It’s got to be the worse situation for any driver, particularly ones who require specialist cover or own a very expensive car….
To think that you are covered only to find out when you have to make a claim ….that you are not!
Many drivers just visit a car insurance comparison website and opt for the cheapest quote from a list of competing car insurers. Incredibly around half of the people who buy insurance don’t actually know what they’ve bought in way of cover. They only find out the true cost of car insurance when they come to make a claim and get knocked back by the Car Insurance Company’s claims department.
All this can be avoided though if customers read the ‘small print’ and understood just what they were covered for.
Insurance companies are legally obliged to explain their covers in detail online before the purchaser buys the policy which is a legally binding contract. Quite often though, from our testing this is not so obvious to the on-line car insurance buyer. Insurance policy documents can be very complex to the average member of the public and like all legal documents -the devil is in the detail!
We asked one of the UK’s leading Specialist Car Insurance experts to explain what you would find in the typical car insurance policy document:
Read Your Car Insurance Policy Wording Carefully before you Buy On-line
By: Dave HealeyBefore you purchase car insurance online you should carefully study and read the policy wording, often found in a policy booklet or policy document downloadable as a .pdf file from the Car Insurer.The Policy describes the insurance contract that you are entering into when you purchase the cover, although it is not legally the full the contract itself.A policy document, often refered to as ‘the small print’ will outline the contractual participants, the coverage, the consideration or what each party is liable to pay for, the events leading to compensation available under a claim, and any special terms and conditions, the t’s and c’s which apply to the contract. In the case of dispute with or a repudiation by the motor insurer following an accident claim, the detail of the policy wording may be subject to variable interpretations by the civil courts.
Every Car Insurance policy document will contain five types of clause.
The first is known as the’Recital clause’ which is responsible for determining the car insurance cover and specific exceptions. it is often split into multiple sections if more than one type of cover is offered, for example, third party or fully comprehensive or third party fire and theft.
A policy will also contain an ‘Operative clause’ which sets the scope of the cover and specific exceptions. This may be divided into sections if more than one type of cover is included. The ‘Attestation clause’ authorises the policy by the signature of the underwriter or the Car Insurance company CEO, whilst the ‘General exceptions’ clauses set out the general exceptions to the cover provided. Finally, the ‘Conditions’, which are often the most legally contested lists express conditions in order to define or limit the contract.
Policy document wordings for Motor and Car Insurance are often extremely complex and difficult for the public to understand. To help with this many Car Insurers will now produce a summary of cover or keyfacts document, to assist policyholders to understand the insurance protection provided, but unfortunately and legally these summaries do not cover everything in the policy.
Some Car Insurers have, therefore, tried to simplify the wordings themselves. There are dangers in this area since the traditional car insurance policy wordings have been well tried and tested in the courts with known outcomes, whereas simplified translations are unproved and may bring in areas of uncertainty as to the actual levels cover being offered and provided.
About the Author
Dave Healey is a leading UK specialist car insurance underwriter and Car Insurance journalist who regularly contributes to the Car Insurance Blog . Dave has written many insurance journals and publications on the subjects of classic car insurance cover. Dave drives a 1963 E-type Jaguar.
(ArticlesBase SC #2928441)
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Read Your Car Insurance Policy Wording Carefully before you Buy On-line
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