Big insurer, making up rules just for one customer, possible discrimination?

cormie

Hey folks,
If someone was insured with the same insurer for a number of years and then reduced the amount of vehicles they had insured with them to circumvent their extortionate price hikes, who was previously informed of quite flexible rules in terms of temporary cover of vehicles before and now has a whole new set of rules imposed, what seems only for them, is this lawful business practice?

If there was evidence of the allowance given in certain situations from before reducing the cover and now new rules were imposed, which they won't give any official documentation outlining, does this seem strange to anyone?

Any feedback would be great

Peregrinus

Your suspicion, obviously, is that they are no longer offering you flexible temporary insurance terms because you are no longer placing so much business with them.

Dealing on favourable terms with customers who place significant amounts of business with you is generally lawful. These are the customers you want to keep sweet. Discriminating between them and customers who place less business with you is fine.

Generally discrimination is lawful. It's only unlawful if you're discriminating on the basis of a prohibited ground - gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic identity, marriage or family status, etc, etc.

lifeandtimes

Peregrinus wrote: »

Dealing on favourable terms with customers who place significant amounts of business with you is generally lawful. These are the customers you want to keep sweet. Discriminating between them and customers who place less business with you is fine.

Isn't that called a kick back?

"A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickback_(bribery)

seamus

A kickback is a direct compensation to an individual - either on the supplier or customer side. In that the employee receives a direct benefit from the other party in exchange for favourable terms. In this case, a kickback would be the insurance company giving money, expensive gifts or even favourable personal insurance policies to the procurement employee on the customer's side.

A customer receiving a discount for placing large amounts of business isn't a kickback because there is no direct compensation to either employee involved. There may be commision or performance bonuses paid by their own employer, but the key is that the compensation does not come from the other party.

Paulw

lifeandtimes wrote: »

Isn't that called a kick back?

I thought it was called a discount.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Insurers are not obliged to do temporary vehicle alterations (unless you negotiated it in your contract), but do so as a courtesy to their clients. The more money you spend with them, the more flexible they will be with you

big syke

Perhaps they feel that the vehicles you removed from cover will be insured from time to time by Temp cover.

TBF you have been pretty lucky up to this point to get it for free as in general its around €50 + levy a day for temporary cover or cars and more for vans/trucks.