Brexit and a tale of two Insurance Companies
We are Motorhomers. We are fortunate to be able to spend about 6 months of the year wandering about Europe.We are old enough to have had experience of wandering around Europe way before Schengen and Britain being a member of the EEC.
So we have no fear of continuing our lifestyle after March. Be it, Deal, No Deal, any other political spin or doublespeak.
We plan our next trip to be from the 23rd. March returning sometime in June. Thinking that if there is going to be any hassle at the ports we will be well on our way beforehand, and it will be over by the time we are coming back.
We are aware that we may need additional documentation. !968 and !949 IDP's. have been easily obtained at a moderste charge from the Post Office.
We carry a motorbike on the back of our motorhome and so require two seperate Green Cards, one for each. Now then, these two vehicles are with different companies.
The motorbike first. It is insured with LV=. I telephoned there offices and got the usual recorded 'Press 1 for this' or 'Press 2 for that' etc. and then 'If you require a green card for the EU please send an email to this address noting your policy number. I didn't really beleive that it was going to be that simple. Still someone had obviously got their act together so I gave it a try. Sent off the email, Ten minutes later got a reply confirming that it was the motorbike that I wanted the card for and not my car wich is also insured with them. Confirmed that, and a couple of minutes later got an email back saying that I should receive my Green Card in the post in a couple of days. Three days later, Green Card arrives. It covers all EU countries including the other usual odds and sods. It is valid until the expiration date of the main policy. Could not have been easier.
Buoyed up with this initial success I then telephoned the insurer of my motorhome. AXA. Was told quite abruptly that my policy number did not exist. Had I bought it through a broker? Yes I had, but the cover note and all the paperwork is from AXA. Sorry we can't talk to you, you need to talk to us through your broker. But I only want a Green Card. You need to speak to your broker
So I rang the brokers and explained the situation. They agreed that they had had many requests like mine and would ring AXA to request the Green Card.
Brokers rang me back in 10 minutes. AXA need to know where you will be going and what dates. They can only issue a Green Card within a fortnight of you travelling. But I want a Green card that covers me for the EU etc for the remainder of my policy. They dont think that they can do that. I have agreed with them that I will contact them again 18 days before you travel. Thanks very much I apreciate that it is AXA's fault and not yours.
I got a phone call this afternoon from my brokers as they had said they would do. Hello, I've been onto AXA about your green card and they need to know what countries you will be visiting? I don't know, Europe, we just book the ferry and decided where we are going on a day to day basis, thats why I need the Green Card to cover the countries covered by my policy. OK I'll get back to them.
10 minutes later 'I've spoken to AXA again and they need to know the specific countries that you will be travelling to.
10 minutes later and I had finished reciting to the poor girl at the brokers the list of all the EU countries and additions that my policy covered me for. She got back to AXA and rang me again in desperation 10 minutes later. AXA say that they can't issued a Green Card for all these countries because if it is inspected at a border then they will not believe it is genuine. Now I know that for some reason AXA's cusatomers are getting the run around. As I needed the card fairly urgently and mainly because I was feeling so sorry for the poor girl at the brokers, I gave her a list of about 8 countries that were the probables for our next journey, and AXA have promissed a Green Card in about 15 days time. I am not holding my breath.
When I bought my insurance from AXA it specifically covered all EU countries for any number of trips not excedeing 90 days per trip, for the duration of the policy.
Now if LV= can issue me with a Green Card for All the EU countries that starts today and lasts for the life of the policy, there can obviously be no legal or operational reasons that AXA cannot. I have paid AXA for cover that allows me to wander about Europe where and when I want. They are trying to decrease the value of the cover that I have paid for.
No prizes for anyone who can guess who will not be insuring my motorhome next year.
Comments
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Admiral sent me an e mail advising that I would need to apply for a Green Card if travelling after 29th March. I spoke to Admiral customer services and asked for a Green Card. The lady I spoke to was not aware of the e mail sent to all customers..She referred to her supervisor who said I should apply 2 weeks before planned travel date which in my opinion is leaving it a bit late. I emailed Admiral to say I was not happy to leave it that late and, a week later, I have not received a reply. Not sure if I will renew with Admiral when our dual car policy expires early June
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I've used LV= for years and have found their service excellent. My wife made a claim a few years ago and it was dealt with promptly and efficiently. The premium for my car (2001 Discovery) was £331.05 in 2010 and £335.35 last year - a massive £4.30 increase. Both premiums for exactly the same risk, same NCB, excesses etc.
Of course LV= is a mutual so doesn't have to satisfy rapacious shareholders and service onerous "loans" which are only taken on to reduce tax liabilities.
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Good on you ricochet. The best way of getting firms, businesses to change their customer care, operations policies is to hit them where it hurts, and spread news of good and bad practice. We have used LV on a number of occasions, for a variety of policies, and always found them one of the better insurance companies. We still shop around, but if the price increase is minimal, we will go back to LV, see what they will do for us and stick with them in preference.
There will be all sorts of businesses jumping on the “Brexit” bandwagon and using it to unfairly increase prices. I do have a lot of sympathy though with some businesses in this time of uncertainty.
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"Uncertainty" is about the only thing that is certain about Brexit, and we can be sure of suffering many variations on the facts - from agencies who get the facts wrong, to those who take the opportunity to 'milk' the system.
Because of our pre-booked ferry and campsite fees being, as usual, longer than most insurers' personal cover maximum, I had no choice but to pay Red Pennant's swingeing premium (we are in our 80s). However, by slightly shortening our stay in future, we can give RP the brush-off.
Should going to the EU in future be too problematic, we can take the view that we've "done it" and revert to solely UK holidays. But, if things do work out bad, we feel sorry for younger folk who have yet to enjoy the pleasures of travelling and camping in mainland Europe.
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It does show the difference between different companies policies on this. LV should be commended for their effort and AXA was bad but they are not the easiest company to deal with.
LV do seem to have a good reputation for customer service but their appalling efforts to try and avoid paying me the correct level of damages when I was hit by one of their customers would put me off them.
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It wasn't my intention to recommend any company over any other. I just wanted to highlight the vast differences in dealing with simple requests between companies. Incidently my motorhome used to be insured by LV= until on renewal I noticed that they had changed the windscreen cover. Maximum payout to replace a windscreen in an 'A' class motorhome, £400. I think not. It is now becoming a nightmare trying to make sure you have adequate insurance. It is so difficult to get companies to actually give you site if the policy rather than the sales blurb. I have the motorhome, a car, and two motorcycles and dread the renewals coming round. Not because of the inevitable increase in premiums but the hours it's going to take me going through quotes and policies and probably still not being sure at the end that there isn't some clause in there that the company is going to use against me. That's before I start on Household, Holiday and breakdown insurances. I need a holiday after trying to sort it out every year.
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It is impossible to guess how an insurer my view your risk worthiness from one year to another. I used to have my car insured with LV, and for a few years the renewal costs were what I would call fair. Then suddenly, without any change of circumstances, the renewal fee was raised heavily. So I changed to an insurer via the CAMC. Renewal fee started OK. Then I changed my car mid-policy. Going from a 2009 VW Touran to a 2017 VEW Caravelle, I expected to pay some extra on the current policy, but it seemed reasonable. Then I got the renewal quote, and it shot up to £1707. - are you kidding?
So I started to check around, and got a quote of £744 from Admiral, which I accepted. With many insurers, if a load of tickets with a wide range of premiums were put into a raffle, and you picked one out, the irrelevance of driver/vehicle reliability could not be any more erratic than any assessment by an insurer.
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My thoughts as well
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We were with AXA through Halifax Bank for the last 2 years, second year was actually cheaper as we added our daughter as a named driver.
This year however the premium quoted was almost double, Halifax claimed it was still their cheapest!
After extensive shopping around the least expensive was NFU, second was LV, but even then it has cost us about 50% more than last year.
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We are insured for the MH with Comfort Insurance. Received an email today in relation to Brexit, as to what we MAY need in the case of no deal. One of the things is obviously a Green Card, which they told us, if necessary, they will be able to provide, free of charge, with 21 days notice.
Must admit that surprised me somewhat, as I was fully expecting there to be a charge for a Green Card.
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Ina, you may find them reverting to a charge once your renewal premium comes around after we have officially left the EU or after the supposed 2 year sorting out period. At the moment they have already given you the cover so they would be changing their terms and conditions mid policy. Nevertheless some may charge an "admin" fee.
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If you are already paying a higher premium for travelling abroad, then it seems reasonable to expect a Green Card to be issued free of charge. After all, it only a piece of paper confirming your right to travel and does not include any additional benefits that you have not already paid for.
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I changed my car insurer this year to Direct Line as my previous insurer increased the premium by £50. A few weeks later,when I asked for a green card for continental travel, they wanted to know when I was going abroad because my cover would only be 3rd party when abroad, even though I had paid for a years comprehensive cover. They would also not issue a green card unless I stipulated the travel dates. Incidentally, I've noticed that Devitts Insurance have increased their fees from £10 to £15 which is added on to the insurers premium. I suspect that I will be caned when I finally book my crossing and want to increase my continental coverage to comprehensive. I will try LV next year but can anyone recommend other alternatives. I have always used the C & MH Club for caravan and continental insurance, but they are getting unaffordable. Can anyone recommend a rival.
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Bluemelvyn 1, I have Saga for caravan insurance. When you take out the policy, or at renewal, you do not need to apply for European cover but give them a ring 2-3 weeks before you go and they will initiate the cover from then until the end of the policy year so you pay a pro-rata rate. Remember to check the renewal premium as it may automatically include the cover. If so just ring them and take it off until you need it again.
For car insurance I use General Accident (part of Aviva group) but only accessible through the internet and usually cheaper through a comparison website. Haven't had to ask for a Green Card yet but do not anticipate any problems. Won't need it until next year anyway.
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Just as a matter of general information Green Cards used to specify the countries visited. Some foreign countries have/had different needs, such as Spain, where you needed to ask for the Green Card to include a Bail Bond as the Spanish Police could/can impound the car after an accident and the bond will release it back out so Insurers used to ask which countries were to be visited.
You will find that the EU will probably have some sort of unified approach to minimum levels of Third Party Insurance provided by the home insurer for travel but it's best to remember that we are now treated differently so ask your insurer to clarify what you are getting and what you need.
Like everyone else I will need to be aware that we can't just rely on what we had a few years ago.
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I've always managed to choose a car insurance company that include the Green Card document/wording in the original insurance document, and in a couple of cases F.O.C upon request.
In 2019 when we did not know if a deal would be brokered whilst away it got confusing as it became apparent that a separate Green Card for the towed vehicle would be needed. This falls on your car insurance company and not caravan insurance company and did take a bit of explaining. I now other owners had the same problem initially getting insurance companies to understand.
Colin
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This discussion beats me. It`s typical, again anything having to do with the EU is always a pain in the.
The Green Card which is now white is a document to show that you have 3rd party insurance.
The card is now white so that you can print it from your insurance web site if they offer this service.
Here in Germany it covers all 27 EU countries which means we do not have to inform the insurance which countries within the EU we want to visit. You do not have to show it normally just have it with you.
It also covers following Non EU countries Switzerland Albania Andorra Turkey Bosnian-Herz. White-Russia Moldavia Montenegro Serbia Ukrain and also of course not forgetting the GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
My insurer does not cover the following countries. Russia Iran Morocco Israel Aserbaidshan and Tunisia, we have to have extra insurance if visiting for example Morocco and Tunisia for a winter motorhome holiday.
The Green/White card costs me nothing except a few words to my insurance that I want one.
Sad to say that I have the feeling that the EU wants to punish the UK for leaving the EU and will make it difficult for the British in all walks of life,they just dont realise that they are also harming themselves.
Brexit was good, Megxit was good God Save the Queen and the loyal royal family.
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