SAGA > Reviews (7)

When the SAGA car insurance department decides it wants it to be.

Scenario:
You reach a certain age and buy a car for the first time in a few years after having driven for 10 years on a company car without incident, claims or convictions. When you get your car insurance quote you are subjected to a ridiculous premium because you are unable to provide "adequate proof of claim free driving".

After a period of wrangling with your preferred insurance company
you provide a letter from your previous employers confirming claim free driving and get a quote, which is still wildly expensive in the circumstances,
and comes with a the old carrot and stick caveat that after a year your renewal premium be substantially less due to the extra year that has been applied to the company no claims bonus letter provided.

REALITY:
Your motor insurance renewal comes around and the premium is MORE ! When you query the price you are advised that it is because you only have ONE years no claims discount. This is despite the fact that the insurance company verbally confirmed there was 10 years plus no claims history on file, however they will only confirm 1 year in writing on the renewal.

THE SAGA .... Saga.
SAGA Car insurance tell me they will not accept accumulated proof of claims free driving in order to calculate the level of No Claims Discount they apply to the premium. Elrich Howe a Supervisor on the telesales department confirms that their underwriters will only accept the last insurance companies no claims bonus confirmation, which in my case was one year. Having offered to prove the previous years claim free experience, Mr Howe declined advising that his underwriters treat everyone the same and the policy is to only accept what the previous insurer states on the renewal documentation regardless if it is correct.

I thought underwriters were there to 'underwrite' a process which is defined as follows:

[b]Insurance underwriters evaluate the risk and exposures of potential clients. They decide how much coverage the client should receive, how much they should pay for it, or whether even to accept the risk and insure them. Underwriting involves measuring risk exposure and determining the premium that needs to be charged to insure that risk. [/b]

It is hardly an underwriting decision when a major part of the discounting process is ignored because as Mr Howe puts it, everyone has to be treated the same and the SAGA policy is only to rely on the info provided on the last insurers renewal.

The last comment from Mr Howe can be amongst other things described as crass: Mr Howe suggested I might have the previous insurance company review the renewal letter and reflect a corrected no claims discount position. Of course that isn't going to happen... lets face it why should the company who is about to lose their renewal business help it along its way.

Mmmmmmmm.... and I though SAGAloo was an indian dish.