GoSkippy Insurance - Deeply unimpressed...

Off-topic
21

UPDATE! :D :D

After several polite yet ranty phonecalls at them, they finally retrieved the recording of the phonecall and listened to the damned thing. Shortly after they’d done so, I received a very apologetic call from their indemnity team stating that I was 100% correct, I had disclosed it all (and in fact, had disclosed more than I needed to, to err on the side of being honest - not at fault accident with no claim recorded, apparently they don’t care about this and aren’t interested in my disclosing it), and it was operator error on their side. My policy has been reinstated and my claim is being honoured in full.

Even knowing that I was in the right, it’s such a massive weight off my shoulders. I just wish I could tell what annoyed me more… the bullshit hoops I had to jump through for it, or the fact that my honesty and integrity were being called into question. Either way, I’m bloody glad it’s sorted and I’ll be getting paid out soon.

So… anyone wanna sell me a ZZR1400? ;) :P

22

Brilliant news, I hope they’ll be giving you a favourable quote for the next bike as some sort of recompense for trying to defraud you out of a claim.

23
Brilliant news, I hope they'll be giving you a favourable quote for the next bike as some sort of recompense for trying to defraud you out of a claim. nivag
Cheers mate :) That'd certainly be a nice result. 
24

Well done.

25

It’s probably worthwhile continuing with your official complaint - assuming that you made an official complaint?

I would suggest that you get them to confirm that the cancellation of your policy will not be visible to other insurers on the insurers’ database, and that they confirm everything that they have said in writing in a formal response to your complaint.

You need to bear in mind that it could be a pain in the backside in the future should another insurer see that you have had a policy cancelled, even if it was done erroneously. If I were you, I would want some written evidence to put in front of a potential future insurer should it ask any questions about this debacle.

26
It's probably worthwhile continuing with your official complaint - assuming that you made an official complaint? I would suggest that you get them to confirm that the cancellation of your policy will not be visible to other insurers on the insurers' database, and that they confirm everything that they have said in writing in a formal response to your complaint. You need to bear in mind that it could be a pain in the backside in the future should another insurer see that you have had a policy cancelled, even if it was done erroneously. If I were you, I would want some written evidence to put in front of a potential future insurer should it ask any questions about this debacle. Aiesman
Fantastic advice! They've already confirmed this as such, but only verbally. Making sure I get something in writing will be extremely useful.
27

Get it all in writing.  Ombudsman should be told anyhow as they will wriggle like hell for everyone until it is a recorded fact that they are trying to defraud the customer.  Good result!!

28
it could be a pain in the backside in the future should another insurer see that you have had a policy cancelled
Good point. They always ask "have you ever been refused cover for any reason?"
29

it could be a pain in the backside in the future should another insurer see that you have had a policy cancelled
Good point. They always ask "have you ever been refused cover for any reason?"
Michael748
I asked them about that, and they stated that since it had been overturned, I wouldn't need to disclose it. However, getting it in writing makes a *lot* of sense.
30

Update: Received confirmation of claim being validated and a settlement offer of £5000 (being what I paid for the bike) less claim excess. However, according to their policy documents, I should be receiving retail market value for the bike as per Glasses Guide. Having only had my previous bike stolen two months earlier, and it being the same make, model, and age, I know that the market value of this bike is actually in the range of £6200-£6600. That valuation was also for a vehicle that had almost triple the mileage of this vehicle. My response to them said:

While I am pleased that my claim has been validated and can be settled, I would like to query the settlement amount please.

While that was the price that I paid for the motorcycle, I don’t believe that is the fair market price for this vehicle, as I believe I obtained an exceptionally good deal for it. As such, replacing it will be more difficult. With my previous vehicle theft in October, a similar vehicle albeit with significantly higher mileage (roughly triple, if I recall correctly) was valued at between £6200 and £6600 (based on two different trade pricebooks).

As such, I would request that the settlement value be compared with the retail market value as listed in Glasses Guide (as per Section 1 of the Southern Rock policy documents, and the Market Value definition listed under the Definition of Terms - https://goskippy.com/wp-content/skippy_documents/bike/SRICL_bike_PW.pdf). 

Additionally, while I received formal, written notification of my claim having initially been rejected and my policy voided, I have not received any such formal notification of this having been overturned. At least, nothing that I can present to future prospective insurers should this ever become an issue. As such, could I please request a written statement from Southern Rock/GoSkippy that the previous policy voidance and claim rejection has been officially overturned and the policy reinstated etc?

At first I thought I was being a bit of a dick, but then the more I thought about it, I figured they probably try this kind of shit on with everyone, trusting that they haven’t read the policy documentation or understand their rights. In honesty, I really could not recommend anyone use these guys for insurance, as every step of this process has been an uphill battle with the presumption that as their customer, I’m either lying, stupid, or both. I’ll let you know how/when they respond.

31

They should be giving you sufficient to replace the motorcycle taken AFAIK, regardless of purchase price. 

If you listed the value as £5000 initially though, you might be disappointed as that’s what the premium was based on. 

32

They should be giving you sufficient to replace the motorcycle taken AFAIK, regardless of purchase price. 
If you listed the value as £5000 initially though, you might be disappointed as that's what the premium was based on. 
me_groovy
That's why I checked their policy documents. The statement quite explicitly states that total loss/theft claims will be settled at "retail market value", not whatever I estimated the value to be at the time of taking out the policy. The value that I've estimated at the time of acquiring the policy is completely irrelevant, as it cannot be relied upon to be accurate for the entire duration of the insured period. The only way they can accurately gauge the value of the vehicle is by using an industry-accepted, independent third party guidance. 
33

Good good. 

Trouble for us is, they have 3 books of valuation and obviously they always chooses the lowest one. 

34

Good good. 
Trouble for us is, they have 3 books of valuation and obviously they always chooses the lowest one. 
me_groovy
Ah, but for me, they've actually specified which book it is (and my previous insurer also happened to use that and I know what the valuation of it was :) )
35

^^ Can’t see you winning this one.  Insurer is only obliged to indemnify you, not provide you with a £1200-1600 profit.  Whether you got an exceptionally good deal on the bike when you bought it is neither here nor there. 

36

^^ Can't see you winning this one.  Insurer is only obliged to indemnify you, not provide you with a £1200-1600 profit.  Whether you got an exceptionally good deal on the bike when you bought it is neither here nor there. 
markinderby
Actually, you're wrong there. According to the terms of their own policy, they're obliged to offer me "retail market rate", not what I paid.
37

^^ Can't see you winning this one.  Insurer is only obliged to indemnify you, not provide you with a £1200-1600 profit.  Whether you got an exceptionally good deal on the bike when you bought it is neither here nor there.  markinderby
Actually, you're wrong there. According to the terms of their own policy, they're obliged to offer me "retail market rate", not what I paid.
Gesthemene
That makes sense otherwise anyone who was given a bike by a friend or who won it in a competition would be screwed.
38

Motor vehicle insurance policies are typically made up of four documents the policy, the schedule, the certificate and the statement of fact. All four documents should be read in conjunction with each other as each has a bearing on the other.

What you’re reading is their definition of ‘Market Value’ read a little further on and at ‘Section 1 Loss of or damage to Your Motorcycle’ (page7) limits the pay out to ‘The most we will pay is the Market Value…’ Now since within the policy schedule you’ve agreed with the insurers by acceptance a value of £5,000.00 that further limits the pay out to just that.

 We all know the less you value an item at for insurance purposes the less the premium will cost. Lets look at an extreme example. What if you valued your motorcycle at £1! Would you still be expecting the insurance company to pay out £6,000.00+? I don’t think so! The bottom line is under value your mo’cycle at your risk not the insurers.

39

I managed to get a third party insurer (whose client admitted full liability) to pay more than I had insured / declared as the value, but they never knew what value I’d declared. Suspect you’re right NT, but guess there’s no harm in trying.

Do keep posted OPr. I know its always tempting to talk down the value when renewing, but probably worth talking up if you think about it.

40

As you say blue, the agreed value is with your insurer not the third party’s :wink: