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?

First I’ve heard about a black box connected to phone so googled it and come up with something called a ‘Ticker’. If it’s that, it says all journeys will still be recorded on the windscreen box even if your phone doesn’t connect and it will download the next time you connect, so the connection problems you are having shouldn’t make any difference. It also says you have to be seriously high risk to be asked to leave. Are you sure you are staying in the gold and green areas, rather than the red? Something very strange is going on if you aren’t driving often and staying in the safe driving zones, because insurance companies do not cancel policies unless they think there is a very strong risk that you will make multiple claims.

@mum11970 I’m sure I’m staying in the green and gold and I now have the screenshots from the trips to prove it.

@mum11970 I even double checked the meaning of how many bars and what the score is etc, apart from those 3 journeys the rest are either unrecorded or 5/5 bars which means top marks or ‘gold’ - it even congratulates me on my driving underneath!

Have you read your terms and conditions of your insurance?

@CrimeJunkie01

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.

At OP, I get that you are stressed and pissed off but you are wasting time getting into arguments with people about things that don't matter. please read my comment and act quickly to get another insurance policy in place

If they cancel your policy you will find it virtually impossible to get another one at a reasonable price. THey gave you 20 day so you can move yourself to another company before they cancel,, they are helping you out here.

@justamumseekingadvice

Regarding the lack of miles - I am not aware of a minimum amount as such - but if this was a reason why surely they have a responsibility to contact me and ask me why I’m not driving or inform me that I have to start driving more or they will cancel etc?

😂 No. No they don't.

Exactly @MrsLarry. No. They don’t op. You have an obligation to read your policy documents properly and abide by any terms and conditions.

Please take the good advice on this thread.

When you have new insurance make sure you use your car - drive even if you don't need to.

In your position I would even carry on lessons / advanced lessons in your car (no emergency stops!) to increase your mileage and confidence.
I wasn't a great driver when I first had a car, the learning continues after your pass your test and it's only miles under your belt which increases your skill and confidence

Does someone else use your phone whilst you are driving? This could affect your scores as your phone thinks you are on it whilst driving.

Hi op how very frustrating, what company are you with. The only thing I can say is screen shot your scores , email them over and ask for a full explanation. It sounds a little like faulty black box

I don’t think it sounds like a faulty black box.

It sounds like the op hasn’t read her terms and conditions of her policy and is letting her child play with her phone which makes the app think she’s using her phone while driving.

Thank you for all of the good advice that has been posted by a few people on here - I’m going to get back onto them today and start looking at other policies!

@Skyll - my daughter used my phone once to keep her calm going home after spending hours in a&e - hardly the worst crime of the century and definitely not a reason to cancel my policy.

Gosh, if policies got cancelled for some of the reasons people have said on here no-one would ever be insured!

If you’re not going to read the terms and conditions of your insurance policy properly then this will happen again.

And whether you think it is or isn’t a reason to cancel your policy is immaterial.

@Skyll no where in my terms and conditions does it mention don’t let anyone else use your phone whilst driving. Seriously please get a grip, because people are getting ridiculous on threads now, if people actually think like some of the people on here in real life that’s extremely concerning.

@Skyll plus, you don’t have any good advice and just want to make a goady comment for the sake of it? Then don’t comment on my posts please, thank you.

I’m not the one getting my insurance cancelled 🙄.

Your view on whether they should or should not cancel your policy is immaterial. They’ve decided to cancel it.

You have two choices. Investigate why and plead your case to be allowed to keep that insurance or cancel it yourself and find other insurance and make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of said insurance.

@Skyll I do understand the terms and conditions and I haven’t breached them in anyway and I have PROOF of this - stop repeating yourself with inaccurate comments - thank you.

Well you hadn’t read them last night

I’m not being flash. You don’t understand how car insurance works and specifically black box insurance.

For a start, you have to connect your phone every time you drive the car. It’s not their fault that you didn’t chase this.

Secondly, you usually have to have the car at your home address when you’re not driving it. You mention being in hospital. Was the car elsewhere for a protracted period of time?

Are you the owner of the car? Often companies only insure the owner of the car.

Finally, there may be a requirement to drive the car a number of miles to enable them to assess your driving. You have not been driving as you have been in hospital.

Finally, I’m not being goady. I am factually giving advice to try to help you.

Firstly - my phone was connected every single time. It wasn’t picking up. I reported this and they said they would investigate it. Yeah, I’m really sorry that whilst having 7 feeding tubes shoved down my nose that I didn’t chase them up and force them to do their jobs - they said they was handling it, they should have done that. So how is that blame coming back to me and nothing on them exactly?

Secondly - no when I was in hospital for a long period of time, my car was at home.

Finally - there is no minimum requirement and yes I have checked.

Thanks again for your ‘factual’ advice.

@Skyll and yes I do understand how it works because previous to that I had black box insurances that I had no issues with the box. So the fact I’m now having problems after changing to a different company show an issue most likely with them - not me.

I am with Hastings you drive and I’ve actually just read the reviews and just recently there’s been a few people who have had their policies cancelled completely out of the blue the same as me!!

I honestly wish I hadnt of gone with them now because a hell of a lot of people have had exactly the same issue with this tab and not recording journeys properly and then giving them an inaccurate low score and policy cancelled - everyone who blasted me, do you still think that I am the problem as opposed to them?!

hastingsinsuranceuk.epticahosting.com/selfhastingsinsuranceuk/en-gb/814/your-policy/10755/in-what-circumstances-would-you-cancel-my-youdrive-policy