Towbar on car insurance

FishFish

Just for info for some reason I decided to call my insurance - Direct line about my towbar and they said it was ok and not a modic=fication but it was essential to notify them. They then prompted me to say what was on the tow bar and I said bike rak. They then asked me if I carried a bike on it - well of course. They were not being weird but said that if I had not declared all three - towbar, rack and bike then a claim would have been invalidated.

On renewing my policy I tried with Tesco and they refused to quote because of the modification. Great and how do I now answer the question - have you ever been refused insurance?

FishFish

...and by the way - every little helps!

Antm81

You've not been refused insurance, just a quote, was it online or over the phone too? Not sure if they are now but Tesco used to use direct line anyway.

FishFish

No the underwriter is different - being refused a quote is substantially the same as being refused insurance. I'm just going to say that I was refused because I declared a towbar. Pi55ed off about this.

Antm81

It's not the same though, YOU have not been refused insurance, they won't insure a car with a towbar instead. Being refused insurance is you personally, not that they won't insure certain things. It's the same as when I had a car that had been an insurance write off, they wouldn't quote me because it was and I didn't have an engineers report, it's not that they wouldn't insure me personally.

FishFish

ok thanks for that I did not see the distinction. Your explanation is reassuring.

njee20

He's right, it's not remotely the same.

I can't get a quote with Saga, but that doesn't mean I've been refused insurance.

diy

Its a tricky one this - I've always interpreted the "declined insurance" question being your current provider refusing to insure you upon renewal. Refusal to quote I don't see as the same.

Insurance contracts are different from other contracts in the fact that you have the obligation of the utmost good faith "Uberrima fides". Basically the duty is on you to declare everything.

One way of doing this is to go with an optimistic approach on the on-line form and then phone up the agent to take the quote out and discuss with them there and then. You then get all the facts out needed with the pressure on the agent to make the sale.

There may be other factors causing them to decline e.g. spent convictions. You are protected by the rehabilitation of offenders act allowing you to answer "NO" to a question on convictions once they are properly spent.

cooldad

njee20 wrote:

I can't get a quote with Saga,

Sadly I can and did.