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?

@gwenneh

I had a couple of minor accidents as most new drivers do

In the one year since you got your car? No, that's not actually normal driving at all, and I suspect there's more going on in the data that led to the cancellation.

Yes a few minor incidents is very normal in the first year it's when you actually learn to drive !

I hate to say "I read somewhere" but I did read somewhere of drivers having problems with this kind of insurance because the setup wasn't working properly and the app wasn't picking up the data...Sorry but because it didn't affect me I didn't take much notice....might be worth doing a general google or looking on the Martin lewis website.

@justamumseekingadvice

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.

Honestly take no notice they really are being twats. Having a couple of knocks In the first year is perfectly normal. My daughter has done it and all of her friends have had a least one knock within a few months. Take it up with the manager and try and get to the bottom of of. Good luck

There have been articles on TV regarding this. Adrian Flux we’re apparently one of the worst as they had a record of a girl who’d apparently driven into a shop and driven the wrong way down a dual carriageway - none of which actually happened. It’s down to the quality of the equipment that they provide.

www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/insurance-companys-black-box-hailed-as-life-saving-9213638/

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-7678069/Complaints-soar-black-box-gadgets-hep-young-drivers-insured.html

Interestingly OP I just googled about BB insurance, I can't mind anything about minimum mileage, most have a max mileage or you pay more if you drive a lot of miles (makes sense) so it is unlikely to be that you are not driving much.
Most likely reasons for the insurer cancelling are speeding, poor cornering and hard braking and excessive mileage... that or discovery of a non disclosure of information or non payment of premium.
When you speak to them, in case you want to escalate it, tell them up front that you would like them to follow up the call with an email confirming the reasons for cancellation, that way you don't need to be scribbling notes and trying to remember stuff

[quote justamumseekingadvice]@VodselForDinner One accident someone hit me at the back so that wasn’t my fault, the one that was my fault was trying to get out of the way for an ambulance and clipped another car slightly - you couldn’t even see the damage to their car. Plus that wasn’t with this insurance company so it has nothing to do with their quote or data etc.[/quote]
Insurers share claims data.

You’re not a good insurance risk, I’m afraid. 2 accidents, at least 1 due to inexperience, and how you’re barely driving thus not gaining any experience.

OP you’ve been given a bit of a hard time here.

Your previous accidents are irrelevant in this instance - you were awarded a new insurance policy, I presume having declared both accidents and whether at fault or not. You can leave the issue of prior accidents behind. You’re arguing something that is pointless. Your points in your previous insurance are not indicative of driving behaviours under this one.

What your issues are now is the present insurance and why they are cancelling it. You have two things you need to do urgently. You need to get an explanation as to why they are cancelling your insurance and you need to get a response to your initial contact regarding the potentially broken black box. The answer to one may negate the other.

One thing I’m wondering about, that I only ask you to consider & you have no need to answer here, is whether you have declared your anxiety and other disability to both DVLA and the insurer. You’d be surprised at the kinds of conditions that require reporting to dvla and not informing them or your insurer of having a reportable Condition can invalidate your insurance immediately. You also need to consider whether you’ve been driving upon release from hospital when perhaps you shouldn’t have been. It is your responsibility to find out whether you have to refrain from driving and if you do not do so & it is required, you will have insurance cancelled even if you’ve been driving safely. The issue I raise here may be totally irrelevant but it’s something that has jumped out at me in your posts as unaddressed and is a common reason for insurance cancellation for sick and disabled people.

Instead of fighting people on here on irrelevant points take the advice people have offered on what to do next.

I had an issue with house insurance where they insured me following an online check sheet then decided that they didn't like the fact there was a tree in the garden and decided to give me 21 days notice or something like that before they cancelled it. The only way not to have an insurance cancellation on my record was to take out a new policy and cancel the original one myself thereby stopping the insurer from cancelling it which would have to be declared.

I then argued the toss with the old insirer afterwards. I recommend you take out a new policy and cancel this one yourself before they cancel it and you are stuck declaring it forever.

Going back to your original question. Speak to a manager first and get all the information as to why are threatening to cancel the policy.
If you are not satisfied then ask to raise a complaint. Their complaints department will review the issue and decide if they've acted correctly. If they reject your complaint and you're still not happy you can go to the financial ombudsman service who will investigate for you.
It might well be down to not enough driving.
It will NOT be down to your medical issues.

Can people please forget about the accidents (for the issue at hand anyway)? They are irrelevant being under a previous policy & the current insurer being entirely aware of them at the time then new policy was purchased.

Whatever happens OP you need to not get your policy cancelled as this will cost you forevermore.
Anything connecting to your phone is going to be pot luck over time - software up dates change the way phones behave with certain apps, simply state of charge, or not charging etc. So their supplied equipment being faulty/defective/not appropriate for the task should be a focus, after all your phone works fine, you make and receive calls with it don't you, maybe even brows mumsnet and send an email.

Are we 100% clear that both accidents were correctly recorded on the new policy?

• even one accident is one too many and you’re lucky you got insurance after that.

What a ridiculous comment - what do you think insurance is for? If people couldn't get insurance after one accident there would be a lot less drivers on the road.

@BritWifeInUSA that's not true - the insurance company can see whether the accident was logged as "fault" or "non-fault" but when taking out insurance you need to declare all accidents, regardless of fault. Unfortunately even once you've been in an accident that's not your fault, it's likely that your premiums will go up as statistically you're more likely to be in another accident. I used to work in motor claims and it was crazy the amount of people that wouldn't declare non fault accidents when taking out a policy because they thought the same as you and didn't think they needed to declare it

even one accident is one too many and you’re lucky you got insurance after that.

That was meant to be highlighted

The problem you might have is having to declare on your new insurance that you have had a policy cancelled. Most will automatically refuse you on that basis alone if doing it online so really you need to fight the cancellation.

Do they know you've been in hospital? Explaining that may help if they are thinking you've blocked the box perhaps. I agree with others that this is most likely a telemetry issue. Ask if they can replace the box or even if you can pay a little more and not have one. It will still be cheaper than declaring cancelled insurance.

Just a quick update - I found the information from the black box on the app and now I’m even more confused and pissed off!

You get scored on 5 different elements of driving and get scored out of 5 bars (5/5 being top marks etc). There was 3 journeys that I made 1; I had 4/5 bars on phone use which I know is when my daughter was playing on my phone on the way back from A&E and 4/5 bars for corners. 2; I had 3/5 for braking and 4/5 corners. 3; 4/5 for corners.

The rest of the journeys were fine. However, over half of the journeys weren’t recorded because it was saying my phone wasn’t present when it’s always with me and Bluetooth is on too - so I’m guessing it’s more of a fault with the tab.

Surely they cannot flipping cancel my policy based on 3 journeys which were only missing 1/2 bars?!

If they were 1 or 2 out of 5 bars on those occasions than I would be a bit more understanding but come on?!

Doesn’t the black box record more than just accidents?

Hmmm

Your breezy attitude towards accidents is kind of a red flag tbh

I suspect we’re not getting the full story!

This thread isn’t about PAST accidents that have zero affect on my CURRENT insurance - stick to the issue I’ve asked about and actually offer advice if you have any please - if you’re going to keep going on about something else and just making a comment for the sake of it - please find something better to do with your night - in the politest way possible it’s getting boring now.

I HRTFT but you’ll get nowhere if they want to cancel the policy. What I recommend is you cancel it before they do because you have to declare if you’ve ever had a policy cancelled and with your two accidents you’ll find it really hard to get insurance.

Is it worth trying to get them to change their minds, or would you be better off just to get a new policy in place before this one terminates? Do they have an obligation to keep it open?

And, it's possible the original black box was faulty. Maybe not, since it didn't record that your phone was with you. But people never seen to consider that the thing in their favor was wrong.

Yes a few minor incidents is very normal in the first year it's when you actually learn to drive !

Not really.

You’re not a good insurance risk, I’m afraid. 2 accidents, at least 1 due to inexperience, and how you’re barely driving thus not gaining any experience.

Totally irrelevant, as OP was not insured with this insurer when she had the accidents. If they thought the accidents made her such a terrible risk, they would never have taken her on in the first place.

Totally irrelevant, as OP was not insured with this insurer when she had the accidents. If they thought the accidents made her such a terrible risk, they would never have taken her on in the first place.

These things are cumulative, though. They may have accepted the risk with the two small accidents but now from their point of view she's not a good driver per whatever the black box is. They're adding that all together and saying that she is no longer a good insurance risk.

You need to read the terms and conditions of your insurance too.

I think the OP is being given a very hard time.

Virtually everyone I know has had accidents. I live in London. Maybe that has something to do with it, and maybe the OP also lives in a busy city.

Accidents are a combination of skill and luck. As a PP said, you can be lucky and drive appallingly or be an advanced driver with hundreds of thousands of miles of experience and some idiot drive into you.

Accidents are also what insurance is for. There would be hardly anyone on the road if those who had had an accident got their insurance cancelled.

Definitely complain and get someone senior to investigate. A GDPR request sounds very sensible.

The issue is almost certainly they think you are fiddling the black box because it is not connecting properly with your phone. You need to keep pushing them on that.