Auto Express – July 30, 2019

60 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

THEINSURERS

ULTIMATE GUIDETO

BUYINGACAR

NAMEDaftertheYorkshiretowninwhichit

wasfoundedoveracenturyandahalfago

andnowpartoftheLloydsBankingGroup,

Halifaxfallsslightlyfromlastyear’stables,

whereitcame17th,withacollectionof

fairlymiddlingscores.You’renotimpressed

bythetelephoneexperienceorhowfriendly

staffareduringtheclaimsprocess,don’t

judgethecompanytooffergoodvaluefor

money,andsaythatclaimstaketoolong

tosettle–althoughoverallyoureportthe

claimsprocessisn’ttoobad.Butwhileit’s

fairtosaythatHalifaxinsurancepoliciesare

easytobuy,accordingtooursurveyresults,

therestofthecustomerexperiencewould

appeartoberatherdisappointing.

NOTHINGreallystandsoutaboutthe

resultsfromAgeas,Belgium’slargest

insurer,anditpostsfairlyhumdrumresults

inalotofcategories.It’sworthpointing

out,though,thatwith50insurancefirms

ratedinthissurvey, Ageas,likemostofthe

othercompaniesinthetop25,postsabove-

averagescoresinmanyareas.Thefirm’s

bestmarkisforhowfriendlyandhelpfulits

staffareduringtheclaimsprocess–afacet

manyunfortunatemotoristsarelikelyto

welcome;andareasonable79percentof

customerswouldrenewwithAgeas,too.

Butlacklustremarksforvalueformoney

andkeepingyouinformedduringthe

claimsprocesspegitsoverallscoreback.

WITHascorethat’sonly0.002percent

higherthanAgeas’s,Tesco’ssloganof

‘everylittlehelps’explainswhyitsitsinside

thetop20,ratherthanoutside.LikeAgeas,

however,mostofTescoBank’sscoresare

unremarkable,savefortheoveralllevelof

satisfactionourreadershadwiththeclaims

process–althoughthiswasn’techoedin

yourexperienceonthephonewhenyou

hadtomakeaclaim.Withso-sovaluefor

money,friendlinessthat’sneitherherenor

thereandanuninspiringratingforhowlong

ittakesTescoBanktosettleyourclaim,it

doesn’tcomeastoomuchofasurprisethat

only68percentofyouwouldshopwith

Tescoforcarinsurancecomerenewaltime.

BARCLAYSputsinastrongperformance

inanumberofareas,andshootsupfrom

32ndplacelastyear.Itwouldseemthefirm

isrelativelyeasytorecommend–assuming

youdon’tgetputoffduringthepurchasing

process,whichgeneratesarankingthat’s

farlowerthanthekindofscoreswewould

expecttoseeatthispointinthetable.Look

beyondthatinitialexperienceandthefirm

offersexcellentvalueformoney,settles

claimsquickly, andkeepsyouwellinformed

asitdoesso.Abetterclaimshotlinewouldn’t

dothebank-cum-insureranyharm,butit’s

hardnottofeelthatifBarclays’ordering

processweresimpler,thefirmwouldbe

punchingfarhigheruptheserankings.

85.80%

85.835%

85.837%

85.843%

21. Halifax


22. Ageas


23. TescoBank


24. Barclays Bank

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

“I’mcurrentlyintheprocessofmakingaclaim,butsofarI’ve

foundalotofthestaffonthephoneextremelyunhelpful.”

“ThegarageAgeasusedwasawful–theassessorwaslate,

communicationwaspoor,andthecarwasn’treadywhenpromised.”

“Theotherdriveracceptedresponsibility,butTescoBankwrote

ourcaroffandmassivelyundervaluedit,leavingusoutofpocket.”

“WhenIhadtomakeaclaimwithBarclays,theentireprocess

wasveryquickandeasy,whichIgreatlyappreciated.”

50 1

50 1

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OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Ease of purchase

(web &phone)

Telephone experiencewhen

making claim

Keeping youinformed when

claim is being assessed

Speed to settle claim

Friendlinessand helpfulness

during claim

Value formoney

Overall satisfaction with

claim process

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 63% NO 37%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 79% NO 21%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 68% NO 32%

Would yourenew

your current policy?

YES 73% NO 27%