Hic: Beware classic policy holders

[BILLCOR 1]

I've been insured through HIC for a few years now, always been fantastic to deal with. I renewed my policy for my Corrado less than one month ago, called today to cancel as I have now sold the car, I was told NO refund would be given as I was on a Classic Policy.

All I'll say is, READ THE SMALL PRINT folks as this was never mentioned to me when renewing, I am now well out of pocket... totally sucks HIC

[Billzeebub 1]

Sorry to hear that, I pay my Classic policy monthly as its such a small amount. Surely most companies will offer that method. Also, unlike my regular insurer, there is no financial penalty for electing to pay in instalments

[BILLCOR 1]

Sorry to hear that, I pay my Classic policy monthly as its such a small amount. Surely most companies will offer that method. Also, unlike my regular insurer, there is no financial penalty for electing to pay in instalments

 

I had paid in full, I asked what would have happened had I been paying monthly, I was told I would have had to pay the full amount that was due for the year!

[mic_VR 3]

That's ridiculous! Don't HIC have a thread on here? I'd put something on there as I'd be interested to know the reasons behind why you get nothing back at all

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Bloody insurance companies.

 

Another thing to watch out for: don't cancel the policy if there is an active claim on it as you don't get a refund in that situation either.

 

In short, they want to keep all of your premium and never pay out, the greedy f'ckers.

[BILLCOR 1]

That's ridiculous! Don't HIC have a thread on here? I'd put something on there as I'd be interested to know the reasons behind why you get nothing back at all

 

They do Mic, but I have already posted on ED38 and didn't want to confuse things, just posting on here to give folks the heads up :censored:

[BILLCOR 1]

OH and anyways, its your fault Mic for taking my car!! :lol:

[Jim Bowen 1]

What is a classic policy? I've just renewed with HIC (been quite happy with it too). I don't think mine is a classic policy.

[mic_VR 3]

OH and anyways, its your fault Mic for taking my car!! :lol:

 

Whoops! Sorry mate, I can send more Fruit-tella if that'll help?

[BILLCOR 1]

What is a classic policy? I've just renewed with HIC (been quite happy with it too). I don't think mine is a classic policy.

 

Check the small print regarding refunds

[BILLCOR 1]

Whoops! Sorry mate, I can send more Fruit-tella if that'll help?

 

:thumbleft:

[scarlet_vr6 0]

Good of you to warn us Bill. Thanks. Hope there will be a good outcome.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

They do Mic, but I have already posted on ED38 and didn't want to confuse things, just posting on here to give folks the heads up :censored:

 

Not that it makes any difference. Our other insurance sponsor likes to skirt around issues like these and just post up customer feedback instead.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Its something i've always wondered with insurance, say you crash halfway through the policy do you cancel and get a refund?

 

Have never cancelled an insurance policy before so not really encountered it.

 

On another note. Do you get money back if you cancel your phone policy halfway through?. Because really they say you pay £30 a month and get a free phone, but we all know the £30 a month is paying for the handset a bit each month.

[tonytiger 0]

Whilst not a classic policy, my limited mileage policy with adrian flux states (not that noticeably imo) that there will be no refund after 4 months. My other policy with them (not limited mileage) doesn't say that.

 

I assumed most classic/limited mileage policies were like that due to the (supposedly) low price.

[Jamie 1]

HIC used to be a really excellent company to deal with. I used them for over 15 years but tbh, despite all their "we're all enthusiasts here" PR bollocks, unfortunately they are just another insurance company now.

[BILLCOR 1]

They have done a few checks and this is what I got back via PM on ED38 >>

 

Hi William,

 

I have looked into your query today regarding the refund on your policy, is it stated as an endorsement on your documents that there is no refund after the 14 day cooling off period. As part of our audit checks I have also had your phone call listened to just make sure the advisor that dealt with your call was adhering to the correct procedures. It was confirmed on the phonecall there was no refund, to which you agreed you was happy with the terms and conditions.

 

As we are a broker its the insurers decision to set the terms and conditions so unfortunately it is out of our control, we would not be able to give you a refund on your policy

 

If you have any other questions please ask.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

What a load of bollocks, after being on the phone for the best part of 30mins renewing the policy and listening to them stating this, that and the next thing, I start to lose the will to live.

I certainly dont remember that part of the conversation, that said, I dont remember a lot of conversations

[robrado974 1]

That's a bummer , we all know what they are like though, quick to take your dough and slow to pay out . I have a classic policy with performance direct , with an agreed value of 5k . Wonder if god forbid anything happened to my Rado , what excuses they would come up with ? .

[Wesleyvr6 10]

They have done a few checks and this is what I got back via PM on ED38 >>

 

Hi William,

 

I have looked into your query today regarding the refund on your policy, is it stated as an endorsement on your documents that there is no refund after the 14 day cooling off period. As part of our audit checks I have also had your phone call listened to just make sure the advisor that dealt with your call was adhering to the correct procedures. It was confirmed on the phonecall there was no refund, to which you agreed you was happy with the terms and conditions.

 

As we are a broker its the insurers decision to set the terms and conditions so unfortunately it is out of our control, we would not be able to give you a refund on your policy

 

If you have any other questions please ask.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

What a load of bollocks, after being on the phone for the best part of 30mins renewing the policy and listening to them stating this, that and the next thing, I start to lose the will to live.

I certainly dont remember that part of the conversation, that said, I dont remember a lot of conversations

Ask for a copy of the telephone call, sometimes they charge for this sometimes they don't! If there correct they will have nothing to hide!

[martinb 0]

As some on here are aware, as well as currently owning a Corrado, I also work for HIC so have had a look into this.

 

The underwriters we use give much cheaper rates on classic insurance but there are terms and conditions to these cheaper prices and one of these is they are non refundable, this is the case with many classic insurers. As we are just the broker we do not have a say in these charges so we are very careful to make sure that our customers are aware of the charges.

 

All our calls are recorded so we have checked the call to ensure this was advised to you and it was stated when you renewed the policy that it was non refundable and that you had a 14 day cooling off period. Obviously had we been aware of your intention to cancel then we could have placed you with a different underwriter who would have offered a refund but the quote would have been higher to start with.

 

I do sympathise with your situation and can understand why you are unhappy, however it is not actually our terms that the policy is non refundable, this is set by the Underwriter (Highway in this case, but as I mentioned, many Classic policies are the same) and we did advise of this when you renewed the policy.

 

I will gladly see if there is anything else that can be done when I'm back in the office tomorrow and I can arrange for a copy of the call recording to be sent out to you if you wish?

Edited August 19, 2013 by martinb

[BILLCOR 1]

As some one here are aware, as well as currently owning a Corrado, I also work for HIC so have had a look into this.

 

The underwriters we use give much cheaper rates on classic insurance but there are terms and conditions to these cheaper prices and one of these is they are non refundable, this is the case with many classic insurers. As we are just the broker we do not have a say in these charges so we are very careful to make sure that our customers are aware of the charges.

 

All our calls are recorded so we have checked the call to ensure this was advised to you and it was stated when you renewed the policy that it was non refundable and that you had a 14 day cooling off period. Obviously had we been aware of your intention to cancel then we could have placed you with a different underwriter who would have offered a refund but the quote would have been higher to start with.

 

I do sympathise with your situation and can understand why you are unhappy, however it is not actually our terms that the policy is non refundable, this is set by the Underwriter (Highway in this case, but as I mentioned, many Classic policies are the same) and we did advise of this when you renewed the policy.

 

I will gladly see if there is anything else that can be done when I'm back in the office tomorrow and I can arrange for a copy of the call recording to be sent out to you if you wish?

 

I did reply on ED38 Martin....

 

No copy or sympathy required Martin.

When I renewed the policy I had no intentions of selling the car, after renewing I had an email from the previous owner wishing to buy the car back, which he did ( HIC now insure the car with the new owner) this only happened a few days ago which was then to late for the 14 day cooling off period.

At the end of the day its my own fault for not reading the small print or being so bored listening to the insurance advisor rattling off one thing after another (no offence intended to said person) I possibly fell asleep mid call and missed the part that counts.

Its just another case where the Insurance companies win!

[Jim 1]

This is extremely disappointing. Funnily enough I had my Corrado insured on a classic policy with another insurer up until recently when I switched it back over to a 'normal' policy and after cancelling that with two months to go, I got no refund either.. I didn't query it but thought it seemed weird. Probably explains what happened there!

 

As you say Bill, the insurance companies win again.

[martinb 0]

I did reply on ED38 Martin....

 

No copy or sympathy required Martin.

When I renewed the policy I had no intentions of selling the car, after renewing I had an email from the previous owner wishing to buy the car back, which he did ( HIC now insure the car with the new owner) this only happened a few days ago which was then to late for the 14 day cooling off period.

At the end of the day its my own fault for not reading the small print or being so bored listening to the insurance advisor rattling off one thing after another (no offence intended to said person) I possibly fell asleep mid call and missed the part that counts.

Its just another case where the Insurance companies win!

 

 

I will just reply on here to prevent it getting too confusing then.

 

I can see you are a long standing customer and it is unfortunate that you had to cancel so soon into the policy but outside the cooling off period. I would not be pleased put in the same situation myself so understand why you are not happy but also can see that the operator dealt with your renewal did advise of it as she was required to.

 

This is why the calls are recorded and audited regularly to ensure the staff are giving all the required information and had it not been the case I would have also made sure that we held our hands up too it.

 

I will see if there is anything else that can be done when I'm back tomorrow and we would gladly welcome you back again as a customer in the future. Feel free to drop me a pm.

 

Your car used to be faily local to me (Mics old rado?) and one of the few other Corrado's I used to spot fairly regularly!

 

Martin

Edited August 19, 2013 by martinb

[BILLCOR 1]

This is extremely disappointing. Funnily enough I had my Corrado insured on a classic policy with another insurer up until recently when I switched it back over to a 'normal' policy and after cancelling that with two months to go, I got no refund either.. I didn't query it but thought it seemed weird. Probably explains what happened there!

 

As you say Bill, the insurance companies win again.

 

At least you got 10 months out of it Jim, my policy wasn't a month old!!

[martinb 0]

This is extremely disappointing. Funnily enough I had my Corrado insured on a classic policy with another insurer up until recently when I switched it back over to a 'normal' policy and after cancelling that with two months to go, I got no refund either.. I didn't query it but thought it seemed weird. Probably explains what happened there!

 

As you say Bill, the insurance companies win again.

 

unfortunately, even many "normal" insurance policies will not refund after a certain amount of time. Some companies do cancel pro rata but as Billcor stated initially, its always worth checking your policy documents or when you set the policy up if it is not mentioned to you.