jut

Hey all,
I just want to share my experience with Adrian Flux insurance in order to avoid anyone else ending up out of pocket.

I bought my policy though AF in July 2010 as they provided the cheapest quote by far. Unfortunately my car was hit while parked on the side of the street by an unknown vehicle in September while I was traveling in Europe.
At the time I reported the damage, AF suggested I take my car to the local Honda Garage and that they would send out a inspector then repair the car.
All the paperwork handed to me by the inspector to sign was in Romanian, and he didn't speak a word of English. The inspector looked at the car for less than 10 minutes.
When I received the car back, the steering was still pulling to the right, and the damage caused by the other car's wheel (there were circular scratches one of the alloys, next to black rubber marks) was not repaired.
When I contacted AF, I was told that the inspector had said that the marks would wash off with some water, and that the car geometry was fine. When driving in a straight line I have to hold the wheel approx 5 degrees to the left or it will pull to the right, the geo is NOT fine.
After further discussion, I was told that they considered the case closed, and that there was nothing else they would do.
Fast forward to Jan and I decided that I would be canceling my policy as I'm going to stay in Europe longer than the 90 days cover provided, and I *still* don't have my car in a similar condition to before the accident.
The cancellation form states that AF will contact you when they received the request to discuss the details. There was no contact, the next thing I heard was that the policy had been canceled and I would not be receiving a partial refund as I has claimed an "at fault" accident.
Upon further exchanges, they would answer some of my questions, and ignore the others. The accident is still classed as 'at fault' instead of a hit an run, upon which I have learned that the MIB cover you against being hit by hit and run drivers as from 2003, allowing expenses to be recovered. This was not something I was made aware of when I spoke to AF when making my claim and the claim window has now expired.
Right now I have a car that's still in need of repairs, and I'm out of pocket to the tune of 6 months premium. Had I paid for the repairs myself I would have a repaired car and a premium refund.

Adrian Flux may be the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
In retrospect I wish I had paid a bit extra for a competent insurance company.

Buyer beware.

composite guru

Too true. Years ago i insured with Allen & Allen and had an accident, they were completely useless when i came to claim so i have vowed never to use brokers ever again.

I only ever use big insurers now for this reason.

tej

A lot of companies will deem a "hit and run" as your fault. Hell, we have an "at fault" claim on a car that was parked up and hit by a drunk driver, the drunk driver was arrested and full details taken, yet as he was uninsured and "did a runner" after his night in a cell we had to take the hit on our insurance!

Most insurance companies suck, but then cheapest quotes don't necassarily = best service, as at the end of the day insurance is just a service we pay for.

It really is irritating to think you really are better off driving a shit heap and not taking out insurance.

jut

The huge annoyance is that the expenses could have been claimed back through the MIB uninsured driver/hit and run scheme. Had their claims department informed me that since I was entitled to claim through the MIB since I was the victim of a hit and run, then all expenses would have been covered.
It seems that your insurance company shafted you too.
I would imagine they are reluctant to go through the MIB as it's a central fund that all insurance companies in the UK have to pay into.

exalto

Anyone holding a policy with Highway Insurance should also be aware. After having 3 guys come through my front door with a fire axe, balaclavas and baseball bats and giving me a beating, they were less than helpful. Yes, i had already surrendered my EP3 keys.

Their comprehensive cover left me stranded without a hire car until my own vehicle was found. I had opted for hire car coverage in the event of the vehicle being damaged or stolen, but their wording was such that it was not clear that this would only be the case if the vehicle was actually being assessed or repaired.

After a month, it was recovered and I was given a hire car for two days whilst it was assessed. They decided to pay instead of repairing the car. Took the hire car off me and was a further six weeks before any money was paid.

Throughout the whole process, Highway were aloof and uninterested. No returning of calls, no return correspondence and a settlement figure that was so low that, if I hadn't had gap insurance, would have left me deep in the mire.

I admit my own naivity in not checking the small print that left me without transport for almost 3 months. But their manner of business in all other areas left insult with injury - literally.

Whilst being quoted £950 as the cheapest this time round, I'll be going with Endsleigh at £1500. Their cover is full and even includes the facility to recover any excess paid out.

Peace of mind is cheap regardless of cost.

I feel the OP's pain.

jonybravo78

Try Noel dazely mate, that's who I've been with for many years. When my last car was hit whilst it was parked in a car park, they were pretty reactive in getting me the money paid out to repair the damage. That said, the driver had left her details, but Noel dazely were still really quick at closing the case.

bigtommy

it appears to make sod all difference whether you have a fault or no fault accident anyway. I've just re-insured my car for about £750 with elephant (27M, SW london on street) and my girlfriend has an unresolved accident at the moment. difference bewteen it being fault and non fault was £6!!

Dembo

Adrian Flux or the insurer? Maybe you'd get the same policy with the same problems from a different broker.

Just about to renew mine with AF.

keith2.2

I have to add some balance to this - I have used AF on a number of occasions. When I was shunted from behind by a lorry, I found them to be excellent - I had a hire car delivered that day and it wasn't picked up until the payout had been cashed. They also facilitated my excess being refunded.

Having said that, I'm not with them on the S because they wanted nearly double my current premium.

jut

It's AF who I've been speaking with. They failed to advise me that I could claim through the MIB instead of my policy, and have not been helpful in facilitating the repairs to my car either, with their E-mails verging on rude.
Their attitude seems to be 'sell the policy, screw customer service'

Go elsewhere, or at least hope you don't end up screwed like me.