Topic: MCE Insurance - refusing to confirm quotation in writing

[Aceman]

Hi guys,
 
Shopping around for bike insurance is a time consuming task, but is necessary in order to get the best price for ones requirements.  I don't use price comparison websites, as none of them seem to declare that they won't share my details with other companies, and I really want to cut down the amount spam I get.
 
Ringing around over the last few days, I was hoping to get a better premium than last years £231.  One company, MCE came up with the best price so far of £230.  However, they refused to confirm this quotation in writing.  I explained to them that I need to see written evidence to ensure that what is being offered during our telcon is verified as accurate.  They said they don't do this, but said that there is a cooling off period of 14 days in which I can cancel the policy, only paying for the days used, and this would also incur a charge of £30.  If they had confirmed everything in writting, I would have bought the policy.  There's no way that I'm going to purchase something, and then be left at a financial loss for something that could have been dealt with earlier.
 
Subsequently, I rang the FSA and enquired about this.  They say that the cooling off period is obligatory and I should be aware that some companies may try to sound as if they are doing me a favour by offering this.  But a company is not allowed to "penalise" a customer by cancelling during the cooling off period.
 
With the amount of trouble that I had from Carol Nash with my claim last year last year, which I'm still sorting out by the way, there is absolutely no way that I can ever entertain purchasing an insurance policy from a company that I do not have an existing relationship with.
 
I'll continue shopping around.

[trouty]

oddly enough, i had 2 thefts, both very quickly dealt with by insurers through Carole Nash.

[Weaver]

Do they not say that their calls are recorded?  Most of them do - in which case they could hardly say one price over the phone and then charge differently coudl they? 

[Aceman]

Do they not say that their calls are recorded?  Most of them do - in which case they could hardly say one price over the phone and then charge differently coudl they? 

Yes, their calls are recorded.  But having to go through the process of getting the calls sent to yourself, as I did with Carol Nash, is time consuming and annoying.  Imagine having a claim and your insurance company then saying that you don't have all the NCB you stated, it would mean having to prove that you did have such before any payout/repairs/replacement bike were made/issued.

[Darkmonster]

Martin, go buy a cheap tape recorder & record the calls yourself, tell them that you are also recording. Problem solved.

[Aceman]

Martin, go buy a cheap tape recorder & record the calls yourself, tell them that you are also recording. Problem solved.

I was thinking about that a while ago, but didn't take it much further that a quick look on Ebay.  Yup, you're right, I get back on to that.  I'd want one that either records directly to, or can be transfered to, my puter hard drive.

Thank you David, always the voice of wisdom   

[Aceman]

To conclude this, I emailed MCE.  Below is a copy of my email and their reply:

11/5/10
Dear Mr Jolley,

I recently got a quote for a motorcycle policy from your team member, James Fittes.  The quotation was very good and I was going to purchase it.  However, when asked, James informed me that he could not send me written confirmation of the quotation.  Previously I have bought a motorcycle policy which later turned out to not give me the full cover that I specifically asked for during the telcon and was agreed to.  When I received the documentation though, I saw the brokers error, advised them of this, and it was not simple to get the refund and have the policy cancelled.  I certainly cannot entertain the risk of being in a similar situation.

Whilst I can understand cost savings by not sending out every quotation your company gives in writing, as many other companies do, I do believe it is important to do so when requested, simply to confirm everything.  James advised me of the cooling off period of 14 days, where there would be a charge for the days that policy would have been in place, and an administration of about £25/£30 that would be incurred.  As I don’t want the inconvenience of having to cancel a policy within the cooling down period, and would object to paying any administration charge made to me, I see no way that it would be fair to me to have progressed with the purchase.

I would like to highlight that James was extremely helpful and polite in dealing with the quotation for me.  I would have bought the policy, but for not being able to confirm the cover in writing.  As a keen motorcyclist of many years experience, an active member of my local Advanced Motorcyclists group through the IAM and the sponsor of an internet motorcycle forum ( www.thelondonbikers.com , where my handle is Aceman), I’d be glad to know your opinion and reasoning behind your company’s stand on not confirming insurance quotations and cover in writing when being asked

Best regards,
Martin Ace


12/5/10
Dear Mr. Ace,

Firstly thank you for taking the time to email me your thoughts regarding the above subject.

We don’t currently send our quotations by post because we have never experienced the demand for this service, therfore we simply do not have the facilities in place to complete such a request.

That said, if demand for this service does increase in the future, MCE will endeavour to meet its customer’s demands and look to introduce a process to facilitate such requests.

I hope this has answered your question, if you have any further thoughts please do not hesitate to conatct me again via email.

Kind Regards,
Richard Jolley  Sales Support Manager
 

[Alba]

basically, cut the story short they dont want your custom.
as good as the quote may have been and as good as the salesperson may have been on the phone, the company clearly dont want to make any effort whatsoever in your direction so i would tell them where to go if i were you and never ever think of searching for their services again.
i had a very bad customer service experience in my early motorcycling days with MCN and would never think of calling them again.
well done Martin for giving them a bit of stick anyway!

[Darkmonster]

Martin Ace....the Esther Rantzen of TLB....

[Aceman]

Alba & Darkmonster - Err, thanks.  Well I think you both mean your comments as a compliment.  I'm not going out of my way to cause trouble, but simply to show them what I think would have enticed me to buy their  insurance.

You guys know that I'm self employed, and my clients/students pay me each month for my martial art tuition.  If I gave a poor level of service, I'd loose my complete client base, which means that in a maximum of 32 days, I get into massive problems.  I charge more in my Edmonton venue for martial arts than every other club within at least 10 miles, probably more.  Yet I deliver such a high quality service, that most of my students are prepared to pay the extra knowing that they are getting tremendous value for their buck.  With insurance, if you've bought a policy that doesn't match your needs/requirements, it can be costly and time consuming to get it all sorted out.  I hand every potential new client documention on: Terms & Conditions, Child Protection Policy, Referral System, Prices, before I fill out a Joining Form with them.  Every one of my students know everything about how The Academy operates in advance of joining up, nothing is hidden.  I've been self employed now since October 2000, so I must be doing something well.

Martin

[Biker Biker]

Martin its not you its them...... its the same with the banks.  Everyone needs insurance so they forget about the details and forget how they grew.

[Alba]

Martin, i was thinking exactly that whan i replied.  you more than them know how important is good customer service and clearly they havent got a clue.
as you wanted to test them they clearly failed therefore you should give your custom to someone else, as your student would do if you wont give them proper tuition.

[naughty lee]

Martin, go via the Teessidebikers webforum to Swinton... odds are they will be somewhere close..and you get £30 cashback once the policy is set up.. happy days. MCE are bandits... they advertised with me for over a year and then made up a pile of loopholing excuses why they couldnt/wouldnt pay.... they now have "another" advert on teesside bikers homepage...   That'll learn em