Driven round bend by insurance
Dad Kevin thought he was doing the right thing by paying for full cover for his son
‘ I wanted Direct Line to confirm cover in ‘black and white’
Kevin
Furness thought he was paying for peace of mind when he shelled out more than £2,000 to insure his teenage son’s first car.
Kevin, a part-time carer, did not find it easy to find the right cover for his lad’s needs.
His son Michael, 17, passed his driving test earlier this year and required his Peugeot 107 to travel to and from school – and also to his part-time job at a dairy farm.
But because of his age, premiums to cover Michael for commuting to work as well as for social use were sky high.
Most providers also insisted that he should have a ‘black box’ installed in his vehicle.
Black box insurance works when your car is fitted with a small device, about the size of a smartphone, which records speed, distance travelled and the time of day or night that you are on the road.
“I was willing to pay extra for Michael not to have this device fitted as I previously had one installed in my daughter’s car and when I was using it myself, I caused her to get negative points on her driving score,” Kevin, from Newcastle, said.
Kevin was delighted when last month insurance giant Direct Line agreed to cover Michael for travelling to school and work, and did not insist on a black box device.
“I applied for the insurance by phone and the member of staff I spoke to was very helpful,” Kevin, 61, said.
“It was agreed that the premium would be £2,077 and I was happy that Michael would get all the cover he needed.
“It also meant I would no longer have to get up in the early hours to drive him to work at the farm for 5.30am.”
However, alarm bells rang for Kevin when the policy documents arrived in the post – and there was no mention of his son being covered for commuting to work.
Kevin called Direct Line to query this and was told not to
worry and that revised policy documents would be issued.
“I used to work in insurance, so I know how important it is to carefully check all the wording on what you are signing,” he said.
“I kept being assured verbally that Michael would be covered for commuting but I did not want to take the chance that this could be disputed if he ever had to make a claim.”
Kevin then had a frustrating time trying to get his insurance needs from Direct Line in black and white.
He was also concerned that time was running out if he wanted to cancel the policy.
He contacted Raw Deal and we asked the company to investigate.
To his surprise, within 24 hours Kevin received a letter from Direct Line confirming that all the cover that he asked for his son would be honoured for social, domestic and pleasure use –plus commuting to his permanent place of work.
A spokesperson for Direct line said: “The situation has been resolved and the customer is now happy.”
Kevin added: “Raw Deal achieved in a day what I had been trying to do with no joy.
“I’m now looking forward to a long relationship with the insurer, I just wish their documentation was more precise.
“It always pays to check the small print.”