Insurer asking for more details - I don't insure with them...

davidsl500

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I had a letter from an insurance company last week asking for further details of the car insurance I had taken out with them. They wanted a copy of the V5 and NCB details. As I had renewed my insurance fairly recently and then made changes to it in August to swap to the SLK I didn't think much of it. Then it dawned on me that I have never dealt with the insurer asking for details!!

I emailed back their policy number and queried their letter and got another letter back today which suggest someone has tried to use my name and address to insure one or more vehicles. Of course, Data Protection stops them giving me any details so that's all I know.

I'm wondering whether this is a pure coincidence as I only renewed my insurance in July and modified it in August or are the comparison sites leaking data / being hacked? I almost chucked the first letter away rather than emailing them back as I didn't know the insurance company. Glad I checked so I could be aware of anything else I get through in case whoever tried to use my address has tried to secure other insurances elsewhere etc.,

It pays to be on the ball with any mail you get !
 

Srdl

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Is it a genuine insurance company? Or just someone trying to get your V5 details so they can use it to sell another SLK with your plates on it?
 

Wighty

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Is it a genuine insurance company? Or just someone trying to get your V5 details so they can use it to sell another SLK with your plates on it?
:eek::eek:
 

Wighty

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Or driving round in a false plated stolen car , with your number plate on it ?
 
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davidsl500

davidsl500

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Is it a genuine insurance company? Or just someone trying to get your V5 details so they can use it to sell another SLK with your plates on it?

Its a genuine insurance company. I think it's more likely to be the Jaguar l part exchanged as that would have my details on as the last keeper and probably sold on through the auctions?
 

EmilysDad

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Though a slightly different scam ... on Watchdog last week they were talking about Ghost Brokers.

Young kid gets quote from the main insurance players of £thousands so they go on line. A 'broker' on social media gives them a quote for a fraction of the price by using the details of a less risky driver in a less risky area. 'Broker' then doctors the policy document for the young kid with his/her name on it. End result is that the car as far as ANPR is concerned is insured & the young kid has what looks to be a policy in his/her name. As long the kid doesn't have an accident or have to produce his/her documents, nobody is any the wiser and the Ghost Broker has lined his pockets for a nice little mark up.
 

peterws1957

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Of course it's worth remembering that a lot of these online companies, Adrian Flux, Tesco, AA etc are not the insurers themselves just intermediaries, and unless you pay close attention, you may not immediately recognize the name of the actual Insurer you are with. Occasionally I have had letters from Insurers and have had to double check that I was insured with them. Bit complicated nowadays.
 

ajlsl600

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talk to yr actual insurers about it ,they have more time/money (yrs) and interest in shutting these A/H,s down....
 
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davidsl500

davidsl500

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The latest in the insurance saga is that I have now been sent a cheque for £14 from the insurance company! As explained earlier they cancelled the bogus policy but have now sent me whatever is owing on the policy! Naturally, I won't be banking it as it's not my money. It's weird that the insurers haven't clicked that I didn't take out the policy so why send me the remainder? Probably a case of 2 departments not knowing what the other is doing..
 

A.J.

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I had a letter from an insurance company last week asking for further details of the car insurance I had taken out with them. They wanted a copy of the V5 and NCB details. As I had renewed my insurance fairly recently and then made changes to it in August to swap to the SLK I didn't think much of it. Then it dawned on me that I have never dealt with the insurer asking for details!!

I emailed back their policy number and queried their letter and got another letter back today which suggest someone has tried to use my name and address to insure one or more vehicles. Of course, Data Protection stops them giving me any details so that's all I know.

I'm wondering whether this is a pure coincidence as I only renewed my insurance in July and modified it in August or are the comparison sites leaking data / being hacked? I almost chucked the first letter away rather than emailing them back as I didn't know the insurance company. Glad I checked so I could be aware of anything else I get through in case whoever tried to use my address has tried to secure other insurances elsewhere etc.,

It pays to be on the ball with any mail you get !

I guess of course you don't know who the underwriters are in the case of people like Tescos, Post office, AA and the like. Even though the questions should come from them rather than the underwriter . :)
 

Mike Smith

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Previous owners details are no longer shown on the V5.

Also do one of the free credit checks to see if any other applications have been made in your name.

I use creditkarma to keep an eye on my credit records.
 
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davidsl500

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To update the story so far.....

Today I get a letter from the insurer - this one is out of sequence, saying that they have tried to refund payment to the bank account given on the from but the bank had rejected it as the details didn't match there records. They will therefore send a cheque (already received).

I decided to give the Insurer a call before reporting the fraud elsewhere to see if I could glean some information. Well I got someone that was very understanding and probably gave away more information than he should of! GDPR, never heard of it. Of course this is an interesting area because in one sense I am querying a policy that is supposed to be mine so I can confirm the policy number, name and address!

Anyway, the only thing correct on the form about me is the name and address, everything else is false. This is good news as this suggests that the fraudster has just picked my name off the electoral roll or similar and it's not a hacked comparison site or something like that. The insurer also let slip that the car insured was a £400 Skoda (there goes my street cred!) I'd also gained 15 years in age and lost 4 years NCB amongst other things. He wouldn't give me the email address or mobile number on the form but confirmed they weren't mine.

It seems this could be a case of ghost brokering. The fraudster made an initial payment via debit card (most likely an anonymous pre-paid card) and the rest via instalments using false bank details. The weakness in the system is Insurers email out the policy documents as soon as the initial payment is made - thus the fraudster gets the docs to pass on to the victim. It doesn't matter that the policy gets cancelled when the bank debit fails a month later. The victim doesn't find that out until he gets pulled I suppose.

The insurer is going to get their fraud department involved and I have also filled in a report with Action Fraud. I thought I would also report it to 101 so at least they have a log of it as well.

As for my credit report, I use Experian and CreditKarma to keep an eye on things. CreditKarma is the better of the two as you get a bit more detail on the free sign up. Nothing odd to report as yet but things can take a little bit of time to filter through.

Interestingly, the insurers could cut this scam dramatically by sending Policy Documents out in the post instead of emailing them.

Fingers crossed it was a one off but time will tell..
 

peterws1957

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To update the story so far.....

Today I get a letter from the insurer - this one is out of sequence, saying that they have tried to refund payment to the bank account given on the from but the bank had rejected it as the details didn't match there records. They will therefore send a cheque (already received).

I decided to give the Insurer a call before reporting the fraud elsewhere to see if I could glean some information. Well I got someone that was very understanding and probably gave away more information than he should of! GDPR, never heard of it. Of course this is an interesting area because in one sense I am querying a policy that is supposed to be mine so I can confirm the policy number, name and address!

Anyway, the only thing correct on the form about me is the name and address, everything else is false. This is good news as this suggests that the fraudster has just picked my name off the electoral roll or similar and it's not a hacked comparison site or something like that. The insurer also let slip that the car insured was a £400 Skoda (there goes my street cred!) I'd also gained 15 years in age and lost 4 years NCB amongst other things. He wouldn't give me the email address or mobile number on the form but confirmed they weren't mine.

It seems this could be a case of ghost brokering. The fraudster made an initial payment via debit card (most likely an anonymous pre-paid card) and the rest via instalments using false bank details. The weakness in the system is Insurers email out the policy documents as soon as the initial payment is made - thus the fraudster gets the docs to pass on to the victim. It doesn't matter that the policy gets cancelled when the bank debit fails a month later. The victim doesn't find that out until he gets pulled I suppose.

The insurer is going to get their fraud department involved and I have also filled in a report with Action Fraud. I thought I would also report it to 101 so at least they have a log of it as well.

As for my credit report, I use Experian and CreditKarma to keep an eye on things. CreditKarma is the better of the two as you get a bit more detail on the free sign up. Nothing odd to report as yet but things can take a little bit of time to filter through.

Interestingly, the insurers could cut this scam dramatically by sending Policy Documents out in the post instead of emailing them.

Fingers crossed it was a one off but time will tell..

Do your Insurers have the option of sending documents in the post? I agree this should be compulsory.
 
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davidsl500

davidsl500

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Do your Insurers have the option of sending documents in the post? I agree this should be compulsory.

I presume its much cheaper to send electronically hence why the insurers offer the option. It seems an obvious way to cut out a large proportion of fraud although not as environmentally friendly as electronic transmission. I presume all insurers probably offer a postal option for those not on the internet.

Maybe the insurers save more by sending electronic documents over postal than any costs associated with the fraud? The problem for all of us is the number of uninsured drivers on our roads and this is just another element of them.
 

davemercedes

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Very interesting and concerning post thank you Davidsl500.

Insurer LV do everything by email although I think you can unsubscribe and it's interesting that the Certificate of Insurance sent electronically is password protected... but with a "significant date" (that I would expect any scammer worth his salt to have got hold of - and there are no alternatives).

But sadly, it's yet another illustration of the "jungle" that contains people who want to part us from our boodle!
 

EmilysDad

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Very interesting and concerning post thank you Davidsl500.

Insurer LV do everything by email although I think you can unsubscribe and it's interesting that the Certificate of Insurance sent electronically is password protected... but with a "significant date" (that I would expect any scammer worth his salt to have got hold of - and there are no alternatives).

But sadly, it's yet another illustration of the "jungle" that contains people who want to part us from our boodle!

You can get your policy certificate by post with LV if you wish ..... mine are still waiting to be filed :)
 

davemercedes

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Yes, thanks EmilysDad, I just checked that. Our second car is due to change over in a week or two then I think I'll put them both back on to post only.
 

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