CGU plc (CGNU)

...is my account of CGU motor insurance (who have recently merged with Norwich Union) and the claim process.

After the accident I spent the entire day at home sorting my claim out, and I have learnt a few lessons not only about driving in bad weather but also about the enormous difficulties I have had contacting my insurance company as a result of mergers of the large insurance companies.

CGU- why I chose them?
...
...as £2000 down to £300. CGU being one of the big leading names in Insurance I thought I would be safe to have my motor insurance with them.

Another reason I chose CGU was that I had extensive motoring experience (driving) abroad and as I did not qualify for any “no-claims” bonus in UK, I wanted to transfer mine from abroad. Note-not all insurance companies let you do this, so if you do have proof of claim–free driving ... more

You can never be prepared for an accident, there is no good time, no bad time, but they do happen. I had a car crash recently at very slow speed ~5mph, the car skidded on the wet slippery icy conditions on a downhill road (which was not gritted), and hit another vehicle. So what do I do now?? Suddenly my mind went blank I could not think what to do..First thing to ensure was to make sure nobody was injured, they weren’t. I didn’t realise it on impact but my car had extensive damage to near side and had ripped part of the die cast aluminium chassis which is an expensive item to repair, the rest of the car was untouched in immaculate condition.

A few moments later ..you are alerted by loud sirens in your head shouting INSURANCE, INSURANCE, INSURANCE.

We all take out insurance policies and never have to think about them ever again until we need them or its renewal time. So just how good is your motor insurance when it comes to the “crunch?” I have been insured with Commercial Union (CGU) for 5 years and have never had any problems with them.
This is my account of CGU motor insurance (who have recently merged with Norwich Union) and the claim process.

After the accident I spent the entire day at home sorting my claim out, and I have learnt a few lessons not only about driving in bad weather but also about the enormous difficulties I have had contacting my insurance company as a result of mergers of the large insurance companies.

CGU- why I chose them?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I chose CGU as they offered me the most comprehensive cover on an alfa 146 for the most competitive price. I had quotes from as high as £2000 down to £300. CGU being one of the big leading names in Insurance I thought I would be safe to have my motor insurance with them.

Another reason I chose CGU was that I had extensive motoring experience (driving) abroad and as I did not qualify for any “no-claims” bonus in UK, I wanted to transfer mine from abroad. Note-not all insurance companies let you do this, so if you do have proof of claim–free driving from abroad it may be worth looking into..especially if you are going to save lots of money, and its much cheaper than trying to get competitive insurance quotes on “International Driving Licence”. (I already had my household insurance with CGU, and having both household and motor insurance with them lowered my household premium by a further £20 too!)

CGU- what do you get?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was looking for a comprehensive policy and chose CGU who were offering me a “fully comprehensive” policy with something known as ”dual driver” which meant I and another “named” driver could both be fully insured to drive the car. I decided to have my no claims bonus, “protected” i.e. if you make a claim it doesn’t mean that at the next renewal the premium will go up as a result of this claim. I transferred my International driving no-claims which got me the maximum 60% NCD (No Claims Discount). As well as having the most competitive premium CGNU also allowed me to pay monthly without any extra interest (0%apr). I also added on to this Motor Aid and Breakdown Recovery service, for an extra £50. This is something like the AA, but uses local breakdown and recovery services operated through Europ Assistance [EA].

Accident!! Claim time~

Having made a claim about 3 years ago which was sorted out by one simple phone-call to my local branch I was quite confident with CGU’s track record. I also had a breakdown a couple years ago when my exhaust blew doing ~80mph on the motorway and one simple call using the “Helpline” number got me to Breakdown (using my MotorAid cover) and my car was towed to the nearest exhaust centre of my choice. So what’s different now? Well, CGU have now merged with Norwich Union and are now known as Norwich Union…and this is where the communication problems just begin….

(Warning –the following account of “Making a claim" is long! It may be beneficial to existing CGNU customers who may need to call the helpline -you may wish to scroll down to "The Verdict ~ Claim", Conclusion")

Making a Claim - using the “helpline” phone number with Norwich Union ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since the recent merger of CGU to CGNU, there is a “helpline” number to call, as I could not find this new number I called my CGNU local branch at 9.15a.m and was told to ring the helpline number. The branch told me they would place the call for me, and that I would receive a reply call from the helpline soon. After taking all my details and requests for a) my car to recovered b) to get me a courtesy as soon as possible, I ended this conversation with the hope that I would receive help pretty soon.

After 1hr 15mins, I gave up waiting and called the helpline number myself. Upon calling I was greeted by a message saying “CGNU has merged with Norwich Union and is now known as Norwich Union..” it then offered me a menu 3 choices, I chose the Motor Policy, it then gave you 3 further choices; new claims, existing claims, other, I chose “new claims”. I got through to an operator explained my situation. The operator took all my details all over again, asked me if the car was driveable, to which I replied “no”. I stressed the importance of getting the vehicle removed from the road and that I needed a courtesy car as soon as possible (to get to work). The helpline operator then asked me where I would like to take the car to be repaired, i.e. I could take it to one of their “approved garages” as that would give me a courtesy car soon. I asked if I could take it to a garage of my choice, and they said yes, though it may take a day or two longer to get approval from the insurance company. I said I’d call him back in 5 mins.

I quickly made a few phone calls to my manufacturer approved garage (e.g. alfa romeo, VW etc) The alfa garage said it’d be fine, though did point out if my insurance company did not agree then they could not offer me a courtesy car and it may take longer as they are not one of the approved garages on Norwich Union’s list of repairers. My problem was the car was immobile once I take to a garage it’ll be stuck there.

In the meantime I received a call back from helpline taking all my details all over again (this was the call placed my local CGNU branch) I was annoyed as to why nobody had come to recover the car, the lady then told me it would be quicker to use the AA!! (I couldn’t believe I was hearing this!!! I pay an extra £50 approx-for Motor Aid and Breakdown, why should I call the AA?) In the heat of the moment as I was so fed up waiting for my car to be recovered I called AA (as I had this cover too). The AA could not recover my vehicle as they only covered breakdowns and road side assistance, not accidents (my AA cover is Roadside Assist).

So back to calling helpline its 10.45am now, I gave them my policy number and again some guy was trying to take all the details all over again. I explained I have already logged this claim, so he got the details up. He said the best thing to do if I wanted the repair work to be sorted out quickly was to use one of their approved repairer, which would also give me a courtesy car. He read out a list of 6 garages in my area and asked me to choose. A couple of them were big names I had heard of and knew where they were, I had a choice of Ford or Vauxhall dealership. I was informed that if I went with the Vauxhall garage I would get a courtesy car the same day. He even said they had a spare car in stock, so I decided to choose Vauxhall garage.

It was now 11.15am, no sign of help. I finally called helpline again, this time I thought as my claim has been logged (at least twice!!) maybe I should try the other option available under Motor Policies-which is option 2-“Existing claims” however this only lead me to a message saying .. ”please contact your local branch for all existing claims” , so I called my branch again asking them why no help had been received 2 hours after I made a phone call, they apologised and told me help was on its way. At 11.40a.m finally..the recovery truck arrived PHEW!!!! I jumped into the truck and took my beloved alfa to one of the insurance company’s “approved garages”.

When I got there I was told there was no courtesy car. I couldn’t believe it, Norwich Union told me they had one in stock. Infact they were lying, the garage’s contractual agreement is only to provide the customer with a courtesy car within 24 hours of receiving your vehicle for repair in accordance to the terms of your insurance company. I phoned the helpline again this time got through to another one of the 100’s of operators who in fact told me that whoever said a courtesy car would be available immediately was wrong, as they are only allowed to provide you with one within 24hours. I got a lift with one of the engineers and was back onto my insurance company local branch. They too, confirmed contractually they can only provide me with a courtesy car within 24hours.

So , whenever your insurance company says “yes, we’ll get you a courtesy car”, please always check directly with the garage that is providing that car that they do actually have one!

The Verdict ~ Claim
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to the claim, the garage’s engineer carried out an estimate of the repair work. I then had to wait for my insurance company engineer to carry out a report on the cost of repairs to my car. The engineer gave me the repair figure which was shocking!! I was informed that it’s a borderline case of writing the car off and repairing it (i.e. whether it’s financially feasible for them to repair it).

Next day I received a call from the garage saying that they have decided to “write the car off” those words sounded shocking, I couldn’t believe it.. “Written off “ in my mind always indicated “the end, finito, au revior” was I about to say goodbye to the partnership I shared with my alfa with 5 trouble free years of driving…

Now, my mind was thinking what value are they going to give me? (will it enable me to buy the same car of equivalent standard). The following day the engineer from insurance company gave me the value they were prepared to offer. It was not a bad market value, however I did not feel the value reflected the car’s immaculate condition and low mileage. I am still negotiating value with the insurance company.

Please note-there is also another choice when insurance companies tell you they are “writing off” cars they actually sell them on to interested parties i.e at salvage yards, auctions etc (if you are really keen to keep your own car they will let you buy the car back off them, though it may go down in history as being considered a “total loss (financially speaking). You can of course get a second opinion from another garage to make a cost of the estimate of repairs, should you feel the prices are being exaggerated. Remember, if the cost of repairs are considered more than the 60% of the market value of your car today, the chances are the company will try to write the car off. Remember you “always” have a choice.

Conclusion~
~~~~~~~~
So what can we learn from this long lesson about insurance companies and helpline numbers!!

1.Firstly make sure you have the latest telephone number of the insurance company and policy number if you need to make a claim. If possible check out the options provided in the menu so you’ll know you will get the quickest response.
2. Make sure you have a current valid driving licence (with no convictions –if possible)
3. Make sure your car has a current MOT
4. Keep your V5 document filed safely.
5. Always keep a FULL SERVICE history of your vehicle-all these points will be considered when your car is valued or should you wish to sell/part exchange it.
6. Keep a list of any extras fitted to the car.

Finally, the policy itself has not changed or the premiums paid under CGU is same for Norwich Union. This company have paid out for my claim in the past and recovered my vehicle quickly. The current confusion is over the options and communication using the “helpline” number with Norwich union, which may be more better called a “stressline!”

I hope to settle my claim amicably with CGNU soon and say my final farewells to my beloved alfa….hopefully I will be reunited with another new Italian beast to fill my heart and start my love affair all over again!!

[CGNU not only came out tops for my motor insurance, they also saved me at least £100 off my house insurance-see reviews under household insurance..and they do pay up, in event of a claim!!)

update 21.03.01

CGNU have paid up I received payment for my vehicle, its not quite as much as I wanted but it is reasonable. Fortunately, for me! the company's estimator/engineer was a reasonable person and could see my car was in almost pristine condition with low mileage and a FSH. I also backed up my claim with estimates of my car value from 'parkers guide'. I only managed to negotiate the excess! So to re-cap I cannot emphasize enough please do keep a history of your vehicle, whether its a chore or an absolute joy in maintaining your precious car's history, it has to be done!
 

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