Who can I report this to?

[justamumseekingadvice]

Hello everyone! 👋

Last year I bought my first car and took out a black box insurance (the type which is fitted to your engine). I had a couple of minor accidents as most new drivers do, however every month on my driving report I always had high scores and was rewarded with bonus miles for good driving.

This year my insurance was up for renewal and because of the accidents that I had, my insurance went up slightly, and I had a cheaper quote from another insurance company so I chose to go with them instead because it worked out about half the price (still a black box policy but one that sticks on the windshield instead and connects to your mobile phone).

A month or so into my new insurance policy, I noticed that my scores had dropped very low (I’m talking from 90’s range to under 10 points). I knew that this was not correct at all because I have always driven safely (the first accident was not my fault, I was hit at the back, and the second accident involved an ambulance and I completely panicked and couldn’t pull over in time but had only been on the road around a month or so) and on top of that, because I now have slight agoraphobia since the pandemic started, I rarely go out and only drive my car around once a week within a 2 mile radius of my home.

I complained to the insurance company straight away and they said that they would investigate and let me know the outcome, I waited their reply which never came, and I ended up being in hospital for a long time so I didn’t get round to chasing it up, but equally because I hadn’t been driving during that time I wasn’t exactly worried about having a low score for bad driving - because no driving was happening!

Today, I get a random email completely out of the blue saying that because of my low driving score (for bad driving) my policy is now being cancelled and I have 20 days to find a new one.

I rang them and disputed this based on the fact that 1; I had a good history with black boxes until I went with them. 2; I raised a concern about the low score weeks ago which they were supposed to investigate but evidently have not or it wouldn’t have reached this point and 3; they are supposed to give out warning emails before cancelling a policy and the last email I got from them was 3/4 months ago.

The manager is due to ring me back tomorrow to discuss it because I was EXTREMELY unhappy that I tried to resolve this with them weeks ago and now I’m going to be left uninsured and unable to drive my car IF I need to because there is no way I’m going to be able to afford an initial deposit on a new insurance on top of Christmas, and I have a physical disability so I can’t walk to places I need to get to either.

If I was driving stupid every single day I would suck it up and get on with it, but I barely drive and when I do it’s always normally and safely - and now I’ve had a policy cancelled through absolutely no fault of my own and have the financial impact of this happening too.

If I can’t resolve this with the manager, who else can I report this to?

They asked what kind of solution I am seeking and I am thinking to either set me up on another policy free of charge of initial deposit, or reimburse me some of the money I have paid to be able to afford a new policy with someone else - is this unreasonable?

Are you in the USA op? I assume you are since you called the windscreen a windshield?

[quote justamumseekingadvice]@CorrBlimeyGG when I go onto ‘my driving’ section all it gives me is the journeys I have done and my overall score - a lot of these journeys are saying that my phone hasn’t been present to record the data even though it has been in the car with me - that’s why I raised the concern that it wasn’t working properly with them but they’ve done nothing about it - just cancelled my policy instead.[/quote]
There you are then - they think you're fiddling the system somehow. What are you doing to get your phone to talk to the box?

@margotsdevil plus I am not deflecting anything - I raised a concern with the insurance company because I suspected something wrong with their equipment (for example it doesn’t pick up my phones presence in the car and yet it’s meant to get my driving information from my phone?) and whilst I waited for the insurance company to try and sort this out with me, they have cancelled my insurance out of the blue with no warning - I’m pretty sure that’s broken some policy guidelines.

The only solution that will work for you is for them to admit they have made a mistake and reinstate your insurance.

Money is not going to help you because every time you apply for car insurance, you will be asked the question "Have you ever had an insurance policy cancelled?"

A dishonest answer will invalidate your insurance. You need them to keep the insurance policy going until your renewal comes up.

@funnelfanjo it picks up information from my phone via blue tooth, I always have my blue tooth on and it says it’s connected on my phone but the information is not reading onto the tab - hence why I rang the insurance company when it first started happening and asked them to sort it out - which they haven’t.

How is that my fault?

I have done nothing with my new insurance to class me as a high risk driver

Right, but you did with your old insurance, and that carries over.

The amount of accidents you have had TOTAL doesn't matter what insurer you had divided by the miles you drive goes into the calculation of your risk score. The insurance company aren't going to ignore the two accidents, even if they're with another insurer, when factoring whether or not to insure you. You don't drive a lot, and you were involved in two accidents in your first year. That is enough to drop you.

Everything is just speculation, though, and you need to speak to the insurer. Just be mindful that it may not be a mistake or an oversight, it's the result of the risk assessing algorithm.

@crowsfeet57 that is honestly why I have kicked up such a fuss and got so annoyed over it - because I think there has been an issue between my phone and this new tab - the only thing I could do is ask them to investigate and potentially send me a new one but they didn’t (I doubt they’ve even bothered looking into it) and now it’s lead to this.

If I was even POTENTIALLY driving round a bit too fast etc, I would admit it and suck it up and move on. I have done nothing wrong or had no incidents since I got this new policy and it’s completely blown up in my face.

@gwenneh first of all - they gave me an extremely cheap quote despite my accident so they didn’t exactly hold them over me or it would have been through the roof. And secondly if someone is not driving around so much because of mental health issues or physical health problems (not declarable to DVLA either before anyone asks) - an insurance company cannot drop you for that - I would like to see them try and discriminate against me like that because then I would kick up a fuss.

@justamumseekingadvice I think your responses just illustrate what I was trying to say. It doesn't feel like you're taking any responsibility here at all.

No-one is saying that it's your fault the insurance company didn't get back to you about the potential issue with the black box. What people are trying to suggest is that there is definitely an onus on you to make sure that it's followed up - getting insurance cancelled is a massive issue moving forward. You are going back to the recording of mileage historically - but have you (as you definitely should) contacted them to highlight you are doing reduced mileage? That is 100% your responsibility. I don't know that statistics for accidents in year 1 - but I do know that insurers now don't seem to care who was at fault - a no fault accident bumped my premium recently, and I know others have noticed the same, so I'm not sure the no-fault has had as little impact on your history as you think.

Not having your phone with you and synced up to record your data is very likely to be against the T&Cs of the insurance - they need that data, live, to assess your driving. Between that sync failing and you not driving much, I’m not surprised that your policy has been cancelled - although it’s poor that you raised the sync issue and they haven’t got back to you. Have you chased that up, or did you just leave it until they cancelled your policy?

Although it’d be good customer service, they don’t have to warn you that you’re at risk of your insurance being cancelled - especially if it’s in the T&Cs.

But I’d agree that you seem quite defensive, and while both of the incidents you describe seem unlucky, you have had two - so you are a higher risk driver. Not driving much since you got your insurance will make that worse, not better, because it means you’re not getting much experience, and your skills will be declining.

@margotsdevil and the fact that you keep focusing on the past events is getting extremely irritating too because that is not the reason why it’s been cancelled. They knew all about my history when they gave me a policy months ago, they’re cancelling it purely down to the fact of what’s being recorded on the tab in my car (which I’ve reported problems with already) and I’ve just checked over my policy document - it doesn’t mention anything about mileage, just if you go over it might affect your payments or when you try to claim.

@TakeYourFinalPosition that’s my point - my phone has been linked up and with me every single time - the tab isn’t working properly with my phone and I’ve contacted them ages ago to sort that out and they haven’t!

One accident was not my fault - as I have said before too.

I am getting defensive now because I keep repeating myself and then keep getting the same questions asked that I’ve already answered!

Does your phone automatically go into
Do Not Disturb mode and therefore not properly connect, perhaps?

I would suggest, though, that either your mileage is too low for them to take accurate recordings or you've become a worse driver than you realise since your accidents.

It sounds like the person who took your call when you raised the issue hasn’t actually flagged it at all.

Make an official complaint to your insurer, ideally by email and ensure it is logged with them (you should receive an acknowledgment of your complaint within 5 working days).
In your email include the date and time of the call when you raised the issue, ask for the way they calculate driving scores, ask if they have a garage or somewhere local you can take the car and have the black box checked to make sure it’s working and connected correctly and specifically state that cancellation of your policy is going to effect you financially and physically as you have a disability.

Following this they are entitled to 8 weeks to investigate and respond but they often don’t take that long.
Your final response letter will contain your rights to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they haven’t rectified the issue for you (until you have this letter the ombudsman won’t investigate as they have to give the company the chance to deal with it via their own complaint process).

@justamumseekingadvice feel free to focus on the bits you want. You don't seem to be seeing the link between your current extremely low mileage and a decision to cancel your policy, nor do you seem to think that you maybe should have pursued the issue logging miles. A number of other posters have also raised these as possible contributors to the situation 🤷🏻‍♀️

Christ that’s a lot of accidents. I undestand you’re saying they were “minor” and “not your fault” and “panicky” but most people I know have had 1-2 minor accidents in their lifetime, not in 1 year!

I walk and cycle, as do my children, and stories like this make me scared. An overwhelmed, anxious, panicky new driver who thinks minor accidents are a regular monthly occurrence could kill a cyclist.

I had a couple of minor accidents as most new drivers do no they don't.

I knew that this was not correct at all because I have always driven safely
If you are getting into a panic because you see an ambulance I would question just how safe you are. And if you are hardly using the car it's not going to be helping your confidence, plus do you really need it? Maybe driving is not for you

@margotsdevil I raised the concern with them - they said they would investigate and let me know the outcome - I was then in and out of hospital pretty much constantly for several weeks very unwell with a feeding tube so my car insurance wasn’t exactly in the front of my mind especially because it was an open investigation and they never said there was a possibility of cancelling my policy or that it was at risk.

@EatYourVegetables my ONE accident that happened when I first got on the roads just over a year ago and nothing has happened since (apart from a young panicky driver hitting me up the arse which I couldn’t avoid) isn’t exactly a monthly occurrence is it?

@starfishmummy that happened when I first got my car over a year ago, I am now a confident driver I just have a specific phobia (not driving related) that prevents me from wanting to go out in general and this has only got to this point in the last few weeks or so. Before that, I was driving around a lot and I’m guessing as soon as I get this phobia under control I will drive around normally again to go out.

@starfishmummy plus, would an unsafe driver get 96-98/100 every single month for a whole year on their driving score?

Every new driver is panicky when they first get on the road and not confident and accidents do happen - you’re telling me you have never been involved with one?

Nothing has happened since, after the ONE mistake I made as a very new driver over a year ago - that has nothing to do with my current situation

I honestly don’t know why people bother coming on here asking for advice - because there is a big difference between giving advice or having a different opinion and attacking someone about something - and I bet you lot are the same people who sit there and shout out ‘be kind’ all over your social media’s.

So re reading your original post they haven't cancelled the policy yet, they have given you the required notice of intention to cancel, they are entitled to do this provided they give you the required notice.
I would have thought they would have explained the full reason for this and, if you have breached any conditions, they would point out to you which one.
It could be the data is wrong due to an issue with the box, it could be you need to fulfill minimum miles to qualify, its unlikely it will be your previous accidents.
See what reason they give when they call and I'd suggested you read your policy wording before then.
They won't take pity on your financial position sadly but, if the limited mileage is an issue, maybe ask if there is an alternative contract they can move you onto. It may cost more over the year but they may waive an initial deposit.
Finally, if you get no luck and have to go elsewhere try an Insurance Broker rather than online quotes as you will get declined for having previous insurance cancelled..... it might need a human rather than a computer.
Good luck

@minionsrule thank you, that’s been really helpful, I’ll take all that on board!

@FranklySonImTheGaffer

It sounds like the person who took your call when you raised the issue hasn’t actually flagged it at all.

Make an official complaint to your insurer, ideally by email and ensure it is logged with them (you should receive an acknowledgment of your complaint within 5 working days).
In your email include the date and time of the call when you raised the issue, ask for the way they calculate driving scores, ask if they have a garage or somewhere local you can take the car and have the black box checked to make sure it’s working and connected correctly and specifically state that cancellation of your policy is going to effect you financially and physically as you have a disability.

Following this they are entitled to 8 weeks to investigate and respond but they often don’t take that long.
Your final response letter will contain your rights to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they haven’t rectified the issue for you (until you have this letter the ombudsman won’t investigate as they have to give the company the chance to deal with it via their own complaint process).

This.

Thank goodness there’s someone decent here to give you a useful response. They took you on, knowing about the accidents, so they are wholly irrelevant to what’s happening now.

What I will say is that very cheap insurance is very cheap for a reason. Sorry they sucked you in and I hope you can hang on with them till the year is up and can return to a better company.