase excesses, make claiming harder, double the number of loopholes and get-out clauses.

In some markets there are different targeted products: You can buy shoes from a market stall, from Clarks, from Ecco and Jones the Bootmaker or spend several hundreds of pounds on Churches brogues or fancy Gore-tex boots. But in motorbike insurance there is not enough demand for the Churches/Gore-tex end of the market. We all want, and - foolishly - expect, that level of quality and service, but too few of us are prepared to pay for it. Bikesure used to have an offering at the high end of the market but no longer does.

There are no longer any serious "brokers" - advising on the most suitable policy and negotiating terms with underwriters - there are just salesmen. Pile it high and sell it cheap.

 

[hotbulb]

Just looking at the renewal docs for my Land Rover insurance ... the "insurer premium" is £74.96, and in addition there's a "Policy Fee" of £35.00 ! Almost half of the actual cost of the insurance.What's that all about? In the past,the broker was paid commission by the insurer - has the commission stopped, or are the brokers now being even more greedy and getting paid by both the insurer and the customer ? Whatever, I bet there's no way I can deal direct with the insurer and avoid the"Policy Fee".
And another thing... there's a compulsory excess on the LR policy of £50. On the bike policy it's about £500 (or maybe even more!).
Legalised robbery :taz:

 

[Whealie]

I think it is better that broker charge a fee rather than get paid more for doing the same work just because your premium is higher. But the business is fundamentally corrupt and fails consumers

 

[Alba]

The race to the bottom (in which nobody wins) has picked up a pace.

Consumers want cheap. The only way to get cheap is to remove cover, increase excesses, make claiming harder, double the number of loopholes and get-out clauses.

two words "nail" and 'head'

I want to pay a fair price for an excellent service. No one will stay in business if there is not a profit in it.

 

[Richie B]

So, just took out a new policy with Hastings Direct Bike Team:

£147 fully comp protected no claims. Voluntary excess £100, Compulsory £250. Bike & leathers insurance / legal expenses included.

Did a bit of research into them and they seem to be OK.

 

[austin]

My renewal is just through. £158 with LV=, up £22 from last year.

Gocompare lists Bennetts with two of three cheapest policies at £85 and £117. BUT I despise Bennetts after they screwed up my son's insurance and few years back and all but refused to pay out the balance of the year. I vowed never to use them again, and won't. Their policies are crap anyway and are cheap because its bargain basement stuff. I will be challenging LV= to reduce their price to the same as last year as I want to stay with them and they were great when my Land Rover got stolen 10 years ago. Their policy would seem to suit my needs best.

 

[Philwhiskeydrinker]

Renewal time here too....

Bikesure renewal was up a tad on last year despite less bikes on the multibike policy & they'd sneaked european cover on there too.

Phoned CN who were way out, despite the pushy lass doing her best - it was still a £500 excess, she said ''yes but you probably won't need it...''
Bennets were competitive but not enough to bother swapping.

A call to bikesure saw the euro cover dropped plus an additional trip of the premium.
£180 fully comp, prot nc, £250 excess, business use, legal cover - thats for the Alp & vfr (with room to add more if required )
I did like the way they never charged an admin fee when I removed bikes from the policy mid term.

Edit; BTW Austin, we must have a catch up sometime

 

[austin]

Edit; BTW Austin, we must have a catch up sometime

Indeed and little Toby, although I suspect not so little by now. Meet up with Lutin in Wales?